WCOOP Day 6: Anders "Donald" Berg Wins Third WCOOP Bracelet

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Sep 10, 2011 11 min read

Day 6 of the 2011 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker at PokerStars saw familiar WCOOP faces return to the winner's circle. Not one, but two former WCOOP winners claimed bracelets late Friday night. First it was "Brryann" from the Netherlands winning a WCOOP bracelet for the second time. About an hour later, Anders "Donald" Berg claimed his third WCOOP bracelet, tying Ryan "g0lfa" D'Angelo on the all-time WCOOP bracelet winners list.

Regarding Berg, not to say we told you so, but you should check out the predictions section of our opening look at the 2011 WCOOP.

PokerStars WCOOP 14 - $250 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max Knockout Two-Day ($500K Guaranteed)

Day 2 of the No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max Knockout began with 16 of the original 3,568 players returning for a short day on the felt. Several accomplished online pros survived Day 1, including former Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) champs "nikov" and "Sir_winalot9," as well as Aaron "JeanGrae" McCready, Aaron Been, and Andras "probirs" Nemeth, who entered Day 2 with the chip lead.

Nemeth, the lone member of that group to reach the final table, still owned the chip lead after winning a massive pot against "nikov." With the blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a 2,500 ante, Nemeth opened to 40,000 from the button and "nikov" put in a three-bet to 112,500 from the big blind. Nemeth didn't back down; he reraised to 252,900, and the called a five-bet shove from the Swede for 1,365,168.

Nemeth: Q♦Q♥
nikov: 8♦8♣

Nemeth's queens had the former SCOOP champ in trouble and the 10♦4♦9♠A♥K♦ board increased his stack to more than 4 million. "Nikov" was eliminated in 15th place for $4,638.

A short while later, here's how the final table of six stacked up:

Nemeth's lead didn't last long. After building to more than 5 million, he lost a 4.2-million chip pot with A♥Q♠ against the A♠K♥ of "Hustlaaaaaa." That was followed by the first elimination of the final table. "Hustlaaaaaa" added even more ammunition to his stack when he flopped a set of fives and faded the flush draw of "ghth," sending the Irishman out in sixth place.

Moments later, "Hustlaaaaaa" finished off Nemeth when his aces held up against the Hungarian's A♠K♥. That gave "Hustlaaaaaa" more than half of the chips in play, but the swings were far from done.

Russia's "Tat0chka" eliminated "rivichico" in fourth place and then claimed the chip lead himself by doubling through "Hustlaaaaaa." "Tat0chka" opened to 265,455 from the button (blinds 6,000/12,000), "crispoker10" three-bet to 498,505 from the small blind, and "Hustlaaaaaa" put in a cold four-bet to 1 million from the big blind. "Tat0chka" opted to move all-in for nearly 6 million, prompting a fold from "crispoker10," but "Hustlaaaaaa" called for his remaining 4,953,311. A pot of more than 12 million was up for grabs.

Hustlaaaaaa: Q♥A♦
Tat0chka: A♣A♠

A board of 9♣3♦3♠5♦9♥ sent "Tat0chka" straight to the top of the leaderboard and left "Hustlaaaaaa" as the short stack. The Canadian made his exit a short time later when he flopped a pair of kings but was out-kicked by "crispoker10."

That opened a marathon heads-up match that lasted more than 100 hands. "Tat0chka" began with a 2.3-1 chip advantage over "crispoker10" and leaned on the player from Portugal to increase the edge to nearly 5-1. "Crispoker10" was able to double through his opponent once, but the match belonged to "Tat0chka." On the final hand, "crispoker10" got his remaining chips in with K♥K♣ on a board of J♠8♦9♣6♣, but "Tat0chka" called and tabled 9♥8♣ for two pair. The 7♠ river on the river gave the Russian his first WCOOP title and a prize of $110,609.

Notable Finishes: Aaron "JeanGrae" McCready (9th - $7,850), Aaron Been (10th - $6,066), JP Kelly (22nd - $3,568), Leo Fernandez (23rd - $3,568)

PokerStars WCOOP 16 - $200 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Max ($250K Guaranteed)

Reigning SCOOP Player of the Series and Team PokerStars Online member Anders “Donald” Berg was sitting on a short stack during the final two tables of Event 16, the $200 Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Max, but a crucial double up against “thegr8str8” gave Berg enough to weather the storm and make the final table. After a few raises between the two, Berg five-bet shoved with A♦A♥10♦10♠ and looked to double through “thegr8str8's” K♣J♦10♣10♥. The board ran out a safe 5♦3♣2♠Q♦J♥, helping Berg to earn a shot at a third WCOOP bracelet.

