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The word ‘sublime’ originates from 200 A.D. and the quill of Greek author, Longinus. Over time, the word slowly vanished like a modern-day glacier. Then, in 1712, a group of writers used the word to describe the feelings associated with standing on a Grand Canyon precipice, witnessing an avalanche in the Alps, or watching someone win five PokerStars Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP) titles in a single series.

Connor’ blanconegro’ Drinan’s run has been sublime.

The American pro has experienced the timeless harmony of flow on five occasions, ripping him away from a record four titles shared with Shaun Deeb.

To be fair to Drinan, he offered an apology.

And what a way to claim the record!

Drinan conquered a field of 159-entrants in the highly competitive Event #75: $10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha. He defeated Jens “Jeans89” Kyllonen, heads-up, for the title, and $322,264 in prize money. It was the most substantial single cash of his career topping the $250,724 he secured for finishing 6/693 in the 2017 SCOOP Main Event.

It wasn’t easy.

The heads-up battle with Kyllonen lasted more than two hours, and Drinan had to contend with the considerable frame of Joao’ Naza114′ Vieira who secured his third top-four finish of the week.

Talal Shakerchi and Linus Loeliger also made the final table.

Results

  1. Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan – $322,264
  2. Jens ‘jeans89’ Kyllonen – $245,286
  3. Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira – $186,695
  4. ‘Kukenmuser’ – $142,100
  5. Gavin ‘gavz101’ Cochrane – $108,157
  6. Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi – $82,322
  7. Linus ‘LlinusLlove’ Loeliger – $66,762

Drinan’s Record Roll Call

Event #34: $530 PLO8 (378-entrants) – $34,420.52
Event #40: $5,200 PLO 6-Max (150-entrants) – $152,011.46
Event #45: $215 NLO8 PKO (1,052-entrants) – $14,584.62
Event #56: $1,050 H.O.R.S.E (139-entrants) – $30,232.50
Event #75: $10,300 PLO (159-entrants) – $322,264

Main Event Tables Set and High Roller Interest…Well…High

We also have the Main Event final tables, and they’re pregnant with high rollers.

Here is the $10,300 Main Event Final Table Lineup.

Seat 1: Benjamin “bencb789’ Rolle – 12,283,432 (41bb)
Seat 2: Pablo ‘pabritz’ Brito – 20,514,267 (68bb)
Seat 3: Alexgirs – 11,783,439 (39bb)
Seat 4: Pieter ‘XMorphineX’ Aerts – 38,539,059 (128bb)
Seat 5: Michael ‘imluckbox’ Addamo – 18,739,553 (62bb)
Seat 6: Alex ‘dynoalot’ Difelice – 8,594,592 (29bb)
Seat 7: Daniel ‘Oxata’ Dvoress – 28,570,379 (95bb)
Seat 8: EEE27 – 4,577,978 (15bb)
Seat 9: Max ‘goodeh99’ Silver – 8,647,301 (29bb)

Rolle is one of the best online multi-table tournament (MTT) players in the universe, and Addamo, Dvoress and Silver have cabinets full of live trophies. But keep an eye out for Brito who won the MILLIONS South America Main Event and the online version of the Irish Open for a combined $1.5m in gross winnings.

Dan Smith
Double Up Dan Smith

The first World Poker Tour (WPT) Online Championships won’t be the only WPT Online Championships.

As the hive of activity starts to abate, and the tumbleweed begins to roll in from the empty rails, it’s time to rate and review. Looking through Twitter, there are more thumbs up than thumbs down. In short, it’s been a sublime series for everyone, lest those who did their bollocks.

Before the main entree takes a bow to make way for the WPTDeepStacks portion of the festival, we have three events to cover, including the Main Event.

We begin with the final $25,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller of the series. 91-entrants shifted tectonic plates in this one, and Dan Smith defeated Daniel Dvoress, heads-up, to claim the $555,503.38 first prize after the pair cut a deal. Dvoress banked $456,871.63.

Results

  1. Dan Smith – $555,503.38*
  2. Daniel Dvoress – $456,871.63*
  3. Lucas Reeves – $295,750
  4. Rob Lipkin – $204,750
  5. John O’ Shea – $159,250
  6. Elias Talvitie – $113,750

*Subject to a heads-up deal

The Best of the Rest

High rollers, Andras Nemeth and Luc Greenwood, made the final table of Event #41: $3,200 Second Chance Turbo. The event saw 110-entrants tackle a $330,000 prizepool, and the UK’s Philip Mighall collected the $80,850 first prize. The former PocketFives World #1, Nemeth, finished runner-up, and Greenwood finished in the third place.

