PokerStars 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP): Day 7 Summary Report
Day 7 of the World Championship of Online Poker saw the return of a tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, along with a smaller stud event that still cruised past its pre-start guarantee by a wide margin. The $215-plus-rebuys Event #13 at PokerStars featured lots of star power late, with Josh Arieh and Kevin Saul the focal points of attention in the event before "lrdvoldemort" surged to the win.
WCOOP Event #13: $200+15 No-Limit Hold'em w/ Rebuys, $1,000,000 Guaranteed
The $200+15 NLHE event with rebuys had 2,234 entrants, who collectively rebought 2,635 times and added on another 1,524 times. Put it all together and it made a prize pool of $1,278,600. Several big names made it close to the final table but fell just short. Among them were Rami "arbianight" Boukai in 14th place (7,671.60), Zach "nofingclue11" Clark in 17th place ($5,114.40), Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy in 20th place ($2,685.06), UH Big Tex in 39th ($2,301.48), Stuart "the donator" Paterson in 78th ($1,917.90), Juan "Vietcong01" Barros in 82nd ($1,917.90), and Team PokerStars Pro member Chad Brown in 144th ($1,662.18).
The final table itself had its share of big names, too. Leading the way in chips was Josh "nitbuster" Arieh, and right behind him was Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul. Saul led with roughly 30 players left, but found himself holding the shortest stack with 16 remaining. However, a flurry of good luck (K-9 over A-3, A-9 over A-J, K-K over A-A - all three were all-ins preflop and each doubled his stack) propelled him towards the top of the leader board. An exciting final table was sure to come.
The chip counts as the final table began:
Josh "nitbuster" Arieh - 3,738,562
Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul - 2,717,000
ACESEDAI - 2,057,663
Doug "imcastleman" Dicken - 1,702,714
omalos - 1,490,448
moe32746 - 1,257,246
TheKaas - 1,161,020
lrdvoldemort - 1,045,133
Sykoen - 664,214
The first one to be eliminated from the final table was ACESEDAI, who started third in chips before things went downhill. With the blinds at 20,000/40,000 and an ante of 4,000, ACESEDAI made it 120,000 to go from middle position and moe32746 called from the big blind. The J♦10♣7♠ flop saw moe32746 check and ACESEDAI bet 240,000, which was quickly called. The 8♠ came on the turn and again it was checked to ACESEDAI, who moved all in for 1,079,663. Moe32746 snap-called and showed 10♥9♥ for a straight. ACESEDAI's K♥J♣ needed a nine for an unlikely chop but the river was the 2♥, eliminating ACESEDAI in ninth place for $14,192.46.
Next to go was TheKaas. The blinds and antes were now at the 25,000/50,000/5,000 level. From the cutoff, lrdvoldemort moved all in for 1,346,266 and TheKaas wasted little time calling all-in for 1,114,974, He showed A♠Q♣, well ahead of lrdvoldemort's K♠Q♥. However, the board ran out 8♦K♥8♣J♥3♣, felting TheKaas in eighth place for a payday of $23,014.80. Two hands later the tournament was down to six players. Doug "imcastleman" Dicken moved all in from the small blind for his last 782,512 and Sykoen called all-in from the big blind for 561,939. Dicken showed A♦9♦ but had run into A♣Q♥. Dicken would need a nine or diamonds to win the hand and the latter would come. The board ran out 7♠3♦5♠K♦J♦ and Dicken made the nut flush to eliminate Sykoen in seventh place for $35,800.80.
Coming in as the two biggest stacks, Josh Arieh and Kevin Saul were primed to clash. Arieh still held the top spot on the leader board while Saul had slipped. Their inevitable duel would soon occur, resulting in Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul's sixth-place elimination. With blinds and antes at the 30,000/60,000/6,000 level, lrdvoldemort raised to 150,000 on the button and Saul called from the small blind. Arieh then reraised to 420,000, prompting lrdvoldemort to fold. Saul deliberated briefly before calling and seeing a flop of K♦9♥10♥. He checked it over to Arieh who immediately moved all in, putting Saul's tournament life at potential risk. Eventually, Saul clicked the call button and showed Q♦10♦ but trailed Arieh's A♦A♠. Unfortunately for Saul, the turn and river came 5♦ and 7♥. Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul earned $48,586.80 for sixth place.
