Well, here's how you do it. First, you manage to make it to the final table of the World Championship of Online Poker. Then you do exactly what you see below.
To cap off our WCOOP coverage, PokerStars.tv has put together the final highlights reel.
Below you can see the final table of the Main Event play out with all the hole cards exposed. Enjoy!
Zachary “ckingusc” King outlasted a massive field of 2,185 players including some of the world’s biggest stars to take down the Main Event of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker. The 2-day event had a record $10,925,000 prize pool, with $1,260,000 heading to the young pro from Columbia, SC. Oh, and for the record, the “usc” in his screen name does refer to the college, but the University of South Carolina, not the other USC that some folks might have heard of.
We caught up with King a little while after the Main Event, which he called “the most amazing moment of my life so far.” With his newly inflated bankroll, he plans to “definitely buy myself something nice, possibly a new car.” I think with $1.26 million in the bank, you can buy a really nice car, Zachary!
King, a 22-year-old pro, got inspired to play poker by watching Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker make his amazing run at the WSOP Main Event. Following in Moneymaker’s footsteps, King parlayed his $320 Mega-Satellite entry into a Main Event bracelet. King used poker as a way to get to know people in high school, as he moved around a lot early in life and enjoyed the social aspect of the game. That continued into his professional poker career, making friends with top online pros like Shaun Deeb, psyduck101, Thay3r, Intervntion and Cdbr3799, who he cites as some of the players who helped teach him the game.
As a professional tournament player, King knew many of his opponents throughout the event, especially Bertrand ‘ElkY” Grospellier from Team PokerStars Pro. Grospellier capped off a successful WCOOP with a 21st-place finish in the Main Event. When asked about the play he saw from the other pros in the event, King said “The obviously all played well and I pretty much avoided them except for a few well-timed 3-bet spots.”
With no legal live poker in South Carolina, King plays tournaments online “almost every day” and has spent the last two summers in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker, racking up an impressive five cashes in his first two years of eligibility. He made his first final table this year in Event #3, Pot Limit Hold’em, and cashed in two other No Limit Hold’em events. He also has a runner-up finish in a WSOP Circuit event and dozens of online tournament victories on his resume, including one six-figure score earlier this year.
With his win in the WCOOP Main Event, King has joined a rare crowd of players that have claimed prizes of more than $1 million in one tournament. We expect this young man to ride the wave of his success to even greater heights in the future. Because when you're a 22-year-old millionaire and World Champion with one WSOP final table already to your credit, the future is bright enough to need two pairs of shades! Congratulations to Zachary "ckingusc" King, our 2008 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event Champion!
Day 2 of the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event began with 60 players vying for the $1.775 million first prize. Those were the survivors of 2,185 runners who started the event on Sunday. The number of entrants created an online poker record prize pool of $10,925,000.
That record prize pool was a fitting end to the largest WCOOP ever. The final tallies – 33 events, 55,758 buy-ins and $39,958,000 in prize money – exceeded expectations in every way. Players from 118 countries participated in the 2008 edition of the WCOOP. PearlJammer and thedonator each had 10 cashes to lead the field. Dorinvandy was the top earner prior to the Main Event, with $652,529.95 in winnings. But everyone knew that record would go down on Monday.
August35 came into the final day of play as the chipleader, but with plenty of play in each player’s stack (an average of more than 36 big blinds) it was still anybody’s game.
Play began quickly on Day 2, with the short stacks praying for double ups. In fact, 10 players of the 60 remaining were gone in the first 20 minutes of play, and we were down to 32 after the first hour of play. Not surprisingly eliminations slowed after that as the remaining participants had enough ammo in their stacks to fire a few bullets and dodge a few mortars.
August35 suffered a major freefall and finished in 23rd. The last remaining Team PokerStars Pro, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, who had a heck of a series with seven cashes and more than $400,000 in winnings, exited in 21st.
Final table play began just after 8:30pm EST after nearly 15 hours of play over two days. The seating and chip counts heading into the final were:
With blinds of 65,000/130,000 and antes at 13,000, the short-stacked players didn’t have time to wait. Kovi99 got right at it and managed to triple up early by getting all-in twice as an underdog and winning (K-3 versus K-6 and K-Q versus A-3). Kovi99 wasn’t so lucky a third time when while playing with blinds of 80K/160K he raised to 320K under the gun and Markush13 called from the big blind. After a flop of 3d-Kc-8s, Markush13 checked and kovi99 bet 640K. Markush13 put kovi99 all-in for his last 300K and he made the call with Ah-Js. Markush had him dominated with Kh-7h and won the pot after the turn and river came 9h-Th.
BOLLPOKER would exit in 8th only two hands later. He shoved all-in for 1.3 million with 3h-3d and ckingusc (who has the South Carolina Gamecock as his avatar photo) made the call in the big blind with Ad-Qh. The race looked good for BOLLPOKER at first, but didn’t end well on a board of 5d-9s-Jd-Kh-Tc.
Klslcz would go out in 7th place in disgusting fashion only a few minutes later. He raised to 420K from under the gun and Markush13 re-raised to 1.3 million from the big blind. Klslcz flat called and the two players saw a flop of 9h-9s-Qc. Here is how that hand concluded:
This WCOOP Main Event was not to be for klslcz when the final two cards came 8c-Ks to give Markush13 a set and a nice 15.78 million stack.
Sumpas was the next to go in 6th with blinds still at 80K/160K. ckingusc raised to 404K and liberace called from the cutoff. Sumpas pushed all-in for 4.74 million from the small blind. Ckingusc folded, but liberace called. Sumpas was well behind with Ac-Qd versus Ad-Kh and the board didn’t help him with Td-Ts-3c-8d-Jh. The hand put liberace in a dominating position over the final five with 28.5 million of the 55 million chips in play.
The table knew liberace was running good when he put AJKHoosier1 all-in a short time later with Qd-Kh versus 7h-7c, the flop came 8d-7d-6c and he still didn’t lose the hand. That’s because the turn and river came 9c-Tc to put a straight on the board.
The players then discussed and finally agreed to a deal after a few tries. AJKHoosier1, a tournament force in the online poker scene, managed to carve out an additional $100K in the arrangement. He then proceeded to double up with 7-7 versus the 2-2 of ShoesRDurrty, leaving ShoesRDurrty crippled.
ShoesRDurrty was next to go in 5th. Ckingusc raised to 487K and ShoesRDurrty re-raised all-in for 1.1 million from the big blind with 3s-3c. Ckingusc made the call with Qh-Qd and won when the board came 4h-8h-6c-7d-Jh.
Markush13 was able to wrestle the chip lead away from liberace when he hit a set with his pocket sevens to crack liberace’s pocket eights, and a few hands later when he pushed liberace out of a 10 million pot with an all-in bet on the flop. However, over the next 20 minutes liberace regained the lead and finally put an end to Markush13 in 4th place. Liberace, sitting with 23.3 million chips, raised the 200K big blind to 600K preflop. Markush13, with about 12 million, re-raised to 1.8 million in the small blind. Liberace called and the two chipleaders saw the flop of Qs-9s-9d heads-up. Both checked. The turn brought the 6d and Markush13 led out for 2.33 million. Liberace called. The river was the 7h and Markush13 fired again – this time for 9.31 million, or all of his chips. Liberace quickly called with Th-8h for the rivered straight and had amassed 37 million chips after all Markush13 could produce was ace high with Ad-Ts.
After play got down to three handed, ckingusc made a move. First he doubled through AJKHoosier1 with kings versus A-T and then he played aggressive poker with liberace to take down a couple of pots uncontested. Ckingusc then put out AJKHoosier1 when AJKHoosier1 pushed over the top of a ckingusc 600K raise from the button for 4 million all-in from the big blind. Ckingusc called with 9h-9c and was well ahead of the Ad-7c of AJKHoosier1. The nines held and we were down to two.
When heads-up play began, liberace held the lead 34.5 million to 20 million, but that would change very quickly. Liberace raised to 500K from the button and ckingusc called. After a flop of 8c-3d-7d, ckingusc checked, liberace bet 1 million and ckingusc check-raised to 3 million. This didn’t sit well with liberace who immediately shoved all-in. ckingusc made the call with Kd-Jd for two overcards and a flush draw while Liberace held Qh-7s for second pair. The Kc on the turn did the trick, making the 6d on the river overkill. Regardless, ckingusc now had control with 40 million chips.
