Okay, so you've spent the last few days doing something...I dunno...unrelated to WCOOP. I understand. Some people have jobs. Some people have to, you know, shop for food and sustain themselves with calories instead of coffee. You can be forgiven.

But listen...WCOOP is simply hopping this year. Event #3 pulled in a $1,734,600 prize pool. And the winner was...

Oh, we wrote all about it. You can find all of it in our special 2015 WCOOP coverage section. But we won't spoil this video for you.

Here are all the highlights!

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The 2015 World Championship of Online Poker is well underway and one of the midweek games rewarded players for a little added aggression. Event 11 was a $215 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament with $100 going into the normal prize pool and another $100 going into a special bounty prize pool.

But this wasn't your standard bounty tournament where each knockout received the same amount, this was a Progressive Super-Knockout format that saw bounty amounts increase with each elimination. A player's bounty was displayed next to their name/avatar/sweet picture, showing their value and huge amounts had a bulls-eye on them.

When someone was sent out, half of that big number was awarded to the winning player and the other half was added to their own bounty. You can see how this can add up in a hurry.

The tournament drew 3,569 players to create an equal $356,900 prize pool and $356,900 bounty prize pool. The last 450 received a piece of the standard payout but there was money to be earned from the very first hand.

The fun part of the big Progressive Super-Knockout format comes from players getting nice cash long before the tournament makes it into the money. Russian Davlatov was a good example, he went out short of the money in 486th spot yet earned $762 along the way. That's better money than making the last five tables.

Christophe "chrisdm" de Meulder was the only member of Team Pokerstars to make the money but he out in 250th for more than a min-cash plus $100 in bounties. This was a two-day event so they paused after Level 27 for a well-deserved respite from the tables.

Only 66 of the starting 3,569 players were able to make to the end of the first day with the UK's cmontopdeck out front of the pack. The former SCOOP final table member was unable to maintain his position and crashed out in 27th after the restart.

Returning Day 2 Top Ten:

1. cmontopdeck - 919,097
2. Siewas - 897,795
3. Ojski1988 - 895,490
4. bozaking - 719,215
5. blackaces93 - 599,645
6. bagoch - 588,012
7. pAtcAsh83 - 551,605
8. klenius - 514,184
9. live@pompeii - 493,763
10. N4cho_Scocco - 432,942

Blinds 3,500/7,000/875 Ante

Only five of those top ten players were able to make it down to the last two tables. It took three hours from the restart to get within shouting distance of the final table but they were in no hurry to get there.

It took another hour to get down to the final table bubble and hand-for-hand action. Neeeeek was the player sporting the biggest past results, including a Sunday Million victory and 2014 SCOOP runner-up finish, but his short stack left him short of the final table.

He put in his last 229,366 with [ac][4c] and chip leader N4cho_Scocco caled in the big blind with [th][9d]. Neeeeek looked good for a double but N4cho_Scocco flopped an open ended straight draw that got there on the river to set the table. Neeeeek picked up $2,194 for the 10th place finish and another $2,191 in bounties.

Seat 1: Ojski1988 (3,154,845 in chips)
Seat 2: N4cho_Scocco (3,419,903 in chips)
Seat 3: mumu12345 (1,331,770 in chips)
Seat 4: Juu-Sock (828,047 in chips)
Seat 5: live@pompeii (2,452,225 in chips)
Seat 6: maax45 (2,058,297 in chips)
Seat 7: marinko17 (977,426 in chips)
Seat 8: bozaking (1,696,316 in chips)
Seat 9: Magdebob1993 (1,926,171 in chips)

Blinds: 20K/40K with 5K Ante

Juu-Sock tripped up and flushed

Juu-Sock was the only player remaining in any kind of danger zone with their stack and took a shot after an early open. He three-bet shoved for 563,047 after N4cho_Scocco raised from UTG+1. maax45 called the shove from the button and N4cho_Scocco took his time before folding.

Juu-Sock: [as][th]
maax45: [jd][js]

maax45 had a good shot for another skin when Juu-Sock hit his undercard on the [td][7d][6d] flop. The [ts] turn gave him trip Tens for the potentional double up but maax45 picked up the four-flush thanks to the [4d] river. The hand sent Juu-Sock out in 8th place for $4,461 along with a very nice $4,996 bounty payout.

Magdebob1993 finds three snowmen to double

The rest of the final table was in danger of Ojski1988 running away with a huge chip lead when the bounty leader had a chance for another. maax45 began the action with a min-raise that saw Magdebob1993 move all-in over the top from the small blind for over 1.3 million.

Ojski1988 reshipped from the big blind to get a fold from maax45. It was a clean race between the two with Magdebob1993's [8c][8d] ahead of [ah][qc]. The [8h][6h][3s] flop put Magdebob1993 way out front for the double and keep a temporary reign on Ojski1988.

Two more flips, one elimination

Ojski1988 found another big ace/face hand and this time took it into battle against former leader N4cho_Scocco. Everything was in the middle preflop with N4cho_Scocco's [9d][9c] holding up against Ojski1988's [ac][kc].

There was another preflop all-in just two hands later and Ojski1988 was no where to be found. It started with an under the gun min-raise from mumu12345 and Magdebob1993 moved all-in from the small blind. Ojski1988 bailed in the big blind and mumu12345 called.

mumu12345 had Magdebob1993 covered but was looking for help with [as][jc] against [4s][4d] for the KO. He found what he needed right on the [jh][8h][3c] flop to leave Magdebob1993 drawing thin for the win. The virtual dealer completed the board with the [7s] turn and [kh] to send another out of the tournament. Magdebob1993 picked up $3,219 for 7th place along with $3,963 in bounties.

Slow down followed by mayhem

Action slowed down for more than 30 minutes when things took off in a hurry. Those 30 minutes only saw one major pot but they quickly produced three straight hands that generated two bounty increases.

The first hand began when bozaking called a preflop raise from mumu12345 to see the [jc][9h][3c] flop. bozaking check-raised all-in with the open-ended straight draw [qc][th] and mumu12345 called with top/top [ac][jh].

bozaking was unable to catch his straight when the board completed [7h][ah] to send him out in 6th place for $11,599.

maax45 goes from top to bottom in two hands

maax45 wasn't the chip leader but he was up among them when two straight hands brought his tournament to a close on the heels of bozaking. The first was a tough to get knocked down, starting with a min-raise from live@pompeii and three-bet from maax45 on the button.

live@pompeii responded by putting him all-in with [as][tc] and maax45 called with the better hand [kc][kh]. The Kings may have been best preflop, but fell far behind on the [ac][th][7d] flop and maax45 never caught up.

That loss left him with less than one big blind and those chips were in the middle in a four-way pot to the [kd][7c][4c] flop. live@pompeii bet out to get heads up with [ks][tc] to dominate maax45's [qh][4h].

maax45 had five out to stay alive after the [jh] turn but blanked the [2c] river to go out in 5th place for $15,287 along with $5,963 in bounties.

N4cho not your champion

The four remaining players tossed around their chips with little movement among the stacks while there was occasional chat about a deal. Nothing came from the discussions and play continued until N4cho_Scocco had to take a chance.

The former leader moved all-in from the small blind with [ah][jh] and mumu12345 called in the big blind with [as][6c]. Another possible double for N4cho_Scocco looked good preflop, but not less so after the [6s][4c][3h] flop.

They each hit the [ad] turn but it did N4cho_Scocco no favors and he missed the saving Jack on the [9c] river to go out in 4th place for $20,521. He also added $5,542 in bounties, one of the top in the tournament.

Ojski1988 shoots down deal, gets frisky

The last three players paused the clock to discuss chopping up the remaining prize pool but short stacked Ojski1988 quickly shut them down to continue play. Shortly afterwards, it seemed like a good decision.

He was sitting with just over 10 big blinds and put the vast majority in the middle after an open from live@pompeii. Ojski1988 left just a single chip (1) behind and it was three-ways to the [kc][js][8c] flop, when he tossed it in the middle.

It wasn't shocking call when the other two stuck around for literally smallest tournament bet possible before checking down the [5d] turn and [8d] river. Ojski1988 tabled a flopped top two [kd][jc] to get mucks from is opponents and put him right back in the game.

mumu12345 can't get a deal, gone in 3rd

It was mumu12345 driving the deal attempts while his chip stack continued to slide lower. He was never able to get it done and found himself in trouble. Ojski1988 started mumu12345's final hand with a button min-raise and mumu12345 moved all-in from the small blind.

live@pompeii called in the big blind before Ojski1988 moved all-in behind. live@pompeii abandoned his 2 million already in the pot and let them battle it out. Ojski1988 dominated with [ad][jd] against [ah][4h] and stayed that way on the [qs][8d][2d] flop.

The [4c] turn put mumu12345 into the lead but he faced a nut flush draw and three Jacks. It was the [9d] river which ended the day for mumu12345, sending him out in 3rd place for $29,622 and $7,267 in bounties.

