Imagine winning $1,352,267.97 playing online poker from a stake of $530. The rush of feelings, thoughts and emotions like you’ve stepped on a conductor rail.
Imagine never receiving the money, because the online poker room believes something fishy is going on.
An investigation ensues.
Imagine the gavel coming down on the final verdict.
You will not see a penny of it.
That’s what happened to the winner of the 2018 World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event this week.
It seems something fishy was going on; not goldfish bowl fishy, but Atlantis fishy.
PokerStars has stripped a Dutch-based player using the pseudonym, ‘Wann2play’, of his 2018 WCOOP Main Event title and $1,352,267.97.
The additional additional funds will be redistributed to the remaining in the money (ITM) finishers.
‘Wann2play’ overcame a final table containing some of the best players in the business. The story becomes even more memorable when you learn that he won his seat in the $10,000 via a $530 online satellite.
Look at this list of tough guys.
2018 WCOOP Main Event Final Table Results
- Wann2play – $1,352,967
- Ezequiel “Ez88888’ Waigel – $1,257,203
- Linus “LlinusLLove’ Loeliger – $764,501
- Robert ‘PlayaPlz’ Lipkin – $540,584
- Michael ‘mczhang’ Zhang – $382,252
- Noah ‘Exclusive’ Boeken – $270,293
The Lie
The only news out of PokerStars Towers is that ‘Wann2play’ violated their Terms and Conditions (TOCs). Gossip amongst the poker community is rife as to the exact reasons behind the fallen axe with multi-accounting and ghosting appearing as the two likeliest reasons.
With ‘Wann2play’ now a ghost, PokerStars raised the arm of Ezequiel “Ez88888′ Waigel aloft. Waigel finished second for $1,257,203 after agreeing upon a heads-up deal with ‘Wann2play,’ and now receives an additional $272,000, after PokerStars awarded him with the original first prize of $1,529,000.
The news is not a surprise for Waigel who told PocketFives that he suspected something towards the later stages of the tournament, and has exchanged numerous emails with the online poker giant throughout the past 18-months.
YouTube Mutiny
The decision has reignited the debate over multi-accounting and ghosting in the multi-table tournament (MTT) scene, with one pro, Rob Tinnion, creating a YouTube video accusing the 2017 WCOOP Main Event winner, Steven van Zadelhoff, of also breaching PokerStars TOCs.
In the video, Tinnion tells his audience that ghosting and multi-accounting is a ‘common occurrence in the poker world,’ before going on to point the finger at the Dutch star.
“He was ghosted by somebody whom I am not sure I want to name,” said Tinnion. “But there are cryptic messages on Twitter if you want to work it out.”
Tinnion proceeded to show a graph of van Zadelhoff’s lifetime online MTT winnings, calling him a ‘losing player’ over 60,000 games.
“The reason this guy {Vamn Zadelhoff} has gotten away with it is that he is a nice guy.” Said Tinnion before declaring that everyone has a ‘dark side’ to them and a little bit of ‘scumminess.’
“I have no proof of this,” said Tinnion. “I have a source; I am unwilling to disclose. But I know that source is 100% true.”
Van Zadelhoff reacted instantly stating that he is ‘too proud’ to give up control of his mouse or ‘I might actually be a winning player on paper, and not stupid enough to multi-account.’
“I probably shouldn’t be making these videos,” said Tinnion, “But f*ck it, it’s a bit of fun isn’t it.”
I don’t think van Zadelhoff concurs.
On March 14, 1968, Martin Luther King delivered a speech called ‘The Other America’ to the predominantly all-white Grosse Pointe High School in Detroit. Embedded in that speech were the words, “No lie can live forever.”
In the case of the former 2018 WCOOP Champion of the World, King’s words have come to life, but I wonder if this incident will prevent similar lies woven in the future.
Ego.
Status.
Money.
Power.
A heady cocktail if there ever was one.