The match would end just a few hands later. Here is the final hand of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker:
Liberace can take solace in the fact that he made the most money thanks to the five-handed deal in this marathon final event that lasted close to 17 hours over two days. So concludes two and a half weeks of the biggest online poker event in history. See you next year!
WCOOP Main Event Final Table Results (payouts reflect five-way chop based on chip count)
10:34pm--It's over! liberace eliminated in 2nd place; ckingusc wins 2008 WCOOP Main Event bracelet!
It was just the 12th hand of heads up play. ckingusc had 39,992,242, a huge lead over liberace's stack of 14,632,758. With the blinds 125,000/250,000, ckingusc raised to 600,000 from the small blind/button, and liberace reraised to 1.5 million. ckingusc shoved, and liberace called.
ckingusc showed 8c-Ac, and liberace Kd-Jd. The flop brought a pair to both: As-Kc-Th. The turn was the 4c, and the river the 9d. ckingusc's ace gave him the pot and the bracelet!
According to the earlier deal, liberace takes home a pretty nice consolation prize -- a whopping $1,375,249! And with the extra $200,000, ckingusc ends up with $1,265,432. Congratulations to both!
10:28pm--ckingusc grabs huge pot, chip lead
A huge swing in just the 7th hand of heads up! liberace raised to 500,000 from the button/small blind, and ckingusc called. The flop came 8c-3d-7d. ckingusc checked, liberace bet 1 million, ckingusc check-raised to 3 million, and liberace shoved all in. ckingusc called with his remaining 16,933,621.
liberace: Qh-7s
ckingusc: Kd-Jd
This could be it for ckingusc! But the Kc on the turn changed the situation. And a 6d on the river gave him the flush and the 40 million-plus chip pot!
ckingusc now has a better than 3-to-1 advantage over liberace!
10:25pm--Chip counts as we begin heads up play
1. liberace 34,666,379
2. ckingusc 19,958,621
ckingusc: gl
liberace: u2 sorta
10:24pm--AJKHoosier1 knocked out in 3rd; heads-up play begins
AJKHoosier1 had battled valiantly with the short stack ever since play had become five-handed. Then came a hand where ckingusc raised to 600,000 from the button, and AJKHoosier1 shoved all in for 3,869,354 from the big blind.
AJKHoosier showed Ad-7c, and ckingusc 9h-9c. The board came 2d-3c-4s-Qh-2h, and AJKHoosier goes out in third place, collecting $782,542 as agreed upon earlier.
We are down to heads up!
10:21pm--Special request may require special delivery
ckingusc: when i cash out can i get a big novelty check?
StaffBryanS [Host]: I'm not sure that a giant foamboard check will fit through the post, ck. ;)
ckingusc: ship it freight imo
10:14pm--Chip counts at 16-hour mark (fifth break of Day 2)
Level 33
Blinds 125,000/250,000, antes 25,000
Players remaining: 3
Average chip count: 18,208,333
liberace, with 23.3 million, raised 3x to 600,000 from UTG/the cutoff, and Markush1 reraised to 1.8 million from the small blind. It folded back to liberace who called.
The flop came Qs-9s-9d, and both checked. The turn was teh 6d. Markush13 bet 2,333,111, and liberace called. The river brought the 7h, and Markush13 pushed all in for 9,310,895. liberace called, turning over 8h-Th for the straight. Markush13 just had Ad-Ts for the failed bluff, and he is out in 4th place, collecting $961,718 according to the earlier deal.
10:06pm--Higher denomination chips in play
With blinds of 100,000/200,000 and an average chip stack of 13.65 million, we are routinely seeing million-chip plus pots, even when there is little action.
The short stack, AJKHoosier1, has shown the most aggression thus far, with his 7.5 million-chip stack being enough to worry the bigger stacks.
9:59pm--The fantastic four
They have outlasted 2,181 opponents and nearly 16 hours' worth of play (not counting the breaks). Here are the chip counts here halfway through Level 32:
Markush13 just doubled through liberace in a battle of pocket pairs. Preflop, Markush13 had the worst of it with 7d-7c versus liberace's 8d-8c. Was looking bad after that Js-2d-2h flop, too. But a seven on the turn changed everything.
Markush13 now has almost 12.7 million, and liberace maintains the lead with 19.7 million.
9:48pm--Check out live WCOOP coverage on PokerStars.tv
Don't forget, you can also follow all of the action right up until the final hand over on PokerStars.tv. Click here to watch live video with commentary.
9:44pm--Baby pair fails ShoesRDurrty again, knocking him out in 5th
Four hands after being crippled by AJKHoosier1, ShoesRDurrty shoved with 3s-3c and ckingusc called him with Qh-Qs. The board came 4h-8h-6c-7d-Jh, and ShoesRDurrty ends in 5th place. He takes home $801,153, as agreed upon by the earlier deal.
9:41pm--ShoesRDurrty stubs toe as AJKHoosier1 doubles up
Coming back from the deal-making, the first ten hands or so were reasonably quiet, then came an all in confrontation between AJKHoosier1 -- who held 7h-7c -- and ShoesRDurrty -- who had 2h-2d. AJKHoosier1 had raised to 411,111, ShoesRDurrty reraised to 1,444,444, AJKHoosier pushed, and ShoesRDurrty called.
A seven flopped, and AJKHoosier's hand held up, giving him the 8.5-plus million chip pot. Meanwhile, ShoesRDurrty now has just 1.17 million.
9:34pm--Players come to terms; play continues for $200K and bracelet
Discussion began with Bryan S., the Tournament Director, providing pay outs according to a "chip chop" agreement -- i.e., with the prize pool reapportioned according to players' current stack sizes. Remember, no matter what deal is reached, at least $200,000 remains on the table to go to the eventual winner (along with the coveted WCOOP bracelet).
Here were the figures Bryan came back with reflecting such a deal:
Players immediately expressed reservations, especially AJKHoosier1. After a lengthy discussion -- including a second set of figures being refused by AJKHoosier1 -- a new arrangement was proposed:
9:11pm--Sumpas out in 6th; liberace increases lead
Player liberace is starting to take over this final table. He had just won a 9.7 million pot without a showdown against Markush. Then came this hand versus Sumpus.
ckingusc raised to 404,250 from UTG+1, and liberace called behind him. Then Sumpas raised all in for 4,736,518 from the small blind. ckingusc folded, and liberace made the call.
Sumpas: Qd-Ac
liberace: Ad-Kh
Tough spot for Sumpas. The board came Td-Ts-3c-8d-Jh, and Sumpas is out in 6th place, earning $415,150. With that 10.1 million-chip pot, liberace now has over 28 million -- nearly half the chips in play with five players left!
9:02pm--Another nasty river sends klslcz out in 7th
After all nine players survived the first half-hour or so of final table play, we've had our third bustout in ten hands.
klslcz raised to 420,000 from UTG, then Markush13 reraised to 1,300,999 from the big blind. klslcz called. The flop came 9h-9s-Qc. Markush13 bet 1,899,999, and klslcz promptly shoved all in for 4,861,175. Markush13 made the call, creating a 12 million-plus chip pot.
Markush13 showed Kh-Kc, but klslcz had Ad-Ac. "omg" typed AJKHoosier1, looking on. The turn was the 8c, but the Ks on the river gave the huge pot to Markush13 and knocked klslcz out in 7th, for which he gets $305,900.
8:57pm--Tough river eliminates BOLLPOKER in 8th
Just two hands after kovi99's elimination, we had our second final table bustout. BOLLPOKER open-shoved all in for almost 1.3 million from middle position, and ckingusc -- having 7.35 million with which to play -- called from the big blind.
ckingusc: Qh-Ad
BOLLPOKER: 3h-3d
The race was on. The board came 5d-9s-Jd-Kh... Tc! That ten on the end gave ckingusc the hand and knocked out BOLLPOKER in 8th. He earns $196,650.
8:53pm--kovi99 first to go at final table
In the second hand back from break, kovi99 minimum-raised to 320,000 from under the gun, and it folded back around to Markush13 who called from the big blind.
The flop came 3d-Kc-8s. Markush13 checked, and kovi99 considered for a good while before betting 640,000, leaving himself just 408,392 behind. Markush13 quickly check-raised to 160,000, and kovi99 had little choice but to make the call.
