A late-afternoon decision to play in Event #6 of the World Championship of Online Poker because “the Vikings were not going to be playing on TV until Monday night” worked out $452,086.50 to the good for 46-year-old Tim “Calvin32” Sullivan. The Sioux Falls construction company CFO bought into the WCOOP event on a lark and almost unregistered when his mom came over to visit just after he registered. Mom asked if she could watch him play “and ended up right behind me for every hand of the tournament.”
Sullivan is a dedicated family man, and plans “some nice vacations” with his winnings, in addition to paying off college educations for his three kids (ages 25, 23 and 20). His wife Lisa is the epitome of a childhood sweetheart, as they met in kindergarten and married 26 years ago in college.
He learned poker playing around his grandmother’s table, and got his love of games at a young age from his Uncle Francis, who taught him chess, cribbage and other card games. He passed that love of games along to his children, who all play poker. “My son Michael is actually a very good player (again – just recreationally) and has taught me a few things. My daughter was at my side during the final four hours and the boys were following online at the same time.”
A self-taught recreational player, Sullivan has never read a poker book, and learned everything he knows about the game by playing, both live and online. Since he got onto PokerStars two years ago, he’s played the Sunday Million a few times, but his largest cash before the WCOOP was in the $6k range. Sullivan plays live when he makes it out to Vegas, preferring limit poker for cash games, but No Limit Hold’em for tournaments.
With no big card rooms close to his home, Sullivan enjoys the convenience of playing at PokerStars, saying “I’m sort of a late night person, so after the day is done, I’ll sit down and play without affecting my daily life too much.”
Like so many players, Sullivan has a dream of one day playing the Main Event at the WSOP. “I’ve entered some satellites, but have never qualified. I’m hopeful to be able to take a seat next year with some of my winnings (or maybe there’s a sponsor out there willing to invest in the poker world’s next 46 year old phenom??? – lol) Otherwise, I’ve always been successful at playing poker, even now on the bigger stages – I’m just not sure how this will affect the amount of play that’ll I’ll be doing. I know this win has to be considered a fluke … but it makes you think that maybe there could be some opportunity out there for me.”
Sullivan he wasn’t sure if he played against any “name” pros in the event, saying “This is going to sound really ignorant, but I wouldn’t have known a pro from an amateur during the tourney. I’m really not aware of any anyone’s screen names, etc. and so wouldn’t know. I do know there was substantial chatter at times and I assumed it was because there were more known names, but I tried not to pay much attention to that.”
A gentleman and a champion, Sullivan commented on his final opponent’s play in the event – “I’d like to commend Solovka on his play. He was so dominant at the final table that he allowed me to just sit back and wait for the heads up battle. And that heads up battle was extremely hard fought. I was beginning to think it would never end. I really deep down knew that my call on the last hand was probably not a good play, but he was wearing my patience down. The only reason I did call is that I still would have had a 2 to 1 chip lead and I thought I was playing well enough to win.”
You know, it's pretty fun to watch the final tables of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker as they happen. But you know what else is fun? Watching them happen with the hole cards exposed.
PokerStars.tv is spending a lot of time putting together full highlight reels from the WCOOP final tables. Each show features expert commentary, revealed hole cards, and statistical analysis.
Below you will find the Event #6 highlight show, including portions of the marathon 200-hand heads-up battle.
Last year this event, the $530 no-limit hold'em event, ran for more than 20 hours, longer than any other tourney had ever run to that point in the history of the World Championship of Online Poker. Anticipating an even larger field this year, it was decided to divide the event into two days of play. After 22 levels and 11 tough hours of play yesterday, 72 survived to come back for Day 2, all harboring hopes of landing the $450,000-plus payday awaiting the winner.
The chip leader entering Day 2, pokrates, would maintain the lead in the early going, but eventually stumbled before going out in 31st. Among the many Team PokerStars pros who came out for this event, just one, Andre "aakkari" Akkari, had made it through the starting field of 7,351 to start Day 2. Akkari battled gamely, but eventually found himself all in with As-Qs against cassie13's Ac-Kc and couldn't outdraw his opponent, thus finishing in 47th place.
cassie13 would use Akkari's chips well, making it all of the way to the final table. It was almost 10:00pm Eastern time when the first hand was dealt to the final nine. Here's how it looked:
Seat 1: adonislee (United States) 11,182,6474 in chips
Seat 2: Papio Papio (Denmark) 1,175,610 in chips
Seat 3: Solovka (Russia) 22,993,538 in chips
Seat 4: cassie13 (Canada) 2,525,362 in chips
Seat 5: Yo Burger (Canada) 6,041,674 in chips
Seat 6: Roland_NL (Netherlands) 3,080,096 in chips
Seat 7: DUBBZZ (United States) 6,941,294 in chips
Seat 8: randomcrayon (United States) 3,072,334 in chips
Seat 9: Calvin32 (United States) 15,853,618 in chips
Thanks to those 10,000-chip starting stacks such a huge field, there were more than 73 million chips in play as the final table began. At that point, we were in the middle of Level 28, with blinds of 40,000/80,000 with an 8,000 ante.
Just a few minutes into the final table, the short stack, Papio Papio, would be the first to fall. After slipping down to just 715,610, Papio Papio open-shoved from the hijack seat, and after a few moments of contemplation cassie13 decided to reraise all in from the button for a total of 2,065,362 from the button. The others got out of the way, and Papio Papio turned over Ah-6s, while cassie13 had Qd-Kh.
So far so good, but then came the flop: Qh-8c-Ks. The turn was the 5h and the river the 5c, and Papio Papio was the final table's first casualty.
After 20 minutes, Yo Burger was the next to go. Chip leader Solovka -- sporting a gaudy 26-plus million-chip stack -- had put in a preflop raise and Yo Burger reraised all in for 4,583,224 total. Solovka called and showed Qs-Qd, ahead of Yo Burger's Ad-Ts. The board came 3d-4c-Kc-6c-6d, sending Yo Burger to the rail with the 8th place prize of $42,268.25.