A few hands later lrdvoldemort won a monster pot that left the tournament three-handed. After a flurry of preflop raising involving four of the remaining five players, Doug "imcastleman" Dicken was all in with 7♥7♠ as the short stack, omalos was all in with A♥K♣, and lrdvoldemort had a chance to knock them both out with Q♥Q♦. The flop almost certainly guaranteed it, coming out Q♣K♠2♣. The turn brought the J♣, which gave omalos a chance, but the J♦ river gave lrdvoldemort queens full. Doug "imcastleman" Dicken finished in fifth place for $61,372.80, and omalos was the fourth-place finisher for $74,158.80.
The chip counts at the start of three-handed play were:
Josh "nitbuster" Arieh - 7,154,759
lrdvoldemort - 5,713,069
moe32746 - 2,966,172
Surprisingly, it would be Josh Arieh finishing the tournament in third place. After committing himself to a call with A♦9♦ and failing to catch up to pocket kings, Arieh was the short stack. When the blinds were 40,000/80,000 with an 8,000 ante, Arieh put his remaining chips in with A♠J♣, but was up against lrdvoldemort's A♦Q♥. The board would not improve Arieh, coming out 5♠10♠6♣8♥10♥. Josh "nitbuster" Arieh earned $110,215.32 for his third-place showing.
At the start of heads-up play, these were the chip counts:
lrdvoldemort - 8,285,112
moe32746 - 7,548,888
The battle for the bracelet was competitive, with each player managing his own double-up to stay in the fight. The chip lead swung back and forth, but in the end it was lrdvoldemort who reigned supreme. After winning a coin flip to take 4.5-to-1 chip lead, lrdvoldemort had the upper hand. With blinds of 60,000/120,000 and an ante of 12,000, lrdvoldemort min-raised to 240,000 and moe32746 called. The flop came 5♣5♠9♣ and moe32746 would soon be all in with 9♠8♥, needing to get lucky to catch lrdvoldemort's 7♦5♦. The turn and river were no help to moe32746, who finished as runner-up for a prize of $153,432.00.
The winner of WCOOP Event #13 was lrdvoldemort, who bested a final table that boasted two of the game's elite at the top of the chip counts. Lrdvoldemort battled from eighth in chips at the start to holding all of the chips at the end, winning the championship bracelet and $207,772.50.
The final results were:
1. lrdvoldemort - $207,772.50
2. moe32746 - $153,432.00
3. Josh "nitbuster" Arieh - $110,215.32
4. omalos - $74,158.80
5. Doug "imcastleman" Dicken - $61,372.80
6. Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul - $48,586.80
7. Sykoen - $35,800.80
8. TheKaas - $23,014.80
9. ACESEDAI - $14,192.46
WCOOP Event #14: $300+20 Seven-card Stud, $100,000 Guaranteed
The only seven-card stud tournament of the WCOOP took place on Day 7. A field of 627 made up a prize pool of $188,100. Notable finishes included Steve "Rabscuttle" Mil in 14th place ($2,351.25), "xthesteinx" in 16th place ($2,351.25), Steve "Thorladen" Weinstein in 17th ($1,881.00), Chris "TheTownhouse" Odle in 44th ($940.50), and Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul in 49th ($846.45). The final table came to a close 14 hours after play began and, following a two-way deal, Mildred53 outlasted the rest to capture the title and 28,608.50.
The final standings were:
*1. Mildred53 - $28,608.50
*2. tiffaniejoy - $25,000
3. adsonvonmelk - $13,637.25
4. fly high989 - $9,405
5. yhcaep - $5,643
6. SanibelSanta - $4,702.50
7. AGame18 - $3,762
8. lilletrold - $3,291.75
* — two-way chop for remaining prize money; $2,000 to eventual winner
