WCOOP Day 22: Katchalov Heads-Up For High-Roller Bracelet, Kenney Bubbles Main Event

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Sep 26, 2011 7 min read

Many online poker pros consider the day of PokerStars WCOOP Main Event to be the biggest, most important Sunday of the year. With nearly $11 million up for grabs across the three WCOOP events that kicked off on Sunday, it's hard to argue that notion.

The poker world's who's who logged on to PokerStars on Sunday to take shots at becoming poker's next millionaire. Last year's Main Event winner, Tyson "POTTERPOKER" Marks, did not participate on Sunday, meaning there would be a new world champ crowned in 2011.

PokerStars WCOOP 62 - $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Two-Day ($5M Guaranteed)

The WCOOP Main Event drew a field of 1,627, and after 22 levels of play on Day 1, only 176 players remained. First place is set at $1,646,300, and several well-known players are still in the field including Team PokerStars Pros Eugene Katchalov (273,015), Matthias "mattidm" De Meulder (254,378), Johnny Lodden (231,518), Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen (177,253), and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (42,426). Also still in the field are Terrence "Unassigned" Chan (332,029), David "Gunslinger3" Bach (226,848), Shawn "buck21" Buchanan (214,943), Steve "gboro780" Gross (201,117) and Tom "kingsofcards" Marchese (193,915).

With the money starting at 189th place, Bryn Kenney was the unlucky one who finished in 190th. With 10♠10♥ and a 19-big-blind stack, Kenney four-bet shoved, ran into "akia86"'s K♠K♥, and could not catch up. Here are the top ten chip counts heading into Day 2:

Play resumes at 1400 EDT (1900 BST) and we'll be providing live updates throughout Day 2.

PokerStars WCOOP 61 - $10,000 8-Game High Roller Two-Day ($500K Guaranteed)

Bubbling Event #61, the prestigious $10,000 8-Game High Roller, was Team PokerStars Pro Ville Wahlbeck. All-in after a Q♣10♣6♦ flop in limit hold'em, a short-stacked Wahlbeck held 10♦9♣ against "roi kin23's" Q♦8♦. The 6♠ turn and A♣ river we no help to Wahlbeck, who fell in 10th place and outside the money.

The chip counts at the start of the final table were:

As you can see, the star power at the final table was immense. Maria "Femmeonfelt" Ho was the first to bust, doing so during no-limit hold'em. She shoved from the hijack for five big blinds hold K♠3♠ and was called by both "Ostrov" and "Brryann." They checked down a board of K♥Q♣J♥6♣A♠. "Brryann" tabled A♥J♦ for two pair, eliminating Ho in sixth place.

Daniel Negreanu departed in fifth place during pot-limit Omaha. Following a 10♣5♣2♣ flop, Negreanu committed his short stack with J♥9♣6♣6♥ for sixes and a flush draw, facing "Ostrov's" A♥J♦10♠7♥ for top pair. The 2♠ turn and 8♦ river didn't save Negreanu, ending his excellent WCOOP with a fifth-place finish worth $52,500.

The limit hold'em round spelled the end for "Brryann," despite picking up A♠A♣. Short stacked and all-in against "Ostrov" and Eugene Katchalov, things looked well for "Brryann" through the K♥10♠6♦ flop and 5♥ turn. Katchalov bet the turn and successfully isolated the pot with 9♥9♠, but spiked the 9♦ on the river to send "Brryann" to the rail in fourth place. Unable to get anything going on at the end, "roi kin23" fell during limit hold'em as well. All-in with Q♠9♣ after a K♠J♠2♠ flop, "roi kin23" fell to "Ostrov's" 4♠3♥ after the 2♣ turn and 4♥ river hit the board.

Things had certainly gone "Ostrov's" way at the final table. Going into heads-up play, "Ostrov" held 519,883 to Eugene Katchalov's 180,118; however, Katchalov battled back to take the lead at the conclusion of Day 1.

The stacks going into Monday's Day 2 are the following:

Eugene Katchalov: 396,517
"Ostrov:" 303,483

Here's a look at the payouts so far from the Event #61 final table:

Notable Finishes: Anders "Donald" Berg (7th - $28,000), Jason "TheHood" Gray (8th - $28,000), Matt "Hoss_TBF" Hawrilenko (9th - $28,000)

PokerStars WCOOP 58 - $500 Pot-Limit Omaha Heads-Up Two-Day ($125K Guaranteed)

Day 2 of Event #58 began with 16 players competing for a top prize of $50,125. Omaha specialist Scott "BigRiskky" Clements, who won a pot-limit Omaha bracelet in 2007, was among a handful of notables still alive when Round 6 got under way on Sunday.

After two rounds of action, Clements had advanced to the Final Four along with Quentin "MiPwnYa" Lae, Rob "Patonuis2000" Woodcock and "DaMethod." Lae was within striking distance of his second bracelet of the 2011 WCOOP series. He won the $215 pot-limit Omaha Turbo event earlier this month for more than $72,000.

