A final total of 369 poker-playing scribes made it through those six events to play in today's culminating event, with some serious prizes on the line. Those finishing in 46th-100th all earned Step 3 tickets. The next 18 (28th-45th) each would receive $109 tournament entries. Those finishing 19th-27th were looking at $215 tourney entries -- i.e., free spots in PokerStars' popular Sunday Million.

The 10th-18th place finishers would earn $320 tourney entries. Then came the final table, and the serious prizes, culminating with a PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package worth a gawdy total of $14,300.

Lots of good stuff to be had. And, beyond the prizes, some good stories to write about as well.

BigSlickNut was our first casualty today, "winning" the so-called Gigli award (no cash value) for finishing last. TNSpaceman, Pinkypollo, and PRO_rANDY all grabbed some chips in the early going, though all three would not make it to the final hundred.

At the one-hour break, peggydee held the chip lead -- peggy would eventually finish in 40th place. At the two-hour break, 170 players remained with Rex Ferric atop the leaderboard. Rex would end up in 35th.

At about the two-and-a-half hour mark, we'd already made it down to 100 players and the money (so to speak). At the three-hour break, Olimpinho had emerged as our chip leader, and would remain either near or at the top for much of the remainder of the afternoon. After four hours of play, the field had shrunk down to just 20 players, with Olimpinho still in front with 337,578, twice the stack of nearest competitor BuddyDank who had 164,591.

Before we reached the five-hour mark, LaxStarr1995 went out in 10th place and we had our final table. Here was the scene as the first hand of the final table was being dealt:

Seat 1: Littlemage (252,668 in chips)
Seat 2: HappyPixel (198,444 in chips)
Seat 3: TarHeel1641 (58,778 in chips)
Seat 4: Imric_est (309,530 in chips)
Seat 5: SmileyHere (251,764 in chips)
Seat 6: Priitk (326,512 in chips)
Seat 7: Olimpinho (77,536 in chips)
Seat 8: Lesage88 (195,666 in chips)
Seat 9: Tiibo (174,102 in chips)

On the very first hand of the final table, one of the short stacks, Olimpinho, pushed all in only to see HappyPixel reraise all in behind. The others folded, and Olimpinho showed 6s-6c vs. HappyPixel's Ad-Ts. The flop came Td-9c-2h, and HappyPixel was quickly way ahead. The turn was the 2c and the river the 4d, and Olimpinho (from Brazil) was out in 9th place, earning a $530 tourney entry for his efforts.

Shortly thereafter, SmileyHere was the next to go in 8th place. After Imric_est had open-shoved all in for nearly a quarter million, SmileyHere called with his last 104,208 and everyone else got out of the way. Again, we had another race, with Imric_est's 8h-8d up against SmileyHere's Js-Ah. This time the pocket pair held up, as the flop brought another eight (8s-9d-5c) and the two deuces on the turn and river made Imric_est a boat. SmileyHere (of the U.S.) was out in 8th place, earning a Step 5 ticket for doing so.

After the next break, HappyPixel was eliminated after shoving all in with pocket sixes only to run up against Imric_est's pocket kings. The board brought no help, and HappyPixel (from the U.K.) landed in 7th place, earning a $1,050 PokerStars tournament buy-in. Tiibo (Finland) would go out just two hands later, again at the hands of Imric_est. Tiibo pushed with 5d-6d, Imric_est called with Ad-Kd, and the board came 6c-Jc-As-8d-3h, knocking Tiibo out in 6th. Tiibo received a Spring World Championship of Online Poker Main Event entry -- worth $1,575 -- for his finish today.

We were down to five. This time Tarheel1641 (U.S.) would push all in, and once again Imric_est was waiting there with the big stack and a hand. Tarheel1641 had ace-four, Imric_est had ace-ten, and the board ran out As-Js-5c-6h-Ts. Tarheel1641 was out in 5th, earning a Step 6 ticket (worth $2,100).

Littlemage (from Hungary) was the next to go. And yes, Imric_est was the one responsible once more.

Action had folded to Littlemage in the small blind who pushed his short stack of 175,961 all in with Jh-6c, and Imric_est called with Jd-Ad. The board came 8s-5c-Ks-2s-5h, and Littlemage was gone in 4th place. For his efforts, Littlemage earned a free SCOOP Main Event entry, plus a Step 6 ticket -- together worth a cool $3,675!

Just five minutes later, Priitk open-raised to 80,000 from the button and Lesage88 pushed all in for 277,207 from the small blind. Imric_est stepped aside, and Priitk made the call. Lesage88 showed Ac-Qh, dominating Priitk's Ks-Qs. Until the flop, anyway, which came Kd-Tc-5d. The turn (9s) and river (7c) didn't save Lesage88 (Switzerland), and he was out in 3rd, having won a European Poker Tour package worth $7,500!

At the start of heads up, Priitk had a healthy chip advantage of 1,242,856 to Imric_est's 602,144. In just the second hand of heads-up, however, the pair essentially switched their stacks.

In that hand, Priitk raised to 60,000 from the small blind/button, and Imric_est called from the big blind. The flop came Ad-Qh-4d. Imric_est checked, Priitk bet 80,000, Imric_est minimum-raised to 16,000, Priitk shoved all in, and Imric_est called. Imric_est showed Kd-Qd for middle pair and a flush draw, while Priitk had As-Js for top pair. The turn was the Ks, giving Imric_est two pair. The river was the 9s, and suddenly Imric_est had the 2-to-1 chip advantage.

Imric_est maintained the lead for the next several dozen hands, having Priitk on the ropes a couple of times, but Priitk managed to wiggle free. The closest call came when Prittk was all in preflop with Ts-6d versus Imric_est's As-Jh, but two sixes flopped and Prittk survived.

Finally, on the 107th hand of heads up play came the climax of today's story. With the blinds 30,000/60,000, Imric_est raised to 90,000 from the small blind/button, Prittk shoved all in for 490,174 total, and Imric_est called.

Imric_est: 9d-Qh
Prittk: Kh-8c

The flop came 9h-4h-9s, giving Imric_est a commanding lead in the hand. The turn was the Ac, making the 8s on the river meaningless.

Prittk (from Estonia) was our runner-up, winning a EPT prize package, a SCOOP Main Event ticket, and a Step 6 ticket -- prizes worth a total of $11,100 altogether.

And Imric_est (also from Estonia) gets the big one -- the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package, worth $14,300. Congratulations to Imric_est and to all of those who won prizes today! See a full list of all of those prizes by clicking here. And read more about today's event by checking out the WBCOOP Main Event live blog.

We now look forward to all players' accounts of today's action on their respective blogs.

WBCOOP Main Event Results (final table):

1. Imric_est (Estonia)
2. Priitk (Estonia)
3. Lesage88 (Switzerland)
4. Littlemage (Hungary)
5. TarHeel1641 (U.S.)
6. Tiibo (Finland)
7. HappyPixel (U.K.)
8. SmileyHere (U.S.)
9. Olimpinho (Brazil)

9:12pm--That's a WBCOOP wrap!

That does it for the 2008 WBCOOP grand finale. Big congratulations to all of our prize winners today, especially the overall winner, lmric_est, who will be traveling to the sunny beaches of the Bahamas in January.

Thanks for joining us today!

9:10pm--lmric_est wins the 2008 WBCOOP Final! Priitk is your runner-up as the Estonians go one-two

lmric_est opened for a standard 3BB raise to 90,000, Priitk moved all in for 490,174 and lmric_est made the call.

Priitk Kh-8c
Imric_est Qh-9d

The flop all but sealed the win for lmric_est, coming down 9s-9h-4h. The turn was the Ac, the river was the 8s, and somewhere in Roela, Estonia, a loud scream was likely heard as lmric_est won himself a PokerStars Carribean Adventure package worth $14,300!

Priitk, also hailing from Estonia, played a hard-fought match picked up a European Poker Tour package, a SCOOP Main Event ticket, and a Step 6 ticket worth $11,100.

9:03pm--Small-ball

Though this final table has to have set some sort of speed record, our final two players are, for the most part, playing careful, small-ball poker in their heads-up battle. Though a few decent-sized pots have been exchanged like the one below, their chip counts remain relatively close to where they started, with Imric_est at just over 1.2 million and Priitk with about 650,000.

8:59pm--Battle of the prize packages

As the final two compete in this ultimate battle of the bloggers, let's take one final look at the prize packages up for grabs.

Second place is a combo deal that includes a European Poker Tour package, SCOOP main event ticket, and Step 6 ticket, all of which is worth a combined total of $11,100.

First place is one prize package that will take that player to the Bahamas in a few weeks to compete in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is worth $14,300.