Results

  1. Phillip Mighall – $80,850
  2. Andras Nemeth – $57,750
  3. Luc Greenwood – $41,250
  4. David Gradic – $28,875
  5. Igor Yaroshevskyy – $21,450
  6. Stewart Kirby – $16,500

While we shouldn’t sniff at Luc Greenwood’s $41,250 prize, it pales into comparison to the amount of moolah that his brother Sam is hoping to collect by the time the lifeguard leaves her Wednesday 20 May shift by the pool.

Sam Greenwood is once again proving that he is one of the most incredibly talented No Limit Hold’em players in the game, sitting in second place from a field of 2,130 entrants as the $3,500 WPT Online Championships enters its final day.

Eight remain in contention for the $1,048,088 first prize, and leading the way is the Swedish online poker icon Christian ‘eisenhower1” Jeppsson. The former PocketFives World #1 starts with a slender lead, and it will be a titanic tussle if those two end up at the end zone.

High rollers who ran deep include Martin Jacobson, Max Silver, and Orpen Kisacikoglu.

Here are the chip counts and payouts.

Chip Counts

  1. Christian Jeppsson – 17,573,926
  2. Sam Greenwood – 16,087,766
  3. Pascal Hartmann – 14,884,499
  4. Alexander Stuart Clark – 14,407,969
  5. Viktor Ustimov – 9,138,972
  6. Jukka Koskela – 5,700,975
  7. Nikolay Ponomarev – 5,132,492
  8. Pascal Teekens – 2,215,627

Done.Got this.Got this, thanks!

Patrick Leonard nearly broke poker’s little part of the Internet, when on May 11, he posted this.

“Have been watching online poker very closely over the last 2 months with having a stable that’s invested 10s of millions in this time, a role at one of the biggest sites + I’ve basically played HS every day. I’m 95% sure a huge financial crash is coming which will decimate us.”

Like any professional in any profession, Leonard prepared for the armageddon in the best way possible.

Back in 1962, when the world was starting to feel like opening its legs, Avis hired the ad agency ‘Doyle Dane Bernbach’ to come up with something special in their attempt to claw market share from Hertz. The slogan, “When You’re Only #2, You Try Harder,’ became one of the most iconic of the 20th century.

GGPoker is fast becoming the Avis of poker.

After mingling with the bigwigs of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the couple decided to shake the online poker world by using GGPoker to host a $100m GTD 18 gold ring WSOP Super Circuit Online.

At the time, it was the most substantial volume of guarantees ever lobbed at an online tournament series (PokerStars, Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) has just beaten it by extending their tour until the end of the month). The $10m reserved for the $25,000 No Limit Hold ’em High Roller became a big part of that jigsaw puzzle.

GGPoker smashed it.

Leonard may be right; a crash may be on the horizon. However, there was still time for 505-entrants to create the fifth biggest prizepool of all time ($12,372,500), with three people left wandering around a tranquil bedroom with nowhere to shout about winning a million bucks.

Costa-Rican based’ 00-522-4700′ collected $2,198,292 after beating Leonard, heads-up, for the gold ring. Leonard (trading under the name Babu$shka) collected $1,611,342 – a record score for the man who has already achieved so much.

In the wake of Leonard’s tweet, many touted him as being biased towards his beloved partypoker. In response, Leonard showered praise on the competition in an unusual but refreshing volley of honesty, and GGPoker won the ‘Leonard Award’ for ‘Best Software.’

Maybe, the Avis of poker could do what Avis never could?

Results

  1. 00-522-4700 – $2,198,292
  2. Patrick ‘Babu$hka’ Leonard – $1,611,342
  3. HotPot44 – $1,181,110
  4. BlackPhillip – $865,750
  5. M0therLover – $634,592
  6. mm1993 – $465,154
  7. AlwaysWithNuts – $340,956
  8. gaufreancienne – $249,920
  9. Sub_Zero – $183,190

Five Most Substantial Prizepools of All Time

  1. 2019 partypoker MILLIONS Online – $21,780,000
  2. 2018 partypoker MILLIONS Online – $21,090,000
  3. PokerStars 14th Anniversary Sunday Million – $18,603,200
  4. PokerStars 10th Anniversary Sunday Million – $12,423,200
  5. GGPoker WSOP Super Circuit Online – $12,372,500

Event #10: $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller Championship

While No Limit Hold ’em took the biscuit, it didn’t leave Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) with crumbs. The $10,000 PLO High Roller Championship attracted 234-entrants, and Canada’s ‘ChilaxChuck’ banked the $442,041 and a gold ring.