Ojski1988 makes the most out of non-deal to win Event 11

Seat 1: Ojski1988 (9,734,678 in chips)
Seat 5: live@pompeii (8,110,322 in chips)

Blinds: 70K/140K with 17.5K Ante

Ojski1988 began the heads up match with a small chip lead and the two briefly discussed chopping up the main prize pool and playing for the bounties. That deal never worked out and they went to the battle.

live@pompeii never gave in despite starting with that small deficit and managed to take the lead several times with medium sized pots. But he was never able to maintain his advantage as they went at each other for more than 40 minutes.

In the end, it took two small pair to get the chips in the middle. Ojski1988 opened from the button with [8h][8s] and live@pompeii shoved with [2h][2s]. Ojski1988 quickly called and it was over on the drama-free [ad][kh][th][9c][7s] board to hand him the title.

Ojski1988 rejected a three-way deal, instead opting to play it out and was rewarded with the WCOOP title along with $56,035. He also earned a tournament high $14,330 in bounties while live@pompeii settled for the $41,757 runner-up money.

Congrats to Ojski1988 on his first major online title and a very nice payday thanks to the extra bounty cash.

WCOOP-11: $215 NL Hold'em (Progressive Super-Knockout)
Entrants: 3,569
Prize pool: $356,900
Bounty prize pool: $356,900
Places paid: 450

1. Ojski1988 (Poland) $56,035.19 + $14,330.24 in bounties
2. live@pompeii (Mexico) $41,757.30 + $7,046.71 in bounties
3. mumu12345 (Germany) $29,622.70 + $7,267.71 in bounties
4. N4cho_Scocco (Greece) $20,521.75 + $5,542.74 in bounties
5. maax45 (Brazil) $15,278.88 + $5,963.25 in bounties
6. bozaking (Serbia) $11,599.25 + $2,553.12 in bounties
7. Magdebob1993 (Germany) $8,030.25 + $3,963.25 in bounties
8. Juu-Sock (Denmark) $4,461.25 + $4,996.45 in bounties
9. marinko17 (Bosnia and Herzegovina) $2,855.20 + $1,462.50 in bounties

2012 feels like a long time ago. The Olympics took place in London; Barack Obama was re-elected for his second term as US President; and The Dark Knight Rises took more than a billion dollars in cinemas around the world.

It was also - going by his online tournament results - the best year in the history of Russian player Ti0373's career. Let's have a look at some of his 2012 results:

1st - WCOOP-57: $530 NLHE - $182,629
1st - WCOOP-39: $700 NLHE Heads Up - $120,600
3rd - FTOPS Main Event - $253,932
3rd - WCOOP-34: $320 PL Omaha - $55,560

Pretty outstanding, by anyone's standards. Two WCOOP titles within a week of each other? Incredible.

Well the dark knight from Russia has risen again, taking down his third WCOOP title and $20,402.23 in Event 12, a $700 NL Draw tournament.

It wouldn't be a walk in the park though. Online poker changes faster than most games, and since 2012 strategies have evolved, training sites have become more popular, and players became a lot better. A new generation of geniuses came to fruition between 2012 and now, one of which was Poland's Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich.

He won a WCOOP and SCOOP event in 2014 and his second SCOOP title in May, as well as some astonishing live results which led to us calling the last EPT season the 'year of Urbanovich'. Here are just a few of his live scores since March 2015:

2nd - EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller €1,446,600 ($1,595,368)
1st - EPT Malta €25,500 High Roller €572,300 ($605,929)
2nd - EPT Barcelona €50,000 NLHE Super High Roller €841,500 ($949,967)
3rd - EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo €10,200 NLHE Turbo €101,600 ($114,997)

Both Ti0373 and Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich were on this final table. Both were chasing another WCOOP championship. But there could only be one winner.

Here's how it happened

Looking through the list of players who went deep in this event is like watching the sad part of an award ceremony when they show the black and white video of the people we've tragically lost; Fedor 'CrownUpGuy' Holz (33rd), Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier (31st), Ole 'wizowizo' Schemion (26th), Kevin 'ImaLuckSac' MacPhee (24th), Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier (23rd), PokerStars Team Online's Naoya 'nkeyno' Kihara (15th - $1,020.11), Jon 'PearlJammer' Turner (11th - $1,687.10), and falling just one place shy of our final six-handed table was two-time WCOOP champion and five-time SCOOP champion Shaun Deeb (7th - $2,550.27).

There was no rest for Naoya 'nkeyno' Kihara either, as after his deep run ended he would stay at the office (his computer) and become our tournament administrator for this event. His services would be needed as we had some deal discussions at three handed play, but we'll get to that.

Just before we lost our 6th place finisher, here's how the final table stacked up:

1. KornmeisterX (Germany) 287,751
2. Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich (Poland) 237,832
3. Ti0373 (Russia) 223,201
4. KaptianKush (Canada) 192,104
5. llambias (Argentina) 181,338
6. Vladimir 'GVOZDIKA55' Shchemelev (Russia) 57,774

Shortstack Vladimir 'GVOZDIKA55' Shchemelev was the first player to fall. The Russian banker and high-stakes player has over $1.6 million in online cash games winnings, and he's proved he knows his way around tournament play too. After discarding one card in a heads up pot with Ti0373 only to see his fellow Russian discard three, GVOZDIKA55 shoved all in for 49,654, which was called. His [ah][8c][ks][8s][3c] for a pair of eights wasn't enough to beat Ti0373's [jh][js][ts][2h][jc] for a set of jacks, and he hit the virtual rail with $3,531.15 for his efforts.

Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich was a healthy chip leader for a while, but Ti0373 wasn't about to let his chance at a third WCOOP slip away from him. He battled his way into the chiplead not long into five-handed player, and he wouldn't relinquish the lead again.

Next to go was the chipleader coming into the final table, Germany's KornmeisterX. It just wasn't meant to be as a few big pots didn't go his way, and he'd eventually bust to Urbanovich in an all-in pre-draw hand. Kornmeister drew one card, Urbanovich stood pat - unsurprisingly as he'd been dealt [5s][3s][ts][as][7s] for an ace-high flush. KornmeisterX's two pair, eights and threes, couldn't compete and he'd have to settle for fifth place prize money - $5,100.55.

And then there were four

Although Argentina's llambias was very short stacked with just 37,784 and blinds at 3000/6000, it didn't stop Ti0373 and Urbanovich from tangling with each other.

In one big pot, Urbanovich made it 12,000 and Ti0373 bumped it up to 27,887, which was called. Both players discarded three cards, and Ti0373 lead out for a min-bet of 6,000. Urbanovich made a huge raise to 50,000 and got a call from the chipleader, and the cards were revealed: [4s][4h][6d][tc][kd] for Urbanovich, giving him a pair of fours, and [jd][ks][ad][as][8h] for Ti0373, whose pair of aces took down the hefty pot of 167,774.

Things got worse for Urbanovich when he doubled up Canada's KaptianKush to 320,920 a few hands later, but he was still well and truly in the running for his fourth COOP title.

However, KaptianKush now even more in the running to win his first.

"I can gamble I guess"

Neither of those players would be the next to go - that duty would lie with llambias. With the blinds still at 3000/6000, the player from Argentina moved all-in for 42,284 and was called by Urbanovich, who drew three cards. Llambias drew two and then showed [3h][7h][kd][jd][ah] for just ace high, which trailed Urbanovich's pair of tens. Fourth place money was $6,669.95.

After several orbits of three-handed play, Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich was the short stack. He was in a hand with big chipleader Ti0373 when the three players started to discuss a deal. With all three expected to hit the 'pause' button to see some chop number after the hand was over, Urbanovich typed in the chat "I can gamble I guess. GL guys" and shoved all in for 123,699 with 73,566 in the middle. It was a risky move on the verge of locking up more than third place money, especially as Ti0373 had more than 700,000 in front of him, but it worked.

"Someone had a monster ;)" said KaptainKush, "I respect the heart if he was bluffing lol. Post HH" - meaning he was trying to get Urbanovich to reveal his hand.

"U gonna see everything" he snapped back.

"ye but I hate waiting" KaptianKush said, speaking for all of us watching.

The players then saw the proposed ICM numbers:

Ti0373: $16,745.60
KaptianKush: $13,801.85
Colisea: $12,788.13

With $1,000 left to play for the winner. However, all three players decided to carry on and wished each other luck. And then almost immediately, we'd lose Urbanovich.

Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich out in third - $10,201.10

Urbanovich called from the small blind and Ti0373 made it 18,000 to play. There was a shove from Urbanovich for 117,385 total and it was called, leading to Urbanovich drawing three cards and his opponent taking two. Urbanovich had managed to end up with two pair, eights and sixes, but it wasn't enough - Ti0373 had a set of sixes and four time COOP winner and Poland's all time money winner Dzmitry Urbanovich was out in third place.

From here on it was smooth sailing for Ti0373. Nothing against KaptianKush of course, he just had a pretty big mountain to climb as at one point he was outchipped ten to one.

In the end, he moved all in for 67,545, and with a stack of 1,109,455 Ti0373 made the call and both players drew three. Once again two pair wasn't enough: KaptianKush's [3s][3c][qc][qs][js] was behind Ti0373's [tc][td][3h][7d][ts] and we had our winner.

Congratulations to Ti0373 who took down his third WCOOP championship and a first place prize of $20,402.23.