Markush13 showed Kh-7h for top pair, while kovi99 had Ah-Js. The turn was the 9h and the river the Th, and kovi99 goes out in 9th place, collecting $121,267.50.
8:47pm--Chip counts at 15-hour mark (fourth break of Day 2)
Level 31
Blinds 80,000/160,000, antes 16,000
Players remaining: 9
Average chip count: 6,069,444
First prize: $1,775,312.50
All nine of our players are still alive after the first 15 hands of final table play. Our short-stack entering the final table, kovi99, has survived three all ins and has nearly tripled up to 1.46 million. liberace continues to maintain the chip lead here in the early stages of final table play with 14.8 million, with Markush13 his nearest competitor with 9.23 million.
8:26pm--Final table is set
We have reached the final table of this historic WCOOP Main Event! Here was the scene as the first hand was being dealt:
Chip counts and seat assignments at start of final table:
After that crippling hand versus ShoesRDurrty, Fluffdog87 pushed his last 510,516 all in with Ad-2h and was called by klslcz who had 5c-5d. The board came Qh-3h-4d-Ts-7d, and Fluffdog87 is our final table bubble boy, earning $87,400 for a 10th place finish.
8:21pm--Fluffdog87 takes a big hit
Huge hand just went down here at one of our five-handed tables. Fluffdog87 raised to 355,575, then ShoesRDurrty repopped to 3,273,616. Fluffdog87 called, leaving himself 757,516 behind.
ShoesRDurrty had pocket sixes, and Fluffdog87 Ad-Kc. The flop brought a six, and the hand held, moving 6.67 million into ShoesRDurrty's stack.
8:14pm--charder30 out in 11th
With 1.744,239 chips to start the hand, charder30 pushed all in from UTG and liberace called from the small blind. liberace showed Ad-Td, while charder30 turned over 4d-4c.
The flop was okay for charder30 -- Jh-Qd-8d. But the turn was the Ah and he was in trouble. The river 2h sealed it, and charder30 goes out in 10th place, $87,400 richer.
We are now down to 10 players and are playing hand for hand until we reach our final nine.
8:10pm--Who needs a kicker?
ShoesRDurrty pushed for 1.5 million and BlueDevils09 came over the top to get play heads-up with Kd-3d for ShoesRDurrty and As-Kd for BlueDevils09. Unfortunately for BlueDevils09 the board ran out Jd-Qd-2c-Td-6d to give ShoesRDurrty the flush.
Two hands later after BlueDevils09 had doubled up once, but then he lost a flip for all of his chips with ShoesRDurrty with 7-7 versus Q-K and went out in 12th, collecting $87,400.
8:02pm--Live coverage at PokerStars.tv
Remember you can head over to PokerStars.tv to follow coverage of the last two tables of tonight's historic WCOOP Main Event.
Currently the hosts are interviewing Team PokerStars pro Vicky Coren in between describing all of the action.
7:58pm--Double knockout sends cbsplash & KingKobeMVP to rail
As we came back from the break, we had some fireworks at Table 105. It began with cbsplash raising to 266,554 from middle position. Markush13 called from the button, then KingKobeMVP raised all in for 2,433,056 from the small blind. It folded back around to cbsplash who committed his last 1,482,000. And, as we discovered, Markush13 was only too glad to make the call as well...
With just 14 players left, we are getting close to that final table where a whopping $6.2 million of the prize pool awaits. The pay jumps are becoming considerable here -- indeed, if one thinks about it, the biggest pay jumps in online poker history!
The next two to go out earn $65,550. Then the next three will each get $87,400.
This schedule of payouts doesn't take into account any possible deals at the end, of course. Incidentally, if any deal is done, at least $200,000 will have to be set aside for the eventual winner.
7:37pm--BillieD out in 15th after losing flip
BillieD raised to 210K from the cutoff and BlueDevils09 pushed all-in for 1.2 milliion from the button. The rest of the table folded and BillieD made the call for his tournament life with Qs-Qh. BlueDevils09 held Ac-Kc.
The flop looked safe with the 8s-5c-2d, but the turn 4c gave BlueDevils09 18 outs and one of those -- the 2c -- came on the river to send BillieD packing with $65,550 for 15th.
7:34pm--For the love of the railbirds
Observer chat has been turned off for awhile now, but Fluffdog87 wanted to remind them of his appreciation:
Fluffdog87: shoutout to all of the people railing me right now!
7:26pm--WCOOP Highlights on PokerStars.tv
Highlight reels of several WCOOP events have been compiled and are ready for viewing over on PokerStars.tv. A similar highlight reel will be compiled for today's event as well. For now, though, enjoy this one from Event 31, the $1,050 Limit Hold'em event won by assezz:
AJKHoosier1 just got it all-in against KingKobeMVP with 9-9 versus A-K and survived to put himself into second place with 8.1 million. KingkobeMVP fell to 246K.
7:16pm--Reminder: Check out coverage of the last two tables over on PokerStars.tv!
They've begun their coverage over on PokerStars.tv of the endgame of PokerStars' WCOOP Main Event. Live commentary and video! Click here to check it out.
7:13pm--ViP_MoDee out in 16th
With blinds 30,000/60,000, chip leader liberace raised to 180,000 from middle position and ViP_MoDee reraised all in for 1,357,825 from the small blind. liberace called, showing 7s-7d. ViP_MoDee was in a race for his tournament life with Ah-Jc.
The board came 4d-8c-3c-4h-Qs, and ViP_MoDee hits the rail in 16th place, earning $43,700 for his efforts.
Meanwhile, liberace currently remains atop the leaderboard with about 10.6 million.
7:10pm--ShiP ThA $$$ ships his stack to no avail, out in 17th
ShiP ThA $$$ shoved his last 569K into the pot preflop and AJKHoosier1 re-raised from the small blind to isolate and the two went heads-up.
ShiP ThA $$$ was dominated with Qh-7c versus the Ah-7d of AJKHoosier1. The board ran out harmlessly with 9s-Ks-6h-Kc-3c and ShiP ThA $$$ collected $43,700 for 17th place. AJKHoosier1 chipped up to 4.3 million.
7:04pm--Kicker advantage shoots liberace above 11-million mark
Forza Parma got the rest of his chips in the middle with A-Q. His problem was that liberace was holding A-K. Here is the hand that put Forza Parma out in 18th and with $43,700 in hand:
7:03pm--Nice pay bump
Now that we are down to two tables, all remaining players are guaranteed $43,700 -- a nice bump up from the $22,942.50 those finishing 19th-27th received. But you can be assured any of them would be disappointed with that result at this point.
7:01pm--JBlaze20 extinguished in 19th
JBlaze20 was down to 582,187 when his final hand began. It was a blind-vs.blind showdown with BOLLPOKER, with JBlaze20 completing from the SB and BOLLPOKER checking his option from the BB.
The flop came 5c-6s-Kc. JBlaze20 checked, BOLLPOKER bet 180,000, JBlaze20 check-raised to 420,000, and BOLLPOKER repopped it all in. JBlaze20 called, and we saw he was gunning for a flush with Jc-7c. Meanwhile, BOLLPOKER had flopped top two. As you can see here, the flush didn't arrive, and JBlaze20 is out:
6:58pm--McMang can't crack aces and leaves in 20th
McMang shoved his last 524K into the pot with Ah-7c, but ran into the As-Ad of KingKobeMVP to his left. The board ran out 4d-5s-5d-9h-Jh and the outcome was never in doubt. McMang earned $22,942.50 for his work while KingKobeMVP sits with a stack of 4.9 million.
6:52pm--It's raise, re-raise and take it
At this point in the tournament, few hands see the flop. Most hands lately have played out in a simple formula:
1) Raise
2) Re-raise
3) Fold
Big stacks don't want to collide to risk missing out on a six or seven figure paygay, but when they do the sparks can fly...
6:45pm--Unlucky seven knocks ElkY out in 21st
Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier has just been eliminated in 21st, culminating a terrific WCOOP for ElkY.
Fluffdog87 had raised to 152,575, and ElkY, down to 655,381 (20th out of 21 players remaining), reraised all in. Fluffdog87 made the call, showing 7d-7h. ElkY was in good shape with 9d-9h.
Good shape until the flop, anyway -- 2d-7s-6c. The 8c on the turn gave Grospellier added hope, but the 3d on the river sent him to the rail in 21st. He earns $22,942.50 for his efforts in Event No. 33.
Today's cash marks the seventh cash overall for Grospellier in this year's WCOOP.