Results

  1. ChilaxChuck – $442,041
  2. BailaMorena – $330,250
  3. SillyRabbit – $246,731
  4. Mikhail Tal – $184,333
  5. 4sigma – $137,716
  6. SUPERUNKNOWN – $102,888
  7. DaddyDayCare – $76,868
  8. Pablo21311 – $57,428
  9. Orange5 – $42,905

It seems that Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan is not going to hog the entire limelight of the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP).

Mike ’SirWatts” Watson wants some.

The Canadian high-roller busted out the party decorations for the fifth time in his SCOOP career, becoming only the tenth person in history to reach that milestone, a few days shy of Drinan becoming #9.

Watson moved through 199 entrants like an apparition to take down Event #66: $2,100 No Limit Hold’em. Amongst those unable to land a blow on the eventual winner was online star Conor ‘1_conor_b_1’ Beresford, who finished fifth.

Results

  1. Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson – $80,642.40
  2. hotmark777 – $62,088.88
  3. Black88 – $47,804.00
  4. nofingclue11 – $36,805.64
  5. 1_conor_b_1 – $28,337.72
  6. MarToMchat – $21,818.00
  7. XMorphineX – $16,798.32
  8. IgorKarkarof – $12,933.48

If it weren’t for the heads-up skills of Noah ‘Exclusive’ Boeken, Watson would have joined the merry band of three men who have won six SCOOP titles, after finishing runner-up to the Dutchman in Event #65.

The $1,050 8-Game attracted 193-entrants to the virtual felt like smoke to a dragon’s burp, and Watson collected $29,098.08 for his second-place finish.

Results

  1. Noah ‘Exclusive’ Boeken – $38,494.94
  2. Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson – $29,098.08
  3. nilsef – $21,995.18
  4. Kelvin_FP:AR – $16,626.10
  5. Gjeddekongen – $12,567.63
  6. Nor-Wiking – $9,499.84

Charlie Carrel Wins Event #70: $530 No Limit Hold’em PKO

Charlie ‘Epiphany77’ Carrel has enjoyed afflicting maximum pain on his online poker pals this past fortnight. Nine days removed from taking down a $25,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Online Championships High Roller for $600,000, Carrel has won a SCOOP event.

The former SCOOP Main Event winner secured his third SCOOP title after clamouring through a field of 2,112 entrants in a $530 No Limit Hold’em PKO event.

Results

  1. Charlie ‘Epiphany77’ Carrel – $67,468.09 + $43,912.43
  2. Owain ‘Sngwonder’ Carey – $67,466.41 + $19,840.02
  3. HUMAN PIOSOLVER – $40,029.42 + $15,742.63
  4. Slaassh – $28,534.33 + $4,539.07
  5. ludovi333 – $20,340.19 + $16,032.19
  6. Nextlevelftp – $14,499.14 + $1,890.63
  7. Noobanx – $10,335.49 + $3,050.77
    8.GlitchSystem – $7,367.44 + $3,375.01

Joao Simao Wins Event #71: $1,050 Six Max Turbo NLO8

Finally, the former PocketFives World #1, and occasional $25,000 seat taker, Joao ‘IneedMassari’ Simao, took down Event #71: $1,050 Six Max Turbo NLO8.

The event pulled in 194-entrants, and the Brazilian star added a further $38,694.35 to his $9m+ in online winnings.

Results

  1. Joao ‘IneedMassari’ Simao – $38,694.35
  2. Pardosh – $29,248.85
  3. rompsa – $22,109.15
  4. BigTreeStump – $16,712.24
  5. Us_Alex – $12,632.75
  6. IAmSoSo – $9,549.06

It seems like an age ago that a thin sliver of the poker hierarchy believed that Phil Galfond was nothing but an accidental tourist with no business stepping into the high stakes realm. 