2012 really doesn't seem that long ago now.

WCOOP-12: $700 NL Draw Championship

Entries: 118
Prize pool: $78,470
Places paid: 18

1. Ti0373 (Russia) $20,402.23
2. KaptianKush (Canada) $13,732.25
3. Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich (Poland) $10,201.10
4. llambias (Argentina) $6,669.95
5. KornmeisterX (Germany) $5,100.55
6. Vladimir 'GVOZDIKA55' Shchemelev (Russia) $3,531.15

There's plenty of WCOOP action still to come - check out all the events at the WCOOP home page.

Fancy playing a few events yourself but haven't got an account yet? Fear not - join PokerStars now.

Jack Stanton is a professional journalist and freelance writer for PokerStars.

When you have a user name like Hookah17, the title writes itself. Poland's Hookah17 had two perfect days of heads-up matches and faded a field of 1,021 headhunters en route to a victory in Event #13. Sometimes you have to come from behind and overpower your opponents with inferior hands. In two clutch instances during the quarterfinals and semifinals, Hookah17 held the inferior hand with his tournament life on the line, yet managed to advance to the next round each time. During the final match, Hookah17 had Croatia's mandza17 on the ropes from the get go. Despite a minor rally by mandza17, Hookah17 swiftly counterattacked and it was only a matter of time before Hookah17 delivered a crushing blow to win the heads-up championship.

WCOOP Event #13 $320 NL Heads-Up attracted 1,021 runners. They created a prize pool worth $306,300. The top 128 places paid out, with $46,322.02 set aside for the eventual champion.

A pair of pros from Team PokerStars Online went deep. Both Frenchdawg and nkeyno advanced to Day 2, but both players were eliminated during the round of 32.

It was a quick match for Team Online's Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara, who failed to advance to the Sweet 16. nkeyno was crippled early on (losing two pair vs. two pair) and never recovered. On the final hand the board ran out [Ac][Tc][7c][3c][Td]. Both players turned a flush, but cmontopdeck had the a higher one with [Qc][7s] vs. nkeyno's [Ad][9c]. Japan's nkeyno earned $2,312.56 for his 31st-place finish.

Meanwhile, Team Online's FrenchDawg ran [Jd][Jc] into ragingquads_'s [Ah][Ad]. Alas, FrenchDawg busted in 22nd place, which paid out $2,312.56.

ROUND 8 - ELITE 8

THE OVERLOAD: VeGeTTo89 eliminated in 8th place

The quickest match of the round was CMoosepower vs. VeGeTTo89 that barely lasted two levels. It was nearly over in the opening round when CMoosepower turned a set of Jacks with [Jc][Jd] against VeGeTTo89's pair of Queens. VeGeTTo89 tried to battle back, but could never get anything going. On the final hand in the middle of Level 2, VeGeTTo89 attempted to double up with [As][9d] against CMoosepower's [7c][7d]. VeGeTTo89 flopped an Ace, but CMoosepower turned a set of sevens to win the pot. VeGeTTo89 was knocked out in 8th place, which paid out $8,208.84, and CMoosepower became the first player to advance to the Final Four.

LISTENING WIND: salta44 eliminated in 7th place

SashaWSoP got off to an early start and never looked back in another quickie match. Going into the final hand, SashaWSoP held almost 90% of the chips in play. Super-shorty salta44 bombed it all-in for 981 with [2c][2h] hoping to double up against SashaWSoP's [Js][Td]. A Jack on the flop sunk salta44's hopes when the board finished up [Ah][Jd][8d][Kd][Ts]. salta44's pair of deuces were no good against SashaWSoP's two pair. Argentina's salta44 busted in seventh place, which paid out $8,208.84. SashaWSoP advanced to the Final Four.

THE GREAT CURVE: m1ronO eliminated in 6th place

Ukraine's m1ronO made a final stand with [7c][7d] but was run down by Hookah17's [9c][6s]. Although m1ronO flopped a set of sevens, the board ran out [9d][7h][5d][3c][4c], and Hookah17 rivered a seven-high straight to win the pot. Ukraine's m1ronO was knocked out in 6th place, which paid out $8,208.84 while Hookah17 advanced to the Final Four.

HOUSES IN MOTION: Fartojop333 eliminated in 5th place

This match went the longest of the round. The final hand was a classic coin flip. Fartojop333 took [3c][3s] into battle against mandza17's [Ah][Qh]. The board finished up [Ad][Ts][5c][Ac][Td]. Fartojop333's two pair lost to mandza17's full boat. Russia's Fartojop333 fizzled out in fifth place, which paid out $8,208.84. Meanwhile, mandza17 advanced to the Final Four.

ROUND 9 - SEMIFINALS

BORN UNDER PUNCHES: SashaWSoP eliminated in 4th place

This match went quick and lasted a mere 50 hands. mandza17 won the first sizable pot with [6h][3c] after flopping two pair and rivering a boat. Five hands later, mandza17 dragged a 2.5K pot with [Ah][Jd]. Two hands later, it was all over. All the money went in on the flop of [Jc][Js][4c] when mandza17 check-raised all-in with [4d][3d] and two pair against SashaWSoP's [Kh][Qc] and King high. The turn was the [Jd] and the river was the [Ts]. mandza17 turned a full house and won the pot. SashaWSoP was knocked out in fourth place, which paid out $14,736.09. Croatia's mandza17 advanced to the finals.

CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS: CMoosepower eliminated in 3rd place

CMoosepower had [Kh][Kd] snapped off by Hookah17's [Tc][7d] when Hookah17 turned a straight on a board of [9c][8s][5c][Js][As]. Two-time SCOOP champion CMoosepower was knocked out in third place, which paid out $14,736.09. Poland's Hookah17 advanced to the finals.

DEAL

A deal was quickly reached between the final two -- mandza17 and Hookah17. They had to leave $6,000 on the table for the winner, but chopped up the prize pool evenly at $34,898.63 apiece.

ROUND 10 - FINALS

HEADS-UP: mandza17 (Croatia) vs. Hookah17 (Poland)

Croatia's mandza17 made a final table in SCOOP earlier this year, whereas this was Hookah17's first shot at a COOP crown.

ONCE IN A LIFETIME: mandza17 eliminated in 2nd place; Hookah17 wins Event #13

Hookah17 drew blood early and jumped out to a quick lead. Hookah17 attempted to pick off mandza17 with [As][Jd] vs. [Ac][4d]. However, mandza17 outflopped Hookah17 and rivered a full house to win the pot and avoid elimination.

Croatia's mandza17 was not about to give up so easily and rallied back to almost even. At that point, Hookah17 went into aggro mode and chipped up to almost 8K. In a couple of levels it was all over.

On the final hand... Hookah17 min-raised to 240, mandza17 bumped it up to 665, Hookah17 four-bet shoved for 7,185 and mandza17 called all-in for 2,150.

mandza17: [As][Ts]
Hookah17: [Ad][Kc]

Hookah17 was ahead with Big Slick. The board finished up [Jh][6c][5c][9c][7d]. Both players did not improve their hands, but mandza17 got out-kicked. Hookah17 won the pot with Ace-high and a King-kicker.

For an impressive runner-up performance, mandza17 earned $34,898.63.

Congrats to Poland's Hookah17 for winning Event #13 ($320 NLHE Heads-Up championship). First place paid out $40,898.63.

WCOOP-13: $320 NL Hold'em (Heads-Up)
Entrants: 1,021
Prize Pool: $306,300
Places Paid: 128

1. Hookah17 (Poland) $40,898.63 *
2. mandza17 (Croatia) $34,898.63 *
3. CMoosepower (Denmark) $14,736.09
4. SashaWSoP (Russia) $14,736.09
5. Fartojop333 (Russia) $8,208.84
6. m1ronO (Ukraine) $8,208.84
7. salta44 (Argentina) $8,208.84
8. VeGeTTo89 (United Kingdom) $8,208.84

* = denotes a deal between the final two players that left $6,000 in play for the winner

Visit the WCOOP home page for a complete schedule of remaining events. Plus, check out the leader board and find out who is in contention for Player of the Series.

If you do not have a PokerStars account, then what are you waiting for? Sign up today and jump into the action!

Pauly McGuire is an author and freelance contributor to PokerStars.

8:50 pm: Congratulations to Yue Feng Pan, winner of the MPC23 Red Dragon (HK$2,108,000)!

China's Yue Fang Pan has overcome a field of 945 players to close out the MPC23 Red Dragon. Pan started the final table third in chips and picked his spots wisely to navigate the victory.

Not only does Pan receive HK$2,108,000 as the new MPC Red Dragon champion, but he takes home the prestigious Red Dragon trophy.

1st: Yue Feng Pan (China) - $2,108,000
2nd: Shao Po Liu (China) - $1,239,520
3rd: Tse Jui Tsai (Chinese Taipei) - $750,000
4th: Zhixiong Tan (China) - $539,000
5th: Ming Min Wu (China - $269,500
6th: Xong Xin Liu (China) - $269,500
7th: Huafeng Gu (China) - $225,500
8th: Huafeng Gu (China) - $196,000
9th: Bin Wen Ren (China) - $166,500

Thanks for following our coverage all this week. You can read all about today's action and Pan's victory here.