Two hands later randomcrayon joined the parade of short-stacked players to the rail, pushing his last 2,892,334 all in with Kd-Qd and getting called by Calvin32 who held 5d-Ah. The board ran out As-9d-2d-5c-Ks, and you could color randomcrayon gone, having picked up $64,321.25. It took about 15 minutes for DUBBZZ to be eliminated in 6th, having endured one of the nastier beats of the final table. Down to a little more than 1.7 million, DUBBZZ got all of it in the middle with Jc-Kc on a Qs-Js-8h flop against Solovka who had 3h-3c -- very good shape, one would think. But the 3s spoiled DUBBZZ's buzz, and he was out in 6th, earning $95,563. See the hand below:
Solovka claimed yet another victim by knocking cassie13 out just a few minutes later. After Solovka raised preflop to 650,000, cassie13 reraised all in for 2,621,944.Solovka called, showing Ad-8d, well ahead of cassie13's Ah-6d. The board ran out 5h-5c-Tc-8s-9h, and cassie13 went home with $132,318 in 5th place.
Shortly afterwards, about 11:00pm, adonislee and Roland_NL both found themselves sitting on stacks of about 3.5 million. adonislee was the first to make a move. After Calvin32 raised to 825,000 from the cutoff, adonislee reraised all in and Calvin32 quickly called, showing pocket queens. adonislee had Ks-Jc, and after the community cards came out Ad-6h-10h-3s-3d, adonislee was out in 4th, pocketing $169,073. Ten hands later, Solovka then took care of Roland_NL, who shoved with pocket tens only to be pitted against Solovka's pocket jacks. The board came 4s-Ks-7c-4h-Qs, and Roland_NL took third-place prize money of $205,828.
As heads-up play began, Solovka enjoyed a commanding chip lead, with 53.8 million to Calvin32's 19.6 million. Early on Calvin32 suggested the possibility of a deal, but Solovka was not interested. The pair battled for 39 hands, and by the time they reached the next break, Calvin32 had worked his way back into the lead, with 46.2 million to Solovka's 27.2 million.
As they started back, Calvin32 again asked "you interested in running the numbers?" and Solovka again said no. They battled for 40 more hands, with Sokovka finally catching up to and overtaking Calvin32 just as the clock struck midnight.
The pair would battle back and forth for over two hours and 200-plus hands, with Solovka retaking the advantage, then losing it again in a huge hand in which Calvin32 rivered a full house, kings full of jacks. Finally, at about 1:10am -- something like 18.5 hours (of actual play) since the first hands of Event No. 6 were dealt -- we had our final hand.
Calvin32 had 60.9 million and Solovka 12.5 million when the latter raised all in from the small blind/button and Calvin32 called. Solovka turned over Kd-Jc, slightly ahead of Calvin32's Qc-9h. The flop came 6d-6c-9d, putting Calvin32 in the lead. The turn was the 8s and the river the 5s, and Solovka finished in 2nd place, claiming $306,169.15. Calvin32 took the bracelet and the $452,086.50 prize that goes with it.
Live blog coverage of WCOOP Event #6 Day 2, $530 No-Limit Hold'em, is brought to you by bloggers Martin Harris and Brad Willis. Have a story for us? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. Click refresh to see the latest information. Looking for other events, check out the Event #7 Live Blog and Event #8 Live Blog.
1:12am--Calvin32 captures WCOOP Event #6 title
It had to happen eventually. It was just a matter of when.
After grinding Solovka down to 12 million in chips, Calvin32 had a decision to make. Solovka open-shoved for his whole stack. Calvin32 held Qc-9h. After a few seconds thought, he called to see Solovka's KdJc, Behind but live, Calvin32 watched the flop come out in his favor: 6d-6c-9d. The turn and river bricked and Calvin32 claimed the title. For his effort in the 200-hand heads-up battle, Calvin32 picked up the $452,086 first prize. Solovka's second place finish earned him $306,169. We'll have a full wrap-up of this two-day event in just a bit. In the meantime, you can watch the final hand play out below.
1:07am--200 hundred hands of heads-up
Our pair have now battled for 200 hands heads-up -- over two hours' worth. Calvin32 now has a sizable advantage, with 56.4 million to Solovka's 16.4 million.
12:51am--The pendulum swings back
Solovka had about 45 million when he raised to 1.65 million from the small blind/button. Calvin32 made the call.
The flop came 2s-4d-Js and both checked. The turn was the Jc, pairing the board. Calvin32 checked, Solovka bet 1.8 million, and Calvin32 check-raised to 4.2 million. Solovka called.
The river was the Kh. This time Calvin bet out 12 million, and Solovka called. Calvin32 showed Kc-Jh for the full house, and Solovka mucked, typing "wow" and "vnh" as he did.
With that 35.82 million-chip pot, Calvin32 retakes the advantage with 46.2 million to Solovka's 27.2 million.
12:41am--Chip counts at 18-hour mark
Level 37
Blinds 300,000/600,000, antes 60,000
Average chip count: 36,755,000
Players remaining: 2
First prize: $452,086.50
1. Solovka 45,711,283
2. Calvin32 27,798,717
12:28am--Solovka takes over
We just saw one of the biggest pots of heads-up play so far, one that put Solovka back in the lead.
12:12am--100 hands of heads-up
Our pair has now crossed the century mark in terms of number of hands played heads-up. Solovka now has the upper hand with 42.6 million to Calvin32's 30.8 million.
Lots of small pots (most 3 million or less) -- not too surprising with stacks this large and blinds still at 250,000/500,000.
11:56pm--Heads-up battle continues
Calvin32 and Solovka continue their battle, having warred heads-up for 75 hands now. Calvin maintained his lead after the break, but Solovka has just recently caught him and the two are virtually even at the moment, both having approximately 36 million chips.