Technically, either prize could be parlayed into a great deal more than its value, and both prizes are well worth the time to be played for tonight. And all of this from a freeroll? Amazing.

8:54pm--lmric_est's ace high is up, it's.... good!

lmric_est raised to 75,000 from the button and Priitk called. lmric_est led out for 100,000 on the Qd-9c-9d flop and Priitk came along wiht a call. Both players checked the Qd on the turn and checked it again when the Ts hit the river. lmric_est's ace kicker with Ad-2d in the hole was good against Priitk's Jh-3c and he raked in the 356,000 pot to take his stack up to 1.2 million. Priitk was left with 621,000.

8:46pm--Heads-up begins!

With the elimination of Lesage88 in third place, the final two players began their heads-up match with the following chip counts:

Seat 4: Imric_est (602144 in chips)
Seat 6: Priitk (1242856 in chips)

8:45pm--Lesage88 eliminated in 3rd place, is EPT-bound!

Priitk opened for a raise to 80,000 from the button, Lesage88 moved all in for 277,207 from the small blind and Priitk made the call. Though Lesage88's Ac-Qh dominated Priitk's Ks-Qs to start, the flop came down Kd-Tc-5d, pairing up Priitk. The turn was the 9s, the river was the 7c and Lesage88 could not improve. Though he hit the rail in 3rd place, we'll be seeing him on the European Poker Tour next season-- he just earned an EPT package worth €5,300!

8:43pm--Littlemage out in 4th

Down to four-handed, action folded around to Littlemage who open-pushed with Jh-6c from the small blind for 175,961. lmric_est called from the big blind with Jd-Ad. Tough spot for Littlemage.

The board came 8s-5c-Ks-2s-5h, and Littlemage was gone in 4th place. For that 4th place finish, Littlemage scored a SCOOP Main Event entry, plus a Step 6 ticket -- together worth a cool $3,675!

8:37pm--TarHeel1641 booted in 5th place

TarHeel1641 open-shoved for 216,444 and Imric_est made the call. Unfortunately, TarHeel1641's A-4 was dominated by his opponent's A-T. No love for TarHeel1641 on the As-Js-5c-6h-Ts board and the lone American remaining made his exit in 5th place, good for a Step 6 ticket.

8:35pm--Tiibo tko'ed in 6th

Just two hands after HappyPixel's elimination, Tiibo open-shoved for 123,186 from the cutoff and it folded back around to lmric_est who called out of the big blind. Tiibo showed 5d-6d for suited connectors and a lot of potential. Meanwhile, lmric_est hoped his even better suited connectors -- Ad-Kd -- would hold up.

The flop came 6c-Jc-As, giving lmric_est an even greater advantage. The turn was the 8d and the river the 3h, and Tiibo was out in 6th place, earning a SCOOP Main Event ticket for his efforts (worth $1,575).

8:34pm--HappyPixel eliminated in 7th place

Blinds are up-- and they're big. 8,500/17,000 with a 2,125 ante to be precise. Over 36,000 is in the pot to start and our seven remaining players are doing whatever they can to pick up that dead money, primarily by shoving all in pre-flop. With 217,355 left in his stack, HappyPixel open-shoved only to have Imric_est move all in behind him for 251,210. The rest of the field folded as the cards were turned up.

HappyPixel 6d-6c
Imric_est Kd-Kh

HappyPixel was looking for that third six, but couldn't find it on the Th-4d-3h-2s-4s board. For his 7th place finish he earned a $1,050 PokerStars tournament buy-in, which should certainly ease the blow.

8:28pm--Play slows...and they take a break

At the seven-player mark, play slowed tremendously. Maybe a five-minute break will rejuvenate them...

Level 31
Blinds 8,500/17,000, ante 2,125
Average chip count: 263,571
Players remaining: 7
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package

1. Priitk - 506,512
2. lmric_est - 289,460
3. Tiibo - 249,352
4. Littlemage - 241,836
5. HappyPixel - 198,230
6. TarHeel1641 - 195,194
7. Lesage88 - 164,416

8:13pm--SmileyHere grins way to 8th place

lmric_est open-shoved from UTG for 235,752, and SmileyHere called with his last 104,208 chips. The rest of the table folded, and lmric_est showed 8h-8d to SmileyHere's Js-Ah.

The flop came 8s-9d-5c, giving lmric_est a set and making SmileyHere frowney. The turn and river were both deuces, and SmileyHere goes out in 8th place. That Step 5 entry may turn SmileyHere's frown upside down, though.

8:12pm--Olimpinho KO'ed in 9th place

On the first hand of final table action, Olimpinho open-shoved for 76,036, HappyPixel moved all in for 196,944 behind him, and the rest of the table folded. On their backs...

Olimpinho 6s-6c
HappyPixel Ad-Ts

Ace-ten proved once again to be Olimpinho's kryptonite, outflopping his pocket sixes when the first three came down Td-9c-2h. The turn was the 2c, the river was the 4d, and Olimpinho was eliminated in 9th place, much to the chagrin of his flock of Brazilian railbirds.

8:09pm--And we have our finalists!

The exact final table chip counts going into nine-handed action were as follows:

Seat 1: Littlemage (252668 in chips)
Seat 2: HappyPixel (198444 in chips)
Seat 3: TarHeel1641 (58778 in chips)
Seat 4: Imric_est (309530 in chips)
Seat 5: SmileyHere (251764 in chips)
Seat 6: Priitk (326512 in chips)
Seat 7: Olimpinho (77536 in chips)
Seat 8: Lesage88 (195666 in chips)
Seat 9: Tiibo (174102 in chips)

8:08pm--LaxStarr1995 out in 10th

Down to 10 players, we were five-handed. Lesage88 folded UTG, then SmileyHere raised to 36,000. LaxStarr1995 then reraised all in to 71,154. Olimpinho and Littlemage both folded, and SmileyHere made the call, having LaxStarr1995 covered.

SmileyHere showed Tc-Ks and LaxStarr1995 7h-7c. We had what we like to call a race situation, Vince.

The board came Qs-8h-Ts-Ac-9h, and SmileyHere took it with a pair of tens. LaxStarr1995 is out in 10th place, the last of those who have earned a $320 tourney buy-in. We've reached the final table!

8:05pm--Olimpinho crippled

Once our far and away chip leader, Olimpinho has dipped to less than seven big big blinds. He open-shoved for his entire 188,000 and Littlemage gave him action, making the call with Ah-Td to Olimpinho's 3d-3s. The flop was Kd-9c-9d, the turn was the 6d, but the Kh on the river counterfeited Olimpinho's pair and Littlemage took down the hand with two pair, kings and nines with an ace kicker. Olimpinho was left with only 77,000.

7:59pm--TiJoao out in 11th place

Littlemage had just doubled through TiJoao the hand before when his pocket rockets held up against TiJoao's Big Slick, leaving TiJoao with just 15,542. Then Littlemage raised all in preflop from late position (for more than 125,000), and it folded to TiJoao in the small blind. He thought a moment, then called. The big blind folded, and TiJoao showed 4d-3d. He'd need help against Littlemage's Tc-Ah.

Help didn't come, as the board ran out 9d-7s-Jh-As-3h, knocking TiJoao out in 11th place.

We're hand-for-hand again until we reach the final table.

7:57pm--BuddyDank smoked in 12th place

Priitk opened for 20,000, TarHeel1641 moved all in for 173,704, BuddyDank called all in for 73,054 from the big blind, and Priitk called all in as well, creating a massive, 250,000+ rock-em-sock-em three-way all-in pot.

BuddyDank 9h-9d
Priitk Ah-Ad
TarHeel1641 As-Kc

Both Priitk and BuddyDank's tournament lives were on the line as the flop came down Kh-7c-5d. The turn was the 8c, the river was the 3c and BuddyDank couldn't catch a nine or a straight card to stay alive. Priitk took down the monster pot, good for the chip lead, TarHeel1641 made out almost even on the hand and BuddyDank made his exit in 12th place.

7:54pm--JBug40 unluckily squashed in 13th place

Action folded to JBug40 who raised all in to 65,436 from middle position. Littlemage quickly repopped it right behind for 80,418 total. The table folded back around, and JBug40 revealed Kc-Jd, overcards to Littlemage's 9d-9h.

The board came 5c-6s-Ah-4d-8d, and JBug40 was eliminated in 13th place.

7:49pm--blahdy bounced in 14th place

blahdy's last 14,201 in chips went in with the 3h-4c and TarHeel1641 called the 6,201 balance from the big blind with Kc-7c. Though blahdy paired up when the flop came down Jc-Tc-4h, TarHeel1641 had outs with an overcard and a flush draw. He filled it when the 2c turned and blahdy went out as our 14th place finisher.

