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Some take out a bank loan to compete in the PokerStars Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP). Then some toss around SCOOP titles with the same nonchalance of someone tossing the lettuce and tomato from a burger.

Here are two of them.

Every series has someone that shines brightest, and currently, the man shining like sunburn is Connor Drinan. ‘Blanconegro’, as he is known to online poker aficionados, has won three titles in four days, and we’re not talking about high stakes Sit n Go’s.

Drinan poured gasoline and then flicked his engraved Zippo lighter on the 378-entrant field in Event #34: $530 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-or-Better earning $34,420.52. Next, he pummelled the 150-entrant field to win the $152,011.45 first prize in Event #40: $5,200 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max, beating 150-entrants for $152,011.46. Drinan continued raking in titles like a Craps stickman dragging in the coin by beating the 1,051 entrant field in Event #45: $215 No-Limit O8 6-Max PKO for $28,358.58.

Drinan who once rose to a high of fourth in the PocketFives World Rankings has now earned four career SCOOP titles, and more than $8.4m playing online multi-table tournaments (MTTs) with $7.4m coming on Stars.

Mike “SirWatts” Watson Wins Event #51: $1,050 No-LImit 2-7 Single Draw

Mike “SirWatts” Watson was another high roller blistering his way through a SCOOP field this week. The Canadian star made weasels of 84-entrants to win the title described in the title.

PocketFives have declared that this is Watts’s fourth career title, but I can only find evidence of three in his back catalogue. Both previous wins came in 2015, and both at the Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) tables. Watson won a $2,100 PLO Hi/Lo for $65,320 & $215 PLO 6-Max for $58,368

Watson has earned more than $4.8m playing online MTTs, including $3.8m playing on Stars.

Results

  1. Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson – $22,050
  2. Alexander ‘joiso’ Kostritsyn – $15,330
  3. Luke ‘lb6121’ Schwartz – $10,500
  4. ptisan – $7,560
  5. Rui ‘RuiNF’ Ferreira – $5,670
  6. serkku21 – $4,200
  7. Naoya ‘nkeyno’ Kihara – $3,360

The inaugural World Poker Tour (WPT) Online Championships in partnership with partypoker was such a hit; the organisers decided to extend the series until the end of May.

Initially pencilled in to run May 10-26, partypoker associate, Rob Yong, took to Twitter declaring the series would end on May 31. The decision allows them to move the WPTDeepStacks to after the WPT Online Championships Main Event. The shift creates space for additional satellites, and Yong has bumped the guarantee from $2m to $3m as a result.

The highlight of the WPT Online Championships is the $3,200 buy-in, $5m GTD Main Event. There is also a WPT500, and a WPTDeepStacks schedule in addition to a splatter of high rollers, and a whole range of side action from the hosts.

Here are the high roller highlights.

Charlie Carrel Wins Event #14: $25,500 Super High Roller

The most substantial buy-in of the series went the way of Charlie Carrel. The former PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) Main Event Champion conquered a field of 98-entrants to capture the $600,250 first prize, his second personal-best after his $1.2m SCOOP win.

Results

  1. Charles Carrel – $600,250
  2. Ali Imsirovic – $428,750
  3. Elias Talvitie – $306,250
  4. Ivan Galinec – $214,375
  5. Arsenii Karmatckii – $159,250
  6. Wiktor Malinowski – $122,500
  7. Christopher Hunichen – $98,000
  8. Pauli Ayras – $79,625

Sam Greenwood Wins Event #11: $10,300 High Roller

Sam Greenwood bubbled the $25,500 final table, but winning Event #11: $10,300 High Roller somewhat masked that misery. Greenwood picked apart 105-entrants to claim the $257,250 first prize, and it would have felt good after finishing runner-up in two Poker Masters Online events a few weeks ago.

Results

  1. Sam Greenwood – $257,250
  2. Matthias Eibinger – $183,750
  3. Rui Ferreira – $131,250
  4. Jorma Nuutien – $91,875
  5. Alexandru Papazian – $68,250
  6. Timothy Adams – $52,500
  7. Joni Jouhkimainen – $42,000
  8. Pauli Ayras – $34,125

Ola Amundsgaard Wins Event #6: $5,200 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) High Roller

High stakes PLO fiend, Ola ‘Odds_Oddsen’ Amundsgaard conquered the 101-entrant field in the $5,200 PLO High Roller. Amundsgaard once challenged members of the Norwegian parliament to 10k hands of PLO in a $170k freeroll to prove poker is a game of skill. The Progress Party’s Eriend Wiborg took him on and quit after losing 2,666 bb through 1,056 hands.