11:30pm--Chip counts at 17-hour mark
Level 35
Blinds 200,000/400,000, antes 40,000
Average chip count: 36,755,000
Players remaining: 2
First prize: $452,086.50
1. Calvin32 46,273,717
2. Solovka 27,236,283
11:21pm--Calvin32 takes over chip lead
My, my how fortunes can change. Calvin32 just made a tough river-call to take over the chip lead. See the hand below.
11:15pm-No talk of deal
Solovka doesn't want to chop this thing up, so he and Calvin32 are effective playing heads up for the difference between first and second place: $146,000.
11:07pm--Chip counts at start of heads up play
Solovka (53,811,283 in chips)
Calvin32 (19,698,717 in chips)
11:02pm-Roland_NL turns $27 Steps win into $205,000
Calvin32 raised to 600,000 and saw Solovka re-raises up to 1,900,000. Then Roland_NL pushed all-in for 3,705,192. Calvin32 got out of the way and Solovka made the call with Js-Jd. Roland_NL was way behind with Td-Th and didn't catch. His third place finish earned him $205,828--not bad for a guy who got into the tournament for $27.
11:03pm--adonislee out in 4th
adonislee had slipped down to a bit more than 3.5 million, making him one of the table's two short stacks (with Roland_NL). Calvin32 raised to 825,000 from the cutoff, and adonislee reraised all in. It folded back to Calvin32 who with more than 14 million behind quickly called.
There was another reason why Calvin32 called quickly besides his chip stack. Namely, his hand: Qc-Qd. adonislee was looking for a king with Ks-Jc, but none would come and he's out in 4th, earning a cool $169,073.
10:54pm--cassie13 finishes in 5th place
Solovka had raised preflop to 650,000, and cassie13 reraised all in for 2,621,944 total. It folded back around and Solovka made the call.
cassie13 showed Ah-6d, well behind Solovka's Ad-8d. The flop was 5h-5c-Tc, and it looked like we might have a split. But the turn was the 8s, giving Solovka the upper hand. The river was the 9h, and cassie13 goes out in 5th, winning $132,318.
10:47pm-DUBBZZ can't dodge two outs, out in 6th
DUBBZZ came in for a raise to 750,000 and got a call from Solovka. The flop came down Qs-Js-8h and Solovka bet enough to put DUBBZZ all-in for a little less than a million. DUBBZZ called with Kc-Jc and was good against Solovka's 3h-3c. The turn...one of two sickening threes in the deck. DUBBZZ finished in sixth place, earning $95,563. Watch the sickness below.
10:37pm--ROI story of the night
Roland_NL has just revealed he qualified for this event in a $27 Steps tournament satellite. At this moment, he is guaranteed more than $95,000.
10:28pm--Life is good
Those few who have made the final table are obviously beginning to sense that feeling of accomplishment -- and perhaps even a bit of camaraderie -- as it starts to sink in just how far they've made it. Having outlasted a field of over 7,000 competitors, those remaining are starting to show their excitement.
Three of the remaining players -- Roland_NL, Calvin32, and cassie13 -- recently noted this was their first big tourneys. When the host congratulated them, cassie13 added "I love poker stars."
Who wouldn't, sitting among the final six of such a big event?
10:27pm--Chip counts at 16-hour mark
Level 33
Blinds 125,000/250,000, antes 25,000
Average chip count: 12,251,666
Players remaining: 6
First prize: $452,086.50
It folded around to randomcrayon in the small blind who pushed all in for 2,892,334 total and Calvin32 -- sitting with well over 10 million -- called from the big blind.
randomcrayon showed Kd-Qd, and Calvin32 5d-Ah. An ace flopped, but so did two diamonds. No third diamond came, however, and randomcrayon is out in 7th, earning $64.321.25.
10:19pm-Yo Burger exits in 8th place for $42,268
Solovka came in for a raise to 500,000, promption Yo Burger to raise all-in for 4,583,224. Solovka made the easy call with Qs-Qd. Yo Burger was pretty much cooked with Ad-Ts. The board ran out 3d-4c-Kc-6c-6d and Yo Burger was out in 8th place. See the hand below.
10:12pm--Roland_NL doubles up
Roland_NL, who will quickly tell you the NL stands for Nethlerlands and not no-limit,just doubled through Calvin32 with pocket queens vs KJ all-in pre-flop. Both are now claiming this is their first big tournament. We'll leave you to determine the veracity of those assertions.
10:04pm--Papio Papio bounced in 9th
The table's short stack with just 715,610, Papio Papio shoved from the hijack seat, then cassie13 repopped all in for 2,065,362 from the button. All folded, and Papio Papio showed Ah-6s to cassie13's Qd-Kh.
The flop was bad for Papio Papio: Qh-8c-Ks. The turn and river were both fives, and Papio Papio is out in 9th, earning $25,728.50.
9:59pm-Final table in place
Our final nine are now looking at each other and read to fight for the nearly half million dollar first prize. Here's how they stack up
Seat 1: adonislee (11826474 in chips)
Seat 2: Papio Papio (1175610 in chips)
Seat 3: Solovka (22993538 in chips)
Seat 4: cassie13 (2525362 in chips)
Seat 5: Yo Burger (6041674 in chips)
Seat 6: Roland_NL (3080096 in chips)
Seat 7: DUBBZZ (6941294 in chips)
Seat 8: randomcrayon (3072334 in chips)
Seat 9: Calvin32 (15853618 in chips)
9:57pm--Housh Me out eliminated in 10th
With the blinds a whopping 100,000/200,000 and just 675,076 left in his stack, Housh Me pushed all in from under the gun and DUBBZZ called from the small blind. Housh Me would need some help with his Kd-9d versus DUBBZZ's Ad-10s.
The board came 8d-4h-7h-Qc-Jc, and Housh Me was knocked out in 10th place.