“PUCIPUCO” hit the rail first, running into a bit of a cooler against chip leader “thegr8str8." In a battle of the blinds, “PUCIPUCO” got it in with K♦K♣10♣6♦ but ran into “thegr8str8's” A♣A♠K♣J♠. Unable to improve, “PUCIPUCO” was out in sixth place. The next 35 minutes were spent hashing out the details of a deal that never materialized, so it was back to the felt. The next player,Steve “superowl99” Jelinek, busted 25 minutes later. After seeing a flop fall A♣Q♣4♣, he got it in with 10♣9♣7♦6♥ but ran into “N_O_S_I_E's” K♥K♣7♣7♠. No miracle straight flush came to save Jelinek from going out in fifth place.

During the course of play, both “N_O_S_I_E” and Anders “Donald” Berg became the big stacks. That left “thegr8str8” and “GrovSnus" battling it out as the short stacks and “GrovSnus” succumbed in fourth-place. All-in preflop with 10♥9♥9♠3♦, “GrovSnus” needed help against “thegr8str8's” A♥A♦8♣6♥.

The board ran out K♥7♣6♠10♦7♥, ending “ GrovSnus”' tournament. Shortly thereafter, “ thegr8str8” fell at the hands of Berg. After calling a button raise from his opponent out of the big blind, Berg bet enough to put his opponent all-in on the 8♥7♥2♦ board. “Thegr8str8” called all-in with Q♥10♥6♦3♦ for a flush draw and straight draw, while Berg showed J♣10♠7♣2♦ for a pair of sevens with a straight draw. The 10♣ turn and 6♠ river gave both two pair, but Berg's was superior to score the elimination.

Going into heads-up play, Berg trailed “N_O_S_I_E” by a count of 5,442,056 to 4,317,944. Still, that didn't deter Berg from winning in a rather quick 40 hands. After Berg chipped up and away at his opponent, “N_O_S_I_E” went all-in on a K♥10♠7♦ board with A♠Q♦7♠6♥ for bottom pair and the Broadway draw. Berg called with K♠6♠5♥3♦ for top pair and improved his hand to a seven-high straight when the 6♣ turn and 4♣ river officially ended the tournament, giving him his third WCOOP bracelet.

Notable Finishes: Markus "MarkusG91" Garberg (14th - $2,849.92), Vincent "Vingtcent" van der Fluit (29th - $1,639.68)

PokerStars WCOOP 17 - $200 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Lowball ($25K Guaranteed)

Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier made a deep run, even holding the chip lead with a few tables left, but bowed out just shy of the final table in ninth place. Having lost about half his chip-leading stack, Grospellier lost the majority of the rest in a hand against “tonkaaaa.” After raising on the button, Grospellier was faced with a decision when “tonkaaaa” shoved for about 80 percent of his stack. Grospellier called and upon seeing “tonkaaaa” stand pat, he drew one. It didn't matter, though, because “tonkaaaa” was pat with a 9x7x6x3x2x. Grospellier drew one, but it was to an already defeated 10x. He busted shortly thereafter.

The chip counts to start the final table were the following:

Short-stacked “tonkaaaa” was the first to exit the final table. “Chillolini” opened with an under-the-gun raise and “tonkaaaa” shoved for about 14 big blinds on the button. A call from “Chillolini” put “tonkaaaa” at risk. “Chillolini” drew one, while “tonkaaaa” stood pat with Jx9x8x6x3x. Chillolini managed to pull a 10x9x6x3x2x to score the elimination.

Joel Adam “2FLY2TILT” Gordon made his second final table of the WCOOP and looked to win his second bracelet of 2011 — and third overall. However, he was unable to build up his short stack. After chip leader “Brryann” opened from the hijack, Gordon committed his last eight big blinds. “Brryann” called and both proceeded to stand pat. Gordon tabled 10x9x8x7x4x, but it was bested by “Brryann's” 10x8x6x5x3x.

“Chillolini” busted in fifth place, also at the hands of “Brryann.” They reached a draw heads-up and each drew one, leading to a bet from “Chillolini,” “Brryann,” though, shoved with the big stack and sent “Chillolini” into the tank. Ultimately “Chillolini” called with 10x9x6x5x2x, but was beat by “Brryann's” 8x7x6x3x2x.

Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, at one point down to five big blinds at the final table, scored the next elimination, sending “mustafa” to the rail. In the cutoff, “mustafa” raised and Turner three-bet from the button. Action folded back to “mustafa” who four-bet shoved. Turner called immediately and both stood pat. The 10x9x6x5x4x of “mustafa” was second best to Turner's 9x6x5x3x2♠.

“Falco234”, now the short stack, was felted in third place. All-in from the small blind for ten big blinds, “Falco234” was called by “Brryann.” Both drew one and while “Brryann” drew an A♣, “Falco234” made a straight with 6x5x4x3x2x, not what one is looking for in 2-7 lowball. The chip counts to start heads-up play were as follows:

“Brryann:” 1,199,327
Jon “PearlJammer” Turner: 750,673

Turner pulled nearly even, but was unable to wrestle the lead away from “Brryann.” On the final hand, “Brryann” opened with a raise on the button and Turner shoved from the big blind for about 25 big blinds. “Brryann” thought for a few moments before calling. Turner stood pat with 10x9x7x6x5x while “Brryann” drew one to make a 9x6x5x4x2x to win a second career WCOOP bracelet.

Notable Finishes: Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (9th - $1,482), Sergey "gipsy74" Rybachenko (19th - $780), Lex Veldhuis (23rd - $624)

PokerStars WCOOP 18 - $300 No-Limit Hold'em 10-Minute Levels ($350K Guaranteed)

While not officially a turbo, Event #18 played much faster than your average no-limit hold'em tournament. Despite a massive field of 2,295 players, the final table was reached in less than eight hours, and it didn't take long from there to crown a champion.

Several notables made deep runs in Friday's $300 event, including Jose Raul "head27" Severino, Jeff "jeff710" Hakim, Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorksi, and James "AndyMcLEOD" Obst, who made history a day before by making a WCOOP-record seventh career final table. His 65th-place finish Friday left him short of adding to that mark, but the cash was his 30th all-time to tie him for sixth in the history of the series, according to the PokerStars Blog.

The final table lacked a well-known pro, but one player had the rush of a lifetime to make for some entertaining poker. Here's a look at the chip counts when the final table began:

Poland's "N4kai" began the final table second in chips, but he quickly claimed the role of table captain. His first elimination came when a short-stacked "lobalaise" moved all-in preflop for 287,598 (less than five big blinds) with 10♠10♥ and "N4kai" called in the small blind with Q♥Q♠. The higher pair held, sending "lobalaise" out in ninth. Then, "mi777" moved in preflop with a pair of fives and ran head first into the pocket aces of "N4kai" to exit in eighth place.

Sense a theme? It didn't stop there. After "gladius_85" hit the rail in seventh place, "N4kai" eliminated players on back-to-back hands to trim the field to four. He first took down "lucasr33," who was all-in for two big binds and had his K♣10♥ run down by "N4kai's" 6♠4♥. Then, he called a button shove of a short-stacked "HelloDeli82," who had a meager 10♠7♦, and the K♣9♣ finished best to increase the Polish player's stack to 4.6 million.

The onslaught continued as "N4kai" found A♣K♥ in early position and called a three-bet shove from Russia's "alexlabatyuk," who had K♦Q♦. The flop brought an ace and the Russian player was sent to the rail in fourth place with $42,687.

The final three players then went on a five-minute break and negotiated a deal, with "N4kai" getting $100,516, "rockstar2" getting $74,073, and "sirtenzoe" taking $73,156, with the eventual winner collecting an extra $7,000. It took only 12 more hands for that extra money to be dished out.

All three players were involved in the first elimination when "N4kai" opened with a min-raise to 200,036 on the button and "rockstar2" called from the small blind. "Sirtenzoe" then moved all-in for nearly 2 million, and "N4kai" four-bet to 3.8 million. "Rockstar2" got out of the way and the hands were revealed:

"sirtenzoe:" A♦10♣
"N4kai:" A♣K♥

The board ran out 7♦8♥Q♣8♠6♥ and the king kicker played to eliminate "sirtenzoe" in second place. Eight hands later, it was over. "Rockstar2" moved all-in for nearly 1.3 million (13 big blinds) on the button with K♠3♥ and "N4kai" called with A♠J♠. The better hand held again as "N4kai" made a pair of jacks on the river to secure the victory. He earned $107,516 and became the first player from Poland to win a WCOOP title.

*denotes three-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Jose Raul "head27" Severino (14th -$3,959), Jeff "jeff710" Hakim (34th - $1,997), Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorksi (36th - $1,997)

We will be providing in-depth daily recaps of all WCOOP final tables, so be sure to keep it here at PokerNews to stay up to date on all of the exciting action as it occurs.

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