Results

  1. Ola Amundsgaard – $117,115.59
  2. Veselin Karakitukov – $110,891.92
  3. Rui Ferreira – $60,600
  4. Matthew Wantmann – $43,430
  5. Lauri Varonen – $31,562.50
  6. Mark Demirjian – $20,957.50

Anthony Zinno Wins Event #10: $1,050 Heads-Up

Stick a WPT event on the poker calendar, and you can guarantee that Anthony Zinno is going to turn up. The man with three WPT titles to his name now has a WPT Online title after beating Ameer Jamil Wakil in the final match of a 121-entrant $1,050 Heads-Up contest.

Results

  1. Anthony Zinno – $29,040
  2. Ameer Jamil Wakil – $29,040
  3. Ivan Sakharov – $12,100
  4. Niklas Åstedt – $12,100

Rui Ferreira Wins Event #18: Mini $320 PLO

Rui Ferreira is one of Europe’s hottest talents when it comes to surfacing with the cream in these endless online poker series. The Portuguese star added another title to his impressive resume, vanquishing 376-entrants to win the $22,560.10 first prize in the Mini $320 PLO.

Results

  1. Rui Ferreira – $22,560.10
  2. Jamil Kanji – $16,694.40
  3. Pedro Zagalo – $12,126
  4. Akseli Paalanen – $8,547.98
  5. Brett Davies – $6,204
  6. Andreas Torbergsen – $4,286.40

Niklas Åstedt Wins Event #15: $1,050 Weekender

Lastly, it wouldn’t be an online poker round-up without the PocketFives World #1 climbing onto the podium.

Niklas Åstedt conquered a field of 125-entrants to claim the $174,751.50 first prize in the $1,050 Weekender event.

Results

  1. Niklas Astedt – $174,751.50
  2. Tyler Goatcher – $124,333
  3. Sonny Franco – $83,508.70
  4. Fredrik Andersson – $56,586.20
  5. Manig Loeser – $39,943.20
  6. Stefan Schillhabel – $28,782.60
  7. Jens Lakemeier – $20,559
  8. Javier Zarco – $14,293.40

The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) is for poker players what Disneyland is for kids. Host one in the middle of a pandemic induced lockdown, and you’re talking levels of excitement and hype that not even a mouse called Mickey can create.

Seventy-nine events plan to squat on the computers of poker’s most pristine and pallor. Here are the high roller highlights as we eke over the halfway point in proceedings.

Jorryt van Hoof Wins Event #2: $2,100 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Thursday Thrill

Few players are running hotter than Jorryt van Hoof.

‘TheCleaner11’ finished in the money (ITM) in ten Poker Masters Online events, earning $720,308 in gross profit, and he’s packed that run good into his man purse and taken it to PokerStars.

Van Hoof took down the 575-entrant $2,100 NLHE Thursday Thrill for $176,104.37.

Results

  1. Jorryt ‘TheCleaner11’ van Hoof – $88,383.68 + $87,720.69 in bounties
  2. 0m3rta – $88,383.36 + $8,195.31 in bounties
  3. Play4livin – $55,810.36 + $13,964.84 in bounties
  4. ale kmkz – $41,384.36 + $29,685.55 in bounties
  5. Cottonbud07 – $30,687.23 + $16,871.09 in bounties
  6. VzB_Poker – $22,755.10 + $9,890.63 in bounties
  7. danechka1991 – $16,873.31 + $1,500.00 in bounties
  8. markovitsus – $12,511.82 + $11,750.00 in bounties
  9. jareth3542 – $9,796.67 + $4,500.00 in bounties

Benny ‘RunGodlike’ Glaser Wins Event #6: $2,100 8-Game

Benny Glaser isn’t spending his severance check on the NLHE High Roller circuit, but you won’t find him too far away from a high limit mixed game event.

The UK pro, earned his fifth SCOOP title, after beating 122-entrants to win the $54,854 first prize in Event #6: $2,100 8-Game Mix. Glaser joins an esteemed group of quintet SCOOP winners that include Jussi Nevanlinna, Jason Mercier, Luke Schwartz and Rui Ferreira.

Results

  1. Benny ‘RunGodlike’ Glaser – $54,854
  2. donthnrmepls – $42,070
  3. at0216 – $32,266
  4. joiso – $24,746
  5. Jens ‘Fresh_oO_D’ Lakemeier – $18,979
  6. Fake Love888 – $14,556
  7. Phil ‘flong78’ Long – $11,164

Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion Wins Event #16: $2,100 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) Six-Max

Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion stole his third SCOOP title from beneath the nose of Laszlo ‘omaha4rollz’ Bujtas. The German star took down Event #16: $2,100 PLO for $111,853.75. Both Schemion and Bujtas competed in the Poker Masters Online with mixed results.

Results

  1. Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion – $111,853.75
  2. Laszlo ‘omaha4rollz’ Bujtas – $82,910.03
  3. boerni21 – $61,455.98
  4. pkrbt – $45,553.47
  5. goodeh99 – $33,765.84
  6. munkkis – $25,028.52

Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan Wins Event #17: $10,300 NLHE High Roller

Only Linus Loeliger and the eventual winner, Alexandros Kolonias earned more gross profit during the Poker Masters Online than Artur Martirosyan with the Russian collecting $1.3m in prize money.