Also be sure to return tomorrow as we bring you the conclusion of the HK$80,000 High Roller event. Stay tuned!

8:45pm: Shao Po Liu eliminated in 2nd place (HK$1,239,520)

It's all over!

Yue Feng Pan is our champion after Shao Po Liu committed the last of his chips and couldn't catch up.

The flop read [6c][Ts][Th] and after a check from Pan, Liu made a bet of 375,000 from the button. It was then that Pan raised it up for 450,000 on top. Liu wasn't done, however, putting in another raise to 1,625,000.

After some time, Pan moved his 10 million in chips into the middle and Liu called off for his tournament life.

Liu: [Qh][6s]
Pan: [Td][4h]

Liu needed some serious help to keep the tournament going. With only running sixes or running queens to save him, Liu got a glimmer of hope as the [Qd] turn rolled off. The [6c] river saw him make a full house but Pan's tens full were too good and closed out the tournament surrounded by a boisterous rail.

Liu finishes runner up for HK$1,239,520.

8:40pm: Power play for Pan

After a number of back and forth small pots Yue Feng Pan has broken away again as considerable chip leader.

Pan initially raised the button to 260,000 and Shao Po Liu called to see a flop of [6s][6c][7c].

After a check from Liu, Pan made a bet of 310,000 in chips, only to face a raise to 750,000. Pan clicked it back once more to 1,450,000 and Liu threw his hand away.

That hand brings Pan back up to over 10 million in chips.

8:25pm: Things are evening up

The chip stacks are getting close to even now in this heads up match after Shao Po Liu took down another sizable pot.

Liu raised on the button preflop and Yue Feng Pan called to see a flop of [6c][9D][Js].

After a check from Pan, Liu continued for 350,000 and was met with another call. The [Ks] turn saw another check from Pan and another bet from Liu, this time for 625,000.

Pan gave the hand up and dropped to 8,000,000 in chips while Liu brings his stack up to 6,400,000.

8:15pm: Liu fighting back

The first pot of significant value in this heads up clash has gone the way of Shao Po Liu.

Liu limped on the button before calling Yue Feng Pan's raise for 225,000 more. The flop landed [Ts][3s][Qh] and Pan continued for 300,000. Liu called and the dealer turned the [Jc].

Pan shut down and Liu took the betting lead for 525,000. After a moment of thought Pan mucked and Liu chipped up to 4,600,000.

8:10pm: Heads up play begins

The final two players are back at the table and cards are in the air.

Blinds are going up in a couple of minutes to 60,000/120,000 with a 20,000 ante.

7:50pm: Heads up chip counts

We've just reached heads up play.

It's almost time to crown a champion! Here are the counts going forward.

Yue Feng Pan - 10,045,000
Shao Po Liu - 4,100,000

The two remaining players have just taken a short break before play resumes.

7:40pm: Tse Jui Tsai eliminated in 3rd place (HK$750,000)

Heads up play is set after Tse Jui Tsai just hit the rail in third place.

On a flop of [9s][Kd][4s] Yue Feng Pan check-raised Tsai's bet of 350,000 up to 725,000 in chips. Tsai made the call and the dealer turned the [Ac].

Pan then moved all in pretty quickly to send Liu deep into the tank. Liu deliberated for several minutes before eventually Pan called the clock. About 20 seconds into the countdown Liu announced call and saw the bad news.

Liu: [Jd][Jc]
Pan: [Ks][9d]

Liu was down to two outs but the [4c] river arrived to signal the end of his tournament.

And with that we're down to heads up. We'll have an updated chip count momentarily.

7:25pm: Big pot for Liu

Shao Po Liu almost doubled his stack after a confrontation with chip leader Yue Feng Pan.

Pan opened the action from the small blind with a raise to 275,000 and Liu called from the big blind to see a flop of [5c][Ah][4h]. Pan continued for 325,000 and Liu made the call.

The [Td] turn saw Pan bet 400,000 and after a while in the tank, Liu decided to call once more. The river brought the [7s] and Pan snap-checked over to Liu. Liu cut out a million in chips but ultimately announced a bet of 700,000.

Pan ended up making the call and tossed his hand in the muck when Liu tabled [Ad][Qd] to win the pot. With that pot Liu climbs to 3,600,000 in chips.

7:10pm: Play resumes

The remaining players are back from the break with blinds at 50,00/100,000 (10,000).

There hasn't been much movement of chips lately but here' an updated stack count.

Yue Feng Pan - 9,755,000
Tse Jui Tsai - 2,430,000
Shao Po Liu - 1,960,000

7:00pm: Time for a break

The final three players have stepped away from the tournament area momentarily for a scheduled break.

They'll be back to the action in 10 minutes.

6:50pm: Pan pushes further in front

Yue Feng Pan has taken down the first decent sized pot of three-handed play after taking some chips from Tse Jui Tsai.

Tsai raised to 225,000 from the button and called Pan's small blind three-bet to 750,000. The flop came [5s][Kh][As] and after a check from Pan, Tsai took the betting lead with a wager of 625,000.

Pan called and then checked on the [8c] turn. Tsai tried to continue for another 650,000 but a string-bet meant he was capped at 150,000. Pan called that and both players checked on the [Qd] river.

Pan showed [Ks][Qh] which was good for the pot and takes him up to over 10 million in chips of the 14 million in play.

6:45pm: Final three chip counts

Here are how the remaining three players stack up.

Yue Feng Pan - 8,000,000
Tse Jui Tsai - 3,800,000
Shao Po Liu - 2,400,000

6:40pm: Zhixiong Tan eliminated in 4th place (HK$539,000)

The action is really ramping up now with the latest casualty being Zhixiong Tan.

It folded around to Tan in the small blind and he moved all in for 900,000 in chips. Tse Jui Tsai woke up with pocket kings in the big blind and snapped it off with Tan in rough shape.

Tan: [Ks][8c]
Tsai: [Kh][Kd]

Tan needed a lot of help but the [2c][Js][6s] flop meant he'd need running eights or running spades to stay alive. The board repeated on the [Jd] turn to seal Tan's fate before the river bricked off.

The elimination boosts Tsai's stack up to 3,800,000.

6:30pm: Long Wen Zhu eliminated in 5th place (HK$367,000)

Long Wen Zhu just finished four shy of the title here after running into the bigger pair of Shao Po Liu.

Zhu moved all in from under the gun for around 600,000 before Liu isolated with a rejam from the cut off for two million in chips. With everyone else out of the way the cards went on their backs.

Zhu: [3h][3s]
Liu: [9s][9h]

Zhu would need a three to keep his tournament hopes alive but the board came down [6c][Ac][8c][6h][Js] to see Liu pocket nines hold.

For his 5th place finish Zhu scores HK$367,000.

6:20pm: Shao Po scores some chips

Shao Po Liu still has a shot at taking down the title here after recently doubling through Yue Feng Pan. Liu was all in preflop for 800,000 and in danger against the chip leader Pan.

Liu: [Ad][Ts]
Pan: [Kh][Js]

Liu was ahead and stayed that way through the [Ac][5s][Tc][6d][6c] run out. He climbed to 1,700,000 in chips while Pan, who had been running over the table, still sits as chip leader with a stack of 6,500,000.

6:05pm: Tan still in the hunt

Zhixiong Tan just received a much-needed double up after commiting his short stack preflop.

Tan moved all in from under the gun for his last 450,000 before Long Wen Zhu decided to call from the small blind.

Tan: [As][Jd]
Zhu: [Qs][Td]

Tan was in front and gave a double fist bump upon seeing the ace on a [Ah][3d][6d]. Then [9h] turn meant he was a lock on the hand and as the [9c] river rolled off Tan celebrated with high-fives all around for the railbirds.

With the double up Tan is back over a million in chips while Zhu falls to 1,250,000.

5:45pm: Ming Min Wu eliminated in 6th place (HK$269,500)

There hasn't been much action lately, at least that was until Ming Min Wu found himself all in and behind on the flop against Yue Feng Pan.

It folded around to Pan in the small blind and he raised it up to 265,000. Wu called from the big blind and the flop landed [Qc][Jh][9d].

Pan continued for 300,000 and Wu moved his last 700,000 into the middle. Pan made a quick call and the players turned their hands face up.

Wu: [Ah][Js]
Pan: [Ks][Qs]

Wu needed to find an ace or jack to stay alive but the [Qd] would put an end to his tournament run. The inconsequential [As] rolled off on the river and We was eliminated in 6th place.

Pan is currently the table chip leader with a stack of 6,300,000.

5:20pm: Wu gets a lucky double

We were nearly down to five players until a lucky river peeled off to keep Ming Min Wu's tournament dream alive.

Wu moved all in from the cut off for 525,000 and when it folded around to Zhixiong Tan in the big blind he called to put Wu at risk.

Wu: [Ah][2h]
Tan: [Ad][Qc]

Wu needed to improve to stay alive and the [5s][Jd][9h] flop didn't do much to help his cause. The [4s] brought a little hope with a wheel draw before the [2d] river landed to make him a pair of deuces.