7:44pm--Artanis11 out in 16th; marc_26 gone in 15th

Artanis11 shoved all in for 77,549 with 4d-Qc, and found himself up against Tiibo's Ah-Ac. When the flop brought the case ace, Artanis11 said "ruh oh." But there was hope -- the flop was 2c-5c-Ad, meaning a trey could save him. Alas, the turn was the Ks and the river the 9d, and Artanis11 was out in 16th.

Then after Priitk had raised from middle position, marc_26 repopped all in to 53,543 from the big blind and Priitk called. marc_26 showed 4s-4h and Priitk showed Kd-Qd. The board came 7h-Jd-Jh-Ks-8h, and marc_26 was gone in 15th.

7:42pm--justalady42 eliminated in 17th place

Whittled down to only a few thousand in chips, justalady42 was all in from the small blind before the deal. BuddyDank limped in and Artanis11 checked his option from the big blind. Both players checked the Kc-Qh-6c flop. When the 7c came on the turn,Artanis11 checked, BuddyDank bet 7,000 and Artanis11 folded. BuddyDank turned up Ac-2c for the nut flush, leaving justalady42 drawing dead with her Kh-Tc. The 4h hit the river and justalady42 hit the rail in 17th place.

7:37pm--kolmteist krushed in 18th

Tiibo raised to 17,500 from middle position, and it folded around to BuddyDank who called from the small blind. kolmteist also called from the BB. The flop came 5s-Jh-7h. BuddyDank checked, kolmteist pushed all in for 47,692, Tiibo called, and BuddyDank folded.

kolmteist showed 2h-4h for the flush draw, while Tiibo held Js-Ts for top pair. The turn was the 8s and the river the 9s, and Tiibo's backdoor flush sent kolmteist home in 18th place.

7:33pm--Fubsy63 falls in 19th place

With less than sevn big blinds remaining, Fubsy63 pushed all in for 41,645 from under the gun. Tiibo moved all in behind him for a bit over 84,000 and the rest of the table folded. It was a race situation, Tiibo with 8d-8c for the pair and Fubsy63 with Ah-Ks for the overcards. The board ran out Qc-7c-7h-9h-9c and Fubsy couldn't improve, hitting the rail in 19th place.

With 18 players remaining, we've moved up a pay level-- everyone is now guaranteed at least a $320 tourney buy-in.

7:29pm--All ins all around

With blinds at 3,000/6,000 (plus 750 antes), even those with the average stack of 92,250 are feeling urgency at this point, and thus we are seeing all ins frequently on all three of the remaining tables.

Coming back from the break over on Table 39, we saw Artanis11 survive an all in. Then NitroHUN survived one. Then TarHeel1641 survived one.

Then the streak came to an end. NitroHUN pushed all in for 67,689 and HappyPixel happily reraised behind him. The others folded, and the cards flipped over -- Tc-Ts for NitroHUN and Ac-9c for HappyPixel. The flop came Qs-Ah-7c, and NitroHUN was way behind. The turn was the 9s and the river the 3s, and NitroHUN is out in 20th place.

We are now hand-for-hand until we reach two tables.

7:25pm--Break it up!

Players just returned from a five-minute break and are headed into the fourth hour of play with the following statistics:

Level 25
Blinds 3,000/6,000, ante 750
Average chip count: 92,250
Players remaining: 20
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package

1. Olimpinho - 337,578
2. BuddyDank - 164,591
3. lmric_est - 141,265
4. HappyPixel - 116,283
5. kolmteist - 102,631
6. TiJoao - 102,063
7. blahdy - 101,397
8. Lesage88 - 86,229
9. TarHeel1641 - 80,721
10. Tiibo - 76,966

7:21pm--rockman255 rolls out in 21st place

Down to ten big blinds with 50,000 remaining in his stack, rockman255 moved all in pre-flop from middle position. BuddyDank moved all in over the top for 69,641 from the small blind, and kolmteist gave up his big blind. BuddyDank's As-Tc was in good shape against rockman255's 6d-7c and things stayed that way on the Qc-8h-3c flop. The turn and river were both jacks and BuddyDank's ace-high held up to send rockman255 to the rail in 21st place.

7:14pm--teamdobb eliminated in 22nd place

teamdobb made his last stand with Kh-6c and moved all in for 25,662, earning a call from TarHeel1641 with Ks-9h in the big blind. The flop was a disaster for teamdobb and utterly perfect for TarHeel1641, coming down Qh-Jh-Tc. Yep, that's a king-high straight, boys and girls. teamdobb was left only with outs to a chop, missing them when the turn and river came the 7s and the Jc to eliminate him in 22nd place.

7:08pm--Baalim bounced

Baalim raised all in to 28,008 from UTG+1, and Tiibo reshoved all in for 70,028 right behind. The table folded back around, and Baalim showed Ac-Kh vs. Tiibo's Th-Tc. There were no aces or kings among the community cards -- 8h-5h-Qs-3c-5s -- and Baalim was eliminated in 23rd place.

Tiibo now has 108,216.

7:04pm--Mo' fo' Olimpinho

Only moments after Olimpinho crossed the 200,000 chip mark, he crossed the 300,000 chip mark after knocking out Sentex in 25th place.

Olimpinho opened for his usual 7,444 and Sentex made the call from the big blind. The flop was As-Qc-9h. Sentex checked it over to Olimpinho, who bet 11,444. He called, and they saw the 6d hit the turn. Sentex checked again, Olimpinho bet 24,444, Sentex moved all in for 47,330 and Olimpinho made the call. It was a battle of the kickers, Olimpinho's Ah-Jd just edging out Sentex's Ad-Tc. No miracle ten on the river for Sentex and he hit the rail while the pot sent Olimpinho's stack up to 303,634 -- twice as much as Imric_est's 146,000 for second chip position.

7:01pm--pdxrogue hits the rail

TiJoao limped from UTG, then pdxrogue pushed all in from the button for 16,897. It folded around to SmileyHere who called from the big blind, and TiJoao called as well.

The flop came 7d-Qh-Tc. SmileyHere checked, TiJoao bet 9,000, and SmileyHere folded. TiJoao showed 7s-7c for the flopped set, well ahead of pdxrogue's 3s-3c. The turn was the 3d, giving pdxrogue a lower set and faint hope. But the river was the 6h, and pdxrogue was out in 26th.

6:56pm--Olimpinho turns his rockets on RealNaxer

Our chip leader continues to roll. In this latest piece of Olimpinho carnage, he got the betting started with an opening raise to 7,444. RealNaxer reraised to 18,000 and Olimpinho four-bet him to 44,444. That was enough for RealNaxer, who shoved for 87,496 total and Olimpinho made the call for the additional 43,000 and change.

RealNaxer 8s-8c
Olimpinho Ad-Ah

The board ran out Kh-7c-4h-9c-Jc and Olimpinho won the 180,000 pot. With over 219,000 in his stack, he has over 100,000 more chips than his closest competitor.

6:53pm--I'm telling you what I have with my bet size

Tiibo raised to the curious-looking total of 8,888 from middle position, and Cwik1 reraised all in for 26,000 even. Tiibo called.

Turned out that weirdly-sized bet may have been a tell, as Tiibo showed 8c-8s. Meanwhile, Cwik1 had Ts-As and the race was on. The board came Kd-Jc-2d-7s-Kc, and Cwik1 was eliminated in 28th place.

We are down to three tables! The next nine to go out all win $215 tournament entries!

6:49pm--Tarheel1641 slams another

olinsha open-shoved from middle position for 16,899, and Tarheel1641 called from the big blind. olinsha showed 4c-Ad, while Tarheel1641 had a big, Tyler Hansbrough-like hand of Kd-Kh.

The board came Qd-5s-6h-8d-3s, and olinsha was out in 33rd. After picking up another nice pot shortly afterwards, Tarheel1641 now has 88,821 (9th place).

6:45pm--Rex Ferric out in 35th on another coinflip gone awry

Rex Ferric had maintained a healthy stack throughout this event, but just made his exit in 35th place. Baalim opened the pot for 5,400 and RealNaxer popped him to 15,000 before Rex Ferric shoved for his remaining 33,043. Baalim got out of the way but RealNaxer called the extra 18,000, his Jh-Js racing against Rex Ferric's Ac-Qd. Ks-Jc-4s-6d-5s on the board and Rex Ferric's tournament was at an end, while RealNaxer moved into the top ten with 92,446 in his stack.

6:42pm--Reverse psychology

TwistedEcho, down to just 1,313, found himself all in automatically when the big blind (now 2,000) reached him. The table folded around to Littlemage on the button who after thinking for a while raised to 5,000. NitroHUN folded the SB, and it was TwistedEcho's pocket nines against Littlemage's Tc-8s.

