Carter 'ckingusc' King Wins PokerStars 2008 WCOOP Main Event
The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) on PokerStars came to a close on Monday as Day 2 of the Main Event took place. The $5,000+$200 tournament saw 2,185 participants enter to create a total prize pool of $10,925,000. 60 players remained heading into Day 2, with several big names were among them, yet 51 were guaranteed to fall short of the final table. Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier was one of them as he saw his pocket nines outflopped by pocket sevens. Though he failed to reach the final, ElkY's extraordinary and profitable run throughout the WCOOP was capped with a 21st-place finish in this event for $22,942.50. Other notable finishes included Christian "charder30" Harder in 11th place ($87,400), early chip leader Alex "august35" Kostritsyn in 23rd ($22,942.50), Ryan "Daut44" Daut in 34th place ($20,757.50), Scott "xmrstyle" Bohlman in 37th place ($19,665), and Dustin "neverwin" Woolf in 43rd place ($19,665).
Nine other players made it to the final table with the chance of becoming the 2008 WCOOP Main Event champion. The chip counts at the start of the final table were these:
liberace - 13,124,107
Markush13 - 11,446,207
Carter "ckingusc" King - 8,069,086
ShoesRDurrty - 6,560,232
klslcz - 4,841,175
Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis - 3,713,250
BOLLPOKER - 3,323,739
Sumpas - 2,972,856
kovi99 - 574,348
The first to be eliminated was kovi99. With blinds and antes at the 80,000/160,000/16,000 level, kovi99 min-raised under the gun to 320,000 and only Markush13 called from the big blind. The 3♦K♣8♠ flop brought a check-raise from Markush13, with kovi99 calling all-in. Kovi99 showed A♥J♠ but trailed Markush13's K♥7♥. The turn and river were no help to kovi99 who finished in ninth place for $121,267.50. Two hands later, BOLLPOKER followed. From early position, BOLLPOKER moved all in for 1,298,478 with 3♥3♦ and from the big blind Carter "ckingusc" King called, showing A♦Q♥. BOLLPOKER held the lead until the river made Broadway for King, felting BOLLPOKER in eighth place for $196,650.
Klslcz exited in seventh place on a tough hand. Under the gun, klslcz made it 420,000 to go, and from the big blind, Markush13 popped it up to 1,300,999. Klslcz called and the flop came out 9♥9♠Q♣. Markush13 led out for 1,899,999 and klslcz moved all in for 4,861,175 total. Markush13 called and tabled K♥K♣, but was still behind klslcz's A♦A♣. The 8♣ turn left only two outs for Markush13, but one of them hit with the K♠ river, which meant klslcz departed with $305,900. Sumpas was the next to go. Carter "ckingusc" King raised to 404,250 from middle position and chip leader liberace called. Sumpas then moved all in from the small blind for 4,736,518. Ckingusc gave it up but liberace called and showed A♦K♥, ahead of Sumpas' A♣Q♦. The board rolled out 10♦10♠3♣8♦J♥ and Sumpas earned $415,150 for his work.
When play was five-handed, double-ups by Carter "ckingusc" King and short-stacked Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis led to a discussion about a deal. After a few tweaks to the chip-count chop numbers, a deal was reached. Each player was guaranteed the following:
liberace: $1,375,249
Carter "ckingusc" King: $1,065,432
Markush13: $961,718
ShoesRDurrty: $801,153
Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis: $782,542
In addition, the required $200,000 was set aside for the eventual winner. Play continued and the next to fall was ShoesRDurrty. After losing a big pot to Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis, ShoesRDurrty ran pocket threes into Carter "ckingusc" King's pocket queens and did not find any help, finishing in fifth place for $801,153. When the blinds and antes were at the 100,000/200,000/20,000 level, Markush13's run ended in fourth. Liberace raised to 600,000 under the gun and Markush13 reraised to 1,800,000, which liberace called. The checked flop of Q♠9♠9♦ led to the 6♦ turn. Markush13 bet 2,333,111 and liberace called. After the 7♥ river. Markush13 shoved for 9,310,895 and liberace quickly called with 10♥8♥ for a rivered straight. A failed bluff attempt with A♦10♠ sent Markush13 to the rail in fourth place for $961,718.
Three-handed play began with these chip counts:
liberace - 37,041,944
Carter "ckingusc" King - 9,117,366
Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis - 8,465,690
With the blinds now at 125,000/250,000 and a 25,000 ante, Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis was eliminated in third place. After losing most of his stack running A♣10♦ into Carter King's pocket kings, King finished the job. He raised to 600,000 on the button, and when Kamberis moved all in from the big blind for 3,844,354 with A♦7♣, King called with 9♥9♣. The board rolled out 2♦3♣4♠Q♥2♥ and Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis earned $782,542 for third.
Heads-up play began with the chip counts:
liberace - 34,666,379
Carter "ckingusc" King - 19,958,621
It only took 12 hands for Carter King to double up and subsequently win the WCOOP Main Event. On a board of 8♣3♦7♦, King was all in for his tournament life with K♦J♦ looking for help against liberace's Q♥7♠. The K♣ turn and 6♦ river were both good for King as he doubled up to over 40,000,000 to take the lead. It ended shortly thereafter. King raised to 600,000 and liberace bumped it up to 1,500,000. King shoved his entire stack and liberace called all-in. They revealed:
liberace: K♦J♦
Carter "ckingusc" King: A♣8♣
The flop paired both players coming out A♠K♣10♥. The 4♣ turn gave Carter King a flush draw and took a few outs away from liberace. The 9♦ river sealed the deal and ended the tournament. Liberace finished as runner-up and earned $1,375,249.
The winner of the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event was Carter "ckingusc" King. With 14 players remaining, King had sat 13th in chips and things looked bleak, particularly when he was all in with pocket eights against Alex Kamberis' pocket queens. A miracle river eight fell, and ultimately that two-outer paved the way to his $1,265,432 payday and winner's bracelet.
The final results:
*1. Carter "ckingusc" King - $1,265,432
*2. liberace - $1,375,249
*3. Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis - $782,542
*4. Markush13 - $961,718
*5. ShoesRDurrty - $801,153
6. Sumpas - $415,150
7. klslcz - $305,900
8. BOLLPOKER - $196,650
9. kovi99 - $121,267
* — five-way deal for remaining prize money; $200,000 to eventual winner
