WCOOP – Event #6, $320 PLO: Greg 'FossilMan' Raymer Wins First WCOOP Title

Matt Wehner

Sep 18, 2007 6 min read

WCOOP – Event #6, $320 PLO: Greg 'FossilMan' Raymer Wins First WCOOP Title 0001

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) enjoyed another successful day with Event #6, the $320 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys. This year's event drew 772 entrants, exactly one less participant than last year's, and for the sixth consecutive time, the pre-tourney guarantee wasn't needed, as the tournament generated $713,400 after its 1062 rebuys and 544 add-ons. That's nearly $50,000 more than last year's event.

Many notable players were again in attendance for Event #6, including Daniel 'KidPoker' Negreanu, Katja Thater, World Series of Poker's 2004 World Champion Greg 'FossilMan' Raymer, John Duthie, and Humberto 'Humberto B' Brenes. Even Event #3 winner, jalla79, was in attendance.

'Nite404' was the bubble boy in 91st place, the event taking nearly eight hours to reach the money. After 11 hours of play, the final two tables were finally reached. Greg 'FossilMan' Raymer found himself in a solid third place going into the top eighteen, but his table would be tough as the top six places were all seated at the same table. But within just two hands, Raymer quickly climbed into first place with over one million in chips

With just ten players remaining in the tournament, Raymer was disconnected from the event with the chip lead, holding 1.6 million in chips. After 13 hands of play, Raymer finally reconnected and replied, "Whew, bad time to lose internet". In just two hands after returning, he collected nearly 400,000 in chips, which left him just shy of the two million mark.

13 hours into the tournament, 'tiltjezz,' the short stack with only 99,788 left, raised the pot pre-flop and 'Rsa87' put him all-in. tiltjezz made the call, showed K♣J♠8♣6♣ and was up against Rsa87's K♥K♠9♥2♣. The board came A♠5♣4♣9♠10♠ and Rsa87's pocket kings held up to eliminate tiltjezz in tenth place.

The final table consisted of FossilMan, 'Oswaldo,' 'PlayaAAK8,' 'Rage of Fury,' 'rutasasha,' 'MrSmits,' Rsa87, '-db-,' and 'O.Mustang.' As play got under way at the final table, FossilMan, still in the chip lead, announced "I've never won a WCOOP before." After a brief pause, FossilMan followed up with, "this will be my first ."

Tom McEvoy, one of the commentators for the event, quickly responded in the chat box, "I thought you were humble."

To which FossilMan replied, "I am, didn't you see the smiley?"

The first elimination from the final table came when Oswaldo, in the small blind, called a preflop raise of 52,500 from MrSmits. PlayaAAK8 called from the big blind as well, and the three of them saw a flop of J♥6♦3♥. Oswaldo led out for 195,000 and was raised by PlayAAK8 who moved all-in for 379,222. Oswaldo made the call, putting him all in for his remaining 166,000. He showed Q♣J♦10♦7♣ and was up against PlayaAAK8's A♥J♠9♠6♥. The turn brought the K♥ giving PlayaAAK8 the nut flush leaving Oswaldo drawing dead to the river. Oswaldo was eliminated in ninth place.

Just a few hands later, with the blinds at 12,500/25,000, Rage of Fury made it 87,500 to go, pre-flop. MrSmits, from the big blind, raised to 275,000 and Rage of Fury made the call. The flop came A♥5♥3♥ and MrSmits moved all-in for a remaining 493,257 and Rage of Fury called, though MrSmits had him covered. MrSmits showed A♦10♦9♠5♦ for top two pair while Rage of Fury showed A♠J♥6♠5♣ for the same top two pair. But the turn came the 10♥, giving MrSmits a better two pair. Rage of Fury failed to improve and was eliminated in eighth place.

A few hands later, FossilMan, in late position, made it 60,000 to go pre-flop and was called by Rsa87 in the big blind. The flop came J♠10♠3♣ and FossilMan led out for 125,000 after Rsa87 checked. Rsa87 fired back with a check-raise for 567,500 more and FossilMan called. The turn brought the 8♥ and Rsa87 moved all-in for his remaining 48,079. FossilMan called and showed A♠6♠4♦4♣ for the nut flush draw while Rsa87 showed J♥J♣9♣7♥ with a set turned straight. The river brought the tournament to an end for Rsa87 when the 9♠ fell, giving FossilMan the nut flush.