"T" typed TwistedEcho. Repeatedly. "TEEEEEN." The board came 5h-4d-2h-2s-8c, and despite TwistedEcho's twisted pleas, he'd survived.

Four hands later, TwistedEcho pushed all in from the cutoff with Td-Ah and was called by both Sentex and Lesage88. When the turn showed a board of As-8d-Qh-Kc, Lesage88 went ahead and bet out to push Sentex out of the hand -- he'd turned Broadway with Jd-Th. The river was the 6h, and TwistedEcho was eliminated in 38th place.

6:41pm--BuddyDank snaps off kings to survive

Short-stacked with 17,979 in chips, BuddyDank open-shoved with his Ah-3h from late position, but was met with a quick call from csillagka on the button, who turned up pocket kings. The flop hit Mr. Dank, however, coming down Ac-Tc-Th. The turn was the 5s, the river was the 8d and BuddyDank survived, cracking kings to double his stack to 41,508.

6:38pm--Live from Hungary

Who knew you could watch football at midnight in Hungary. Well, there is one guy who knows. He's currently among the leaders in WBCOOP. "It's midnight here in Hungary and I'm watching Minnesota vs Atlanta," NitroHUN wrote. He's 19 years old and looking to grab one of the top prizes. He notes. "I only made my first deposit a week ago. Wish me good luck."

6:35pm--Olimpinho takes chip lead with 100K pot

Olimpinho opened for 5,444 from under the gun and WMZeus, directly to his left, put in a reraise to 14,000. The action folded back around to Olimipinho, who made the call. The flop was Ts-9d-3s. Olimpinho used up nearly his entire time bank on his decision to move all in for 69,406 on the flop, putting WMZeus to a decision for his remaining 33,591 in chips. After a bit of a think, WMZeus made the call and saw the bad news-- his unimproved Ah-Kd was up against Olimpinho's Js-Jc. The turn was the 9h, the river was the Jd and Olimpinho dragged the 100,000 pot to vault him into the chip lead with over 137,000 and eliminate WM Zeus.

6:29pm--50 left

Just 50 players remain. Lesage88 just became our new chip leader after winning a three-way hand on Table 21. Lesage88 raised to 6,000 from UTG, Rex Ferric called from the cutoff, and SmileyHere also called from the big blind. All three checked down the board of 6d-2h-4d-5s-Qh. SmileyHere showed As-9s, Lessage88 Jc-Js, and Rex Ferric mucked. That hand took Lesage88 up to 98,043 and first place.

Once we get down to 45, all of those finishing 28th-45th will be earning a $109 entry into a PokerStars tournament of their choice.

6:28pm--True romance

MrAckley needs a win today for more than just the cash and chance to play in the Bahamas. He writes, "Soon to be engaged. Please to send me to the Bahamas so I can pop the question there." MrAckley made the final WBCOOP final table in 2005. Living in Fairbanks, AL ("where it gets ridiculously cold," he says), he takes care of his elderly father during the day and what he calls "an evil puppy" at night.

6:24pm--Priitk rides them cowboys

Imric_est kicked off the betting with a 4,500 opening raise, which was three-bet all in for 20,152 by Medino0308. Priitk moved all in for slightly more behind him and Imric_est got out of the way when the action was folded back around to him. Medino0308's As-9s needed some serious help against Prittk's Kh-Ks, and the 3-3-3-T-8 board brought none of it. Priitk jumped up to the top ten in chips with 46,029 while Medino0308 hit the virtual rail in 53rd place.

6:21pm--Ballim bowls 'em over; two more go down

Ballim raised to 4,000 from middle position, thelivewire reraised all in for 10,807, and bosta_de_boi -- with less than 2,000 chips to start the hand -- called. Baalim called as well, showing Td-9d. bosta_de_boi had 7h-Ad. And thelivewire had Kc-3h.

The board came 7s-3s-Th-8s-5c, giving Baalim the hand with a pair of tens and knocking out thelivewire in 60th place and bosta_de_boi in 61st.

6:20pm--Rex Ferric drops 20K on coinflip

rockman255 moved all in pre-flop for 16,248 and Rex Ferric, one of the tournament's largest stacks at 53,754 made the call. It was a classic race situation, Rex Ferric's Ad-Kd up against rockman 255's pocket sevens. 9-4-9-9-Q on the board and Ferric couldn't catch up, the 35K pot heading rockman's way. The hand evened up the two players' stacks, Rex Ferric left with 37,331 to rockman255's 35,396.

6:18pm--Returning from break number three

And as they did, the top ten chip counts and other pertinent info was as follows:

Level 19
Blinds 750/1,500, ante 175
Average chip count: 30,245
Players remaining: 61
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package

1. Olimpinho - 96,013
2. peggydee - 62,778
3. csillagka - 62,404
4. TarHeel1641 - 54,430
5. Rex Ferric - 53,754
6. kolmteist - 53,493
7. Baalim - 50,793
8. NitroHUN - 49,216
9. teamdobb - 47,878
10. cardacious - 45,562

6:17pm--Somewhere, from the top of Mt, Olympus (er...Lousiana)

It's hard to say why anyone is still playing. With a guy named WmZeus in the field, the end seems like a foregone conclusion. WmZeus is actually David Griggs, an 18 years old living in West Monroe, Louisiana. He made the final table in Tuesday's preliminary event and claimed his spot in the final.

6:14pm--Recent Eliminations

In the flurry of post-bubble eliminations, we lost Loretta8, o-hole-ne, Tom Bayes, j7gibson, Donegal, SushiSam, and ABVidale.

6:11pm--Two birds with one stone for NitroHUN

With 17,505 to start the hand, Rakewell1 shoved all in from the button when the table had folded to him, swerte_nmn decided to call with his last 11,390 from the small blind, and NitroHUN (who had 22,196 to start) decided to play as well, calling from the big blind.

swerte_nmn: Qc-Qh
NitroHUN: Kh-As
Rakewell1: 4h-Jc

Bad enough when one of the blinds wakes up with a hand, though Rakewell1. But both?

The board came 4d-7h-9d-Kc-Ah, and NitroHUN had knocked out both swerte_nmn (in 75th place) and Rakewell1 (in 74th). NitroHUN is up to 52,916 after that one.

6:10pm--JBug40 and the suck, re-suck

LuparFiend opened the betting with a raise to 3,400 and was met with a reraise to 7,500 from JBug40. Undeterred, he four-bet it to 12,500, JBug40 moved all in for 4,672 more and LuparFiend quickly called. LuparFiend's pocket tens were in dire shape against JBug40's K-K...that is until the flop came down Qs-Tc-8d, making him middle set. The turn was the harmless 5c, but LuparFiend's dreams were dashed as the Kc appeared on the river, giving the re-suck and the 26,000 pot to JBug40, who made a higher set. LuparFiend was left with only 7,200.

6:08pm--A little bit about our remaining players...

Once the players got into the money, we asked them to give us a little information about themselves.

Since then we have discovered that thelivewire is married with three kids. We remember him from a few years back when he came in third in WBCOOP.

In another e-mail, dOdGyGrD write, "It's 3am in Dubai and I just made the top 100. How long to win a place in the PCA I wonder. I'm Rick Theobald, a freelance writer for the likes of Bluff and Flush magazines. I have to say, having played in the last few of these, this year has been great, and not only because I locked up a prize!"

6:05pm--Where'd everybody go?

It took exactly 10 minutes for us to go from 100 players to 75. Olimpinho remains out in front with 92,488, followed by csillagka with 82,611.

6:03pm--Going for broke

The all ins are coming quickly now that the bubble has burst. MultiRulez just got bumped in 95th place when his Kc-Ah couldn't catch up to TarHeel1641's pocket rockets.

AllJyn92 got bounced in 89th when Td-9d was no match for ABVidale's pocket kings.

jrgiacon2 then pushed with 8c-8s and was up against peggydee's As-7s. An ace flopped, jrgiacon couldn't come back, and he's out in 80th.

5:59pm--Up4Poker can't luckbox this one

After working a short stack for the last level or so, Up4Poker finally succumbed. He open-shoved for his remaining 2,968 with Jh-9s and was called by Baalim with Ac-Qd. The flop was Kd-Td-2s. The turn was a jack, though, making Baalim the nut straight and sending everyone's favorite luckbox to the rail in 97th place.

5:55pm--100 remain

...of the 369 who began the day. Suddenly it occurs to us, with 369 players, all of whom keep their own blogs, could this possibly become the most meticulously chronicled online poker tournament in history?

