2020 WSOP Online Hands of the Week: Bad Beat in First Hand of COLOSSUS Final Table
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The 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) online bracelet events are running now through September 6th. The series is comprised of 85 WSOP gold bracelets on the digital felt across two different clients: WSOP.com and GG Poker.
Each week, we’ll highlight a “Hand(s) of the Week,” which very well could include bad beats, lucky suck outs, and game-changing swings. In the first week of the 2020 WSOP online series, we shared two big hands played by
- Week 1: Daniel “DNegs” Negreanu’s up and down rollercoaster ride
- Week 2: Jeff “mavsusc” Platt’s lucky sevens
- Week 3: Ryan “joeyisamush” Depaulo from the Whole Foods parking lot
- Week 4: Negreanu vs. Hellmuth; Leng’s Bad Beat
Bad Beat in First Hand of COLOSSUS Final Table
In the GGPoker portion of the schedule, Event #41: $400 COLOSSUS attracted a staggering 12,747 entries, and once the final table of nine was established, the tournament went on a five-day hiatus. Interestingly, no one at the final table had more than 33 big blinds, with a couple in the single digits. That suggested it would be a quick affair when play resumed over the weekend, and that turned out to be the case as it took just 90 minutes to crown a winner.
Fittingly, the action heated up right out of the gate in the very first hand of the final table. It took place in Level 31 (2,500,000/5,000,000/500,000) when Ajay Chabra moved all in for 27 million from middle position and Paraskevas Tsokaridis called on the button. Both blinds got out of the way and the hands were turned up.
Ajay Chabra: K♣K♦
Paraskevas Tsokaridis: A♣K♥
The board came 4♠7♠Q♣ flop keep Chabra firmly in the lead, and the 9♦ turn meant all he needed to do was dodge an ace on the river to double. Unfortunately for him, that proved easier said than done as the A♠ spiked to give Tsokaridis the win.
It was a brutal beat for Chabra, who had to settle for ninth place and $40,529 in prize money, a far cry from the $595,930 up top. While Tsokaridis didn’t take down the tournament – that honor went to Ranno Sootla – the man from Greece did go on to finish runner-up for $433,345.
What If Kuznetsov Had Called?
In Event #46: $500 Deepstack NLH, the final table was set in Level 34 (250,000/500,000/60,000) when Yesha "Iconic" Punjabi jammed the very first hand. He swiped the blinds and antes, but then shoved again the very next hand with a very different result.
That time, Wei "dugui777" Zhao reshoved and Jeffrey "hockeysyrup" Mallach also moved all in to force out Nikita "VSMPZD" Kuznetsov in the big blind, who flashed A♦K♦ after the hand was over.
Yesha "Iconic" Punjabi: 7♣7♦
Wei "dugui777" Zhao: A♥Q♦
Jeffrey "hockeysyrup" Mallach: Q♠Q♣
The board ran out K♥J♣3♥3♠9♥ and Mallach scored a huge double while Punjabi was eliminated in ninth place for $11,564. What made this hand interesting was GGPoker’s fun feature for players to reveal their holdings after the hand, even if they weren’t involved. In this case, Kuznetsov’s Big Slick would’ve won and presented an unanswered “what-if” scenario of how things could’ve played out had he called from the big blind.
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Trio of Bluffs Close Out WSOP.com Portion of the Schedule
On Friday, the WSOP.com portion of the schedule came to a close when Nahrain “2Rivers” Tamero emerged victorious in Event #31: $1,000 NLH Championship, becoming the first woman to ship a 2020 bracelet.
Norman “abnormality” Michalek actually took 30.5 million into heads-up play against Tamero, who began with 12 million. It looked as if he was primed to win the event, but then a trio of failed bluffs changed all that.
Tamero picked off two bluffs to take the chip lead, and then in Level 43 (250,000/500,000/50,000), she raised to 1,000,000 and Michalek called to see a 8♦6♦K♣ flop.
Michalek check-raised to 2,500,000 after Tamero continued for 1,000,000 and was called. Once the Q♦ appeared on the turn, Michalek led out for 2,750,000 and Tamero called to see the 10♠ river.
Michalek fired the third barrel by moving all in for 5,677,408, Tamero snap-called, and both players tabled their hands.
Michalek rolled over 5♠4♦ for air while Tamero turned over K♦8♠ to win the hand and just like that the WSOP.com July tournaments came to an end.