That amount just spilt over the $1.5m mark after Martirosyan conquered a tough final table in the $10,300 NLHE High Roller. Martirosyan defeated Fedor Holz, heads-up. Van Hoof collected another huge score, and online stars Rui Ferreira and Andras Nemeth also made the final tables.

Results

  1. Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan – $271,790.44
  2. Fedor ‘CrownUpGuy’ Holz – $210,580.76
  3. Jorryt ‘TheCleaner11’ van Hoof – $163,156.10
  4. allin2bluff – $126,411.92
  5. vicenfish – $97,942.88
  6. Rui ‘RuiNF’ Ferreira – $75,885.27
  7. Grisha813 – $58,795.22
  8. Andras ‘probirs’ Nemeth – $45,554.00

Matthew ‘MUSTAFABET’ Ashton Wins Event #19: $1,050 Limit Hold’em 6-Max

High stakes live cash game player, and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Poker Players Championship (PPC) winner, Matthew Ashton, outlasted 109 thieves all out to steal the title in Event #19: $1,050 Limit Hold’em 6-Max. Ashton collected $24,729.17 after overcoming a final table that contained ‘bencb789.’

Results

  1. Matthew ‘MUSTAFABET’ Ashton – $24,729.17
  2. krakura – $18,966.00
  3. bencb789 – $14,545.97
  4. XD89lol<3 – $11,156.02
  5. LifeisagameX – $8,556.10
  6. totti1992100 – $6,562.10

Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi Wins Event #25: $2,100 7-2 Triple Draw

Ashton also made it to the final table of Event #25: $2,100 7-2 Triple Draw, but had to settle for fourth. Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi won the event and $42,645.76 first prize. It’s Shakerchi’s fourth SCOOP title, including his 2016 SCOOP Main Event win.

Results

  1. Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi – $42,645.76
  2. Naza114 – $31,878.36
  3. Crazy Elior – $23,829.59
  4. MUSTAFABET – $17,813.01
  5. RaulGonzalez – $13,315.52
  6. lb6121 – $9,953.57
  7. Crisper – $7,440.47

Mustapha ‘lasagnaaammm’ Kanit Wins Event #24: $10,300 NLHE High Roller

Mustapha ‘lasagnaaammm’ Kanit collected his third big title of the previous three weeks, after adding Event #24: $10,300 NLHE High Roller to the two titles earned during the Poker Masters Online Series. It’s the Italian’s third career SCOOP title, including winning the 2015 Main Event.

Results

  1. Mustapha ‘lasagnaaammm’ Kanit – $271,790.44
  2. Sergei ‘Futti18’ Koliakov – $210,580.76
  3. Luke ‘Bit2Easy’ Reeves – $163,156.10
  4. Charlie ‘Epiphany77’ Carrel – $126,411.92
  5. Teun ‘tinnoemulder’ Mulder – $97,942.88
  6. Adrian ‘Amadi_017’ Mateos- $75,885.27
  7. iamivar – $58,795.22
  8. NeedBeat – $45,554.00
  9. Joao ‘Naza114’ Viera – $36,095.28

Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan Wins Second SCOOP Title of the Series

Martirosyan earned his second SCOOP title of the series, taking down Event #29: $5,200 NLHE Midweek Freeze. The Russian defeated 143 entrants to claim the $157,426.77 first prize. Schemion picked up another big result, and the reigning Main Event champ, Gianluca ‘tankanza’ Speranze finished seventh.

Results

  1. Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan – $157,426.77
  2. pm_marke – $121,869.52
  3. Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion – 94,343.47
  4. Tomatee – $73,034.62
  5. Consi11 – $56,538.67
  6. xnrobix – $43,768.57
  7. Tankanza – $33,882.82
  8. 22ehnutzz – $26,229.90

If you want to have a thriving business, then word of mouth marketing is your milieu. If you’re in the second-hand car business, you want people screaming from the bus stops about how your cars never break down. If you’re a scuba diving operator, you want your clients to mutter through their breathing tubes about how safe they felt while experiencing vivacious coral curves. 

As with most things in life, there is another side to this story. As the marketing genius, Seth Godin, states in a blog post titled ‘Why Word of Mouth Doesn’t Happen,’ if you’re in the business of curing people’s venereal disease (VD) don’t bank on people taking your work viral. 

Where does poker fit into this word of mouth marketing philosophy? 

Let’s take a look at Fedor Holz’s new partnership with GGPoker through the lens of Godin’s blog post.

Here are eight reasons word of mouth marketing won’t work, and whether it makes GGPoker’s decision to hire Holz inspiring or a waste of money.