Something tells me these last 100 might have more to say about it tomorrow than the other 269. That's because these 100 have all made "the money" (so to speak). Those finishing 46th-100th are all guaranteed at least Step 3 entries. The big prizes await, however. (Click here for details.)

5:52pm--TNSpaceman blown out of orbit, PRO_rANDY hits the rail

Down to 3,118 in chips, TNSpaceman called all in for less after Sorror I made a pre-flop shove for 6,871. TNSpaceman's Q-Q was up against A-Q, and the Kd-9c-3h flop looked safe enough. The turn was the 6c, another safe card, but the Ah spiked on the river, sending him to the rail in 126th place.

Eliminated in a similar fashion was PRO_rANDY, who moved all in on a Ks-Ts-8h flop holding Kc-Qd, only to have DonBartos hit the Ah on the river for his A-Q to take it down and send him to the rail.

5:49pm--Olimpinho out in front

Olimpinho has catapulted to the top of the leaderboard following a couple of huge hands over on Table 45. First Olimpinho scored a 23,000-plus chip pot with pocket aces against LParreira's pocket kings. Then a 32,986-chip pot came Olimpinho's way after he and Cynders 1 decided to get it all in on a flop of 5c-Qc-5h (see how that one played out below).

Olimpinho now has 75,948, over 15,000 ahead of nearest competitor csillagka.

5:47pm--Up4Poker's stack falls on triple-barrel bluff

Up4Poker was cruising along, vacillating between 13K and 15K in chips after his K-J vs. A-K double-up...until this hand came along.

In a three-way limped pot the flop came down Jd-5h-3s. sillidillen, in the small blind checked to Up4Poker in the big, who put out a bet of 900. thelivewire called from position and sillidillen folded. The turn came the Kc. Up4Poker fired again, this time for 1,200, but thelivewire wasn't going anywhere-- he made the call. The river was the 7s and Up4Poker took one more shot at it, betting 2,000. thelivewire called.

Up4Poker's 5s-9s was no match for thelivewire's pocket tens. thelivewire vaulted up past 20,000 in chips while Up4Poker was left with 7,658.

5:42pm--AllJyn92 wins all in

Down to 7,598, Muppinger decided pocket queens was good enough to push all in, but unfortunately AllJyn92 was waiting there with pocket aces. The board came 6h-9h-5h-2h-8c, and Muppinger is out in 113th. AllJyn92 is up to 25,606. That's 16th place out of the 110 players remaining.

5:36pm--LaxStarr1995 doubles through PRO_rANDY

With nearly 20,000 in chips to start the hand, PRO_rANDY called LaxStarr's 925 opening raise from the big blind and the two saw a flop of 8s-5h-3s. PRO_rANDY check-called a 1,250 bet from his opponent. When the turn came the 8d, PRO_rANDY checked again, LaxStarr1995 fired out 2,450, and PRO_rANDY shoved over the top for 17,073. LaxStarr1995 made the call for the rest of his chips.

Both players had overpairs, LaxStarr1995's J-J well ahead of PRO_rANDY's 9-9. The Kh hit the river and the 22K pot was shipped to LaxStarr1995, while PRO_rANDY was knocked all the way down to 8,477 in chips.

5:31pm--MultiRulez on the rise

Four players limped to see a flop of 7c-Qs-4c. MultiRulez led out from the small blind for 800, and both MrAckley and SiresNme called. Hurricane010 then raised to 2,500. MultiRulez called, as did MrAckley. Then SiresNme reraised all in for 6,602 total. Hurricane010 responded by pushing all of his 18,015 in the middle as well. Then MultiRulez called with his last 8,970!

MrAckley, seeing three all ins ahead of him, typed the LOLCATSish "holy crap i has huge draw" before stepping aside.

MultiRulez: Qc-Ac (nut flush draw)
SiresNme: Qh-Kc (top pair)
Hurricane010: 7d-7h (middle set)

The turn was the Ks, and Hurricane010 was still ahead. But the river was the Jc, completing MultiRulez' flush and awarding him the huge 34,092-chip pot.

5:29pm--ZClub outruns mattythatguy

After csillagka limped in for 400, ZClub made it 1,600 to go, only to be raised all in by mattythatguy, who shoved for his remaining 5,465. csillagka ran for cover, but ZClub made the call, committing his last 3,053 in chips. ZClub's A-K outraced matthythatguy's J-J when a king flopped, good for the 10,356 pot. mattythatguy was left with only two big blinds after the hand.

5:27pm--Dropping like...you know

In the 12 minutes that have passed since the second break, 32 players have been eliminated! Of the 138 that remain, 100 will win prizes while the rest will go home empty-handed.

5:23--Three-chip disadvantage means Photograph17 finished

BuddyDank was down to 4,860 chips, while Photograph17 had 4,857. Almost even. Both surely took note of that fact when BuddyDank decided to call Photograph17's all in. BuddyDank had pocket kings, and Photograph17 had Jd-As. The board came 3s-2s-8d-2d-9d, and the three measly chips BuddyDank had behind suddenly mushroomed to 10,554. Meanwhile, Photograph17 was out in 148th.

5:21pm--Loretta8 passes 30K

Loretta8 didn't waste any time in acquiring chips early in this event and he just took down a key pot to turn his average stack into a monster one.

Loretta8's 810 opening raise was called by djhomeschool and they saw a flop of Kc-6s-6d. Loretta8 bet 1,200 and djhomeschool called. The turn brought the 4c, a 2,400 bet from Loretta8 and another call from djhomeschool. The 7h fell on the river and Loretta8 shoved for 9,241, which earned a call from djhomeschool. Both players had a king in their hands, but Loretta8's A-K outkicked djhomeschool's K-T to earn him the massive 28,112 pot.

Only a few hands later, Loretta8 passed the 30,000 chip mark and currently holds the tournament's third largest stack.

5:20pm--A couple of comments from the field

At the break, we asked the field to give us a couple thoughts on the tournament and tell us a bit about themselves.

Tom Bayes said, "I like green chile, badugi, and deuce-to-seven lowball. NL holdem is my least favorite game." Oh, and despite the fact Tom Bayes is still in the event, he said, "djhomeschool is the guy I want to see win."

How kind.

CUdeP remarked, "This is the best tourney I have played ever. Thank you very much for this. I´m dreaming with some big prize and starting to playing higher tournaments."

5:14pm--QQ in BB = good times for dOdGyGrD

dOdGyGrD just picked up what might have been one of the largest pots of the tournament after taking most of espanhol_pt's stack following a preflop all-in confrontation. espanhol_pt had open-raised from the button, dOdGyGrD reraised to 2,450 from the big blind, espanhol_pt shoved for 9,905 total, and dOdGyGrD called. dOdGyGrD showed pocket queens, well ahead of espanhol_pt's Qc-As. The board came 4s-7s-3c-4d-Kh, and dOdGyGrD claimed the 19,450-chip pot.

espanhol_pt, down to just 470 chips after that hand, was eliminated in 169th on the next hand.

5:10pm--170 players alive at second break

Level 13
Blinds 175/350, ante 45
Average chip count: 10,852
Players remaining: 170
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package

1. Rex Ferric - 42,062
2. Priitk - 28,906
3. peggydee - 28,871
4. Loretta8 - 28,112
5. Simka11 - 26,376
6. Cynders 1 - 25,423
7. Baalim - 23,698
8. DonBartos - 23,079
9. CUdeP - 22,790
10. guto1515 - 22,781

4:57pm--Recent Eliminations

Blogger notables heading to the rail in the last few minutes include Obie34, Easycure, ZeemJr, and lightning36

4:55pm--Stacks on the rise

A glance atop the leaderboard shows a few players closing in on the 30,000-chip mark at the moment. Priitk is in the lead currently with 29,748, followed by Rex Ferric with 29.032, and CUdeP with 25,840.

We are now down to 200 players.

4:51pm--Ladies Save ZClub

ZClub hadn't been able to get anything going so far, and down to only 1,347 in chips, he got most of them in pre-flop and the rest of them in on the flop with Q-Q vs. thelivewire's K-T. Ad-5c-3d-Ac-4d on the board and ZClub earned a much-needed double up (and then some) to 4,324.

4:47pm--Long live the king; the king is dead

Shortly after that double-up through TNSpaceman, micon's day abruptly ended after a big hand versus shearin88. On a flop of 7c-Qc-9d, micon decided the multiple draws afforded by Jc-Tc were good for gambling, and shearin88 came along for the ride with a set of nines. The set held up, and micon was out 233rd.

4:44pm--Micon Doubles through TNSpaceman

TNSpaceman doubled up quite early on with pocket aces, but just saw his stack halved by the man they call the "King of All Degenerates"-- micon.