6:38pm--Chip counts at 13-hour mark (second break of Day 2)
Level 27
Blinds 30,000/60,000, antes 6,000
Average chip count: 2,601,190
Players remaining: 21
First prize: $1,775,312.50
Team PokerStars pros remaining:
Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier 613,381 (21st)
6:31pm--Ace on the river sens lucky_aces08 home in 22nd
ElkY raised to 124K from UTG, klslcz made it 300K to his left and lucky_aces08 shoved for 701K from the button.
ElkY got out of the way, but klslcz was priced in and made the call with Ah-5h. lucky_aces08 had to like the flop and turn of 8h-9s-Td-3d, but the river was the As to send him away in 22nd place and $22,942.50 richer. klslcz now has about 2.8 million in his stack.
6:29pm--Day 2 chip leader out in 23rd
august35 entered Day 2 as our commanding chip leader, and maintained that lead for most of the first half-hour or so today. But a failed bluff on the last hand of the first level robbed august35 of a big chunk of chips, and after continuing to slide he finds himself out of the tourney in 23rd place.
On the final hand august35 had 1.29 million to start. Forza Parma raised to 125,700, and august35 called from the cutoff. ViP_MoDee also called from the small blind. The flop came 8s-Qh-Jd. ViP_MoDee checked, Forza Parma bet 195,000, august35 called, and ViP_MoDee got out of the way.
The turn was the 2h. This time Forza Parma checked, and august35 bet 450,000. Forza Parma reraised all in, and august35 called. Forza Parma showed Ts-9s for the flopped straight, and august35 8c-8d for a set of eights. The river was the Tc, and august35 was history.
6:24pm--liberace looking for a bracelet to go with all of those rings
When asked about critics' unfavorable reviews, the real Liberace famously responded "I cried all the way to the bank."
It is doubtful that player liberace -- our current chip leader with about 6.48 million -- is doing much crying at the moment, though he's certainly angling toward a trip to the bank.
liberace is followed by KingKobeMVP with 5.78 million.
6:19pm--All hail the King
KingKobeMVP was back at it, cracking the pocket kings of mcstuntz and sending him home in 24th place with $22,942.50. Here is how that happened:
6:17pm--Congrats to kudos1017, out in 25th
Down to 292,123, kudos1017 open-shoved from middle position with Js-7d and Markush13 called behind him with Ks-Qh. The board came 3h-Kd-Jh-Tc-9s, giving Markush13 the straight and knocking out kudos1017 in 25th place.
6:15pm--Follow final table action on PokerStars.tv!
Don't forget, coming up in just a little while we will have live coverage of the final few tables of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event.
PokerStars.tv coverage should begin around 6:30 ET -- just about 15 minutes from now.
Don't miss your chance to watch and listen! Tune in by clicking here.
6:10pm--Flopped set does in m3tph
m3tph raised to 150K from UTG, klslcz called from the cutoff and liberace called from the big blind.
The flop was 2d-7s-Td and liberace checked. m3tph bet 700K, more than the 520K pot, and klslcz folded, but liberace check-raised enough to put m3tph all-in for his last 1.78 million.
m3tph made the call and couldn't have liked seeing the 7c-7d of liberace for the flopped set. m2tph held Qh-Qs and did not improve on the 6h turn and Jh river to finish in 26th place and earn $22,942.50. liberace, meanwhile, jumped into the chip lead with a stack of 6.4 million.
6:04pm--River saves BillieD
BillieD was just now all in with Qc-Tc versus JBlaze20's pocket jacks. The flop came Ad-Jh-3s, giving JBlaze20 a set. The turn was the 8s, but the Kc on the river saved BillieD, giving him Broadway and a 1.636 million-chip pot. JBlaze20 now has about 916,000.
5:56pm--baloo1962 departs in 27th place
baloo1962 limped in the cutoff for 40K and McMang raised to 130K from the button to eliminate the rest of the field. baloo then re-raised to 300K and McMang called.
After a flop of Td-9d-5d, baloo1962 pushed all-in for 535,818 and McMang thought and called. The hands:
baloo1962: Kc-Kd
McMang: As-Th
baloo1962 was in great shape, but the board ran out 2s-Ah to create an unlikely victory in the hand for McMang, who chipped up to 1.8 million. baloo1962 received $22,942.50 for 27th place.
5:55pm--27 remain
We just had a rapid rush of three eliminations. First abreid went out in 30th, followed closely by abreid in 29th. Then we saw Herr_Jude was knocked out in 28th after losing a race with pocket kings against Sumpas' As-Qc. The flop was fine, but an ace on the turn meant Herr_Jude was out.
Of course, that consolation prize might help Herr_Jude take a sad song and make it better. Here are all of those who will be receiving $20,757.50 for two days' work:
Not that Kobe, but KingKobeMVP, who just won a monster pot to put him near the chiplead and bust abreid in 30th place. Here is that hand:
5:46pm--ahh_snap snapped off in 31st
We just saw a huge 4.4 million-plus chip pot go down over on Table 251, with the result being the elimination of ahh_snap in 31st place. The flop looked -- Jd 3s 2s -- looked fairly innocuous. But that's when the action really started. Check it out:
5:41pm--capinhabr sails home in 32nd place
Markush13 raised to 100,000 from UTG+1 and it folded back around to capinhabr who shoved all in for 521,391 total from the big blind. Markush13 made the call.
capinhabr showed Kc-Qc, and Markush13 Kd-Js. About as good as capinhabr could hope for here. Alas, a jack came on the flop -- 5s-Jh-8c -- and capinhabr was suddenly way behind. The Ac on the turn and the 9s on the river sent capinhabr out in 32nd place.
5:36pm--Chip counts at 12-hour mark (first break of Day 2)
Level 25
Blinds 20,000/40,000, antes 4,000
Average chip count: 1,707,031
Players remaining: 32
First prize: $1,775,312.50
Team PokerStars pros remaining:
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier 1,407,994 (19th place)
5:29pm--Sumpas bumps off austinlewis
In a hand right near the end of Level 24, august35 raised to 75,000 and ShiP ThA $$$ called behind from the cutoff. Then austinlewis reraised all in from the button for 613,650. Suddenly Sumpas, having apparently woken up in the small blind with a hand, repopped it all in for 1.48 million, and the other two got out of the way.
Sumpas: Ah-Qh
austinlewis: Ac-9h
Sumpas had austinlewis in a bad spot. The board came 7h-6d-4c-4h-2h, and austinlewis was eliminated in 33rd place. Sumpas meanwhile heads into the break with 2.25 million, good for ninth place at present (out of 32).
5:28pm--Daut44 down
Daut44 was just eliminated in 34th place. Daut44 open-shoved his last 456,959 from the small blind with Ac-2s, and ahh_snap called from the BB with Kc-Jc. A jack flopped, and when another came on the turn, Daut44 was drawing dead.
5:27pm--Playing back at Indiana
AJKHoosier1 is being aggressive at Table 105, raising many pots, but he's feeling the effect of his play as many players are three-betting him to make him lay down some mediocre holdings.
Despite having to surrender chips in two recent pots, AJKHoosier1 is still in second place with 3.25 million.
5:25pm--High attrition rate
As we approach the first five-minute break of day two, we're already down to 35 players. That means we've been losing players at a clip of about one every two minutes or so during the first hour of play today.
klskcz has assumed the chip lead at the moment with a little more than 3.5 million, followed by AJKHoosier1, august35, Markush13, and Fluffdog87.
5:21pm--More eliminations
We had just lost x-13 in 40th place, and PieOhMy in 39th. Then came this not-so-pretty hand involving Miss Pretty.
Sumpas raised to 70,000 from the button, and Miss Pretty, down to 331,620, called from the big blind. The flop came 3s-Qc-Td. Miss Pretty checked, Sumpas bet 75,000, and Miss Pretty reraised all in. Sumpas called, showing Kc-Qh. Miss Pretty was in tough shape with Qd-5d.
The turn was the 2c and the river the 3c, and Miss Pretty was eliminated in 38th place.
neverwin is out in 43rd place, after having lost two races with pocket pairs versus overcards.
First came the loss of a 1.2 million-plus chip pot to lucky_aces08. neverwin open-raised from middle position to 66,666 (note bet size when you read his hand), and lucky_aces08 reraised to 225,000 behind him. neverwin then pushed all in, and lucky_aces08 called with his last 355,308.
neverwin showed 6d-6s, while lucky_aces08 turned over Jd-As. The board came Jh-Kh-Qc-Jc-8d, and neverwin was down to just 170,196.