9:45pm--Solovka claims another; achen out in 11th
Solovka raised to 400,000 from button, and achen reraised all in to 3,827,729 from the big blind. Solovka called.
achen: 9s-9d
Solovka: Jc-Ac
The flop was Kd-2s-5h, and achen was still good. The turn brought the Ts. Still okay.
Then the river brought the Jd, giving Solovka the better pair and knocking achen out in 11th place, netting him $18,377.50. We now are down to ten players -- two five-handed tables playing hand for hand.
9:41pm-Splitsville for 'schnitzel
Porkschnitzel, in addition to having the best name left in the tournament, had yet to show he could actually lose. That changed just moments ago as he busted out in 12th place for $18,377.
9:36pm--Watch out for the Solovka express
Solovka maintains a huge chip advantage with over 20 million -- that's over a quarter of the chips in play with 12 players remaining.
At Solovka's six-handed table, no other player has more than 4.5 million.
9:25pm--Chip counts at 15-hour mark
Level 31
Blinds 80,000/160,000, antes 16,000
Average chip count: 6,125,833
Players remaining: 12
First prize: $452,086.50
9:18pm--G_Midas loses his touch, eliminated in 13th place
Down to a little less than 2.4 million, G_Midas took a stand with pocket tens and was called by achen who held Big Slick. An ace flopped, and it only got worse from there (see below). G_Midas is out in 13th place, $12,864.25 richer.
9:16pm--pawnUz out in 14th place
Solovka raised from middle position and it folded back around to pawnUz in the small blind. With just 1.6 million, 6h-6s in the hole, and the possibility that Solovka's range could be pretty wide here, pawnUz decided this was the time to push.
Unfortunately for him, Solovka had a hand -- Qs-Qd. A queen on the flop and another on the river sealed it, and pawnUz is out in 14th.
9:13pm--Solovka messing with their minds, bro
A lot of back-and-forthing, but not a heck of a lot of change in the leaderboard at the moment, with Solovka building back up to 18 million and maintaining a sizable advantage over the field.
Did have one interesting exchange just now between Solovka and DUBBZZ. Solovka had raised preflop from middle position and DUBBZZ called from the button. The flop had come 7c-9c-Qh, Solovka checked, and DUBBZZ bet 390,000 into a 886,000 pot. Solovka called. Both checked the Ah on the turn.
The river brought the 4s, and Solovka fired 2.7 million out. DUBBZZ debated, then let it go. Then, afterwards, we saw in the chatbox:
DUBBZZ: sick bluff bro
DUBBZZ: unless you hit a set of 7s or 9s
9:07pm--And there is the slowdown
With 14 players remaining, the final table is in sight and players are taking no huge risks. The money jump between 14th place and the final table is $13,000. First place is worth nearly half a million bucks.
8:50pm--Good call for G_Midas
Chip leader Solovka raised to 285,000 from UTG and it folded around to G_Midas in the big blind who called. Both checked the 7h-Kh-Td flop. The turn brought the Kc. G_Midas checked, Solovka bet 320,000, and G_Midas called.
The river was the Qc. G_Midas checked again, and this time Solovka bet 1.45 million, enough to put G_Midas all in. After some thought, G_Midas made the call, showing Qh-Jc for queens and kings. Solovka showed Ac-3d, and G_Midas was back up over 4 million. Meanwhile, Solovka has slipped back toward the rest of the pack with 12.5 million.
8:49pm--Ten million chip pot for porkshitzel spells end for LYM333
LYM333 came in for a raise to to 390,000 and porkschnitzel called from the big blind. The flop came down Qs-5h-As. porkshnitzel checked, LYM33 bet 780,000 and porkshnitzel put LYM33 all-in for about 2.5 million more. No doubt the money was going in. LYM33 held Ah-Kc, but porkshnitzel held Qh-Qc. The board bricked out for LYM33 and he went out in 15th place for $12,864.
8:40pm--Ti0373 busted in 16th place in 10 million-chip pot
When the hand began, Ti0373 had over 5.3 million, with Solovka the only player at the table having him covered with 10.7 million. Solovka raised from middle position to 250,000, Ti0373 reraised behind to 600,000, and Solovka made the call. The flop came 3h-2d-Ac. Solovka checked, Ti0373 bet 500,000, and Solovka promptly check-raised to 1 million. Ti0373 called.
The turn brought the 8s. Solovka bet out 1 million this time, prompting Ti0373 to reraise all in with his remaining 3,768,774. Solovka called, turning over 2s-2c for the flopped set. Ti0373 showed 2h-Qh -- bottom pair and a badly-timed bluff. The river was the Jd, and Ti0373 was bounced in 16th. Solovka is now way up to 17 million -- more than twice his nearest foe.
8:32pm--OldVoin eliminated in 17th place
OldVoin had fallen down below the 500,000-chip mark and finally decided to make a stand with Ad-7h. Didn't work out for OldVoin, who is elminated in 17th place, pocketing $9,188.75. Here's how the hand went:
8:29pm--Aces come just in time for pawnUz
pawnUz was down to 1,847,480 -- which sounds like a lot of chips but puts one at the bottom of the leaderboard at the moment -- when he picked up pocket rockets under the gun. Doubly good timing, actually, as Solovka was dealt Qs-Qc. They got it all in preflop, and pawnUz's aces held up, pushing him up to 3.9 million. Solovka still has a healthy 5.18 million.
8:25pm-Asked and answered
So we wonder who would win in a fight between Jack Bauer and Dexter the serial killer. We now know. Kenny Rap's next went up against Yo Burger's Bauer. Kenny Rap is out in 18th.
8:19pm--Who is gonna blink first?
Just had a huge staredown contest right before the break between a couple of big stacks on Table 1. Both G_Midas and Ti0373 had just about 6.5 million -- 3rd and 4th, respectively -- at the start of this one.