The crowd roared and Wu high-fived Long Wen Zhu before raking in the over one million chip pot. Tan took a hit down to 900,000 in chips.

5:00pm: Back to it!

Players are back at the table for Level 27. Blinds are 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante.

Here's how the final six stack up.

Yue Feng Pan - 3,600,000
Tse Jui Tsai - 3,400,000
Zhixiong Tan - 2,650,000
Long Wen Zhu - 2,200,000
Shao Po Liu - 2,150,000
Ming Min Wu - 795,000

4:50pm: Break time

The final six players have stepped away from the table for their first break of the day.

Play resumes in 10 minutes.

4:40pm: Xong Xin Liu eliminated in 7th place (HK$225,000)

Players are flying out the door now with Liu's elimination marking the third of the day.

Liu jammed all in for 675,000 after an under the gun open to 150,000 from Yue Feng Pan and when it folded back to the initial raiser he snapped it off.

Liu: [Ah][Qd]
Pan: [Kh][Jc]

Liu was in front until the [7s][Kd][Qh] flop saw Pan spike a king to take the lead. The [Kc] turn meant Liu was drawing dead before the [Qs] river even arrived.

For his 7th place finish Liu earns HK$225,000. He finds the exit while Pan stacks up a total of 3,600,000 in chips.

4:30pm: Huafeng Gu eliminated in 8th place (HK$196,000)

Only 15 minutes after the first casualty of the day and we've seen our second elimination.

The hand began with Huafeng Gu opening to 140,000 from the button before Long Wen Zhu played back at him from the big blind with a raise to 330,000. Gu opted to four-bet all in for a total of 985,000 and Zhu called it off to put Gu at risk.

Gu: [As][3c]
Zhu: [8d][8c]

Gu needed some help and got a little on the [Jd][Qh][Td] flop with a king now improving him to Broadway. The [5d] turn brought a flush draw for Zhu and made Gu's chances of survival even worse. With the [6h] river peeling off Zhu's pocket eights held to eliminate Gu in 8th place.

Zhu brings his stuck up to around 2,300,000 in chips.

4:15pm: Bin Wen Ren eliminated in 9th place (HK$166,500)

Well it took just over an hour for our first elimination with Bin Wen Ren finding the rail first here today.

It folded around to Tse Jui Tsai on the button who put in a raise to 175,000. Yue Feng Pan made the call from the small blind before Ren moved all in for 820,000 from the big blind.

Tsai decided to call it off and after counting out a call and tanking for quite some time, Pan also committed the chips. Ren celebrated with a fist pump at the chance of tripling up as the players turned up their hands.

Ren: [6c][6s]
Tsai: [Ac][Js]
Pan: [Kh][Qd]

There was still a chance for a side pot but Tsai and Pan ended up checking the hand down as the board ran out [Ad][5c][4d][Td][8s].

Ren failed to dodge all four overcards and with that he is eliminated in 9th place for HK$166,500. The hand makes Tsai the new chip leader with over 4,000,000 while Pan drops to 2,700,000.

4:00pm: Liu stays alive

Xong Xin Liu just caught a double up to stay in the Red Dragon race after getting his short stack in preflop.

Liu jammed for his last 415,000 in chips and it folded around to Zhixiong Tan in the big blind. Tan asked for a count and after a moment deliberation he announced a call to put Liu at risk.

Liu: [Jh][2d]
Tan: [9d][7s]

Liu had the lead and faded danger through the [6s][Ac][5s] flop. Tan improved to a gut shot straight draw but the [Th] turn and [Js] river bricked off to see Liu double through.

With that Liu brings his stack to over a million while Tan drops down to 1,950,000 in chips.

3:50pm: Pan charging ahead

Yue Feng Pan has just increased his chip lead after defending his big blind against Bin Wen Ren.

Ren opened to 150,000 under the gun and it folded around to Pan who called from the big blind. The [Jd][Jc][2d] flop prompted a check from Pan before Ren continued for 200,000.

Pan made the call and the dealer turned the [Td]. With another check from Pan, Ren cut out 375,000 in chips and pushed it into the middle. Pan called the bet and the river landed the [Js].

Both players quickly checked and Ren turned over [9d][9s] but was trumped by Pan holding [Ac][Th] for a higher full house. Ren drops down to 950,000 while Pan adds more to his big stack for a total of 3,300,000.

3:35pm: Level 26 begins, blinds are 30,000/60,000 with a 5,000 ante

3:30pm: The first clash

The slow start to proceedings has been broken with Tse Jui Tsai and Yue Feng Pan clashing in a recent pot.

The action began with Zhixiong Tan raising to 85,000 before Tsai came along from the button. When it got to Pan in the small blind, he opted to raise it up 155,000 more.

Tan got out of the way but Tsai made the call to see a flop of [Qd][Jd][2h].

Pan checked quickly and Tsai took the betting lead with a wager of 160,000. A call from Pan brought the [7s] turn before Pan checked again. Tsai continued for 200,000 and once again Pan made the call.

The [Jh] river paired the board and both players checked with Pan tabling [Kc][Qc] to scoop the pot. That hand drops Tsai down to 1,800,000 in chips while Pan climbs to 2,550,000.

3:20pm: Slow start

It's been a slow start here so far. We're not sure whether players are gun shy or no one has had a big hand yet but there hasn't been much action.

We did see the first three-bet of the day in a recent hand. Yue Feng Pan opened to 95,000 from middle position and it folded around to Long Wen Zhu in the small blind. Zhu popped it up to 125,000 more and after giving it some thought Pan threw his hand away.

With blinds set to increase to 30,000/60,000 shortly, we expect to see fireworks soon!

3:00pm: Let's go!

The final table players have just been introduced as a rail gathers around the side barriers and the nearby bar.

Play resumes with 30 minutes left of Level 25. Blinds are 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante.

It's final table time!

The MPC23 Red Dragon final table is finally upon us.

When it all began there were 945 hopefuls who pulled up seats here at PokerStars LIVE Macau. Now after three days of play only nine remain. They'll take to the felt from 3:00pm to play for the prestigious Red Dragon trophy and the HK$2,108,000 top prize.

Now that we've reached the final table the blind levels have been extended to 75 minutes. That will take effect as soon as the current 20,000/40,000 (5,000) level finishes.

Leading the way for the start of the day is Taiwan's Tse Jui Tsai with 2,495,000 in chips. You can see the full seating draw and chip stacks below, and for profiles on all the players you can click here.

Final Table Seating Draw
Seat 1: Tse Jui Tsai (Taiwan) - 2,495,000
Seat 2: Yue Feng Pan (China) - 1,945,000
Seat 3: Bin Wen Ren (China) - 1,715,000
Seat 4: Xong Xin Liu (China) - 540,000
Seat 5: Huafeng Gu (China) - 1,310,000
Seat 6: Ming Min Wu (China) - 1,115,000
Seat 7: Long Wen Zhu (China) - 1,490,000
Seat 8: Shao Po Liu (China) - 1,425,000
Seat 9: Zhixiong Tan (China) - 2,110,000

The players are now arriving and unbagging their chips before we get underway. Stay with us for all the action as we prepare to crown another MPC Red Dragon champion!

We're coming up to the one week mark in the World Championship of Online Poker 2015, with a busy weekend for those in pursuit of WCOOP gold. There are still plenty of events to win, but as each one passes comes the sense that time is running out. The longer you leave it the harder it gets. Better to get your win in early and enjoy the run in to the Main Event.

Alright, so it's not that straight forward. But it worked for Peter "RcknTheSbrbs" Nigh, a 26-year-old professional, originally from Missouri, now plying his trade from the comfort of his condo, a stone's throw from the beach, in Costa Rica.

He's experiencing what it's like to win one of online poker's most coveted prizes, having taken down the Championship opener ahead of a field of 17,130 entries for a first prize of $200,352. But while it's easy to think that professionals like Nigh, in the game for nearly ten years, might be a little "meh" about such accomplishments, it turns out the reality is a little different.

"It was one of those tournaments that you always load up and think 'hey, this would be cool to win!' but never really considering the reality to be all that probable," said Nigh. "Obviously I'm absolutely ecstatic to have taken it down. Nothing could have been better."

Event #01 was something new for WCOOP. Winning meant you effectively had to play for three days. Phase 1 came first, then Phase 2 on Sunday, before competing on the final day for money and jewellery. More than 17,000 players took a shot at it, including Nigh who got there on the fourth attempt. The rest, Nigh says, is a blur.

But was it difficult to remain focused with so much at stake? Luckily Nigh had prepared for that.

"If you asked me this a few weeks ago I'd have probably said no but I very recently began working with mental game coach, Elliot Roe, and have drastically increased my levels of focus and calm," he said. "Whether I had the big stack or was grinding five big blinds I maintained the same steady disposition throughout the final table."

This was all the more important when you consider the opposition. Typical of WCOOP, the final table was a tough one, with the tell-tale inverted commas all over the scores, indicating the presence of players known for their real as much as their user name. That included Raphael "tiarc" Wimmer, Adam "Adamyid" Owen, and perhaps the most well-known player at the table, John "Blessed " Duthie.

