The dust never settled because there was no dust. The clouds never lifted because there were no clouds. If it had happened in a live casino, those things might have happened. But this monstrosity of a poker festival all happened online at PokerStars. It was nearly beyond description. No trite turn of phrase was available. It simply was what it was: a nearly $40 million poker tournament series that saw nearly 23,000 unique players compete for some of the most coveted titles in poker.It wasn't always this way. It's not been too many years since PokerStars was an innovator, offering a brick-and-mortar style poker festival that players could battle from the comfort of their lazy chair. While PokerStars was creating the mold for future series of the like, no one would've ever guessed back then that the World Championship of Online Poker would become bigger than nearly every other tournament series--live or online--on planet Earth. Just look at the hard numbers.
Events played: 33
Total Number of Buy-Ins: 55,758
Number of unique players: 22,873
Total Prize Money: $39,958,000.00
Countries represented: 119
Countries cashed: 80
For a complete numbers break down, visit the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker statistics page.
This was a whole new year for WCOOP. As it always has, PokerStars did not rest on a six-year accumulation of laurels. The tournament team put together an amazing schedule that was as innovative as it was fun to watch. It introduced new events. It introduced two-day tournaments. All the while, PokerStars once again broke the mold with live coverage and highlights at PokerStars.tv. Heck, even we here at the PokerStars Blog tried something new with live blog coverage from the beginning to the end of every tournament (check out all the live blog and wrap up links at the end of this post).
There were 33 champions in 2008 WCOOP, but only one who could claim the Main Event title. That honor went to South Carolina Gamecock fan ckingusc who, after cutting a deal at the final table, won more than $1.2 million.
Here's a complete list of winner's from this year's WCOOP.
| Event | Entrants | Winner | First Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
NL Hold'em [6-max] | 7,217 | shane147 | $200,856.66 |
PL 5-Card Draw | 1,024 | ImBillMcNeal | $34,201.60 |
Limit Hold'em | 2,258 | cwp394 | $73,385.00 |
2-7 Triple Draw | 734 | playitsafe | $24,809.20 |
High-Roller NL Hold'em | 321 | dorinvandy | $617,925.00 |
NL Hold'em* | 7,351 | Calvin32 | $452,086.50 |
PL Omaha [6-max] | 2,457 | Mary 717 | $71,730.20 |
8-game Mixed Event | 1,128 | Ulett_23 | $50,797.28 |
NL Hold'em [4-max] | 3,290 | jonasof87 | $95,410.00 |
Razz | 1,288 | dinho_style | $43,096.48 |
PL Omaha Hi/Lo | 1,733 | 92848 | $88,383.00 |
Mixed Hold'em [6-max] | 1,496 | Randers | $66,000.00 |
NL Hold'em w/Rebuys | 2,234 | lrdvoldemort | $207,772.50 |
7-Card Stud | 627 | Mildred53 | $28,608.50 |
NL Hold'em [Heads-Up] | 2,048 | Huxfluxen | $89,744.00 |
PL Omaha [invalid card] | 1,223 | Andy McLEOD | $98,280.00 |
PL Hold'em [6-max] | 960 | poker1O1 | $80,400.00 |
HORSE | 2,091 | Sensor | $57,421.66 |
High-Roller HU NL Hold'em | 64 | stevesbets | $560,000.00 |
NL Hold'em* | 3,467 | NYC P.I.M.P | $257,953.38 |
7-Card Stud Hi/Lo | 525 | weaktight | $42,735.78 |
Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo [6-max] | 620 | BUCKIZ6 | $55,800.00 |
NL Hold'em [invalid card] | 1,159 | ddrufnek | $194,902.00 |
NL 2-7 Single Draw | 308 | luvgamble | $42,000.00 |
PL Omaha w/rebuys | 748 | shaundeeb | $144,112.50 |
NL Hold'em [6-max] | 3,273 | rubenrtv | $135,687.64 |
NL Hold'em Triple Shootout | 729 | TheActionKid | $76,545.00 |
Limit Omaha Hi/Lo | 829 | Big10 | $69,801.88 |
NLHE w/Rebuys [6-max] | 852 | PiKappRaider | $211,133.76 |
PL Omaha | 742 | salamandra24 | $97,291.28 |
Limit Hold'em [6-max] | 580 | aasezz | $107,300.00 |
HORSE | 125 | DocHolatchya | $287,500.00 |
NL Hold'em Main Event* | 2,185 | ckingusc | $1,265,432.23 |
You can be sure PokerStars is already thinking about next year's WCOOP. Said one tournament organizer, "This year we had 33 events. What's next? Forty?"
At this point, it's simply impossible to say. The only thing that's sure is that if this year's innovative and professional schedule was any indication, we have a lot of fun ahead of us at PokerStars in the coming year.
Congratulations to everyone who cashed in at this year's WCOOP. For a complete look at this year's PokerStars Blog coverage, check out any of the links below.