An age ago.

On the weekend, the Run It Once Poker star found time to exchange blows with ‘ActionFreak’ throughout a 716-hand stretch that netted him a €48,169.76 profit. 

While the ebb and flow of these matches produce arbitrary wins and losses, this one felt timely, given that ‘ActionFreak’ had won four of the previous five sessions including a mammoth €256,044 victory on Day 9 (the second largest of the series after Galfond collected €310,594.59 on Day 3).

As the architectural delight of the weekend loomed into view, ‘ActionFreak’ knitted together back-to-back wins on Day 11 (€23,363.64) and Day 12 (€57,580.53) to close the redness to €116,308.45. That gap is now €164,478.21.

It’s a lead that has the thin veneer of a ghost, and both players will be aware of this.

 ‘ActionFreak’ decided to take Monday off, so the action resumes on Tuesday 19 May.

The pair are duelling over 15,000 hands of €150-€300 Pot Limit Omaha. The winner will also receive a side bet worth €150,000 for their troubles. 

There are 5,518 hands left in the contest.

Results

Day 1 – 145 hands – ‘ActionFreak’ wins €11,162.32
Day 2 – 1,107 hands – Phil Galfond wins €3,632.83
Day 3 – 844 hands – Phil Galfond wins €310,594.59
Day 4 – 665 hands – Phil Galfond wins €113,377.48
Day 5 – 680 hands – ‘ActionFreak’ wins €95,304.17
Day 6 – 727 hands – ‘ActionFreak’ wins €74,625.85
Day 7 – 746 hands – Phil Galfond wins €26,980.36
Day 8 – 944 hands – Phil Galfond wins €165,093.85
Day 9 – 721 hands – ‘ActionFreak’ wins €256,044
Day 10 – 776 hands – Phil Galfond wins €19,003.35
Day 11 – 784 hands – ‘ActionFreak’ wins €23,363.64
Day 12 – 710 hands – ‘ActionFreak’ wins €57,580.53
Day 13 – 716 hands – Phil Galfond wins €48,169.76

Total

9,482 hands 

Phil Galfond leads €164,478.21

Here is the full video of Day 13’s action.

When it comes to the rough terrain of the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), only nine players have ever explored the invigorating atmosphere that surrounds a quintet of victories.

Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan is Player #9 after taking down Event #56: $1,050 H.O.R.S.E. The American pro topped a field of 139-entrants to claim $30,232.50 of the $139,000 prizepool, including defeating the excellent Mike ‘goleafsgoeh’ Leah, heads-up.

Drinan’s online notoriety needed no further augmentation, but he gets it anyway, becoming only the second player to win four SCOOP titles in a single series. Shaun Deeb is the only other player who has that particular guidebook having set the record in 2012.

There isn’t time for a poker life to turn sterile if you’re excelling in all areas of the game, and Drinan is, adding the H.O.R.S.E title to $530 Pot Limit Omaha 8-or-Better, $5,200 Pot Limit Omaha 6-Max, and $215 No Limit O8 6-Max PKO victories.

Results

  1. Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan – $30,232.50
  2. Mike ‘goleafsgoeh’ Leah – $21,545.00
  3. wiNNin83 – $16,680.00
  4. Kyle ‘km_freestyle’ Menne – $11,815.00
  5. Skint Paddy – $7,645.00
  6. Spokey – $6,255.00
  7. adkaf – $4,865.00
  8. Harleyy30040 – $3,822.50

Preben ‘prebz’ Stokkan Wins Event #62: $5,200 No-Limit Hold’em PKO High Roller

In contrast, Preben ‘prebz’ Stokkan claimed his first SCOOP title. The Norwegian star who enjoyed a deep run in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in the Summer, finishing 21st, conquered a field of 235-entrants in Event #62: $5,200 No Limit Hold’em PKO High Roller.

Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira finished second, and Conor ‘1_conor_b_1’ Beresford took fourth.