G_Midas raised to 240,000 from the cutoff, Ti0373 reraised to 610,355 from the small blind, and G_Midas called. The flop came all babies: 4d-4c-2c. Ti0373 bet 420,465, and G_Midas promptly raised to 1.2 million. Ti0373 then reraised to 1,979,535 total, sending G_Midas into the tank for several seconds before letting it go.
That hand pushed Ti0373 near the chip lead (see below), while G_Midas remains in the top ten.
8:17pm--Chip counts at 14-hour mark
Level 29
Blinds 50,000/100,000, antes 10,000
Average chip count: 4,083,888
Players remaining: 18
First prize: $452,086.50
You know, we've always fought about who would win between Batman and Spiderman, but tonight we ponder a different question as we watch Table 6. Looking at Kenny Rapp and Yo Burger's player icons, we wonder who would win in a battle between Jack Bauer and serial killer Dexter? Click on the image below to decide for yourself.
7:58pm--achen achin' for action
A couple of hands ago, achen open-raised from the button and Roland_NL repopped it from the big blind, forcing achen to fold.
Then achen tried again, open-raising to 197,869 to middle position. It folded around to Ti0373 in the big blind who again reraised achen -- to 425,738. achen thought a moment, then fired all in for a total of 2,602,789. Ti0373 thought a few seconds, then let it go.
achen now has a bit more than 2.8 million (currently 12th place). Ti0373 has slipped to about 6.5 million (currently 3rd).
7:49pm--Deep stacks gettin' deeper
A series of preflop raises over on Table 1 has enabled Ti0373 to push past the 8 million-chip mark and into second place. Our chip leader is still adonislee who has now moved over 10 million.
7:48pm-porkshnitzel goes whole hog
After getting over some disconnection problems, porkshnitzel has just take the wrapper right off RandomCrayon. After the hand you see below, porkshnitzel is up to more than 5 million
7:43pm--Down to two tables, 18 left
Missolson was just eliminated in 20th place. Shortly thereafter, SexSeen pushed all-in for 595,047 from under the gun, and cassie13 called from the small blind. SexSeen showed 5h-4h, while cassie13 had Kc-Kh. The board came 9s-6c-Qh-Jh-8c, and SexSeen is out in 19th. Both Missolson and Sexseen earn $7,351 for their play these last two days.
Players are now guaranteed more than $9,000 apiece.
7:34pm--Something to ponder
It looks like porkshitznel has momentarily disconnected over on Table 8, leaving everyone to sit and wonder if that is really how you spell that.
7:28pm--Twenty left
With the eliminations of MizouClipper (22nd) and Jl3607 (21st), both of whom earned $7,351, we are now down to 20 players.
Chip leader at the moment is adonislee, who is coming close to reaching the 10 million-chip mark. Solovka is far behind in second place with about 6.4 million.
7:23pm--Recent eliminations
Three more have been knocked from the tourney, each earning $7,351: maureen73 (25th), jrss1322psu (24th), and jolmer (23rd). Watch how jolmer went out, courtesy of G_Midas, complete with unfunny, superfluous river card:
7:18pm--qngeen hits the rail in 26th place
Calvin32 raised to 135,000 from middle position, then qngeen reraised all in behind for a total of 616,119. Jl3607 then repopped it from the big blind, shoving his stack of 874,942 in the middle. Calvin32 got out of the way.
Jl3607: Ac-Kc
qngeen: Qc-Kh
The board came As-7c-6d-5c-Qd, and qngeen was eliminated in 26th place, earning $7,351.
7:12pm--Oh, I have me a raise button here, too, thank you
Housh Me had been laying low for the last few hands, hovering around the 1.1 million mark. After a recent hand in which he folded his small blind, giving the big blind a walk, DUBBZZ typed "is that your only button" -- apparently a dig at Housh Me's tight play.
Apparently the "Fold" button is not Housh Me's only button, as this is how the very next hand played out:
7:07pm--Not the way viebu envisioned the end, one would think
viebu, down to just 503,040, was in the small blind when achen open-shoved all in for more than a million from the button. viebu made the call, showing Ac-7s. viebu was probably surprised (and pleased) to see achen turn over 7c-3h.
Then the flop came Jh-3d-6h, and viebu was probably no longer pleased. The turn was the 5c and the river the 9c, and viebu is out in 27th, earning $7,351 for two days' work.
7:00pm--27 remain
We are now down to just three tables. Recent eliminations include troy1919 (30th place), UGA_FELON (29th), and Ynenk03 (28th).
6:56pm--Chip counts at 13-hour mark
Level 27
Blinds 30,000/60,000, antes 6,000
Average chip count: 2,625,357
Players remaining: 28
First prize: $452,086.50
Table 8 features a battle you might see on the Discovery Channel. Player avatars includes a tiger, a baboon, a dog, and...Andy Black. Click the image to see nature's fury...and furry.
6:45pm--pokrates eliminated in 31st place
Our chip leader beginning Day 2 has been eliminated. Having seen his chips steadily decline over the last 90 minutes to a bit less than half a million, pokrates was eliminated:
6:39pm--Recent elminations
A short-stacked Coox got it all in on a flop of 6h-6d-3h versus Ti0373. Coox had Ah-3s for two pair, but Ti0373 had 3d-3c for the flopped boat. No runner-runner aces for Coox, and he's eliminated in 34th place.
PatMan103 was bounced in 33rd shortly thereafter.
Then we had a hand over on Table 7 in which bogjavul123 shoved all in with his last 615,926 on a flop of 4s-3h-2c, and was called by OldVoin. bogjavul123 showed Ad-7c, while OldVoin had Ac-Kh. The turn and river were both eights, and bogjavul123 was eliminated in 32nd.