1. Embarrassment

As in the VD example, the affiliation with your brand feels too embarrassing to share with others. Holz has worked hard to build his reputation both in and outside of poker. While there are online poker rooms, Holz would be embarrassed to be connected with, GGPoker is not one of them because of the high calibre of people who GGPoker have signed before him.

2. It’s Difficult to Bring Up

If you’re a seller of mobile phone ring tones, then if you’re in the earshot of a ring-a-ding-ding, it provides the opportunity to sell your wares, however, if you have just had a cracking massage than it’s challenging to bring it up.

Holz has been smart enough to negotiate a partnership that includes an affiliation with his training site: Pokercode. Because of this, Holz will be spreading his allegiance to GGPoker to his 51.5k Twitter followers because it’s a win-win.

3. Not Cutting Edge Enough

Godin asserts that the product might not be cutting edge enough for your crowd. Maybe you’ve recently switched from Betamax to VHS, and you’re trying to sell the idea to your Netflix buddies. It’s not that it’s embarrassing, it’s because you’ve only recently found out about it.

GGPoker is in the early stages of hiring ambassadors to spread the word of mouth marketing to poker fanatics living in the West. Bryn Kenney joined the team a while ago, but the lone wolf is now part of a pack as GGPoker expands quickly.

When it comes to the stale, hackneyed online poker ecosystem, GGPoker is cutting edge, so no problem on this score.

4. The Thing is Too Popular

Godin uses the example of a blogger afraid of posting on a popular topic over fears of appearing lazy as something that falls within the walls of this realm. 

Had PokerStars wanted to sign Holz, then maybe the ‘too popular’ maxim may have applied when it came to the German’s use of his megaphone, but not with GGPoker. 

GGPoker is trending.

5. Exclusivity

I can imagine that during prohibition, people would be less likely to share the location of their speakeasies over fears that the loss of exclusivity would create too much attention. 

‘Exclusivity’ is prevalent throughout the poker world. It’s either related to legal issues (not wanting the authorities to know about the game), financial ones (not wanting people to take your action), or privacy reasons (not wanting people to know you play in the game).

None of these reasons will stop Holz from telling everyone from the North to the South Pole to play on GGPoker.

6. The Collision of Two Worlds

Godin uses the example of a child attending summer camp to explain this one. Maybe the child is a complete nerd in a normal school but gets to be the cool one in summer camp, and he doesn’t want anyone finding out about his secret world. However, Holz is incredibly proud of his poker career, and so this one is not going to be a problem. 

7. Manipulation

The best way to describe this one would be to use the example of PokerStars during their insane decision to handle the Supernova Elite break up the way they did, and the effect it had on their ambassadors having to sell the brand. If GGPoker has a few fibulas and tibias in the closet, we haven’t seen them, and until we do, Holz will keep espousing the virtues of his new partner.

8. Taste

I know I keep picking on PokerStars, but it’s challenging for a prominent member of the poker community to accept a gig from the largest online poker site this side of California’s Science Center because it will affect their status.

People will cry ‘taste?’

Bryn Kenney.

Daniel Negreanu.

GGPoker has excellent taste, and because of that, if you’re in allegiance with them, you also have it. 

Godin’s climax is to challenge you to ‘change the experience of talking about you so fundamentally that people will choose to do it. Given our analysis of the above eight factors, it’s clear that Holz will have no problem talking about the value that GGPoker provides, and by default that makes the $32m man a cracking choice for an ambassador. 

Why word of mouth doesn’t happen

With Phil Galfond’s incredible comeback against VeniVidi1993 as fresh as a laceration, the Run It Once founder has decided his best course of action in the Galfond Challenge is to plough ahead. 

Bill Perkins became the second player to grapple with Galfond. It’s a match that could end up expensive for the Maryland native if Perkins has the yachts of the Poker Gods moored in his harbour. 

The plan is to play 50k hands or stop at a $400,000 loss, competing in a heads-up game of $100/$200 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO). The coupling has played 1,013 hands, with Galfond finished $90,144.05 in the black. Given Perkins’ business dealings, the schedule is murky on this one, but we know that should Galfond lose, Perkins will pick up €1m side bet. Galfond nets €250,000 should he go on and win. 

The contests against VeniVidi1993 and Bill Perkins could not have been more different. The VeniVidi1993 match was all business, whereas, the opening gambit against Perkins has been more relaxed with Galfond live streaming the action, commenting on his plays, and interacting with Perkins. The other difference is Galfond is getting changed in the ‘Away’ dressing room with the series taking place on partypoker. 

It will be interesting to see if the feelgood vibe remains should Perkins find a way to drive Galfond closer to that €1m cliff face.

Here is Galfond winning an $81,489 pot with set-over-set.

Galfond Takes an Early Lead Against ‘ActionFreak’

With Perkins placing Galfond ‘on hold,’ the three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner has turned his attention to the person many believe will be his toughest competitor, ‘ActionFreak.’

