Three weeks, 62 events, $30,000,000 in guaranteed prize-pool money. This can only mean one thing: the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is back! Each year PokerStars is host to the WCOOP and SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker), the largest tournament series on the virtual felt. The 2011 WCOOP will undoubtedly have a different feel to it because of the effects of Black Friday, but it may not be as significant as you think. Many of the game's top players have been on the move and will return to the virtual felt in time for the 2011 WCOOP. In fact, Adam "Roothlus" Levy (in Canada for the time being) took down the PokerStars $11 re-buy for more than $4,500 on his first day back on the online scene.
This year's edition will mark the 10th WCOOP, and in the previous nine years, players have achieved impressive feats. After winning two bracelets in the 2009 WCOOP, Ryan "g0lfa" D'Angelo was back in 2010 to claim another bracelet, winning just shy of $200,000 for his efforts. D'Angelo has made three final tables in his WCOOP career and won each of them to top the all-time WCOOP bracelet list.
Player
WCOOP Bracelets
Ryan “g0lfa” D'Angelo
3
Dan “djk123” Kelly
2
Anders “Donald” Berg
2
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier
2
Kyle “kwob20” Bowker
2
Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb
2
spawng
2
spencerman3
2
Jaime “Xaston” Kaplan
2
When you talk online poker tournament series, James "Andy McLEOD" Obst is perhaps the most consistent player across the board. With four final tables made in the 2010 WCOOP, Obst led all participants in that category and is now tied with Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Steve "Rabscuttle" Cowley for six career WCOOP final tables made. Obst also happens to lead in SCOOP final tables made, too, with eight.
Player
WCOOP Final Tables
James "Andy McLEOD" Obst
6
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier
6
Steve "Rabscuttle" Cowley
6
Dan "Lenny" Heimiller
5
MOJOEX1
5
Thor "osten" Hansen
5
Ryon "7CardRyon" Nicholson
4
Dan "djk123" Kelly
4
Greg "DuckU" Hobson
4
Matt "plattsburgh" Vengrin
4
Christoph "Sassenage" Wolters
4
Tyson "POTTERPOKER" Marks topped a field of 2,443 to win the 2010 WCOOP $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event for $2,278,097.50. Ten players have earned seven figures in the WCOOP in their careers, and not surprisingly, each has final-tabled the Main Event.
Player
WCOOP Earnings
Tyson "POTTERPOKER" Marks
$2,285,759.17
Yevgeniy "Jovial Gent" Timoshenko
$1,733,944.87
liberace
$1,431,865.51
joeysweetp
$1,404,725
Kyle "ka$ino" Schroeder
$1,380,781.12
Tyler "Udon Wannit" Kenney
$1,290,533.20
Carter "ckingusc" King
$1,269,422.89
Kristoffer "Sumpas" Thorsson
$1,035,991.09
Dmitry "Russian_nuts" Stelmak
$1,027,291.47
Dan "djk123" Kelly
$1,025,065.41
Leading the way with the most career WCOOP cashes is Thor "osten" Hansen. Most notably, Osten finished runner-up in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em two-day event in the 2010 WCOOP, falling just short against Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier.
Player
WCOOP Cashes
Thor "osten" Hansen
37
Dan "Lenny" Heimiller
35
Jon "PearlJammer" Turner
34
copi
33
Rich_Fish
31
Stu "thedonator" Paterson
30
Anders "Donald" Berg
29
George "Jorj95" Lind III
29
Rayan "rkruok" Nathan
29
Steve "Rabscuttle" Cowley
29
James "Andy McLEOD" Obst
28
Predictions for 2011 WCOOP
As of now, Anders "Donald" Berg is registered for 57 out of the 62 events. Berg topped the 2011 SCOOP leaderboard with 23 cashes, including a watch (the WCOOP bracelet equivalent), so the Norwegian certainly knows how to handle a heavy schedule. He is also no stranger to success in the WCOOP, with two bracelets to his name. With WCOOP wins in the Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball in both 2007 and 2010, and a SCOOP win in HORSE, Berg is quite the mixed game specialist. We believe that Berg's online tournament series success will continue with an excellent 2011 WCOOP.
Also due for big things in the 2011 WCOOP is Toby "810ofclubs" Lewis. Currently registered for 38 events, Lewis will raise a few eyebrows during the next few weeks. In the 2011 SCOOP he final tabled the Main Event, earning $167,200 for his sixth-place finish. Expect more big results from the Brit by the time the 2011 WCOOP wraps up.
WCOOP-62: $5,000+$200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Two-Day
$5,000,000
*Data regarding WCOOP statistics obtained from wcoop.com.
PokerStars is launching Mega Satellite Week to celebrate the WCOOP and give players the opportunity to win their way into the events. Beginning Aug. 29, two Mega Satellites will run every day for the week. PokerStars is guaranteeing 2,075 seats into 13 events.
Date (All times ETD)
Time
Satellite
Sat TID
Event Target
Seats Gtd
$ Gtd
8/29
11:00
WCOOP-01 Sat: $22 NLHE [6-Max, 125 Seats Gtd]
432108416
1 - $215 NLHE, 6-Max
125
$26,875
8/29
14:00
WCOOP-03 Sat: $22 NLHE [125 Seats Gtd]
432109367
3 - $215 NLHE
125
$26,875
8/30
11:00
WCOOP-04 Sat: $33 PLO [75 Seats Gtd]
432123806
4 - $320 PLO
75
$24,000
8/30
14:00
WCOOP-06 Sat: $3.30+R NLHE [3x-Turbo, 100 Seats]
432138084
6 - $215 NLHE+R, Turbo
100
$21,500
8/31
06:00
WCOOP-10 Sat: $27 PLO [KO, 75 Seats Gtd]
432143873
10 - $265 PLO, KO
75
$19,875
8/31
11:00
WCOOP-11 Sat: $33 NLHE [Ante Up, 100 Seats Gtd]
432130483
11 - $320 NLHE, Ante Up
100
$32,000
9/1
06:00
WCOOP-13 Sat: $22 PLO H/L [75 Seats Gtd]
432110904
13 - $215 PLO H/L
75
$16,125
9/1
11:00
WCOOP-14 Sat: $27 NLHE [KO, 6-Max, 100 Seats Gtd]
432142474
14 - $265 NLHE, 6-Max, KO
100
$26,500
9/2
11:00
WCOOP-16 Sat: $22 PLO [6-Max, 75 Seats Gtd]
432112158
16 - $215 PLO, 6-Max
75
$16,125
9/2
17:00
WCOOP-18 Sat: $33 NLHE [100 Seats Gtd]
432139428
18 - $320 NLHE, 10-Min Lev
100
$32,000
9/3
10:00
WCOOP-19 Sat: $11 NL Hold'em [1,000 Seats Gtd]
432135556
19 - $109 NLHE
1000
$109,000
9/3
14:00
WCOOP-20 Sat: $22 FLHE [100 Seats Gtd]
432120912
20 - $215 FLHE
100
$21,500
9/3
16:30
WCOOP-62 Sat: $215 NLHE [25 Seats Gtd]
432140897
The Main
25
$130,000
2,075
$502,375
We will be providing in-depth daily recaps of the WCOOP, 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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