In a three-way limped pot, TNSpaceman led out at the Th-7s-2c flop for 300. Both micon and LaNaranjita called. The turn came the 7d, pairing the board and TNSpaceman took another shot at the pot, betting 600. micon called and LaNaranjita folded. The river fell the Ad. TNSpaceman slowed down and checked,but was met with a shove from micon for his last 1,887. TNSpaceman made the call.

TNSpaceman's 9h-Ts for two pair, tens and sevens couldn't match micon's sevens full of aces with A-7 in the hole and micon doubled to 6,484. TNSpaceman was knocked down to 5,278.

4:41pm--Here come cowboys; gadzooks64 doubles up

gadzooks64 raised to 600 from middle position, and the table folded around to schmengie who called from the big blind. The flop came 4c-5s-Th, and schmengie checked. gadzooks64 bet 1,000, and schmengie check-raised all in for 6,615 altogether. gadzooks64 called with her last 3,320, showing Kc-Kh for the overpair. "oops" typed schmengie, as he showed Jd-Jh.

The turn and river both brought sevens, and gadzooks64 doubled up to 10,165. schmengie is now at 2,295.

4:38pm--o-hole-ne doubles through PRO_rANDY in battle of the big stacks

PRO_rANDY, continuing to play with agression and abandon, opened yet another pot for 3 big blinds and found a caller in o-hole-ne. PRO_rANDY fired out 920 at the Kh-7c-2d flop, o-hole-ne put in a min-raise to 1,840, and PRO_rANDY called. The Jh on the turn gave PRO_rANDY pause and he checked, allowing o-hole-ne to fire out a bet of
1,590. PRO_rANDY made the call. The river was the 3h and both players checked.

o-hole-ne turned up Qs-Js, having paired up on the turn after raising the flop with air, crushing PRO_rANDY's pocket tens. o-hole-ne jumped out to 16,955 in chips while PRO_rANDY was left sitting on 15,978.

4:33pm--That's gonna leave a mark

Just saw a wince-inducing elimination over on Table 36. A short-stacked forstuvning had pushed all in for 1,987 with As-Js, and ABVidale, having him comfortably covered, made the call with Qs-Qd. The flop came Ac-2h-6d, and forstuvning was suddenly way ahead. The turn was the 4c. Still good. Then came the river... the Qc.

"No... Noooo!" typed forstuvning. In green, of course, as he had been rudely removed from the table, ending the day in 261st. Meanwhile, ABVidale is up to 15,397 -- that's top 15 at the moment.

4:31pm--8-game winner out of the mix

DjFog86, winner of the mixed 8-game qualifier is out of the 2008 WBCOOP after having his aces cracked by Kd-Qd on an all diamond flop.

4:26pm--Luckbox lives up to his name

Blogger Up4Poker is affectionately known as "The Luckbox" by his peers and demonstrated just how he got that name on this hand vs. kapiuksheing. Up4Poker opened for 375 and kapiuksheing made the call. On the Kc-6h-2h flop, Up4Poker checked, kapiuksheing made a small bet of 240, and Up4Poker check-raised all in for his remaining 2,429. kapiuksheing called and turned up As-Kd to Up4Poker's Ks-Js. No problem for the Luckbox, though... as the Jh spiked on the turn to make him two pair. No ace on the river and Up4Poker doubled to 5,923 in spectacular fashion.

4:21pm--Oh, and just one more thing...

Columbo777 started late today, and so had blinded down a bit by the time he finally took his seat late in the first hour. Down to 3,305, it appeared the time had come to solve the Case of the Dwindling Chips.

The table had folded around to Columbo777 who completed from the small blind. Player titcar, who had Columbo777 covered, raised to 360, prompting Columbo777 to repop it all-in. titcar quickly called, showing Ad-Ac, well ahead of Columbo777's 5c-5d.

The board came 9d-2c-Kd-Jc-Tc, and Columbo777 was free to walk his dog, having ended the day in 280th. titcar currently has 6,695.

4:16pm--Oh captain! my Captain! Our fearful trip is done

Speaking of OhMyCaptain's elimination...

Down to 1,993 chips, OhMyCaptain decided the time had come to right the ship. After DidiTKN raised to 320 from the button, OhMyCaptain pushed all in from the small blind, and DidiTKN called. OhMyCaptain showed 9d-Ac, and DidiTKM Tc-Ts. The board came 3d-7s-Qc-Kh-8h, and OhMyCaptain sailed away in 289th. DidiTKM has since chipped up to 12,703, good enough for the top 20.

4:15pm--Recent eliminations

Since the end of the first break we've lost esteemed bloggers OhMyCaptain, asphnxma, and NumbBono.

4:10pm--GRobman humbled, badblood44 in need of bandages

In the first hands after the first break, both badblood44 and GRobman went off to find other activities for the Sunday afternoon. GRobman was crippled before the break and came back with an eye on doubling up. It didn't work out. Badblood44's chips went to fellow poker blogger Donegal in a TT vs KK battle on a 334 flop. You can find badblood44 at the Badugi tables. GRobman will be somewhere combing his hair and admiring himself.

4:08pm--A visual of the rake's progress

As an added bonus, we have the visual for the Rakewell1 hand:

4:05pm--Rakewell1 rakes one in

Vegas rounder and oberserver of all things infuriating, blogger Rakewell1 just benefited from a timely double-up with AK vs A9. That was as entertaining for him as his recent observation the advertisement in Vegas that advertised steak "just off the casino floor" was for us.

4:02pm--Whew...first break

Level 7
Blinds 50/100, ante 10
Average chip count: 5,990
Players remaining: 308
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package

1. peggydee - 17,262
2. Medino0308 - 17,200
3. Rex Ferric - 15,010
4. sleddog - 14,970
5. csillagka - 14,082
6. WMZeus - 13,727
7. PRO-rANDY - 13,665
8. Rakewell1 - 13,170
9. on_thg - 12,825
10. blahdy - 12,600

Play will resume momentarily.

3:58pm--TBPauly Doubles Up Tom Bayes

pillango and Tom Bayes both limped in for 50 and were met with a raise from lenCindahood to 250. TBPauly flat-called, pillango gave up his hand and Tom Bayes called as well. The flop came down Qs-7h-6c. Tom Bayes checked, lenCindahood bet 550, TBPauly shoved for 3,710, and Tom Bayes shoved behind him for his remaining 5,080, leading lenCindahood to get out of the way. The cards went on their backs:

Tom Bayes 7d-6d
TBPauly Qc-Jc

Bayes was far ahead with two pair to TBPauly's top pair, and his hand held up through the 2d on the turn and the Kc on the river. THe 8,845 pot was shipped to Tom Bayes, increasing his stack to 10,215, while TBPauly hit the rail in 341st place.

3:54pm--It wasn't a blind steal, after all

It folded to chezchez2 who raised 4x to 240 from the button. Vandalar called from the small blind, and pickup09 folded the BB. The flop came 4d-7c-Ah. Both checked. The turn was the 5c. Vandalar checked, chezchez2 bet 320, and Vandalar called. The river was the 9s. Vandalar checked, chezchez2 bet 640, then Vandalar surprisingly check-raised all in for a total of 6,735.

chezchez2 suddenly had a decision to make. After thinking for a while, chezchez2 made the call with his last 5,050. Vandalar showed 6s-7s for a pair of sevens. chezchez2 showed Ac-As for a set of aces.

That pot pushed chezchez2 up to 12,580, while Vandalar has tumbled all of the way down to 1,045 for the busted move.

3:45pm--Easycure takes it easy on OhMyCaptain

Easycure limped in for 60 from UTG+1, DidiTKM completed from the SB, and OhMyCaptain checked his option in the BB. The flop came 2d-7d-Jc. DidiTKM checked, OhMyCaptain bet 180, Easycure called, and DidiTKM got out of the way. Both checked the Ac on the turn. The river was the 8c, putting a possible backdoor flush on board. OhMyCaptain checked, Easycure bet 180, and OhMyCaptain called. Easycure showed Qh-As for top pair, and OhMyCaptain mucked.

Easycure now has 6,205, while OhMyCaptain slipped to 2,763 on that hand.

3:44pm--PRO_rANDY Grinds Out a Double

PRO_rANDY is tearing up his table, having already doubled his starting stack in the space of only a few hands. After making a full house against FANTOMEX, who had turned trip fours, PRO_rANDY took down three consecutive pots to chip up to 8,300. Then came this hand.