Play continued on for several hands, while FossilMan's chip count dwindled down and O.Mustang became the new chip leader, reaching over two million in chips. With the blinds at 20,000/40,000, O.Mustang made it 120,000 to go from the button and was called by Raymer in the small blind and PlayaAAK8 from the big. The flop came 8♦7♠6♣ and PlayaAAK8 made it 360,000 after Raymer checked. O.Mustang got out of the way, and Raymer check-raised to 720,000. PlayaAAK8, with only 117,192 left, made the call. Raymer showed A♥K♠10♦9♠ and had flopped the nut straight while PlayaAAK8 showed 9♥8♠5♦4♦ for the lower end of the straight. PlayaAAK8 failed to improve and was eliminated in sixth place.

Being the short stack at the table, -db- called a raise in the big blind from FossilMan of 120,000. The flop came J♦9♦7♠ and –db- checked, while FossilMan led out for 250,000. –db- check raised all-in for another 360,840 and FossilMan made the call. FossilMan showed A♦6♦4♦2♣ for the nut flush draw and –db- showed K♣J♣10♥8♠ and had flopped the nut straight. The turn brought the 4d however, and gave FossilMan the nut flush, and –db- was eliminated in fifth place.

Eventually, the players agreed to discuss a deal, with O.Mustang holding 2.8 million in chips, FossilMan with 2.1 million in chips, MrSmits with 1.9 million in chips, and rutasasha with 1.2 million in chips. The figures came back for FossilMan to receive $88,837, rutasasha to get $72,513, MrSmits to get $83,915, and O.Mustang $99,978. O.Mustang quickly refused the deal, saying he would settle for no less than $110,000 and play continued.

Later, MrSmits made it 160,000 to go preflop from the cut off and both FossilMan and rutasasha made the call. The flop came A♠K♠2♠ and FossilMan checked, while rutasasha bet 480,000. MrSmits got out of the way, but FossilMan check-raised to 960,000. Rutasasha called his remaining 165,760 and was all-in with A♣K♣J♦3♠ against FossilMan's K♦J♠7♠10♦. Rutasasha had flopped top two pair, while FossilMan flopped a jack-high flush. The turn was the 2♦ and the river was the 6♥, eliminating rutasasha in fourth place.

Just two hands later, MrSmits raised to 160,000 from the button preflop and O.Mustang bumped it up to 540,000. FossilMan folded, while MrSmits pushed all-in for another 1,075,106. O.Mustang called and showed 6♦A♦10♠K♥ against MrSmits A♠J♠Q♣Q♠. The flop brought J♥5♠4♠ giving MrSmits top pair/top kicker, as well as the nut flush draw. The turn was the K♣, giving O.Mustang a pair of kings as well as a straight draw. The Q♦ on the river gave MrSmits trip queens, but also completed O.Mustang's straight draw, eliminating MrSmits in third place.

Things immediately shifted in Raymer's favor, when after just five hands of play, he regained the chip lead over O.Mustang. The sudden shift in chip lead led O.Mustang to ask if Fossilman felt like splitting the remaining purse, to which Raymer replied "not especially." Raymer made two great calls, almost back to back, and quickly had a two-to-one chip lead over O.Mustang. The calls were so great, O.Mustang even began questioning whether or not Raymer could see his cards, to which the PokerStars support staff quickly assured him was not possible.

The final hand came when O.Mustang raised pre-flop to 180,000 and FossilMan called. The flop came 8♦6♣5♣ and FossilMan checked, while O.Mustang bet 360,000. FossilMan, as he had done many times during the event, check-raised to 1,440,000 and O.Mustang quickly pushed all-in for a remaining 512,966. O.Mustang showed 7♣A♣Q♣6♠ for pair of sixes and an open ended straight draw, along with the nut flush draw, while FossilMan showed J♣7♦8♣5♦ for two pair, with an open-ended straight draw as well as a jack-high flush draw. The turn brought the 3♥, which didn't help either player, and the river was the 7♠, giving O.Mustang a weaker two pair of sevens and sixes, but leaving Raymer with the title-clinching hand.