He’s had a great start.

The pair will compete through 15,000 hands of €150/€300 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) with an even €150,000 side bet going to the winner, and after three days and 1,861 hands, Galfond holds a +€303,065.10 lead. 

Day 1 only lasted 145-hands before gremlins cut the match short with ActionFreak €11.1k in the black. Day 2 saw Galfond reach a high of €202,000 in profits before ActionFreak switched gears to put Galfond in the red. Galfond recovered to finish the day with a €7,529.49 profit through 1,107 hands. 

Day 3 turned into a drowning.

Everything went right for Galfond who turned an 844-hand session into a €310,594.59 win, a record haul for Galfond since his challenge series began. 

Summary

Hands Played – 1,861

Galfond +€303,065.10

Day 1/2 Action

Day 3 Action

Andrew Lichtenberger Wins on WSOP.com

From an online cash game genius to a man who made his name winning millions in online tournaments, and Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger took advantage of lockdown to win a title on WSOP.com, only he’s no longer ‘LuckyChewy!’

Playing under the pseudonym, “WATCHGUY42”, Lichtenberger, took down a 176-entrant (inc. 61-re-entries), $1,000, $50k GTD No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, on the Nevada based platform.

The prizepool struck $168,080, and Lichtenberger collected $36,389 for his win after outliving a final eight that included the likes of Shannon Shorr, Darren Elias and Chris Moorman. 

Final Table Results

  1. Andrew “WATCHGUY42” Lichtenberger – $36,389
  2. Krista “Pollux” Gifford – $27,263
  3. Shannon “aulophobia” Shorr – $20,422
  4. Darren “darrenelias” Elias – $15,329
  5. Jake “tooletime13” Toole – $11,497
  6. Gordon “veileux” Vayo – $8,623
  7. Frank “spaghetti” Marasco – $6,454
  8. Chris “Robotbob47” Moorman – $4,790

And to think, they said that online poker was dead!

An ecosystem riddled with decay.

It doesn’t look like that, today.

With the world unable to commune around the live poker table, poker lovers and professionals alike have been driven to online poker rooms in their droves – online poker rooms like GGPoker.

GGPoker’s life began in the East, but more recently, it has steadily moved its all-seeing eye towards life in the West. The race to become the ‘second-largest online poker room in the world’ has become congested and absorbing.

In a bid to get there nose ahead (PokerScout currently ranks them as the fourth busiest entity in the world). GGPoker has partnered with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) to create an 18-gold ring WSOP Super Circuit Online Series, and they’ve decided to use the new alliance to set a new online record.

While the 18 golden rings comprise the main course, these games sit amid a mammoth schedule that sees 595 tournaments running between May 3 and 31 with GGPoker guaranteeing $100m in prize money, beating the previous record by $15m.

That’s a statement.

The High Roller Scene

One area where GGPoker has applied intense focus has been at the high roller level.

When they first began marketing in the West, they hired Bryn Kenney as their sole brand ambassador, and you imagine he has helped them to move up the grooves in this area.

Since Kenney joined, there has been a steady increase of buy-ins between $1,000 and $5,000, and an unprecedented level of $25,000 buy-in events, making GGPoker a must-have client on the laptop of high stakes players.

You won’t find a WSOPC gold ring on the bucket list of too many high rollers, but that might change because on May 17 there will be a $10m GTD, $25,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold ’em tournament with a gold ring for the winner.

Outside of that monster guarantee, there is the $5m GTD $1,000 No-Limit Hold ’em Main Event, and a nice touch, with a $1,111 COVID Charity event with $111 donated to the Nevada COVID-19 Task Force. There is also a $1m GTD, $10,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) Championship, also taking place on May 17.

Here is the full schedule of gold ring events:

May 3

Event #1: $1,111, $1m GTD COVID Charity Event
Event #2: $50, $500k GTD Kick-Off

May 5

Event #3: $210, $500k GTD, Deepstack Bounty Hunters

May 10

Event #4: $200, $500k GTD Monster Stack
Event #5: $500, $2m GTD BIG $500

May 12

Event #6: $210, $500k GTD Deepstack Bounty Hunters

May 17

Event #7: $200, $500k GTD Monster Stack
Event #8: $25,500, $10m GTD High Roller Championship
Event #9: $100, $1m GTD. Mini Main Event
Event #10: $10,000, $1m GTD PLO High Roller Championship

May 19

Event #11: $210, $500k GTD Deepstack Bounty Hunters

May 24

Event #12: $200, $500k GTD Monster Stack
Event #13: $400, $2m GTD COLOSSUS

May 26

Event #14: $210, $500k GTD Deepstack Bounty Hunters

May 31

Event #15: $200, $500k GTD Monster Stack
Event #16: $1,000, $1m GTD PLO Main Event
Event #17: $1,000, $5m GTD Main Event
Event #18: $500, $500k GTD The Closer

The Future is Bright

Since the demise of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars has had a lock on the high stakes action. It’s not a niche that has ever interested 888Poker, but it is one that’s attracted the attention of partypoker. The partnership with Poker Central saw $36m dished out during a highly competitive Poker Masters Online, and the Super High Roller Bowl Online takes place at the end of the month.