PRO_rANDY opened for 150 and got one caller in C8meplacton. The flop was Jc-6c-3c. C8mepacton checked, PRO_rANDY bet 225 and C9meplacton called. The turn was the 4d and C8mepacton check-called a 525 bet from PRO_rANDY. The river fell the Kh and C8mepacton check-called another bet, this time for 1,125. PRO_rANDY turned up Qc-8c for the flush and raked in another 4,075 chips to take his stack up to 10,405. He's currently among the top ten in chips.

3:41pm--SushiSam needs some sake

It's time to celebrate at SushiSam's table. Why? Well this is one helluva board.

[8c 4c 2h 4d] [Ks]

Why so hellish? Well, consider SushiSam held a four in his hand.

Consider his opponent,PNEWS_ITALIA, held pocket kings.

Now, consider SushiSam also held the case four in his hand.

"I can't believe it," SushiSam said.

3:40pm--sleddog leading the pack

Forty minutes in and so far 30 of our starting field of 369 have fallen by the wayside. Right now sleddog has the most chips of the 339 players left with 14,750, with Pinkypollo close behind with 14,720.

3:33pm--LoneRhino looks for another way to Bahamas

After winning Event #6 yesterday, LoneRhino looked in good form for today's event. It was not to be. He's out after the first half hour of play.

3:31pm--peggydee harpoons TheUKShark

TheUKShark just met an unfortunate, early end after flopping trip nines against peggydee. Unfortunately for TheUKShark, peggydee also flopped trips, and peggydee's bigger kicker meant TheUKShark was just about dead in the water. Here's how it happened:

3:28pm--MrAckley "Tight!"

Bloggers are sometimes like dealers. They have a lot of gamble in them. Not so much the case at MrAckley's table. "We might see a flop one in five hands," he said. MrAckley final tabled the first ever WBCOOP in 2005.

3:25pm--Obie34 Flushes the Competition

j7gibson opened for 160, and Obie34 made the call. j7 gibson led out for 200 on the Qc Td 7d flop and Obie34 called. The turn brought the Ad and j7gibson bet another 200 but was met with a raise to 600. Undeterred, he called 400 more. The river was a dangerous-looking Js, putting a possible straight out there to go with the possible flush. j7gibson checked, Obie34 bet 1,200 and j7gibson called.

The crafty Obie34 showed 8d-9d for a flush and raked in a hefty pot to start his tournament, increasing his stack to 6,550.

3:22pm--gadzooks64 spooks Shishio13

Player gadzooks64 -- who managed to make the top 72 in the first three WBCOOP preliminary events -- just picked up a few chips here at the outset of play. Shishio13 raised preflop from middle position to 120, and it folded around to gadzooks64 who called from the BB. The flop came As-6d-2h. gadzooks64 checked, Shishio13 made a continuation bet of 210, and gadzooks64 called. The turn brought the 2s, prompting gadzooks64 to bet 570 into the 675-chip pot. Shishio13 stepped aside.

Shishio13 now has 4,580, while gadzooks64 has 5,350.

3:16pm--Pinkypollo pole-vaults into lead

Pinkypollo has jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a huge hand versus Virrr. Preflop, Virrr had raised to 90 from UTG, Pinkypollo reraised to 150, and it folded back around to Virrr who called. The flop came 3d-Ks-9c. Virrr checked, Pinkypollo shoved all in for 8,330, and Virrr called for 4,655. Virrr showed Kc-Js for top pair, but Pinkypollo had Ad-Kh for top pair, better kicker. The turn was the 2d, the river the 5h, and Virrr hit the rail in 362nd.

Pinkypollo meanwhile sits atop the leaderboard with 13,330.

3:15pm--Blood spilled early

badblood44 opened for a 75 chip raise and RevmodPoker made the call. badblood44 led out at the 9c 3d 2s flop for 120, RevmodPoker popped him with a min-raise to 240, and badblood44 retaliated with a three-bet to 660. RevmodPoker called. The turn fell the 9s, pairing the board. badblood44 fired again, this time for 500 and RevmodPoker flat-called. The river was the Kh. badblood44 slowed down and ultimately check-folded to RevmodPoker's 750 river bet, conceding the 2,500+ pot.

badblood44 was down to 3,015 after the hand while RevmodPoker shot up to 6,200.

3:13pm--LParreria looking to go back-to-back

The 2007 WBCOOP champion is LParreria showing some early strength today. In the first fiteen minutes of play, he has doubled his stack to more than 10,000.

3:04pm--TNSpaceman rockets ahead

TNSpaceman open-raised to 60 from the cutoff, donkulate reraised to 200 from the button, the table folded back around and TNSpaceman called. The flop came 9h-2c-2d. TNSpaceman checked, donkulate bet 180, and TNSpaceman called. The turn was the 8h. TNSpaceman again checked, and this time donkulate bet 420. TNSpaceman promptly check-raised to 1,120. donkulate thought a moment, then called the reraise.

The river brought the 6c. TNSpaceman pushed all in for 2,280, and donkulate made the call. TNSpaceman showed 9d-9s for the flopped boat, while donkulate mucked. TNSpaceman is up to 8,810, while donkulate slips to 1,020.

3:03pm--GRobman humble as always

Anyone who has ever played live or online with GRobman knows he is as self-effacing and humble as any blogger in the business. GRobman qualified this week in one of the no-limit hold'em contests and today is proving the old adage, it's hard to be humble when you're this damned good. He said as the event began, "I'm honored to be playing in the Poker Stars Blogger Championship. I'm sure the other bloggers are equally honored to be playing with me."

3:02pm--Gigli honors go to BigSlickNut

Poker bloggers have a tradition of awarding the Gigli designation to the person who busts first from their tournament. That honor, named after the tragic Ben Affleck flick, goes today to BigSlickNut. He called all in with pocket queens on a 2c-5h-9h flop against Ah-7h. Sure enough, a heart fell on the river. Sorry, BSN.

3:01pm--Cards on the screen!

The first cards have been dealt, and we have a casualty in the first minute of play. BigSlickNut from Huntsville left the tournament in 369th place; more information to come. Action may be faster than anticipated today.

2:55pm--Ready for kickoff!

It seems that the players in today's much-anticipated event are taking their virtual seats at 41 tables and gearing up to win some phenomenal prizes today. With the final 100 survivors "in the prizes," if you will, we're looking for some exciting action at the kickoff with 369 players.

2:00pm--WBCOOP Main Event to begin shortly

The main event of the 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker will begin at 3:00pm ET.

PokerStars has already given away $50,000 worth of prizes in the prelim events. Now, it's time to fight for the $50,000 worth of Main Event prizes.

The 369 qualifiers from the six preliminary events will be fighting for the following prizes.

1st--PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package
2nd--European Poker Tour prize package, SCOOP, Main Event ticket, Step 6 ticket
3rd--European Poker Tour prize package
4th--SCOOP Main Event ticket + Step 6 ticket
5th--Step 6 ticket
6th--SCOOP Main Event ticket
7th--$1,050 Tournament entry
8th--Step 5 ticket
9th--$530 Tournament entry
10th-18th--$320 Tournament entry
19th-27th--$215 Tournament entry
28th-45th-- $109 Tournament entry
46th-100th-- Step 3 ticket

Join us here for all the action at 3pm ET.

Saturday's Event #6 was, as expected, the biggest preliminary event yet. Nearly 550 players showed up for the no-limit hold'em event. The top 72 were guaranteed seats in Sunday's final. Among the top 72 were some of the better known poker bloggers: BigSlickNut, on_thg, BuddyDank, Donegal, CawtBluffin, ZeemJr, and badblood44.

Perhaps the least surprising performance came from the well-known blogger known as glyphic (12th place). Not only did he make the final table in the 2006 WBCOOP, he also won the World Poker Blogger Tour's Holiday Classic a few years back. We'll be watching him today as he settles in to the WBCOOP final.

Top honors, however, went to the United States' Lone Rhino. He picked up three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and an $11 tournament ticket to go along with the entry into the Main Event final.

Here's how the final table broke down.

1. Lone Rhino (United States) -- Sunday Majors Platinum Package
2. abaddon_ross (Philippines) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
3. BigSlickNut (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
4. SmileyHere (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
5. DonChulio08 (Germany) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
6. SneakyKowboy (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
7. TiJoao (Portugal) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
8. Anttinar (Finland) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
9. Moneybrother (Germany) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package

We will be live blogging the whole WBCOOP Final at 3pm ET on Sunday. Join us here for all the action.

Good luck to the Main Event players.

More than 450 players showed up for Event #5 to compete for a seat in Sunday's WBCOOP final and tons of big prizes. With just two events remaining for the world's top poker playing bloggers to nab their chance at the big prizes, the pressure to finish well was near its zenith.

