Daniel Smiljkovic and Lucio Lima Win First WSOP Bracelets

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Aug 13, 2021 6 min read Last updated Aug 17, 2021

Two more GGPoker players have secured poker's greatest prize, a gold World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Austrian Daniel Smiljkovic triumphed in Event #8: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold 'em Championship while Brazil's Lucio Lima is the Event #9: $525 Superstack Turbo Bounty champion.

Smiljkovic Leads From Start to Finish To Win a Bracelet and $423,426

A new first-time gold bracelet winner has been crowned during the 2021 GGPoker World Series of Poker Online. Austria-based poker pro Daniel Smiljkovic entered the final day of Event #8: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold 'em Championship as the chip leader and never surrendered the top spot to close out the victory in style.

The tournament drew a total of 479 entries for a prize pool of $2,275,250, and Smiljkovic defeated China's Xuming "scplayer" Qi in heads-up.

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Prior to this year's online festival on GGPoker, Smiljkovic had cashed in WSOP tournaments for more than $170k. However, that amount was shattered thanks to the first-place payout of $423,426 as the German celebrated his 30th official WSOP cash in style. He joins the ranks of gold bracelet winners after a final day that lasted all but one hour and 40 minutes.

Among the notable finalists were also George Wolff, Marius Gierse, and Aki "Seabossss" Virtanen, who all reached the seven-handed final table. Roman Hrabec and "DontTiltGG" were the first two casualties of the day after succumbing to their short stacks early on.

Event #8: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship Final Table Results

The Final Day’s Action

With nine players remaining on two short-handed tables, the action kicked off quite tense as the looming final table bubble included a significant pay jump. Roman Hrabec was the by far shortest stack and became the first casualty, sending his chips over to Christodoulos "P0t RippeR" Christodoulou. Daniel Smiljkovic earned his first knockout of the day by winning a crucial flip against "DontTiltGG" , which set up the final table.

Xuming "scplayer" Qi notched up the next four eliminations, two of which came as a result of three-handed action. The exit of George Wolff in fifth place saw Qi's ace-queen and Christodoulou's ace-king split the pot with a broadway straight, as Wolff's turned set of tens went up in flames.

Qi also sent Marius Gierse to the rail without ever threatening the top spot of Smiljkovic, who tangled on several occasions with Christodoulou to remain well ahead of all opponents. The Cypriot eventually hit the rail in third place, and Smiljkovic made quick work of Qi in heads-up to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet.

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Lucio "WizardofAz" Lima Secures Brazil's Fourth Bracelet of the 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online

Lucio "WizardofAz" Lima can call himself a WSOP champion after taking down Event #9: $525 Superstack Turbo Bounty for a combined prize worth $91,205. Lima became the fourth Brazilian to win a bracelet in the festival's opening nine events, joining Joao Simao, Thiago "IneedWasabi" Macedo, and Eduardo Pires in that exclusive club.

It took just under nine hours to determine a winner in Event #9: $525 Superstack Turbo Bounty , and when the last artist of the night put down the mic, it was Lucio "WizardOfAz" Lima sitting in the winner's circle, topping the 2,229 player field. He earned his first World Series of Poker bracelet, along with $91,025 in prize money.

Lima began the final table third on the leaderboard and looked to have the least experience at this level than the rest of the field. But the Brazilian kept focus and made impeccable decisions en route to his first WSOP bracelet. It was no easy feat, having to best some great players, and one incredibly talented opponent was Anson Tsang, who was hunting for his third bracelet.

Tsang had the lead to begin the final table and started heads-up as a big favorite. Lima quickly doubled and wore Tsang down afterward. The final hand saw Lima jam pocket threes on the button, and Tsang call for almost an even stack with ace-five. A window ace looked good, but a three fell behind, giving Lima a set. The turn sealed it for Lima, and Tsang had to settle for runner-up.

Event #9: $525 Superstack Turbo Bounty

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Action of the Day

The late registration ended at the beginning at Level 19, and a total of 2,229 entry slips were sold, accumulating a $1,114,500 prize pool which had 316 players set to make money, getting at least $669 for a min-cash. Once the bubble popped, the usual onslaught of short stacks came forth, and in no time, just nine were left, all guaranteed at least $5,139, with the eventual champ taking home $45,796 plus all bounties collected and their own.

Once the final table had been reached, Tsang sat on top of the leaderboard in search of his third WSOP bracelet. Krzysztof "ZryjGruz" Dulowski picked up quickly tho, sending the first casualty to the rail when he cracked the kings of William "BigCharles" Romaine with three jacks. Shortly after, it was Daisuke "REDJOE" Ogita taking an exit when he ran his ace-ten into the big slick of Lima, sending a hefty bounty over to the eventual champ.

Yngve "IAMWILLIAM" Steen ran his short stack as long as he could, but ultimately he found sevens and jammed, only to run into the aces of Stanislav Kuvaev, and he took an exit in seventh place. Fan-favorite Joaquin Melogno exited next when he called off his stack on a queen-high board with a pair of jacks. Lima held a queen and took down another bounty,

Dulowski took down the next two bounties, busting Kuvaev and Johnathon "Resolve" French, which left just three. The significant shift happened when Lima called his stack with a pair of sixes and was against the ace-queen of Dulowski. Sixes held, and Dulowski shoved his short stack in with king-queen, Tsang called with ace-four. Neither hit a thing, and Tsang pulled with his ace-high to drop Dulowski from contention.

Heads-up was heavily in favor of Tsang, but Lima quickly found a double with king-jack against ace-rag. It took just one orbit more, and Lima was in the lead. Tsang never retook the lead and ultimately was eliminated in second, when his ace-five failed to best the pocket treys of Lima who flopped a set. Tsang pulled in a combined $66,918 for his runner-up finish, falling just short of a third bracelet.

Upcoming 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events

There are no bracelet-awarding events taking place on August 13, which the players are probably happy with seeing how it is the spooking Friday the 13th! The action resumes on August 4 with Event #10: $400 DOUBLE CHANCE Pot-Limit Omaha [2-Stack], which the PokerNews Live Reporting team will bring you coverage of from start to finish.

Also taking place over the weekend is Event #11: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller NLH, $5M Gtd on August 15, and Event #12: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No-Limit Hold 'em [Final Day], $4M Gtd. Again, stay tuned to PokerNews for live and exclusive coverage of the 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online bracelet events.

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