6:33pm--Calvin32 makes a good straight man
Shortly after that hand with adam001, Calvin32 knocked out another opponent -- Maw8 -- again making a straight to do so. Maw8 goes out in 35th place. Here's how that hand went:
6:29pm--The fall of adam001
With the board showing 8c-Qs-9s-2c, adam001 pushed all in for more than 1.1 million and was called by Calvin32. adam001 showed Ac-Kc for overcards and a flush draw, but Calvin32 had Jc-Tc for the flopped straight.
The As came on the river, and adam001 was eliminated in 36th place. That hand gave Calvin32 a stack of 3,787,598, and he's since increased his stack to more than 4.6 million, pushing into 3rd place presently.
6:24pm--See video highlights of the WCOOP on PokerStars.tv
Over at PokerStars.tv, you can watch interviews with Team PokerStars Pros, live webcasts, video blogs, and more. You can also watch video highlights of the World Championship of Online Poker, such as this one recounting event #3, the $215 limit hold’em six-handed event from September 7th:
DSRasmussen just got bounced in 38th place after running pocket fours into maureen73's pocket aces. Then came the untimely demise of shaamo, who had earlier in the day challenged for the chip lead. After enduring some rough hands, shaamo had slipped to 1,173,267. Then the following hand took place.
shaamo open-raised from middle position to 111,111, and LYM33 called behind. adonislee also called from the big blind. The flop came 9h-Jd-5d. adonislee and shaamo both checked, then LYM33 bet 240,000. adonislee check-raised to 600,000, and shaamo shoved all in. LYM333 got out of the way, and adonislee called.
adonislee showed Jc-8h for top pair, while shaamo had Ad-6d for the flush draw. The turn was the 5c and the river the 2c, and shaamo's day is done. He's out in 37th place.
6:17pm--juuuiice runs dry
Down to 504,424, juuuiice shoved all in with Ah-Qd and was called by Calvin32 who held Qs-Qh. No ace came to save juuuiice, who goes out in 39th.
6:13pm--Half of Day 2 gone
Just an hour and half into Day 2 action and we've already lost half the field. While trying to predict when this will end is a fool's errand, we feel safe in saying, it's going to take a great deal longer to lose the second half. Over/Under anyone?
6:10pm--Running without the ball
Some of the best poker players in the world can run without the ball. The fun starts when two opponents do it at the same time. Check out this hand from Table #8 and try to figure out what the players have before the grand reveal.
6:08pm--LYM333 puts the hurtin' on another
After chip leader LYM333 raised preflop, gomera1931 reraised all in for a total of 616,733 and LYM333 called. gomera showed 8s-8h and LYM33 Ah-2h.
The board was truly agonizing for gomera1931: Kd-Td-Qh-Kc-Qc. That queen on the river counterfeited his hand, and gomera1931 is out in 40th. Meanwhile, LYM333 moves up over the 8 million mark, furthering his lead.
6:01pm--More fall by the wayside
We are now down to just 40 players. Here's how a few of the more recent bustouts occurred:
slidensmash called a bet from bogjavul123 on a flop of Ts-Js-Ad, putting himself all in. slidensmash had 9s-8s for a straight flush draw, while bogjavul123 had pocket jacks for a set. The turn was the Kc and the river the Td, and bogjavul123's boat sent slidensmash out in 43rd place.
adonislee used Ad-Kh to knock out kizza_om's pocket tens. A king flopped, and kizza_om hit the rail in 42nd.
Skjervøy got it all in with pocket nines preflop, only to run up against G_Midas's pocket tens. The tens held up, and Skjervøy was out in 41st.
5:52pm--Chip counts at 12-hour mark
Level 25
Blinds 20,000/40,000, antes 4,000
Average chip count: 1,670,681
Players remaining: 44
First prize: $452,086.50
Team PokerStars Pro Andre "aakarri" eliminated in 47th place.
5:48pm-Andrea Akkari out in 47th place
Today was just not Andre "aakkari" Akkari's day. After putting on a great show for his Brazilian fans, the Team PokerStars Pro has just exited in 47th place for $5,880. See his elimination below.
5:41pm--LYM333 our first six million dollar man
A rapid change of fortune for shaamo after losing over half of his stack to LYM333 in a huge, 5.3 million-chip pot -- possibly the largest of the tournament thus far. shaamo slips to 1,468,989 and 20th place on this one, while LYM333 surges into the chip lead with 6,358,949. Here's how the hand played out:
5:36pm--Much ado about nothing
When shaamo, currently in 2nd place with 3.57 million, raised to 72,999 from middle position, and LYM333, currently in 3rd with 3.49 million called behind him, it looked like we might be in for a big one.
Then short-stack mishder4245 pushed all in for 346,751 from the small blind, prompting shaamo to fold. LYM333 called, showing Ah-2h, well behind mishder4245's Ac-Td.
The flop was 9h-Js-Qh, and mishder4245 was still ahead, but had to sweat a possible flush for LYM333. The turn was the Qd -- still okay. Then the As came on the river, making it a chopped pot.
mishder4245 lasted five more hands. He'd shove again with pocket deuces, get called by shaamo's Big Slick, and watch a king flop and no help come on the turn or river. mishder4245 is out in 51st. Meanwhile, shaamo is approaching the 4 million chip mark.
5:27pm--Missouri Tiger fans on the rail
While the game of the day is poker, one player still in Day 2 is drawing interest for his screen name. MizouClipper is still alive today and entertaining his fellow Missourians with talk about Mizzou football. As one rail fan noted...
rivergyde [observer]: go mizzou....only football we got in missery now
5:25pm--pokrates picking it up
After taking it easy early on (and getting off to a slow start), chip leader pokrates has become active again as we move through Level 24. pokrates has picked up several small pots with preflop raises and/or continuation bets on the flop, building back up over the 4.8 million mark -- a good 1.4 million ahead of shaamo who is currently in second place.
5:15pm--58 remain
As we begin Level 24 (blinds 15,000/30,000, antes 3,000), we have lost 14 players thus far today, leaving us 58 players on seven tables. So far all of those who have busted out today have received $5,513.25 for their efforts.