With GGPoker entering the space with a vast array of $25,000 buy-in events complemented by a decent flow of buy-ins between $1,000 and $5,000, high stakes poker players have never had as much food on their buffet.

Nah, online poker isn’t dead.

It’s very much alive.

Alex Foxen

After live poker scuttled along the gangplank on its way to receiving a belly full of saltwater, those who make a living at that artform moved online to paint a new picture.

Alex Foxen is one of these live poker powerhouses. 

You don’t win back-to-back Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year awards and maintain a stranglehold on the GPI World Rankings with a record 37-consecutive weeks in the number one slot unless you are all over the game like lice on a toddler.

On March 27, with everyone quarantined, Foxen made a passionate plea to PokerStars via Twitter to reopen his account after they shut him down without supplying a reason. Judging by his PocketFives results, that account is still gathering dust. 

Foxen may have earned the vast majority of his $6-7m in online multi-table tournament (MTT) winnings on PokerStars (playing under the pseudonym ‘bigfox86’), but you get the feeling that’s about to change.

The GPI World #1 needs online poker, now, more than ever, and if PokerStars won’t provide him with the platform, then off to GGPoker, Americas Cardroom (ACR) and partypoker he will trot. A fox will chase sheep no matter where those sheep may be. 

Foxen recently proved that he’s no online poker stowaway, taking $800,000 from the Poker Masters Online Series on partypoker. Foxen finished in the money (ITM) on seven occasions, including conquering a field of 99-entrants in Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em for a career-high online score of $309,677. 

There’s no time to blink in Foxen’s world.

The young American went into the final weekend of the Poker Masters Online harbouring hopes of winning his first Purple Jacket. After all, he had done it before, turning in an incredible performance at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond at the Bellagio in the Winter to defend his GPI PoY title at the death. 

Foxen didn’t end up on the Poker Masters podium, but he did bank a six-figure score to ease his sorrows. Foxen topped a 256-entrant field in a $3k POWERFEST event on partypoker for $239,413. It was a final table filled with the finest cheekbones in online poker with Yuri Dzvielevski, Nick Petrangelo and Linus Loeliger all featuring. 

Add the POWERFEST win to the $800,000 in Poker Masters earnings, and Foxen has almost doubled his lifetime earnings on partypoker in the past fortnight. 

Who needs PokerStars?

Results

  1. Alex Foxen – $239,413
  2. Yuri Dzivielevski – $173,777
  3. Jordi Urlings – $123,874
  4. Daniil Lukin – $91,585
  5. Nick Petrangelo – $64,579
  6. Linus Loeliger – $49,315
  7. Benjamin Rolle – $36,399
  8. Bruno Volkmann – $27,005

Foxen currently ranks #75 in the PocketFives World Rankings.

In Other Online Poker News

In other online poker news, Foxen’s partner, and the GPI top-ranked female player, Kristen Bicknell, flew over the $4m in lifetime earnings mark after a blistering showing on GGPoker last week.

Between 20-27 April, Bicknell earned over a half a million dollars in gross profit playing on the former East-facing site that’s very firmly fixed on the West.

Here are Bicknell’s top four results of the week.

  1. 1st in a 38-entrant $5k event for $64,764.99
  2. 2nd in a 39-entrant $5k for $46,691.85
  3. 1st in a 85-entrant $2.5k for $44,304.64
  4. 1st in a 48-entrant $2.5k for $43,565.06
  5. 2nd in a 87-entrant $2.5k for $39,829.81

Bicknell currently ranks #41 in the PocketFives World Rankings.

From new school to old school, and Luke Schwartz binked a decent score on Tuesday night, beating a 116-entrant field to take down the $1,050 Super Tuesday No-Limit Hold’em event on PokerStars for $27,398.26

Schwartz, who plies his trade on the online cash game scene, has now earned more than $3m playing online MTTs with the bulk of those winnings coming on PokerStars. 

It’s his biggest score since finishing 3/2255 in a $530 NLHE Progressive Knockout (PKO) event for $42,402.56 during the 2019 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) on PokerStars.

Schwartz currently ranks #714 in the PocketFives World Rankings.

Pigeon.

While the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown leaves many of us bedraggled and bored, weighed down by wave after wave of nothingness, there is an equal number of people who are taking the time to smash bottles of Perrier water alongside the hull of brand new ships. 

You don’t need to retch. 

You need to react. 

partypoker and Poker Central are reacting. Between them, they turned the potential of a Poker Masters Online Series into a $35.4m powerhouse that saw 124 unique poker players finish in the money (ITM) throughout 30-events where seven players accrue more than $1m gross, including the winner, Alexandros Kolonias, who finished with the Purple Jacket.