Just two hands later, neverwin pushed with pocket fours and was called by Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who had As-Kd. Both an ace and a king flopped, then an ace on the turn meant neverwin's day was done. ElkY meanwhile has chipped up to 1.52 million.
5:06pm--Aggressive play rules the day
You can expect plenty of three-bet shoves like this one throughout the day:
Fluffdog87 raised to 78,575, AJKHoosier called on the button and xmrstyle re-raised to 244K from the small blind. Fluffdog87 folded and then AJKHoosier1 shoved all-in for 2.3 million. xmrstyle, who had about 650K behind, thought for a long time and folded.
After the hand, AJKHoosier1 chipped up to 2.8 million for third place on the leaderboard.
5:03pm--Failed river bluff costs chip leader
In the very last hand of Level 23, chip leader august35 just took a massive hit, losing half of his stack and slipping back to 5th place overall.
august35 raised 3x to 75,000 from UTG+1, and Markush13 called from the cutoff. The flop came 2h-8s-Kh. august13 bet 135,000, and Markush13 called. The turn was the 2c, pairing the board. This time august35 bet 325,000, and Markush13 again called.
The river was the 3c. august35 bet 1,002,500, and Markush13 made the big call with his last 958,900. august35 showed Ac-Qh for nothing but the pair of deuces on board, while Markush13 turned over Ks-Qd for kings and queens.
Markush13 begins Level 24 (blinds 15,000/30,000, antes 3,000) with 3,045,300, good enough for second place at the moment, while august35 slips to 2,271,542.
4:55pm--A stack is born
astarisborn, who can now count the Main Event as his eighth cash of the 2008 WCOOP, just won a big three-way pot for his tournament life to vault into the top 15. Here is how it happened:
4:51pm--Fifty remain
We have lost ten players here in the first 20 minutes of play today. These four each received $18,572.50 for a little over a day's work:
4:49pm--Tune into WCOOP Main Event coverage on PokerStars.tv!
Be sure to click over to PokerStars.tv starting around 6:30pm ET today for coverage of the final stages of this historic online poker event!
4:44pm--Aces versus kings equals action
PS pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier just got some of those chips back in a three-way all in confrontation in which he held pocket rockets, kovi99 had Kh-Ks, and sandler1860 had Ad-6d. Not a good spot for sandler1860, who goes out in 56th on this hand:
4:41pm--august35 maintains big advantage
Our chip leader to begin play today, august35, has been predictably aggressive here at the start, picking up a few pots as the others don't wish to get too involved with him. He currently has about 4.17 million chips, which is more than 1.6 million ahead of his nearest foe at the moment, klslcz.
4:38pm--ElkY stumbles
PS pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier just lost about two-thirds of his stack in another preflop all in gamble. This time he open-shoved from the cutoff with Ah-7h and got called by JBlaze20 in the big blind who committed his last 404,467 with Ac-Tc.
The board came 3h-Qc-Qs-9d-4s, and ElkY is back down to a little more than 200,000. JBlaze20, meanwhile, is up to 891,434.
4:35pm--Double or nothing
We've seen no less than four all in bets within the first seven hands over on Table 77, as the short stacks are trying to grab some chips with which to work here in the early going.
The only shorty not to survive was sshyshadow who pushed for 140,421 with Ah-3c and was called by Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who held As-Ts. The needed trey didn't come for sshyshadow who goes out in 59th, picking up $17,480 for doing so.
Grospellier currently has 630,222 (39th of 57 remaining players).
4:30pm--Day 2 is underway!
The first hands of Day 2 are being dealt to our remaining 60 players, assembled around 7 tables. Play begins with Level 23. The blinds are 12,500/25,000 with 2,500 antes.
At the start of play today, the average stack size is exactly 910,416 -- that's almost 36.5 big blinds.
Day 2 coverage to begin at 4:30pm ET
Join us here at 4:30pm ET for Day 2 coverage of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event. Sixty players remain in the hunt for the $1.7 million first prize. Full chip counts are below.
The big one. The 2008 World Championship of Online Poker main event. Thirty-two events of all shapes, sizes, and buy-ins led to this - the main event extravaganza. Players logged in from around the world so as not to miss the online championship that started it all and continues to set the bar for the online poker world.
Scheduled as a two-day event, the $5,200 NLHE Main Event was advertised with a $10 million guarantee, and the registration of 2,185 players surpassed that to create a stellar $10.925 million prize pool, of which 324 finalists would take a piece. And the first place prize set aside for the winner? $1,775,312.50! The WCOOP Main Event today became the largest online poker tournament ever, eclipsing the 2007 event by more than $3 million. In sum, more than $30 million was up for grabs in the 2008 WCOOP. History-making milestones, indeed!
Team PokerStars Pros were in the field en masse, including Andre Akkari, who had only the night before finished second in the $10,300 HORSE event, playing alongside players who had qualified for seats through low buy-in satellites, and everyone had a chance at fame and fortune in this event. All competitors began with 25,000 in chips, and several notables jumped out to early leads. Event #24 winner Tom “luvgamble” Schneider, won a sizable hand, and acclaimed author Tony Holden took down two big pots in a row. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, early exits were handed out to Noah Boeken and Raymond Rahme. By the end of the first hour, Schneider sat stop the leaderboard with Holden in tenth, followed by Akkari in 23rd place and Hevad Khan holding down the 40th spot.
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was in this tournament looking for the win, but at the very least his seventh cash of the 2008 WCOOP. The Team PokerStars Pro had a successful series thus far but missed the win in Event #19 by only one place. He started strong in this event, taking two big pots and eliminating an opponent during the fourth level. And as the day progressed, despite roller coaster-like levels, he consistently chipped back up to stay in contention.
Three and four hours into the tournament, other big names began to depart, such as Chris Moneymaker, Isabelle Mercier, Dario Minieri, Greg Raymer, Vicky Coren, and WSOPE reigning champion Annette Obrestad. Following in the next few levels were Gavin Griffin, Alexandre Gomes, John Duthie, Tom McEvoy, Hevad Khan, Joe Hachem, Tuan Lam, Alex Kravchenko, Luca Pagano, Bill Chen, Lee Nelson, and Barry Greenstein.
Going into hour six of the action, only 517 players remained, and still maintaining some chip stacks were four members of Team PokerStars - Grospellier, Vanessa Rousso, Katja Thater, and Humberto Brenes. Event #24 winner Schneider bowed out when his A-K came up against the A-K of his opponent who made a flush with his Big Slick, and Thater soon left the Main Event as well when her pocket eights looked up at pocket aces and didn’t improve.
Just past 1:15am ET, the bubble finally burst, courtesy of online pro Tmay420 whose pocket nines lost the race with A-K when the board fell J-3-Q-T-8. From two straights came one winner; Michnak successfully sent Tmay420 out in 325th place. Players left the tournament in relative droves, with about 28 of them leaving in the first five minutes of payout guarantees. Humberto Brenes followed the trend a bit later, falling in 234th place.
But among those still playing was Grospellier. ElkY put the pressure on his opponents and began to climb the leaderboard, eventually becoming one of the few players to reach the one million chip mark. And famous baseball player turned poker enthusiast Orel Hershiser was playing to win as well, doubling up when necessary to stay in the game. Rousso also chipped up by eliminating a player with pocket aces versus the sevens of her opponent. But in one fail swoop, Rousso was suddenly ousted when her A-Q went in on a 4c-3d-As-Tc flop against the pocket fours of x-13. The river could only bring an 8h, and Rousso took leave of the tournament in 160th place. Humberto Brenes also found his way to the rail
Hershiser continued to play an aggressive game, winning some races and losing others but doubling up when he needed to do so. The most amazing one of those came when Hershiser got all-in preflop with 8c-7h against the pocket kings of Danny98765. The flop came a miracle Td-6c-7s-4c-8h, and he could only say what the other players were thinking. Hershiser typed, “WOW.” But as luck would - or would not - have it, Hershiser was finally benched with his A-8 when AJKHoosier1’s 5-4 found two other fives on the flop. Hershiser left the tournament in 89th place for a $16,387.50 payout.