The top 72 players contained some names with which we've already become familiar. Event #1 winner snowsharkpe finished in 51st place. Longtime poker blogger asphnxma made his second appearance in the top 72. Noted poker blogger o-hole-ne nabbed his seat as well.

Also among the top 72 was a name we're beginning to see quite a bit. MrAckley final tabled the WBCOOP final last year and had already won his seat this year. Regardless, he snagged yet another spot in the top 72. The accomplishment not only earned him a Step 2 ticket for his 39th place finish, but it also thinned the main event field by one seat. The final had a maximum of 432 available seats, but every time a blogger qualifies more than once, it reduces the field of main event players. With one preliminary event left, the final field has 311 qualified players. Seventy-two seats are available in Event #6 before all the qualifiers move on to Sunday's main event.

Here's how the top nine finished.

1. DjFog86 (United States) -- Sunday Majors Platinum Package
2. Naxer (Estonia) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
3. Anttinar (Finland) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
4. uabass (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
5. schmengie (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
6. j7gibson (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
7. Ischas (Germany) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
8. raunoo (Estonia) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
9. Muppinger (Germany) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package

Saturday marks the final opportunity the bloggers have to make it into Sunday's final. The 15:00 No-Limit Hold'em contest will award 72 seats and thousands of dollars worth of prizes. By evening we will know the final field for the main event and who will have a chance at the big-time prizes like A PCA package, EPT trips, and SCOOP seats.

Good luck to everybody in Event #6.

Thursday's Event #4 was a no-limit hold'em affair that awarded Main Event seats to the top 72 finishers and big-time prizes to the top 45.

The top 72 who players who earned seats featured longtime poker bloggers GRobman and ABVidale. Also among the Main Event qualifiers was last year's WBCOOP champion LParreira. Another final table player from last year, MrAckley, just qualified for his seat today as well.

Event #4 winner 2T!lt4Fold not only picked up a Main Event seat today, but also a ton of big prizes. His first place finish earned him three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament tickets. He and the other top 72 will not play Sunday for a PokerStars Caribbeann Adventure seat, an EPT seat, a few SCOOP seats (yes, we'll talk about SCOOP very soon...), and tons of other tournament tickets.

Here's a look at the final table.

1. 2T!lt4Fold (Germany) -- Sunday Majors Platinum Package
2. Virrr (Netherlands) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
3. swerte_nmn (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
4. deckcoll (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
5. Nickzortje (Netherlands) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
6. TheUKShark (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
7. Littlemage (Hungary) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
8. XXPepper (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
9. PRO_rANDY (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package

There are only two more qualifying events left to play before Sunday's Main Event.

December 19--8-Game Mix--17:00 ET
December 20--No Limit Hold’em--15:00 ET

Good luck on Friday.

The Pot-Limit Omaha 8/b event drew nearly 400 of the blogging world's gamblers. Seventy-two of them were guaranteed seats in this weekend's WBCOOP Main Event. There they will get a chance to play for some big prizes, not the least of which are a prize package to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, a seat on the European Poker Tour, and main event tickets to SCOOP (you don't know what SCOOP is, eh? Well, you will soon enough).

The top 72 was littered with notable names from the poker blogging community, including Up4Poker, TheTrooper06, OhMyCaptain, TNSpaceman, micon, willythewise, heffmike, asphnxma, and once again Easycure.

One of the more interesting stories out of WBCOOP so far is the one playing out at the hands of gadzooks64. Out of three WBCOOP events, gadzooks64 has placed in the top 72 in every one. The blogger wrote this morning, "My goal was to win as many seats as I could to reduce the competition for the Final Event. So far I'm 3/3 baby! I won my seat the first time out. I managed to score a Step 2 ticket from next event. Last night I wanted a Step 3 or better." So how did that turn out? Gadzooks64 was among the final table players who earned a Sunday Majors gold package.

Top honors in the event went to pgchips who outlasted the field to win three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament ticket for first place. Here's how the final table looked.

1. pgchips (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Platinum Package
2. SSRJazz (United States -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
3. cliffbarnes (Sweden) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
4. Tom Bayes (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
5. Kirkoriii (Bulgaria) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
6. Radoom (Poland) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
7. 1tripz1 (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
8. luvrhino (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
9. gadzooks64 (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package

There are still three more chances for the bloggers to earn their seats in Sunday's final and there are still thousands of dollars in prelim event prizes left up for grabs. WBCOOP Event #4 kicks off at 14:00 ET Thursday.

Good luck to everybody still fighting for their seats.

The top 72 players in WBCOOP's second event earned their place in the Main Event. Tuesday's no-limit hold'em contest drew 559 of the world's poker playing bloggers. As we've mentioned, this year WBCOOP is made up of six preliminary qualifiers and one Main Event. Each of the qualifying events awards 72 final seats plus thousands off dollars in prizes.

Event #2 took more than five hours to play out and saw tons of familiar names from the blogging community. Notable poker bloggers Easycure, Rakewell1, NumbBono, gadzooks64, and Loretta8 all made it to the top 72 and earned their seats in the Main Event. Top honors, however, went to the United States' malice51 who not only made it to the final, but also picked up three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament ticket (aka, Sunday Majors Platinum Package).

Here's how the final table broke down.

1. malice51 (United States) -- Sunday Majors Platinum Package
2. Baba_Jin (Israel) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
3. United113 (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
4. MemphisM0J0 (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
5. WMZeus (United States) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
6. WILLdaHAMMER (Canada) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
7. Joppa Rd (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
8. maka818 (Spain) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
9. Would-Be83 (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package

If you're an eligible blogger, you still have time to qualify for this weekend's Main Event. Top prizes include a full PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package and a chance to play on the European Poker Tour.

Here''s what the full Main Event prize pool looks like.

1st--PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package - worth $14,300
2nd--European Poker Tour prize package + SCOOP Main Event ticket + Step 6 ticket - worth $11,100
3rd--European Poker Tour prize package - worth $7,500
4th--SCOOP Main Event ticket + Step 6 ticket - worth $3,675
5th--Step 6 ticket - worth $2,100
6th--SCOOP Main Event ticket - worth $1,575
7th--$1,050 Tournament entry
8th--Step 5 ticket
9th--$530 Tournament entry
10th-18th--$320 Tournament entry
19th-27th--$215 Tournament entry
28th-45th--$109 Tournament entry
46th-100th--Step 3 ticket

Event #3 of WBCOOP kicks off later tonight. The 22:00ET event is an Omaha 8/b event and will award another 72 seats to the final.

Congrats to the first 142 Main Event players and good luck to everyone tonight.

Event #1 was a Pot-Limit Omaha affair that drew 450 of the world's bloggers to the virtual felt. The top 72 players earned a seat in this weekend's final. The final 45 players got at least a PokerStars Step 2 ticket and had a chance at event bigger prizes.

The five-hour event saw the kind of hard-core gambling you'd expect from an Omaha event. The final table players were all guaranteed at least two $215 tournament tickets and had a chance at the first prize, three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament ticket.

Top honors in Event #1 went to Italy's snowsharkpe who, like everyone in the top 72 won a seat to the final, but also more than $1,100 in prizes. Here's how the final table broke down.

1. snowsharkpe (Italy) -- Sunday Majors Platinum Package
2. Platero7 (Spain) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
3. bartekr (Poland) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
4. BurnleyJoe (United Kingdom) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
5. Radoom (Poland) --Sunday Majors Gold Package
6. 2T!lt4Fold (Germany) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
7. Diffler (Finland) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
8. blahdy (Czech Republic) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package
9. peggydee (Pakistan) -- Sunday Majors Gold Package

WBCOOP continues Tuesday at 19:00 ET with a No-Limit Hold'em contest. The top 72 players in Eevent #2 will join those from the other preliminary events this Sunday.

Congratulations to the blogger who qualified in Event #1 and good luck to everyone in Event #2.

When you’ve done that, PokerStars will send you a ticket that can be used to enter any (or all!) of the Freeroll qualifiers, running December 15-20 in various different poker games. Make it big in the qualifiers and you could not only win a seat in the WBCOOP Final, but Sunday Majors entry tickets and Step satellite tickets too.

The Final itself is where the prizes really start to get serious - with PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and European Poker Tour prize packages up for grabs, plus tons more. Here’s just a little taste of what you can win.

WBCOOP Final Prizes

1st: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package
2nd: European Poker Tour prize package + Step 6 ticket
3rd: European Poker Tour prize package

What better way to close out the year than proving you’re the best poker playing blogger on the planet? And there definitely isn’t any better way to get rid of those New Year blues than living it up on the beach in the Bahamas this January at the PCA.

Check out the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker website to find out more about the prize pool and how you can register