Rob Yong.

Cary Katz.

These aren’t people who take their foot off the gas.

So what next?

Super High Roller Bowl Online

partypoker and Poker Central have announced that the 2020 Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) will move online. 

Between May 23 – June 1, the world’s best poker players will gather on partypoker to compete in 28 events with buy-ins ranging from $10,000 – $100,000. The organisers promise $20m in guaranteed prize money and expect that to be doubled. 

Two-day events are the staple menu, the first of which is a $25,500 buy-in, $1m GTD No-Limit Hold ’em (NLHE) 8-Max. 

As with the Poker Masters Online Series, the player who accumulates the most points during the first 27-events is declared the champion and will collect an SHRB Championship ring and a free seat into the $102,000 Super High Roller Bowl Online, a two-day 8-max NLHE freezeout event with a 300,000 starting stack and a $3m guarantee.

Poker Central will stream ten of the final tables on PokerGO, and all the competitors will receive an annual subscription worth $99.

Cary Katz created Poker Central in 2015, and over time it became the ‘Netflix of Poker’, providing digital entertainment, on tap, for the global poker community. At $9.99 per month, it is as cheap as chips.

One of the strengths of digital services like Netflix or Amazon Prime is their ‘Original’ content. Poker Central began creating ‘Originals’ of their own. Still, it wasn’t until they began merging high stakes live tournaments with digital content that PokerGO became a must-have purchase for a fan of poker.

The Super High Roller Bowl will make a successful transition. There’s nowhere else high rollers can play, but it’s not the SHRB’s final resting place.

Katz loves live poker and plays more than most, so he will be champing at the bit to get the Poker Masters and SHRB back into the PokerGo Studios, but in the meantime, he will sit behind his computer and mash some buttons with the best of them.

Super High Roller Bowl History

The Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) launched in 2015 and quickly became the most anticipated event in the poker calendar for high stakes players. 

The first event became the most expensive in history outside of the $1m Big One for One Drop, and Brian Rast defeated 43-entrants to win the $7.5m first prize in Las Vegas.

The buy-in dropped to $300,000 for the next two years. In 2016, Rainer Kempe topped a field of 49-entrants to win the $5m first prize, and the following year Christoph Vogelsang defeated a then-record field of 56-entrants to claim the $6m first prize.

2018 was a busy year for SHRB organisers. The decision to change the spring date to winter saw two events in a calendar year. The first attracted 48-entrants and Justin Bonomo won the $5m first prize, and Ike Haxton bagged the second, beating 36-entrants to win the $3.6m first prize. It was also the first year that the SHRB brand went global with SHRB China pulling in a record 75-entrants, and Bonomo picked up his second major title of the year and $4.8m in prize money (Bonomo would also win the $1m Big One for One Drop in the same year).

The success of the Chinese tournament prompted Poker Central to partner with more established live tournament operators to showcase the SHRB event at their masthead competitions around the world. Cary Katz won SHRB London, and Daniel Dvoress won SHRB Bahamas. The form continued into 2020 when Timothy Adams became the first player to win two SHRB titles in both Australia and Russia. 

The poker world needed this.

With live poker locked in an iron cage, Alexandros Kolonias emerged with the skeleton key.

The reigning World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event Champion proved he has the online skills to match after taking down the inaugural Poker Masters Online Championship.

Kolonias won the Purple Jacket and $50,000 in prize money after winning the final event, ripping both from the grip of Artur Martirosian.

Two events graced the final day, and Kolonias began in fourth place, with Artur Martirosian sitting on top. The $51,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event came first, and neither Kolonias nor Martirosian featured in the money (ITM), and that changed things dramatically.

Due to the lopsided scores given to the Main Event ITM finishers, Loeliger ended up in the Championship lead with one event to go without ever being a supporting cast member in this epic masterpiece.

Fortunately, the script remained intact with Loeliger failing to cash, leaving Kolonias and Martirosian, two of the main protagonists throughout this tournament, fighting it out in the final event.

The Russian refused to release his grip on the title until falling in fifth, leaving Kolonias to march on to claim the title, defeating Jason McConnon, heads-up, to win the Championship.

Kolonias finished ITM 11-times, secured $1,266,116 in gross prize money, made five top-three finishes, and won two events to finish as the 2020 Poker Masters Online Champion.

Here are the stats.