By the end of the night, after 22 levels of play, the field had been reduced to only 60 players. The clock was stopped to end the first day of action, and august35 was so far atop the leaderboard that the other players could hardly see him. With 3,865,986 chips, the nearest competitor, Cobra234, was more than 1.4 million behind the leader.
Fluffdog87 was holding down a solid third spot on that board when play stopped. He and others like AJKHoosier1, Liberace, Markush13, ViP_MoDee in the top ten had been no strangers to that status throughout the last few levels, and others remaining had made a strong showing for hours as well, i.e. cpfactor, Herr_Jude, and ahh_snap. Daut44 also made a showing in 28th place when play ended, and none other than Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was in the final 60. With ElkY already having achieved his seventh 2008 WCOOP cash and hungry for a bracelet, no one knows what ElkY will be capable of when play resumes.
Speaking of further action, the Main Event is scheduled to restart at 4:30pm ET on Monday, September 22nd. Online poker history will be made, and the competition among the final 60 players will be fierce, as they all shoot for that $1,775,312.50 first prize and the most coveted title in online poker as WCOOP champion.
For all of the action as it happened during Event #33, the $5200 NLHE Main Event, read through the Live Blog.
Live blog coverage of the WCOOP Main Event, $5,200 No-Limit Hold'em is brought to you by David Aydt, Stephen Bartley, Martin Harris, Jennifer Newell, and Dave Behr.
Have a story? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. Click refresh to see the latest information.
5:08am--Day 1 of the Main Event is a wrap!
Upon reaching the end of Level 22, play has been stopped as scheduled to give the final 60 players the opportunity to rest. Action will resume tomorrow (later today, really) with the following pertinent information:
Level 23
Blinds: 12,500/25,000, ante 2,500
Average chip count: 910,416
Players remaining: 60
Tune in at 4:30pm ET on September 22nd to see online poker history with the playdown to the final table for all of the PokerStars action and the one player who will walk away with more than $1.7 million!
4:59am--august35 hits one final river
august35 has been playing well and running well all night, so it was no surprise that he should hit one final river. He was part of a three-way raised flop with DooshDotCom and ViP_MoDee. Each player checked the 3c-Ac-8c flop and the Ts turn. On the river 5h, DooshDotCom went for a bet of 200,000. that folded ViP_MoDee, but august35 had spiked a set with 5c-5c and called. He had a winner; DooshDotCom was on a stone bluff with Kh-Qd.
4:54am--cpfactor pushed back up to more than 1 million
cpfactor looks to be ending the night on a high note. From the button, he called a raise to 45,678 made by Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY"Grospellier. The tournament chip leader, august35, also called from the big blind.
The flop was small and raggedy, 2d-7h-4d. Action checked to cpfactor on the button, who fired out for 79,775. He was called in one spot, by august35. cpfactor tanked the turn Qc for forty-five seconds after august35 checked to him, then simply checked behind. The river was another face card, the Js. Again august35 checked, and this time his check brought a quick bet of 80,000 from cpfactor. august35 wasn't curious enough to call.
4:50am--Down the stretch they come
Eleven minutes remain until play is halted for the night. We expect a general tightening of play to take place as players battle to make it through to tomorrow's re-start.
4:36am--neverwin triples up to stay alive
neverwin is doing his best cockroach impression. He moved all-in for 105,438 and was called by diemaus36o before Supernova Elite player DutchSlugger raised all in himself for a total of 398,067. diemaus36o didn't want to play for the much and folded. neverwin opened two live cards, 7s-9d against DutchSlugger's Ad-Qh. The flop was 7h-8h-9s, making two pair for neverwin. DutchSlugger never improved, allowing neverwin to triple up to 342,314.
4:32am--Oh, there will be highlights
Anytime you can take the final table of an online tournament as jam-packed with skilled players as a WCOOP event and see some analysis of it, it can be a tremendous learning tool for players looking to improve their online games. (And who isn't, right?) The folks at PokerStars know that and are providing highlight reels of many of the WCOOP tournaments from this season, and the Main Event final table will certainly have one of its own. Being able to watch the final table with the in-depth analysis provided, it is an opportunity to learn. For example, check out this epic final table from Event #27 that took place only a few days ago:
It was a two-minute tank for Wretchy. He faced a raise that was enough to put him all-in, on the turn of a board that read 9s-2d-5h-2c. His opponent was august25, the chip leader who had shown an earnest willingness to splash chips around and put his opponents to the test. Finally, Wretchy called all-in with Ah-Jh. It was a mistake; he was in very bad shape against august25's 9c-8s. The river bricked out 6s, sending the 926,000-chip pot to august25 and sending Wretchy to the rail.
4:16am--We'd settle for a few beers
It's been a long day of poker, with scant time for chowing down on anything more substantial than a granola bar and the smoking consumable of each player's choice. It stands to reason that players might be hungry:
Wretchy: i need some terryaki chicken right now
Wretchy: with rice
4:14am--Hershiser benched
It was a stellar showing for the famous Orel Hershiser, who finished this tournament in 89th place out of 2,185 starting players.
Despite having doubled during the last level with pocket aces versus the A-K of dpeters17 and sitting with nearly 400,000 in chips, a few lost subsequent pots put him back down on the leaderboard. He found a hand with which to risk his last 220,372 chips with, and went with the Ad-8s by calling it all-in after AJKHoosier1 pushed first. AJKHoosier1 had Hershiser covered by a longshot, but his cards didn't look promising - 5c-4c. Yet and still, the board came Tc-5s-5d-2c-Ac, and that underdog hand turned into trips for AJKHoosier1, relegating Orel Hershiser to the rail with an extra $16,387.50 in his PokerStars account.
4:07am--DutchSlugger can't outdraw atlantic17
SuperNova Elite player DutchSlugger reraised all-in after atlantic17 opened for 45,000. He had atlantic17 well-covered and probably wouldn't have minded a fold. Instead, atlantic17 called all-in for 125,940 total with pocket jacks. DutchSlugger held ace-jack and couldn't find an ace on the board by the time the river came down.
3:56am--Twenty levels of poker have produced these stats
Level 21
Blinds 7,500 / 15,000, ante 1,500
Average chip stack: 575,000
Players remaining: 95
First prize: $1,775,312.50
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier was all in a few hours ago, needing to win a flip to remain in the tournament. He won that flip and now is near the top of the chip counts with more than 900,000 in chips. He called a raise to 36,000 from the small blind that was made by earl-position player august35. Both players checked the Ts-8s-9d flop. ElkY made a feeler bet of 48,000 when the turn fell Kc. august35 called. When the river came another king, the Kh, ElkY bet 78,965. august35 raised to 209,275 but he couldn't shake ElkY, who called with the best hand -- pocket jacks. august35 showed pocket sevens for a smaller two pair. Don't worry about him, though. He still has more than 3 million in chips.
3:39am--Hershiser knows his curveballs
And he threw one here. In some aggressive preflop action, AJKHoosier1 put in a raise from the button, and Orel Hershiser came over the top with an all-in move for his last 181,822. Danny98765 pushed all-in from the big blind to get AJKHoosier1 out of the pot, which was successful. Danny98765 showed pocket kings, and Hershiser showed 8c-7h. But Hershiser wasn't meant to be pulled from the game quite yet, as he watched the board come out Td-6c-7s-4c-8h. He made his two pair on the river to stay alive.
Hershiser's own comment said it all. "WOW."
3:36am--Trading places
ahh_snap, meet ViP_MoDee. ViP_Modee, meet ahh-snap. They traded spots in the chip counts after a preflop all-in confrontation that created a pot with 1.1 million chips. ahh_snap started things off with a raise to 29,450 from middle position. ViP_MoDee was the last person to act, in the big blind, and reraised to 88,000, leaving himself about 500,000 behind. ahh_snap quickly moved all-in for over 1 million and ViP_MoDee called all-in just as quickly. He had ahh_snap dominated, Ah-Kc against As-Qs. Two kings on the flop made trips for ViP_MoDee; he sealed the deal with the 5c turn and now has more than 1.1 million in chips. ahh_snap fell back to the pack at about 451,000.
3:33am--neverwin hangs on
With only 65,463 chips, it was "pick a hand and go" tie for neverwin. The hand he chose was pocket fours; MezmerizePLZ called with ace-queen. Despite his moniker, neverwin won the hand on a small board, 3s-6c-2h-2d-Jc, to double to 156,126. He's still short, though.