Results

  1. Preben ‘prebz’ Stokkan – $101,026.11 + $174,921.87 in bounties
  2. Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira – $101,025.97 + $1,975 in bounties
  3. Pimmss – $66,626.02 + $18,750.00 in bounties
  4. Conor ‘1_conor_b_1’ Beresford – $50,789.66 + $32,031.25 in bounties
  5. FreeLancerZZ – $38,717.42 + $20,312.50 in bounties
  6. XMorphineX – $29,514.70 + $38,203.13 in bounties
  7. PaGaOVelhinho – $22,499.31 + $14,531.25 in bounties
  8. MissOracle – $17,151.47 + $6,875.00 in bounties

In Other News

Dominik Nitsche made it to the semi-finals of the $2,100 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em before hitting the rail. The event attracted 119 entrants, and ‘CatLover666’ beat Phil ‘Grindation’ McAllister in the final.

Lex Veldhuis made the final table of Event #57: $5,200 No Limit Hold’em High Roller. 184 entrants swarmed to the event like toddlers to a Disney store in a mall, and Veldhuis finished seventh. More than 31,000 people watched the Triton commentator via Twitch, a record for the Dutchman.

Lastly, the former SCOOP Main Event winner, Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi, finished runner-up to Kyle ‘km_freestyle’ Menne in Event #61: $1,050 Omaha 8-or-Better earning $22,099.

As seems to be the trend during the lockdown, PokerStars has chosen to extend the series until May 31. The addendum includes 44 events (132 tournaments), and that bumps the guarantee to $135m, surpassing GGPoker’s recent record of $100m for the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series.

Elio Fox

The barometric pressure inside the bedrooms of the world’s most incredible poker players continues to increase thanks to PokerStars, GGPoker and partypoker.

All three are running online tournament series with millions up for grabs. For this short round-up, the thermometer goes up the bum of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Online Championships courtesy of partypoker.

Elio Fox repelled 87-entrants on his way to a $565,500 purse in Event #32: $25,500 Super High Roller. The win was the second most substantial of the series behind Charlie Carrel’s $600,250 windfall in a similar event last week.

The former World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event winner, spends most of his time grinding on GGPoker’s skin Natural8, winning ten six-figure scores in the past 12-months, including $449,407.83 after taking down a 48-entrant $25,000 in October on the GGNetwork.

Juan Pardo Dominguez went into the final day with the chip lead, only for Fox to defeat the Spaniard during heads-up, for the title, and $150,000 difference in prize money.

Results

  1. Elio Fox – $565,500
  2. Juan Pardo Dominguez – $402,375
  3. Pauli Ayras – $282,750
  4. Samuel Vousden – $195,750
  5. Mark Davis – $152,250
  6. Timothy Adams – $108,750
  7. Christopher Hunichen – $87,000
  8. Andrii Novak – $76,125

Giuseppe Iadisernia Wins Event #26: $2,650 No Limit Hold’em Bounty Builder

The Venezuelan high stakes star, Giuseppe Iadisernia, bagged himself a title by winning Event #26: $2,650 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty Builder. The man who won the 54-entrant $50,000 No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller at the 2018 partypoker Caribbean Poker Party in the Bahamas for $845,000 topped a field of 280-entrants in this one.

Results

  1. Giuseppe Iadisernia – $69,650 + $66,230.51 in bounties
  2. Kasparas Klezys – $50,400 + $28,378.90 in bounties
  3. William Arruda – $35,350 + $5,351.56 in bounties
  4. Phillip Mighall – $25,725 + $12,140.62 in bounties
  5. Shyngis Satubayev – $18,200 + $8,867.19 in bounties
  6. Chad Eveslage – $13,650 + $6,796.87 in bounties
  7. Enrico Camosci – $9,625 + $10,000 in bounties
  8. Pedro Garagnani – $7,000 + $10,195.31 in bounties

Nortbert Szecsi Wins Event #27: $5,200 No Limit Hold’em High Roller

Norbert Szecsi made monkeys out of the 202-entrant field in Event #27: $5,200 No Limit Hold’em High Roller.

The two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner showed that he could be a prickly cactus in the online world as well as the live realm.

Alongside Szecsi’s double bracelet wins include a personal best score of $731,716 for finishing runner-up to Max Silver in a €10,300 No Limit Hold’em High Roller at the 2018 European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona.

In November, Szecsi won the $10,300 No Limit Hold’em MILLIONS High Roller Finale at the Bahamas for $400,000, before finishing runner-up to Mikalai Pobal in December’s €5,300 EPT Prague Main Event, earning $664,617.