But Nigh, working on a laptop from what he referred to as his "luxurious standard issue plastic garden chair" and forgetting to eat the food he'd carefully prepared ahead of the final table campaign, triumphed. Duthie settled for second while Nigh bagged his first bracelet, and turning around a year that up to this point had been a tough one.

"I had what felt like an infinite number of close calls without ever sealing the deal," said Nigh. "But all that pain and frustration led me to working on developing a stronger work ethic and mental resiliency so in the end it really wasn't bad anyway.

Well, it paid off. Not bad for someone who as a teenager opened an account to play $5 sit and goes after watching Chris Moneymaker win the World Series Main event (using a favourite Ben Folds album as a username). Nigh can now count himself among a small group of players to experience WCOOP success, and in the process becoming one of those players with inverted commas around their username.

From $5 sit and go's to a WCOOP Champion: download the PokerStars software to start your own campaign.

What a week it's been here at PokerStars LIVE Macau!

A new record for the summer edition of the MPC Red Dragon saw a field of 945 where a champion has now been crowned.

After three days of play it took less than six hours for that champion to emerge tonight. China's Yue Feng Pan made light work of the final table after starting this afternoon fourth in chips. His reward - HK$2,108,000 and the best looking trophy in poker.

Pan entered heads up play with a more than 2:1 chip lead and never relinquished it. His final opponent Shao Po Liu almost brought things back to even at one point but ultimately Pan was just too good.

It was a flop of [6c][Ts][Th] that brought on the end of the tournament. After Pan had checked from the small blind, Liu put out a bet of 375,000 before Pan played back at him for 450,000 more. Liu decided his best play was another raise, this time to 1,625,000, and it was then that Pan moved all in for his 10 million in chips and enough to cover his opponent.

Liu called off for his tournament life and would need running cards to survive.

Pan: [Td][4h]
Liu: [Qh][6s]

Pan had a stranglehold on the hand with trip tens against Liu's two pair. The [Qd] turn meant Liu could catch another queen to double up but the [6c] river meant Pan was the new champion.

Liu was the fifth player to be eliminated by Pan who seemed to steamroll the final table.

The first casualty of the day, however, was at the hands of Tse Jui Tsai when he knocked out Bin Wen Ren. Ren got his money in preflop against both Tsai and Pan with [6c][6s] but couldn't fade the four overcards of Tsai's [Ac][Jc] and Pan's [Kh][Qd] as the two of them checked down the [Ad][5c][4d][Td][8s] board.

8th place went to Huafeng Gu who four-bet all in with ace-three and was called by Long Wen Zhu with pocket eights. Gu couldn't improve and was eliminated with a consolation prize of HK$196,000.

Xong Xin Liu was the next to go. He got it in good with [Ah][Qd] against Pan's [Kh][Jc] but the eventual champion was running to good. The board ran out [7s][Kd][Qh][Kc][Qs] with Liu already drawing dead from the turn.

It would take an hour for the next elimination when Ming Min Wu moved all in on a flop of [Qc][Jh][9d]. Wu held [Ah][Js] for middle pair top kicker but Pan made the call in front with [Ks][Qs]. The [Qd] turn and [As] river peeled off to see Wu hit the rail in 6th place.

Following Wu out the door was Long Wen Zhu. He moved the last of his chips in preflop with pocket threes and ran into the pocket nines of Shao Po Liu. Chasing a three to keep his tournament dream alive the board run out of [6c][Ac][8c][6h][Js] couldn't save him.

And then there were four when Zhixiong Tan made an ill-timed jam from the small blind holding king-eight off suit. Tsai woke up with pocket kings in the big blind and Tan couldn't find a miracle to stay alive. He finished fourth for HK$539,000.

The last elimination of the day besides Liu was Tse Jui Tsai in third place. With the flop reading [9s][Kd][4c] Pan check-raised Tsai's bet of 350,000 up to a total of 725,000. Tsai made the call and the dealer turned the [Ac]. Seeing the ace Pan made a quick move all-in and Tsai went into the tank so long that the clock was called. With about 40 seconds until his hand was dead Tsai committed his stack with [Jd][Jc] but was way behind Pan's [Ks][9d] two pair. The river bricked off and Tsai was knocked out just before heads up play where Pan would overcome Liu for the title.

MPC23 Red Dragon - Final Table Results
1st: Yue Feng Pan (China) - $2,108,000
2nd: Shao Po Liu (China) - $1,239,520
3rd: Tse Jui Tsai (Chinese Taipei) - $750,000
4th: Zhixiong Tan (China) - $539,000
5th: Long Wen Zhu (China) - $269,500
6th: Ming Min Wu (China) - $269,500
7th: Xong Xin Liu (China) - $225,500
8th: Huafeng Gu (China) - $196,000
9th: Bin Wen Ren (China) - $166,500
All amounts in HKD

Congratulations to Yue Feng Pan and thanks to the City of Dreams casino for hosting another exciting Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon. Our coverage continues tomorrow for the HK$80,000 High Roller and we hope you can join us then here at the PokerStars Blog!

We're into Day 6 of WCOOP 2015. Here's the latest update with 16 events now started.

Today's highlights:

--Ojski1988 from Poland wins Event #11 and a first prize of more than $56,000 (not to mention bounties) in the Progressive Super KO.
--Ti0373 won his third WCOOP bracelet by winning Event #12, in the process denying Dzmitry "Colisea" Urbanovich his fourth COOP title.
--Hookah17 won his first bracelet in Event #13, the 500th ever WCOOP tournament, earning a first prize of $40,898.

Round up of latest results

It was a good day for Poland, and it was another good day for their young star Dzmitry Midas. Alas, he didn't win a fourth title, but he did finish third in Event #12, accumulating enough points to top the Player of the Series leader board going into the weekend.

Instead the event, the NL Draw Championship, was won by Russian player Ti0373, who earned his third WCOOP bracelet, joining an exclusive group of five players to have earned three or more (djk123 still tops that list with 4).

But back to Poland, Events #11 and #13 both went their way.

In Event #11 Ojski1988 bagged his first WCOOP title and a first prize of $56,035.19 (plus $14,330.24 in bounties) in a Progressive Super KO format, having turned down a deal. Meanwhile in Event #13 Hookah17 was doing the victory dance, picking up a first prize of 40989 in the heads-up event, which was also the 500th WCOOP event ever held. Worth remembering for when the Social Media teams need a contest question.

Here are the scores in full:

Event #11: $215 NL Hold'em (Progressive Super-Knockout)
Entrants: 3,569
Prize pool: $356,900
Bounty prize pool: $356,900
Places paid: 450

1. Ojski1988 (Poland) $56,035.19 + $14,330.24 in bounties
2. live@pompeii (Mexico) $41,757.30 + $7,046.71 in bounties
3. mumu12345 (Germany) $29,622.70 + $7,267.71 in bounties
4. N4cho_Scocco (Greece) $20,521.75 + $5,542.74 in bounties
5. maax45 (Brazil) $15,278.88 + $5,963.25 in bounties
6. bozaking (Serbia) $11,599.25 + $2,553.12 in bounties
7. Magdebob1993 (Germany) $8,030.25 + $3,963.25 in bounties
8. Juu-Sock (Denmark) $4,461.25 + $4,996.45 in bounties
9. marinko17 (Bosnia and Herzegovina) $2,855.20 + $1,462.50 in bounties

Event #12: $700 NL Draw Championship
Entries: 118
Prize pool: $78,470
Places paid: 18

1. Ti0373 (Russia) $20,402.23
2. KaptianKush (Canada) $13,732.25
3. Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich (Poland) $10,201.10
4. llambias (Argentina) $6,669.95
5. KornmeisterX (Germany) $5,100.55
6. Vladimir 'GVOZDIKA55' Shchemelev (Russia) $3,531.15

Event #13: $320 NL Hold'em (Heads-Up)
Entrants: 1,021
Prize Pool: $306,300
Places Paid: 128

1. Hookah17 (Poland) $40,898.63 *
2. mandza17 (Croatia) $34,898.63 *
3. CMoosepower (Denmark) $14,736.09
4. SashaWSoP (Russia) $14,736.09
5. Fartojop333 (Russia) $8,208.84
6. m1ronO (Ukraine) $8,208.84
7. salta44 (Argentina) $8,208.84
8. VeGeTTo89 (United Kingdom) $8,208.84
* denotes a deal between the final two players that left $6,000 in play for the winner

For all the WCOOP 2015 results so far, check out our aptly named WCOOP results page, which also has links to all final table reports.

Coming up today

Plenty on the cards today and indeed over the weekend, with a total of ten events set to start between now and Monday.

Today
Event 17: $665 NL Hold'em (6-max, 3-stack) 11.00 ET
Event 18: $1,000 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship 14.00 ET
Event 19: $300 NL Hold'em (Turbo Zoom) 17.00 ET

Saturday
Event 20: $100 NL Hold'em (Optional re-entry) 11.00 ET
Event 21: $250 NL Hold'em (Progressive Super KO) 14.00 ET
Event 22: $1,000 NL Omaha Hi/Lo Championship (6-Max) 17.00 ET

Sunday
Event 23: $161.75 PL Omaha (knockout) 08.00 ET
Event 24: $200 NL Hold'em (Sunday Warm-Up, SE) 11.00 ET
Event 25: $10,000 NL Hold'em (8-max, Optional re-entry, High Roller) 12.30 ET
Event 26: $665 NL Hold'em 14.30 ET

There are also four events playing to a close today.