5:08pm--Eights propel Solovka up leaderboard
horryclutch raised from the hijack seat to 100,000, and it folded to Solovka who reraised to 225,500 from the small blind. TXSooner518 folded his big blind, then horryclutch reraised all in for 716,278. Solovka, having horryclutch well covered, made the call.
Solovka 8d-8s
horryclutch Kc-Ac
The flop was an intriguing 9d-8c-3c, giving Solovka a set but horryclutch a flush draw. The turn was the Js and the river the Kd, and horryclutch is out in 62nd place.
That hand gave Solovka 2,733,954 in chips, currently good for 4th place.
5:01pm--Chip leader sitting tight
End of Day 1 chip leader pokrates has yet to win a pot during the first 20 hands at Table 1. After starting the day with a little more than 4.57 million, pokrates had dribbled down to 3,995,387 -- still good enough for first place at the moment.
4:53pm--Vamooooooooooo!
As the sole surviving member of Team PokerStars left in the field, Anre Akkari is already enjoying quite a rail, most notably from his Brazilian fans. He's lost a few chips in the early going and is down to 869,000.
4:51pm--Housh Me cannot be hushed
Not to be deterred by that early rebuff, Housh Me soon thereafter put in another preflop raise -- this time to 100,000 -- and was reraised by jvtilt who pushed all in for a total of 783,623. Housh Me made the call, leaving himself just 153,690 behind.
jvtilt showed Ac-Ks, and Housh Me Js-Jh. See how it played out:
4:46pm--Don't even think about it
In the second hand of play, Table 5 folded to Housh Me on the button who raised 3x to 75,000. shaamo -- currently in second place with more than 3.63 million -- wasn't about to let Housh Me take his small blind that easily, and promptly reraised to 210,000 to claim the pot.
4:45pm--Shuffle up and deal
The virtual cards are in the air as we begin the journey to see who will claim the $452,086.50 first prize.
4:40pm--Let's play some poker
We are about five minutes away from the restart of Event No. 6, the $530 no-limit hold'em event.
The 72 players who are returning each put in 11 hours of play yesterday (22 levels), and have had just about that long (i.e., approximately 11 hours) to rest up for today. Look below for a complete list of current chip counts.
3:40pm-Day 2 set to begin
The final 72 players, including Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari, in the WCOOP Event #6 $530 No-Limit Hold'em contest will resume play today at 16:45 ET. Join us here for the action when it begins.
Fifteen years ago, if you asked people to talk about their first experiences with poker, you would likely hear tales of stud or draw games of the limit variety. These days, an increasing number of people will describe a no-limit hold'em game. No-limit hold'em is often dubbed the "Cadillac of poker," but it has morphed into something that is much more accessible than a Cadillac. From top pros to average joes, you will always find a mix of skill level and experience in a no-limit hold'em tournament. But few will rise to the elite level of WCOOP bracelet winner. Fasten your seatbelts as we take you through a recap of Event #6 Day 1 of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker.
The $530 buy-in no-limit hold'em event of the WCOOP has always been the most popular of the WCOOP tournaments. Last year, PokerStars guaranteed a $2,000,000 prize pool that attracted a field of 6,025 players. In anticipation of a rise in player participation this year, PokerStars offered a $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The result?
7,351 players registered to compete for a $3,675,500 prize pool, with 1,080 making the money. Final tablists will each earn at least $25,728.50, and first prize will net the champion $452,086.50 (assuming no deals are made).
Among the numerous Team PokerStars Pros who played in Event #6, Chad “ChadBrownPRO” Brown, Barry “barryg1” Greenstein, Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier, Lee “LeeNelson” Nelson, Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan and Vanessa “Lady Maverick” Rousso recently competed in the PokerStars APPT Macau Main Event. Time zone differences and jet lag were not going to stop these pros from playing in the largest WCOOP event to date.
Orel Hershiser made sure to join in on the action even though he was battling it out on another screen for the WCOOP Event #5 High-Roller No-Limit Hold'em bracelet. Hershiser fell just short of the money in Event #6, but you can read about his final table finish in the High-Roller tournament in the Event #5 recap.
After level two, Team PokerStars Pro Noah "Exclusive" Boeken was seventh on the leaderboard, but a tangle with jahwise knocked him out of the top ten. After calling Boeken's 900-chip raise in the big blind with blinds at 150/300, jahwise checked the Jc-Jd-Qd flop. Boeken followed through with a continuation bet of 900, which was met with a check-raise by jahwise to 3,167. Both players checked when Jh fell on the turn, and a bet of 4,867 on the river Ac by jahwise brought a call from Boeken. Jahwise flipped up Qh-Qs for a flopped boat of queens full of jacks and Boeken mucked. Boeken fell to 30,991 in chips while jahwise shot near the top of the leaderboard with 70,367.
Boeken took another major hit when his pocket aces fell to the turned two pair of iso_o.
Boeken was eliminated shortly thereafter in 2,930th place.
By level seven, almost two-thirds of the field had been eliminated. Andre “aakari” Akkari led all Team PokerStars Pros with 63,727 in chips, but that was nowhere near the 118,172-chip stack of NemoStars22 who was leading the field at the time.
As level 11 approached, attention started to turn to the number 1,080. Because only 1,195 players survived the first ten levels, the money bubble was fast approaching. Would some players tighten up, hoping to have some cash to show for outlasting over 6,000 opponents? Would others start to apply more pressure on the shorter stacks, hoping that those players will be more inclined to fold to the money?
Mlinderbt seemed to take the former view, and Andre “aakari” Akkari appeared to take the latter when both tangled in this hand:
The money bubble finally burst during level 12 in spectacular fashion. Five players busted out within seconds of each other, and forty players were out within a matter of two or three minutes. SindyJizz was the unlucky finisher whose exit in 1,081st place opened the flood gates for others who had been hanging on by their fingernails. By the start of level 13, only 749 players remained.