Results

  1. Norbert Szecsi – $194,656.20
  2. Laszlo Bujtas – $160,762.81
  3. Artur Martirosian – $106,555
  4. Vicent Bosca Ramon – $78,780
  5. Nick Petrangelo – $55,550
  6. Alexander Ivarsson – $42,420
  7. Rob Lipkin – $31,310
  8. Jans Arends – $23,230

Wiktor Malinowski Wins Event #29: $10,300 High Roller

Wiktor ‘limitless’ Malinowski continued his rise from online freerolls to the biggest stakes games in the world with a win in Event #29: $10,300 High Roller.

Malinowski only became a professional poker player in 2016. Still, he’s more than made up for it, competing, and winning, regularly in the high stakes online cash games, before adding live and online multi-table tournaments (MTTs) to his repertoire.

The Pole topped a field of 115-entrants to win the $281,750 first prize.

Results

  1. Wiktor Malinowski – $281,750
  2. Nick Petrangelo – $201,250
  3. Pascal Lefrancois – $143,750
  4. Samuel Vousden – $100,625
  5. Elias Talvitie – $74,750
  6. Giuseppe Iadisernia – $57,500
  7. Artur Martirosian – $46,000
  8. Benjamin Rolle – $37,375
Steve O'Dwyer

If Steve O’Dwyer were a camel, he would need more than two humps to hold his poker trophies. The American born pro has earned more than $30m playing live tournaments, including 25 victories, and generationally ranks as one of the most successful players in that artform.

Still, live tournament poker isn’t the only arrow in his quiver. O’Dwyer has also earned $6.4m playing online multi-table tournaments (MTTs), and this week he added a Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) title to his modest haul.

O’Dwyer conquered an 89-entrant $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller on PokerStars, smothering a final table of stars with the ease of a knife smearing butter on warm toast.

Fedor ‘CrownUpGuy’ Holz, Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion, Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi, and Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira all parked their bikes in the $25,000 cycle shed. Still, it was Andras ‘probirs’ Nemeth, whose wheels remained steadfast the longest.

O’Dwyer defeated Nemeth in heads-up action, preventing the high-rolling Hungarian for capturing two titles in a day after winning Event #52: $2,100 No-Limit Hold’em for $157,734.78.

The win netted O’Dwyer $521,597.77 for his troubles. While that’s more than enough to buy a new pair of shoes, it doesn’t rank as O’Dwyer’s best score. That remains the $896,610 he won last year in a similar event during partypoker’s POWERFEST.

Result

  1. Steve ‘Mr. Tim Caum’ O’Dwyer – $521,597.77
  2. Andras ‘probirs’ Nemeth – $403,096.26
  3. Chun Lei ‘SamRostan’ Zhou – $311,516.98
  4. Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira – $240,743.65
  5. Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi – $186,049.14
  6. VbV1990 – $143,780.89
  7. Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion – $111,115.32
  8. Fedor ‘CrownUpGuy’ Holz – $85,871.02

Patrick ‘pads1161’ Leonard Wins Event #53: $2,100 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-or-Better Six-Max

Despite O’Dwyer’s online success, the Coloradan has only ever reached #7 in the PocketFives Rankings. Two people who have taken the tram to the summit of that particular set of rails are Patrick ‘pads1161’ Leonard and Yuri ‘theNERDguy’ Dzivielevski.

The two former World #1’s clashed in the heads-up phase of the 117-entrant Event #53: $2,100 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-or-Better Six-Max. The partypoker ambassador found the luck, skill, or a bit of both to snatch the $52,605.66 first prize, and claim his second SCOOP title.

Joao “Naza114” Vieira once again showed up at the final table, finishing sixth.

Results

  1. Patrick ‘pads1161’ Leonard – $52,605.66
  2. Yuri ‘theNERDguy’ Dzivielevski – $40,345.85
  3. Murilo ‘Muka82’ Figueiredo – $30,943.24
  4. Little Kraut – $23,731.90
  5. guilherme12 – $18,201.17
  6. Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira – $13,959.38

A professional poker player rarely rises through the ranks, ultimately taking a seat at the top table. These types of players are animals full of spirit that don’t mind the calf-muscle strain of running up the hill and have an intellectual capacity that dwarfs the field. Find those attributes, sprinkle in some run good, and the ability to foster the right connections and your vista may change. 

It’s certainly changed for Thai Ha.

The 29-year-old, Pennsylvania-based pro, began competing on the live tournament scene in 2013. Ha’s first port of call was the low-stakes $200-$300 buy-in tournaments around North America.