Event 14: NL hold'em (Big Antes, Optional re-buys)
Event 15: PL Omaha (1R1A)
Event 16: NL Hold'em (Progressive Super KO, Thursday Thrill SE)
Event 19, which starts later, is a Turbo Zoom, also ending later today.

Video of the Day

More action from WCOOP, this time from Event #9, $1,015 NL Hold'em.

If that's stirred you into opening a PokerStars account yourself, you can do so by clicking here. Not only will you have access to the full WCOOP schedule, but you can enter any one of the WCOOP satellites now running. Get all the details you'll need on the WCOOP homepage.

Leader board

Well, in hindsight we should have seen this coming. After his second place in Event #12 yesterday Dzmitry "Colisea" Urbanovich, is top of the WCOOP leader board (he also happens to be fourth in the EPT leader board, which he won last season). Urbanovich has 145 points (from 5 cashes), ahead of previous leader reidir on 130 (3 cashes).

Click to enlarge

To prove we're not making this up you can find all the leader board details right here

Quote of the day

"For this I played in a luxurious standard issue plastic garden chair supplemented with plush couch pillows." - Peter "RcknTheSbrbs" Nigh, winner of Event #01, on his WCOOP preparations. Read the interview with Nigh on the PokerStars Blog.

Today's dubious fact

Dzmitry "Colisea" Urbanovich nearly became the first man to top the EPT and wCOOP leader boards simultaneously, but dropped from first to fourth place on the EPT standings in the latter stages of EPT Barcelona.

To the weekend!

That's almost the first week of WCOOP in the can. Find out everything there is to know about the Championship on the WCOOP homepage, and good luck to everyone playing this weekend, whether in WCOOP or other events. Send us your thoughts and comments to us on Twitter: @PokerStars Blog.

Stop press. Hold your horses. Damn the torpedoes. Loud noises!

You might have read earlier this week that you could win a seat to the WCOOP $51,000 event with your FPPs. Well, just minutes ago we learned that isn't true.

You can now win one of TWO seats, and you can do it for as little as 50 Frequent Player Points.

Ready to sign up for PokerStars? Click here to get an account.

Here's how it works, you can play 50-FPP tournaments that can get you on a ladder to play in this Saturday's VIP Bash contest.

First prize in that tournament?

A seat to the $51,000 event.

Second prize?

Another $51,000 seat.

o 1st and 2nd - $51,000 Entry
o 3rd to 9th - $5,200 Entry
o 10th to 27th - $ $1,050 Entry

Here's how how you can get in.

Round 1 (50 FPPs) STT's running continuously
Round 2 (500 FPPs) 4 times daily at 08:15 ET, 10:15 ET, 14:15 ET and 17:15 ET
Round 3 (5,000 FPPs) Saturday September 12, 12:00 ET
Final (25,000 FPPs) Saturday September 12, 14:30 ET

You can find all the satellites by searching for VIP Bash in the Online Events - WCOOP - FPP Satellites tab.

What's more, even if you don't have a PokerStars account yet, earning 50 FPPs isn't that hard to do once you get started playing. Even a small deposit would get you on the road to earning the FPPs you need to play, and, if you;'re lucky, the $51,000 WCOOP event.

Ready to sign up for PokerStars? Click here to get an account.

Are you going to play? Follow us on Twitter at our @PokerStarsBlog account and let us know!

Listen: no one has actually brought this up yet, so I thought I would.

Just a few minutes ago, something popped up in the PokerStars tournament lobby. Within just a few minutes, the tournament had more than 5,000 entries. Why? Well, the buy-in is one penny, and the guarantee is $100,000.

Capped at 200,000 players, this event is more than a little experiment It's going to be the kickoff of a brand new tournament series called Common Cents.

Ready to sign up for PokerStars? Click here to get an account.

Not only do you have a chance at a big ROI in this kickoff tournament (first prize is a guaranteed $10,000), but 500 people will be getting Main Event tickets randomly throughout the tourney.

More details on the series are still to come. But for now...you might want to go sign up for this kick-off event before it sells out.

Need to sign up for PokerStars? Click here to get an account.

Tournament poker has recently begun moving towards bigger antes and running them out earlier. WCOOP Event 14 took both of those concepts and created a big tournament for the late week players. The Event 14 antes kicked in on the very first level and were at least 20% of the big blind, often 25% in the early going.

Some players prefer to late register tournaments, waiting until antes increase pot sizes. The early, big antes in Event 14 meant the tournament filled quicker than normal and it turned out to be a great field to nearly double the $200,000 Guarantee.

The tournament drew 1,454 players with more than a few of them opting to re-enter the tournament when their stack hit the felt. All combined, they added up to a $374,400 prize pool with nearly $60,000 reserved for the next WCOOP champion.

They played down over 28 levels until they could see their day coming to an end. There were plenty of top players among the late participants but no representatives from Team PokerStars among the counts when play paused for the day.

The big name among the leaders at the end of the day was someone who's been in this position before. WCOOP titles are tough to earn but WCOOP Main Event champions are a rare bird. Mike "munchenHB" Telker is one of the few players in the world who can boast about winning one of the biggest online tournaments in the world when he won the WCOOP Main Event in 2011.

Telker didn't just flirt with the top of the leaderboard, he took over the lead when play was halted for the evening. He was followed closely by DaNuts90 with no other players within 150,000. The 34 surviving players had an evening to unwind and regroup before returning to determine a champion.

Returning Day 2 Top Ten Counts:

1. Mike "munchenHB" Telker - 791,928
2. DaNuts90 - 735,150
3. BtrGetThere - 572,466
4. Alen "lilachaa" Bilic - 474,998
5. sosickPL - 451,962
6. Virgilik - 424,408
7. chopi7 - 380,329
8. Slavik_Krs - 361,895
9. leitalopez - 355,819
10. surprisefirm - 344,882

Blinds: 3.5K/7K with 1.4K Ante

The last two tables were chock full of successful players besides Telker. It was setting up to be a stacked final table but 2010 WCOOP champ joao bauer wasn't meant to be among them. He was part of a double knockout along with Rebel FishAK when Telker's [9d][9c] held against [ah][ks] and [as][5c].

The next COOP winner to fall short was Alen "lilachaa" Bilic. The former TCOOP champion dropped out in 11th and chopi7 was gone shortly after to set the final table.

Telker continued to lead the way but he was followed closely by three-time WSOP final table member Ryan "ProtentialMN" Laplante and two other COOP winners. Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira won the SCOOP High Heads Up title in 2014 and sosickPL picked up his WCOOP title in 2011 before adding a Sunday Warmup victory.

Ferreira and sosickPL populated the bottom of the counts while Telker and Laplante were at the top.

Seat 1: serhiy1989 (207,404 in chips)
Seat 2: leitalopez (1,423,996 in chips)
Seat 3: sosickPL (250,011 in chips)
Seat 4: Ryan "ProtentialMN" Laplante (1,720,772 in chips)
Seat 5: Mike "munchenHB" Telker (1,746,840 in chips)
Seat 6: funwheel (965,641 in chips)
Seat 7: Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira (403,460 in chips)
Seat 8: pkace666 (1,409,057 in chips)
Seat 9: imluckbox (1,232,819 in chips)

Blinds: 12.5K/25K with 5K Ante

Long stretch of little action, ducks fail funwheel

This final table had an odd pace at the beginning, generally you see the short stacks happy to get this far and someone gets knocked out fairly early. Not this time.

They played 45 minutes without an elimination though Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira was at risk early. He doubled through funwheel shortly after they gathered as one and they settled in for a grind.

The log jam cleared when funwheel tried to get some of his chips back. He open shoved from the button for 567,681 with [2c][2d] and pkace666 called in the big blind with [ad][9d]. A standard flip and pkace666 took the lead after the [ah][jc][4s] flop.

The [ac] turn was a little cruel before pkace666 rivered the overkill quad [as] to send the first player off the final table. funwheel had a nice stack coming in but was gone in 9th place for $3,744.

serhiy1989 ladders up and heads home

Ukranian serhiy1989 did a nice job of getting up the payout structure despite starting the final table with less than ten big blinds. Sooner or later someone had to fall and it wasn't him in 9th. He took a shot after funwheel was gone.

He shoved from middle position with [jh][9h] and the move made it all the way around until Ferreira called in the big blind with [qd][ts]. serhiy1989 needed help and picked it up quickly on the [jd][7s][6c] flop.

serhiy1989's hopes were just as quickly dashed thanks to the [qh] turn and no saving love came on the [as] river. He picked up nearly $3,000 for moving up one position and earned $6,552 for the 8th place result.

imluckbox gets unlucky, finds monster under the bed

imluckbux was the latest to move to the bottom of the chips counts and was hovering right around the magical ten big blind mark when he found a nice little pair. There was no action ahead of him and he shoved with [9d][9h] from the cutoff.