As some started to set their sights on the $452.086.50 first prize, others started to see their day coming to a close. If you followed the Event #6 Live Blog throughout the day, you would have noticed that Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson was having a rollercoaster day. After gaining some momentum after level 11, Thorson hit a rough patch when his flopped set was flushed away.
Meanwhile, shaamo was the first player to hit the million chip mark. Shaamo started this hand with 923,502 in chips and got the final boost when his As-Ks took down the Th-Tc of smellmuth.
Play paused for the day after the completion of level 22. From a starting field of 7,351, only 72 players remain.
Here is how the leaderboard looks going into Day 2:
Level 23
Blinds 12,500/25,000, antes 2,500
Average chip stack: 1,020,972
Players remaining: 72
First Prize: $452,086.50
Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis and Kenny Rap have also survived to Day 2. Kamberis has won more than $600,000 in PokerStars tournaments in the last three years, and Rap has earned nearly $400,000 in tournaments in the same time period. Both players are sitting in the top half of the leaderboard.
Play resumes at 4:30pm ET later today, and the PokerStars team will be providing updates via the Event #6 Live Blog. Want to hear how the pros rate the action? Tom McEvoy, Vanessa Rousso, Chris Moneymaker and Victor Ramdin will be providing expert commentary on Event #6 starting at 7:30pm on PokerStars.tv - WCOOP Live. Following the conclusion of Event #6, PokerStars.tv will also present a highlight show which will include analysis of key hands, with all cards shown face-up.
In 2004, the WCOOP was in its third year. PokerStars offered a $530 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament for the first time that year. 1,642 players registered to compete for a total prize pool of $821,000. The winner of Event #6 stands to win more than half of that in this year's tournament. Some say that poker growth has stagnated, but if participation in this year's WCOOP Event #6 is any indication, the naysayers are clearly in the wrong.
Live blog coverage of WCOOP Event #6, the $3 million guaranteed no-limit hold'em event, is brought to you by bloggers Stephen Bartley, David Aydt, Jennifer Newell, and Carol Kline. Have a story for us? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com.Want to see the Event #5 action? Check out the WCOOP Event #5 Live Blog.
5:04am - Day 1 complete, 72 survive
Day 1 of WCOOP Event #6 has ended, with 72 players remaining. Action (and live blogging coverage) will resume at 4:30pm ET later today.
Level 23
Blinds 12,500/25,000, antes 2,500
Average chip stack: 1,020,972
Players remaining: 72
First Prize: $452,086.50
Alex “Allingomes” Gomes (300th)
Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan (504th)
Luca Pagano (585th)
William Thorson (596th)
Barry “barryg1” Greenstein (2,511st)
Bill Chen (2,436th)
Noah “Exclusive” Boeken (2,930th)
Marcin “Goral” Gorecki (2,934th)
Humberto “Humberto B.” Brenes (3,098th)
Lee “LeeNelson” Nelson (3,769th)
Alex Kravchenko (3,905th)
Tom McEvoy (4,029th)
Victor Ramdin (4,942nd)
Greg “FossilMan” Raymer (5,388th)
Chad “ ChadBrownPRO” Brown (5,685th)
Ray Rahme (5,948th)
John Duthie (6,207th)
Isabelle “No Mercy”Mercier (6,335th)
Vanessa “Lady Maverick” Rousso (6,526th)
Dario Minieri (6,818th)
Chris “Money800” Moneymaker (6,848th)
Katja Thater (7,158th)
4:40am - That suits Akkari to a tee
Andre “aakkari” Akkari is the last Team PokerStars Pro standing. After sitting on a below-average chip stack for a while, Akkari decided to mix it up by raising to 42,500 from middle position with Kc-7c. 10 UDR PAR, who was sitting on the button, was the only caller. When the flop came 9c-2h-Qc, Akkari bet 75,000, which prompted 10 UDR PAR to raise to 225,000. Akkari then re-raised all-in to 481,880. 10 UDR PAR made the call and tabled Ks-Qh for top pair. Were there any clubs left in the deck? Plenty. The 2c fell on the turn, and the Tc fell on the river, giving Akkari the flush and a much needed double up.
4:30am - Feeling under par? Have some juice!
The name of the game is chip accumulation. Sometimes you can pick on the short-stacks at the table, but other times you can’t help but confront the big-stacks. And when two big-stacks collide, there are often shake-ups in the leaderboard. Take this hand for example. 10 UDR PAR started the hand with 1,211,158 in chips, and juuuiice was sitting with 1,153,556. After 10 UDR PAR limped in for 15K, juuuiice raised to 63.5K and 10 UDR PAR made the call. 10 UDR PAR check-raised from 96K to 192K on a flop of 6d-5h-7c, and juuuiice called. 10 UDR PAR continued with the pressure by betting 105K after the Jd fell on the turn. This time, juuuiice raised to 380K, with 10 UDR PAR making the call. Who would have the last word? When the Jh hit on the river, 10 UDR PAR led out for 150K, folding juuuiice. After collecting the 1,303,500 pot, 10 UDR PAR jumped to 1,878,658 in chips. Do you think you know what the players held? Watch the hand and take a guess.
4:20am - Player to watch: Kenny Rap
Another fresh face in our top ten chip counts as of the last hour is Kenny Rap. His success on PokerStars goes back a long way, with nearly $400,000 in tournament earnings in the past three years alone. He also had strong performances at the 2007 WCOOP - five cashes th
A late-afternoon decision to play in Event #6 of the World Championship of Online Poker because “the Vikings were not going to be playing on TV until Monday night” worked out $452,086.50 to the good for 46-year-old Tim “Calvin32” Sullivan. The Sioux Falls construction company CFO bought into the WCOOP event on a lark and almost unregistered when his mom came over to visit just after he registered. Mom asked if she could watch him play “and ended up right behind me for every hand of the tournament.” 