Championship Leaderboard

  1. Alexander Kolonias – 1,191 pts
  2. Artur Martirosian – 1,048
  3. Linus Loeliger – 1,037
  4. Timothy Adams – 861
  5. Ali Imsirovic – 857
  6. Andras Nemeth – 807
  7. Pascal Lefrancois – 782
  8. Paulis Ayras – 748
  9. Alex Foxen – 736
  10. Steve O’Dwyer – 732

Money Earned

  1. Linus Loeliger – $1,511,818
  2. Alexandros Kolonias – $1,316,116
  3. Artur Martirosian – $1,283,973
  4. Elias Talvitie – $1,104,995
  5. Pascal Lefrancois – $1,049,887
  6. Ali Imsirovic – $1,035,696
  7. Steve O’Dwyer – $1,005,654
  8. Timothy Adams – $996,332
  9. Andras Nemeth – $980,023
  10. Pauli Ayras – $968,049

ITM Finishes

  1. Alexandros Kolonias – 11
  2. Timothy Adams – 11
  3. Jorryt Van Hoof – 10
  4. Artur Martirosian – 9
  5. Ali Imsirovic – 9
  6. Andras Nemeth – 8

Multiple Titles

  1. Alexnadros Kolonias – 2
  2. Linus Loeliger – 2
  3. Pacsal Lefrancois – 2
  4. Mustapha Kanit – 2
  5. Ali Imsirovic – 2
  6. Pauli Ayras – 2

Event #29: $51,000, $2m GTD No-Limit Hold’em Main Event

Results

  1. Linus Loeliger – $1,097,250
  2. Giuseppe Iadisernia – $750,750
  3. Chris Kruk – $519,750
  4. Steve O’Dwyer – $346,500
  5. Ole Schemion – $269,500
  6. Elias Talvitie – $211,750
  7. David Peters – $182,875
  8. Kahle Burns – $163,625
  9. Conor Beresford – $154,000
  10. Vicent Bosca Ramon – $154,000

Event #30: $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max

Results

  1. Alexandros Kolonias – $367,782
  2. Jason McConnon – $248,200
  3. Mark Demirjian – $175,200
  4. Mustapha Kanit – $124,100
  5. Artur Martirosian – $91,250
  6. Chris Kruk – $60,590
  7. Pacsal Lefrancois – $45,990
  8. Samuel Vousden – $45,990
  9. Mark Radoja – $45,990
  10. Hossein Ensan – $31,390
  11. Mark Davis – $31,390
  12. Dan Shak – $31,390
  13. Alexander Ivarsson – $26,789
  14. Ben Heath – $26,789
  15. Chris Hunichen – $26,789
  16. Connor Drinan – $26,789
  17. Steve O’Dwyer – $26,789
  18. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $26,789

The penultimate day of the Poker Masters Online Series created two more double champions, pushing one of them into contention to create a double of another kind.

Ali Imsirovic was only 23-years-old when he took on the world’s best players and beat them, capturing the Purple Jacket in the 2018 Poker Masters. That was live, and this is online, but after Imsirovic booked his second win of the series after taking down the 51-entrant Event: #27: $25,500 No-Limit Hold ’em, he is one of the favourites heading into the home straight.

It’s the ninth in the money (ITM) finish for the Bosnian, and he’s now earned $1.035m gross during the series. The only player to win more than Imsirovic is the current Championship leader, Artur Martirosian, who still leads despite whiffing both Saturday contests. Imsirovic sits in third place with two events left to run.

Imsirovic beat Elias Talvitie, heads-up, to win the title. You may remember that Talvitie won the opening event, and has earned close to $900,000 through four cashes, making it a decent tournament for the Finnish star.

Alexandros Kolonias took fourth place in the Championship Leaderboard after making money for the tenth time, and Jorryt Van Hoof also made his tenth cash.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Ali Imsirovic – $446,250
  2. Elias Talvitie – $299,625
  3. Alexandros Kolonias – $191,250
  4. Jorryt Van Hoof – $114,750
  5. Linus Loeliger – $89,250
  6. David Peters – $73,312
  7. Ben Heath – $60,562

Event: #28: $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max

Mustapha Kanit became the second player of the day, and fourth of the series to win two events after beating Matthias Eibinger, heads-up, to bank the £237,732 first prize.

Despite the double win, Kanit isn’t in contention to win the Purple Jacket, but the only man to win two Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) titles is.

Timothy Adams finished fifth in Event #28, to move into second place on the Championship Leaderboard.

Adams’ 11-cashes is a record.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Mustapha Kanit – $237.732
  2. Matthias Eibinger – $148,200
  3. Sergi Reixach – $91,200
  4. Koray Aldemir – $66,500
  5. Timothy Adams – $47,500
  6. Pascal Hartmann – $32,300
  7. Juan Pardo Dominguez – $24,700
  8. David Peters – $24,700
  9. Michail Manolakis – $24,700
  10. Dan Smith – $20,822
  11. Ole Schemion – $20,822
  12. Jonathan Van Fleet – $20,822

Championship Leaderboard

  1. Artur Martirosian – 957 pts
  2. Timothy Adams – 861
  3. Ali Imsirovic – 857
  4. Alexandros Kolonias – 823
  5. Andras Nemeth – 807