Final Four

Scott "BigRiskky" Clements defeats Rob "Patonuis2000" Woodcock

Clements continued his pattern of swift victories by eliminating Woodcock on the very first hand of the semifinal match. Clements opened the button with a raise to 100 and Woodcock three-bet to 300. Clements called and the flop brought K♠10♦2♦. Woodcock bet 400 and Clements called to see the 5♠ fall on the turn. Woodcock checked, Clements bet 1,170, and Woodcock put in a check-raise to 4,910. Clements then moved all-in and Woodcock called, and the hands were revealed:

Woodcock: A♠K♥J♠8♣
Clements: K♦K♣10♥5♦

Clements was out in front with his set of kings and the A♥ on the river brought no help to Woodcock, who collected $14,035 for his third place finish.

Quentin "MiPwnYa" Lae defeats "DaMethod"

The other semifinal match wasn't nearly as brief but still ended within 20 minutes. Lae jumped out to an early lead and then finished off his Austrian opponent midway through Level 2. The two players saw a flop of J♥9♠4♣ and Lae led out for 600. "DaMethod" raised to 2,664, leaving just 140 chips behind, and Lae re-raised to put "DaMethod" at risk. "DaMethod" called with 9♦6♥4♥3♣ for two pair, which led Lae's A♥J♣10♥7♦ for a pair of jacks. But the A♣ on the turn gave Lae a better two pair, and the meaningless 2♥ on the river secured a spot for Lae in the finals.

Championship

Quentin "MiPwnYa" Lae defeats Scott "BigRiskky" Clements

Clements offered to discuss a deal as heads-up play began, but Lae politely declined and the two pros began a battle for the WCOOP bracelet. The Brazilian seemed poised to claim his Omaha title as he jumped out to an 8-to-1 advantage in the first level. Then, with the blinds still at 25/50, Lae raised to 124 and then called a small three-bet from Clements. The flop came K♣9♣8♠ and Clements bet 744 — more than half his stack. Lae raised and Clements called for his tournament life.

Lae: K♠J♣8♦7♦
Clements: J♥8♣7♥6♣

Lae's two pair was up against a big draw for Clements and the Q♠ turn and 8♥ river gave Lae his second title of the series and a payday of $50,125.

Notable Finishes: Vincent "Vingtcent" Van Der Fluit (9th - $2,406), Noah "Exclusive" Boeken (17th - $1,604)

PokerStars WCOOP 59 - $2,000 HORSE Two-Day ($200K Guaranteed)

Day 1 of the $2,000 HORSE reached the final table, but four players remained heading into Day 2 with a shot at WCOOP glory. Just missing out was Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who finished in fifth place. The chip counts heading into Day 2 were as follows:

Short-stacked Lari "Operga" Sihvo exited in fourth place during stud hi/lo. All-in on third street with A♣Q♦/7♠, Sihvo was facing the 8♦8♠/10♠ held by "turataika." Unfortunately for Sihvo, he was not able to improve past a pair of sevens, ending his tournament. A little while later, "mitdadu" fell during Omaha hi/lo. Short stacked and all-in against both opponents, "mitdadu's" K♥Q♦J♥10♠ lost both halves of the pot on an 8♦6♦5♣9♠K♦ board. Marcel "p3rc4" Bjerkmann made a low, while "turataika" made a flush for the high.

Bjerkmann began heads-up with a big chip lead, holding 867,119 to "turataika's" 190,381. The heads-up battle lasted 39 hands, but Bjerkmann ultimately closed it out during Razz.

Marcel "p3rc4" Bjerkmann: 7x8x/2x4x3xJx/8x
"turataika:" Ax5x/4x2x2x4x/Kx

All-in after sixth street, "turataika" paired and bricked the wheel draw, finishing in second place. Marcel "p3rc4" Bjerkmann took it down for the WCOOP bracelet and the $61,335 first-place prize.

Notable Finishes: Eric "AceQuad" Brix (10th - $6,345), Andre "aakkari" Akkari (12th - $6,345), Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (16th - $4,935), James "Andy McLEOD" Obst (18th - $3,525)

PokerStars WCOOP 60 - $200 No-Limit Hold'em Two-Day ($1.25M Guaranteed)

Even though Event #60 may have been overshadowed by the Main Event, nearly 10,000 players turned out for the two-day tournament to create a prize pool of close to $2 million. After 11 hours of play on Day 1, only 72 players were left vying for a first-place prize and $284,319 and one of the last WCOOP bracelets of the 2011 series.

Among the notables still in contention were Team PokerStars memberVictor Ramdin and Matt "All_in_at_420" Stout, who began Day 2 fourth overall in chips. Here's a look at the top 10 stacks when play resumed at 1000 EST (1700 BST) on Monday:

It's been an incredible WCOOP and the excitement isn't quite over. We'll be providing live coverage of Day 2 of the Main Event, so be sure to keep it here at PokerNews for all of the exciting action.

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• Tags PokerStars WCOOP Tournament Results Online tournament results Online Poker Bertrand Grospellier Eugene Katchalov Daniel Negreanu
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