3:26am--dr.Cooley cooled off
m3tph led the bettng the whole way against dr.Cooley, betting 30,000 preflop and 50,000 on the turn after the flop was checked through. On the river, the board showed Qc-9d-2c-Js-Kc, and m3tph bet 740,000. dr.Cooley quickly called all in for 265,020 with Th-Ac, having rivered a gutshot to Broadway. The river, however, was a club that also filled m3tph's flush draw, 7c-8c. He took the whole pot, 713,040 chips total, and eliminated dr.Cooley. m3tph moved to 1.4 million in chips.
3:15am--We have a chip leader
Say hello to your new chip leader, august35. With blinds currently at 5,000 and 10,000 and the average chip stack at 437,000, august35 is sitting behind 2,650,814 in chips. His next closest competitor, m3tph, has 1,072,072. He's at a table loaded with chips, Table 77:
Seat 1: ahh_snap (1,002,452 in chips)
Seat 2: august35 (2,650,814 in chips)
Seat 3: ztesch (791,162 in chips)
Seat 4: ViP_MoDee (849,242 in chips)
Seat 5: Se7enTr3y (91,317 in chips)
Seat 6: Wretchy (164,700 in chips)
Seat 7: Sussie Smith (488,156 in chips)
Seat 8: ElkY (404,584 in chips)
Seat 9: cpfactor (669,449 in chips)
Expect some fireworks.
3:11am--Baron busted
It happened a short time ago after Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron had already taken some hits to his stack. He became embroiled in a sizable pot with his A-K versus the pocket nines of atlantic17 and K-Q of iwearsandals. The board showed Q-5-4-2-K, and iwearsandals collected the main pot of 384,030, while westmenloAA could only gather the 8,864 from the side pot.
That 8,864 went all-in on the next handwith Ah-6h, but achen was in with Kd-Jd, and the board came Tc-Kh-4s-7s-2c. westmenloAA was ousted from the Main Event in 158th place with $13,110 for his efforts.
3:09am--Lee takes a different tack
With Bernard "Dogger9" Lee not able to find any callers for his preflop open-raises, he needed to approach the problem from a different angle. He reraised all-in after Doctor_Fun opened for 25,000. Doctor_Fun was the only caller, showing two overcards (Jc-Kh) against Dogger9's pocket tens. The flop and turn were both safe for Dogger9 (5s-As-4s-3h) but the river Ks ended his tournament. He's out in 132nd place.
3:01am--Dogger9 getting short
Bernard "Dogger9" Lee was having trouble finding customers for his raises earlier, but blinds were small. He had time. Now blinds are up to 5,000 and 10,000, making Lee's 110,000-chip stack seem much smaller by comparison. He recently open-raised all in from early position but still couldn't find any callers. At some point soon, someone is going to take him on.
2:57am--He's got jokes, folks
Orel Hershiser is in good spirits and spending some time in the chat box, amusing fellow players with some jokes. This one carried over from Table 251 to where he was moved a short time ago, to Table 30.
O. Hershiser: Batman and Superman were hanging out
O. Hershiser: Batman says whats going on
O. Hershiser: Superman said the other day I was at 15000 feet and look down and saw wonder woman in her back yard
O. Hershiser: so Batman says what did you do
O. Hershiser: So Superman flew down and landed on her
O. Hershiser: Batman says that must have scared the blank out of her
O. Hershiser: Superman says not as much as the Invisible Man
That table move, however, just put him to the left of AJKHoosier1, so it might be time to focus on that poker game.
2:54am--A short pause in the action for break-related activities
Level 19
Blinds: 5,000/10,000, ante 1,000
Average chip stack: 364,166
Players remaining: 150
First prize: $1,775,312.50
There are no more million-chip stacks on Table 77. ahh_snap raised to 19,200 before the flop and was called by cpfactor's tormentor, ViP_MoDee. The flop was very coordinated, coming down 7s-8h-Td. ahh_snap checked, then called a bet of 29,500. When the turn came Ad, ahh_snap led out for 64,000. ViP_MoDee called that bet then bet 149,500 after ahh_snap checked the 7h river. ahh_snap called, but it was a mistake -- he couldn't beat ViP_MoDee's Ah-Kh for two pair, aces and sevens. That pushed ahh_snap back down to about 757,000 in chips.
2:44am--Rousso hit the rail
It was too good of a hand to lay down, we thinks. It started calmly, as LadyMaverick simply called x-13's raise from the small blind. Upon seeing the 4c-3d-As on the flop, x-13 bet 16,000, and LadyMaverick check-raised to 32,000, which was called by x-13. The turn was a Tc, and LadyMaverick led out with a 72,000 bet, but x-13 came over the top all-in. LadyMaverick called for her last 151,680 all-in with Ad-Qs and top pair, but x-13 showed pocket fours for that pesky three-of-a-kind. The river was 8h, and that was LadyMaverick's tournament.
Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso was eliminated in 160th place for a $13,110.00 payday.
2:35am--That's one way of dealing with a big stack
cpfactor was one of the two one-million-chip stacks on Table 77. That's not the case anymore. He called a raise to 17,500 by Sussie Smith along with two other people. The flop was Js-4h-4d. Sussie Smith bet 28,000, a bet that cpfactor called before ViP_MoDee raised to 64,000. Everyone folded back to cpfactor, who immediately moved all-in for over 1 million chips. ViP_MoDee snap-called another 200,000 chips, delighted to turn over Ac-4c. cpfactor had slowplayed pocket kings and paid the price when the turn and river bricked. He's down to 750,000.
2:27am--Rousso rises
LadyMaverick knew exactly where she was going with this hand. When matate came in raising all-in to 113,333, she didn't hesitate to reraise all-in to isolate. Her hand? Pocket aces. And they were up against the pocket sevens of her opponent. The board ran out 2c-Qc-9d-Kh-Td, and without much drama, matate was ousted from the tournament.
There are 187 players remaining in the tournament, only three of whom are over one million in chips. Two of those players -- cpfactor and ahh_snap -- are seated next to each other on Table 77. They are directly to the left of Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. ElkY has been rising to challenges all throughout the WCOOP. We'll watch how he handles this latest one.
2:17am--Getting to know ElkY
As Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier continues on in this Main Event, having secured his seventh 2008 WCOOP cash by making it to the money tonight, it might be time to learn a little more about him. PokerStars.tv caught up with the pro player, and this was the result:
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier just doesn't want the WCOOP to end. He opened with a raise to 16,789 from middle position before THEDUTCH4141 reraised to 41,000 out of the small blind. When action passed back to ElkY, he shipped it all in, 173,575 chips total. THEDUTCH4141 made the call and it was off to the races, ElkY's ace-king against THEDUTCH4141's pocket queens. An ace on the flop held for Grospellier, doubling him up to about 356,000.
2:10am--Rapid exits
Since we hit the money almost two hours ago, there has been the typical flurry of bustouts with 120 players hitting the rail. That also means we have jumped several payout levels and are now in the fourth, wherein players leaving through 181st place will receive $12,017.50 for their efforts.
2:01am--THAY3R hits the rail
As these things often do, the tournament came down to a flop for THAY3R. He moved all-in preflop for 49,335 after psuNYY51 had raised to 14,250 from early position. psuNYY51 called with ace-queen against THAY3R's pocket tens. When the flop came 5s-Kc-Jd, THAY3R didn't want to hit his set. But that's exactly what he did when the turn came Ts, making a set for THAY3R and a straight for psuNYY51. THAY3R had one shot to fill up and didn't do it -- the river was the 6d. He finished the Main Event in 224th place and collected $10,925 as a result.
1:59am--westmenloAA doubles to see the top ten again
Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron took the opportunity to double up in a monstrous hand and a battle of the blinds. Though achen came in raising, it was westmenloAA who reraised it to 48,000, then liberace who pumped it up to 125,000. With a big pot already brewing, westmenloAA took it to another level by pushing all-in for 334,149 with pocket queens, and liberace called with pocket jacks.
The board ran out innocently enough: Tc-3d-5c-9s-7c, and westmenloAA took the 688,698 pot and soared back into the top ten.