Ha’s first big score came three years later, winning a 513-entrant $350 No-Limit Hold ’em DeepStack Bounty event at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Winter Open for $43,359. His first six-figure score came in 2016, and once again the WPT served it on a platter after Ha took down a 4,075-entrant $350 No-Limit Hold ’em event during WPTDeepStacks Lucky Hearts Poker Open for $230,422.

Supplemented with a larger bankroll, and infused with confidence and run good, Ha’s mind bribed him into taking a shot at the $1k+ buy-in market, and since then, he’s never looked back. 

In 2019, he promoted himself into the highest stakes games, finishing runner-up to Alex Epstein in the $10,000 Short-Deck No-Limit Hold ’em at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $183,081. He also finished runner-up to Siamak Tooran in the 111-entrant €25,500 Short-Deck Hold” em High Roller at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) for a career-high score of $511,788.

Unfortunately for Ha, COVID-19 put an end to his impressive run by wiping live tournaments from the face of the planet. Before the pandemic struck, Ha made two final tables at partypoker MILLIONS Super High Roller Series in Sochi, finishing 3/61 in the $25,500 Short Deck event, and 8/55 in the $50,000 Short Deck event,

Ha has won $2.4m playing live tournaments, including four career titles.

Ha Signs for Natural8

Ha’s ascent to the top of poker’s tournament food chain has not gone unnoticed. The Asian-facing online poker skin, Natural8, has signed him as a brand ambassador joining the likes of Danny Tang, Michael Soyza, Henri Bueller and Kitty Kuo.

The Pennsylvanian native goes straight to work in the WSOP Super Circuit Series, and the hire is synergistic. Natural8 operates on the GGPoker network, and GGPoker is hosting the WSOP Super Circuit Series. 

Tuesday night, and for once, No-Limit Hold’em jumped into the sidecar, leaving Pot-Limit Omaha to drive that Cadillac that Doyle Brunson bangs on about.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) Online Championships continued on partypoker, and Andrew Pantling ended the night as the biggest winner, defeating the 120-entrant field to bank $302,287.20 in Event #22: $10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.

The last time the poker world caught a sniff of Pantling was at the Triton Million in London during the Summer of 2019, a long time before bats and pangolins conspired to lock us in our homes.

There was no howling to the moon on that night despite eliminating Rick Salomon to take the early chip lead. Pantling eventually drowned, but there was no need for the life raft in this one.

High stakes stars Andras Nemeth, and Jens Kyllonen joined Pantling at the top table, but neither were able to stick their spoon in the jam and figgy pudding.

Results

  1. Andrew Pantling – $302,287.20
  2. Marcello Marigliano – $204,000
  3. Andras Nemeth – $144,000
  4. Marcello Marigliano – $102,000
  5. Jens Kyllonen – $75,000
  6. Gavin Cochrane – $49,800

Farid Jattin Chops Event #23: $2,100 Pot-Limit Omaha

Colombia’s finest poker export, Farid Jattin, narrowly missed out on the title in the $2,100 Pot-Limit Omaha event. The tournament attracted 168-entrants like nerds to a science lab, and Jattin chopped the $140k left up top with Kristoffer Edberg, before losing the heads-up scuffle for the title.

Results

  1. Kristoffer Edberg – $69,086.18*
  2. Farid De Jesus Jattin Jaraba – $68,360.03*
  3. Joao Vieira – $37,800
  4. Maksim Shuts – $27,384
  5. Arvi Vainionkulma – $20,160
  6. Saku Nasman – $13,440

*Agreed upon a deal

Fabio Sperling Wins WPT500

A $50 competition is hardly a high roller, but as its one of the WPT’s flagship tournaments, you can make it an orphan.

The 4,828-entrant field reduced to four hysterically happy hunters before brokering a deal. The heaviest bag went to Fabio Sperling, who banked $281,125.93, and the title.

Results

  1. Fabio Sperling – $281,125.93*
  2. Walter Treccarich – $235,666.74*
  3. Markus Prinz – $202,012.42*
  4. Christopher Putz – $187,289.83*
  5. Philipp Dietrich – $74,785.72
  6. Harutyun Sahakyan – $50,887.12
  7. Daan Mulders – $35,799.62
  8. Giuseppe Vassallo – $23,174.40