WCOOP Day 6: Thiago “XTheDecanoX” Nishjima, "Dangdokodang" and Raymond “raydavis77” Davis Earn Bracelets
Day 6 of the 2009 World Championship of Online Poker at PokerStars crowned three new WCOOP champions and was highlighted by a $1,050 no-limit hold'em affair. It started with 1,558 hopefuls Tuesday evening and ended on Wednesday morning with Thiago “XTheDecanoX” Nishjima besting Adam “skilled_sox” Ewenstein for the near $250,000 first-place prize.
Ewenstein entered the final table of Event 16 with the chip lead with Nishjima not far behind in second place. They tangled quickly as "skilled_sox" four-bet all in with deuces and "XTheDecanoX" called with big slick. A king hit the flop and Decano took over the chip lead and held it for much of the way. His rush of eliminations included cracking Joe “hoodini10” Udine’s A♣A♠ with 10♦9♣ and it seemed like Nishjima was destined to win the bracelet. Nishjima sealed the deal at the 40,000/80,000/10,000 level after opening with a raise. Ewenstein called and the flop came down Q♣J♠7♥. Nishjima had no piece of that with his 5♣2♣ and tried to win the pot then and there with a bet, but Ewenstein called. The 2♠ turn card was checked by both players and the 2♦ fell on the river, making trips for Nishjima . Ewenstein fired a bet only to see Decano move all-in with the bigger stack. Feeling that his K♦J♥ was the best hand, Ewenstein called and the tournament was over. Thiago “XTheDecanoX” Nishjima took down the biggest payday of WCOOP Day 6, almost a quarter of a million dollars.
PokerStars WCOOP 16 - $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-in: $1,000+50
Prize Pool: $1,558,000
Entrants: 1,558
1. Thiago “XTheDecanoX” Nishjima - $249,280
2. Adam “skilled_sox” Ewenstein - $186,960
3. Greg “DuckU” Hobson - $140,220
4. pedmend - $102,438.50
5. Joe “hoodini10” Udine - $74,005
6. O0Brian0O - $57,646
7. Matt “Holla10” Christensen - $42,066
8. cabbie182 - $27,265
9. Michael “amrasaralond” Binger - $15,580
Notable finishes: Jamie “TheNew” Robbins (12th - $12,152.40), Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko (16th - $7,011), Tim “Tmay420” West (18th - $7,011), Ryan “raiderryan78” Smith (19th - $5,920.40), Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron (31st - $5,141.40).
During four-handed play of the $320 mixed hold'em event, “dangdokodang” won a crucial hand and never looked back. Holding 3♦3♥ in the big blind, "dangdokodang" called chip leader “drgonzo10978's" raise on the button. The flop fell 5♣3♠5♠ and "dangdokodang" put in a check-raise with the flopped full house. "Drgonzo10978" called and when the 6♠ hit the turn, the fireworks continued. After a few bets and raises, "dangdokodang’s" tournament life was never at stake with the full house, as his opponent "drgonzo10978" tabled 7♣4♠ for a straight. Never giving up the chip lead from that point forward, "dangdokodang" sailed to victory.
PokerStars WCOOP 14 - $320 Mixed Hold’em (6-max)
Buy-in: $300+20
Prize Pool: $468,900
Entrants: 1,564
*1. dangdokodang - $70,727.38
*2. Yann “yadio” Dion - $60,564.64
3. DonkCommited - $42,201.01
4. drgonzo10978 - $28,134.01
5. viti45 - $18,756.01
6. Tom “SBRounder” West - $11,066.05
* denotes two-way deal
Notable finishes: Mike “SirWatts” Watson (14th - $3,633.98), Tim “TurnRiva” Marsters (15th - $3,633.98), Jon “TwistedEcho” Heath (19th -$2,696.18), Katja Thater (23rd - $2,696.18).
After “goleafsgo41” busted in third place of Event 15, Raymond “raydavis77” Davis and “bobsmith166” agreed to a near-even chop leaving $2,000 to the winner. What followed was an hour-and-a-half long heads-up duel. Davis had his man short-stacked and on the ropes several times, but "bobsmith166" did not go easily. The tournament finally ended at 35,000/70,000, the 37th level of the tournament. On the final hand, with each drawing one card on the third draw, Davis tabled 8♠A♣2♠5♥ for a 3-card 5,2,A, while bobsmith166 paired up with 3♠4♦6♣3♥, a 3-card 6,4,3. Davis had entered the final table with the chip lead and held on to capture the WCOOP bracelet.
PokerStars WCOOP 15 - $320 Badugi
Buy-in: $300+20
Prize Pool: $112,800
Entrants: 376
*1. Raymond “raydavis77” Davis - $19,912
*2. bobsmith166 - $17,312
3. goleafsgo41 - $11,844
4. Cordelia - $8,460
5. Danny “THE__D__RY” Ryan - $5,640
6. Jason “JP OSU” Potter - $3,948
7. Billy “crocky” Argyros - $2,820
8. MadisonAce29 - $2,256
* denotes two-way deal
Notable finishes: Dan “djk123” Kelly (9th - $1,833), Frank “gator93” Hernandez (17th - $1,099.80), Matt “ch0ppy” Kay (20th - $1,099.80), Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu (21st - $1,099.80), Katja Thater (22nd - $1099.80).