1:51am--ClockWyze may want to turn back time
Hindsight is 20/20, they say. Perhaps if ClockWyze knew then what he knows now, he might have played his final hand differently. He raised to 12,000 preflop from middle position and was called by the player on his left, ahh_snap. On the 6h-8s-6s flop, ClockWyze bet 19,999 and was raised by ahh_snap to 42,000. ClockWyze responded with a raise of his own to 132,676 that was ahh_snap-called. ahh_snap had slowplayed pocket kings to perfection against the 8c-7c of ClockWyze. He had to sweat a little when the turn came 9d, but the river was a harmless 2s. ClockWyze was eliminated from the tournament as a result of the hand.
1:43am--It's that time again - break time!
Level 17
Blinds: 3,000 / 6,000, ante 600
Average chip stack: 229,516
Players remaining: 238
First prize: $1,775,312.50
1:46am--Hershiser doubles to play on in the 17th inning, errr, level
After having slipped to little more than 60,000 in chips, it was time for Orel Hershiser to make a move. First, he simply called Aboubacar's initial raise from the small blind to see the flop come 7c-Jd-5s. Hershiser then immediately pushed all-in with 9s-7s, for middle pair, and Aboubacar called with only As-Qs. The turn and river were Ts and 2h, respectively, and Hershiser doubled-up to 129,510.
1:35am--THAY3R runs into royalty
THAY3R must have been willing to take a flip after reraising Petor preflop to 34,600. beaverFEAVER moved all in behind him for 115,150 total. THAY3R made the call with pocket nines but found himself up against pocket kings. He never improved, slipping to 85,000 in chips as a result.
1:30am--ElkY rockets up the counts
Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier has had a great WCOOP, and it's not over yet. ElkY was dealt pocket rockets in the small blind and was gifted with the opportunity of action when dupie20 moved all in for 66,863 from early position. Grospellier made a snap-call and found himself up against dupie20's Ah-Qh. dupie20 didn't improve and was eliminated as a result of the hand. ElkY now has about 242,000 in chips.
1:28am--Table45, hang-out spot for chipleaders
Birds of a feather... At least that's the case in this tournament. Two of the three players at the top of the leaderboard are seated together - cpfactor and ahh_snap. Each one has the other players at the table dominated to say the least. The highest chip stack in comparison to the two big ones is ThePokerBody with just under 200,000.
1:24am--No stampeding, please
In approximately five minutes since the bubble burst, 28 players have rushed to the virtual cashier cage to get their piece of the prize pool.
1:23am--ElkY wins game of chicken
Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier refused to blink in a showdown with the player on his immediate left, ClockWyze. ElkY put in the first preflop raise, to 13,456. Clockwyze reraised to 28,000 straight. That folded all players back to ElkY, who made it 98,765, committing himself to the pot. ClockWyze finally blinked and folded his hand.
1:19am--Back-to-back hits for Lee
Fortunes are changing on Table 187, and Bernard "Dogger9" Lee is taking the worst of it. He lost a flip for almost 38,000 chips to El-Gribbo when Lee's Ts-Ad couldn't connect with the board against El-Gribbo's 38,000 pocket deuces.
The very next hand, Lee called another all-in bet, that of jpmetalman, for almost 60,000 chips. He showed Ad-2s against jpmetalman's pocket jacks. Although Lee managed to flop an ace, jpmetalman rivered a jack to take down the pot.
Lee is finding customers for his action now, but it's not helping him out. He's down to about 62,000 in chips.
1:18am--Players hear the *pop* and most of them play on
Sometimes, hand-for-hand play can be the prime opportunity to make a move. For pro player Tmay420, this was it.
Michnak came into the hand preflop raising to 9,520, and Tmay420 raised to 37,775. Michnak pushed all-in with Ah-Kc, and Tmay420 called all-in for his last 121,470 with pocket nines. It was off to the races until the board came Jd-3c-Qc-Td-8s, and though the straight hit both players, Michnak had the ace-high straight and took it.
Tmay420 became the WCOOP Main Event's bubble boy, finishing the tournament in 325th place.
1:09am--Dogger9 doggin' it
It's been slow going for Bernard "Dogger9" Lee for the last level and a half. The only pots that he has been winning consist of only the blinds and antes, staying level at around 160,000 chips. It doesn't seem that Lee has lost his aggression, more that he hasn't been able to find any customers. With forty big blinds in his stack, he can stand for business to be slow for a little while.
1:04am--Watch out, the bubble is near...
With only 334 players left in the field, play has slowed just a tad as the money bubble approaches. Only the top 324 survivors in this amazing 2,185 field will receive a portion of the $10.925 million prize pool. The first payout level will be worth $8,740 for 289th through 324th place, which is quite significant as compared to...well...nothing.
Hand-for-hand play will begin shortly.
12:57am--Beware the Shark
Humberto Brenes has been hanging around this tournament with a playable stack, waiting for his spots. He found one when Miss Pretty raised to 12,000 and Brenes called from late position. The flop was all deuces, 2d-2d-2h. Miss Pretty made the minimum bet of 4,000 there, on the 7h turn and on the 4s river. Brenes called each time, showing 8d-8h. That beat Miss Pretty's As-Qd and pushed Brenes up to 150,000 in chips.
12:54am--Blazing the trail
JBlaze20 has been on the rise for several levels and just put some distance between him and the others in the top ten on the leaderboard. How, do you ask, does JBlaze20 keep climbing? Most aggression, it seems, with a little luck thrown in.
JBlaze20 raised the hand preflop, and Cowboy40x reraised all-in for 41,649 from the small blind with pocket sevens. JBlaze20 considered for a few moments and called with Kd-Th. The cards fell just right - Kh-3d-Ad-8s-4s, and JBlaze20 eliminated another opponent.
12:51am--Clockwyze all wound up
If there's one player who has been driving the action on Table 77, that player is ClockWyze. After losing almost 150,000 in chips on a hand right before the break where ClockWyze was forced to fold to a river raise, he has raised more than his share of pots after the break. Enough of his raises have been successful that ClockWyze chipped back up above 200,000 in chips, but he has also been forced to fold a three-bet at least three times.
12:45am--Take five, everyone
Level 15
Blinds: 2,000/4,000, ante 400
Average chip stack: 148,841
Players remaining: 367
First prize: $1,775,312.50
Pocket kings is a great starting hand. It's even better when it flops a set. Yet somehow Mike "SirWatts" Watson still lost in just that scenario. He moved all in for 112,927 preflop after KAG1 had open-raised all in for 59,820 from early position. KAG1 had pocket sevens, and also flopped a set on the flop of Kh-Td-7h. That left KAG1 drawing to a single out, which he promptly hit with the 7s turn. Watson was unable to return the favor when the 4h hit the river. He was left with about 53,000 in chips.
12:26am--Herr_Jude finishes what he started
In no-limit hold'em, one hand you're in, and the next you're out. The newly short-stacked mig.com open-raised all in for 43,780 from the button and was called by Herr_Jude out of the small blind. Herr_Jude had the slightest of edges with 3h-3d against mig.com's 9c-Th. mig.com paired on the 9d-7d-Js flop but Herr_Jude got his set on the turn with the 3s. That left mig.com drawing at a straight that didn't fill with the 4c river. He's out.
12:23am--mig.com loses royal rumble
mig.com and Herr_Jude got into a preflop raising war that ended with Herr_Jude all in for 122,608. mig.com had a good starting hand, Qs-Qc, but Herr_Jude had a better one with Kh-Kc. The board added two tens, two jacks and a trey, none of which helped either player. That was a big hit for mig.com, pushing him down to about 45,000 in chips.
12:18am--ClockWyze wins race to the pressure bet
No-limit poker is sometimes about who makes the pressure bet first. ClockWyze made the first raise preflop to 7,777, bringing a re-raise to 22,222 from Mike "SirWatts" Watson. ClockWyze called for time and tanked for about forty seconds before reraising to 45,000. With only 120,000 chips behind his re-raise, this was a pressure bet back to Watson. He could only raise all in or fold; calling was not an option. He decided to fold, allowing ClockWyze to win the pot and jump to 346,000 in chips.
12:15am--aakkari brings luck to the lady
A formerly-eliminated fellow Team PokerStars Pro, Andre "aakkari" Akkari, stopped by LadyMaverick's table to bring her luck. And it worked. Just as he showed up, she eliminate
So you want to win a million bucks, huh? 
Remember you can head over to PokerStars.tv to follow coverage of the last two tables of tonight's historic WCOOP Main Event. 
Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier has just been eliminated in 21st, culminating a terrific WCOOP for ElkY.
Don't forget, coming up in just a little while we will have live coverage of the final few tables of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event. 