The button released but he couldn't be happy to see sosickPL reship from the small blind. Laplante let his hand go and imluckbox saw he was up against [qh][qc]. It was a dominating hand and it never had a sweat as the board ran out [ks][6d][4s][kc][6s] to send imluckbox out in 7th place for $10,108. The first double digit payout of the tournament.

sosickPL can't double his stack or WCOOP trophies

Pocket Nines made a few appearance in late action and sosickPL took them into battle with his 550,000. He was chasing leitallopez for shortest stack honors when he found a good spot with [9s][9h].

Laplante opened from under the gun and Ferreira three-bet from the cutoff. sosickPL was in the big blind and shoved with his Nines to get a fold from Laplante and call from Ferreira with the racing [ks][jh].

It was a quick race when Ferreira flopped topped two on the [kh][jd][3c] board. The [qd] turn was no help and Ferreira's full house [jc] river just added salt to the wound. A good run for sosickPL but he was unable to match his 2010 WCOOP victory, settling for 6th place and $13,852.

leitalopez tries to catch up but gets straightened out

leitalopez was looking up and three other players with much bigger stacks. The others were growing down his stack and until he had to mix it up. That happened with an under the gun shove for 353,448 with [ts][8s] and was called by pkace666 in the big blind with [js][jh].

A double up looked all but locked up for leitalopez when he flopped top two when it came [td][8h][3s]. pkace666 needed to pick up something special to get the knockout and it started with the [7c] turn to add a gutshot draw.

The runner runner fun (for pkace666, not leitalopez) ended on the [9h] river to give pkace666 the Jack-high straight to send leitalopez out in 5th place for $17,784.

Telker falls short of double WCOOP

Telker's quest for another WCOOP trophy fell short when he couldn't run hot late at the final table. The big antes and blinds caught up with him during four-handed play to grind him down short.

He took a shot when action folded to him in the small blind and his [kc][6s] shove was called by Ferreira in the big blind with [ah][2c]. Telker needed to catch one of his live cards to stay alive but missed the [ts][5c][3h] flop.

Ferreira hit the [2h] turn but it changed nothing for Telker. He needed to pair up to stay alive but the [8c] river did not help. Telker has that rare WCOOP Main Event title to his credit, but he'll have to wait to add another trophy to his mantle.

Tough flop sends Laplante out in 3rd

Ryan Laplante has plenty of success at the poker table, both live and online, but he will also have to try again for a WCOOP title. The stacks were relatively equal between the final three players but Laplante dropped behind after losing a 2 million chip pot to Ferreira.

He was not in desperate shape when he found [ac][9s] in three-handed action. A hand more than big enough to move all-in from the small blind and Ferreira called in the big blind with [kd][qs]. Laplante needed to fade the big live cards but the [qh][qc][ts] was not what he wanted.

The flop left Laplante looking for running miracle cards but the [td] left him drawing dead against Ferreira's Queens full. The hand dropped Laplante out of the tournament in 3rd place for $33,696.

Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira survives long battle to win second COOP title in Event 14

Seat 7: RuiNF (5592332 in chips)
Seat 8: pkace666 (3767668 in chips)

Blinds: 30K/60K with 12K Ante

Ferreira and pkace666 paused the clock early in the heads up battle to discuss a deal but Ferreira decided he wasn't getting enough for his lead. That could have been a critical error as pkace666 quickly erased the deficit and took a lead of his own.

pkace666 was in a great position for the win when he found [ac][9c] against [8h][8d]. The virtual coin flip kept the status quo when Ferreira magically hit a full house on the [2d][2s][2c] flop before pkace666 took the lead on the [9h] turn.

pkace666 only needed to dodge the two remaining Eights in the deck but it wasn't meant to be. The two outter came along on the [8s] for the tough beat to switch the advantage back to Ferreira.

That hand set up a long match between the two players which stretched over 60 minutes. The lead bounced back and forth until another crazy hand settled the matter for good.

It took three bets preflop to get the chips in the middle with Ferreira ahead holding [ac][ah] and more chips than pkace666 with [kc][jh]. pkace666 picked up a piece on the [jd][tc][4h] flop and jumped ahead on the [ks] turn.

It was another tough beat for pkace666 when the [qh] river gave Ferreira the Broadway straight for the winning hand and the WCOOP trophy.

WCOOP-14: $215 NL Hold'em (Big Antes, Optional Re-Entry)
Entrants: 1,454 (418 re-entries)
Prize pool: $374,400
Places paid: 234

1. Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira (Czech Republic) $59,904.00
2. pkace666 (United Kingdom) $44,928.00
3. Ryan "ProtentialMN" Laplante (Canada) $33,696.00
4. Mike "munchenHB" Telker (Cyprus) $24,616.80
5. leitalopez (Argentina) $17,784.00
6. sosickPL (Poland) $13,852.80
7. imluckbox (Australia) $10,108.80
8. serhiy1989 (Ukraine) $6,552.00
9. funwheel (Thailand) $3,744.00

In pot-limit Omaha, four hole cards instead of two mean generally speaking you have to do better than be dealt a big pair to win what's in the middle. But sometimes that's enough, as happend for Nlzkm9 on the final hand of the 2015 WCOOP Event #15, a $215 PLO tournament with one rebuy and one add-on.

Dealt a pair of kings on the tournament's final hand, the pair would hold for Nlzkm9, earning the Hungarian the tournament's final pot, a $57,362.10 first prize, and a shiny WCOOP bracelet.

There were 740 entries total coming out for this one on Thursday, and after taking 405 rebuys and 418 add-ons that group built a $312,600 prize pool, well over the $200K guarantee. They played all of the way down to just 23 players on Day 1, with Germany's akia86 ending the night with the chip lead and Nlzkm9 sitting in fourth position.

Here's how the top 10 looked to start today's final day of play:

1. akia86 (Germany) -- 662,756
2. UziStuNNa (Hungary) -- 602,204
3. Christopher "NigDawG" Brammer (United Kingdom) -- 541,539
4. Nlzkm9 (Hungary) -- 527,115
5. kalashn1kovv (Slovenia) -- 510,077
6. Ben "vindog03" Vinson (United Kingdom) -- 468,595
7. wuutti (Finland) -- 462,734
8. magic_mente (Slovenia) -- 418,008
9. MeJohann (United Kingdom) -- 380,444
10. chininhaltig (Germany) -- 345,449

Within the first half-hour on Friday five players had hit the rail, including TCOOP winner Smertin (22nd) and SCOOP champ aaa1 (20th), both of whom earned $1,563 for their finishes. Meanwhile Nlzkm9 had surged to the top of the counts, having swiftly built up over 1.1 million, at the time about 300,000 clear of Christopher "NigDawG" Brammer in second position.

Over the next hour nine more players would be sent railward. Desolas (18th), 1dönertasche (17th), and HeadShotFyoV (16th) each earned $2,188.20 for their finishes. Two-time SCOOP winner Stroynowski (15th), YaaGy (14th), and Henri "I_Mr_U_Bean" Koivisto (13th) were next out, picking up $2,813.40 apiece. And sauce3000 (12th), komarolo22 (11th), and chininhaltig (10th) each were felted thereafter, each earning $3,438.60.

With kalashn1kovv the new leader and Brammer still second in chips, the final table was underway.

Seat 1: wuutti (Finland) -- 836,216
Seat 2: MeJohann (United Kingdom) -- 872,918
Seat 3: kalashn1kovv (Slovenia) -- 1,359,872
Seat 4: UziStuNNa (Hungary) -- 524,191
Seat 5: Nlzkm9 (Hungary) -- 971,435
Seat 6: magic_mente (Slovenia) -- 499,983
Seat 7: Ben "vindog03" Vinson (United Kingdom) -- 987,468
Seat 8: akia86 (Germany) -- 622,952
Seat 9: Christopher "NigDawG" Brammer (United Kingdom) -- 1,139,965

Just a few minutes into the final table, the blinds were 15,000/30,000 when magic_mente opened for 66,000 from the small blind, getting a call from Ben "vindog03" Vinson in the BB. The flop came [8s][3h][9d], magic_mente led for 63,360, and Vinson called. The turn then brought the [Ah] and another bet from magic_mente of 243,196. This time Vinson responded with a raise-shove all in and magic_mente called with the not quite 100,000 left behind.

magic_mente had [Kh][Jh][Td][5s] and was drawing while Vinson held [Ad][Kc][8d][5h] for top pair of aces. The river was the [Kd], and magic_mente was done in ninth.

Nearly a half-hour later they were into the day's third hour of play when akia86 opened with a pot-sized raise to 175,000 from early position, wuutti reraised all in for just over 500,000 from a couple of seats over, and akia86 called with the almost 175,000 left behind.

akia86 was double-suited with [Ad][8d][7c][2c] while wuutti held [Kh][Kc][6h][4d]. The board rolled out [3s][7h][Qh][9h][Th], making a flush for wuutti and sending akia86 off in eighth.

Play continued with kalashn1kovv remaining in front while Christopher "NigDawG" Brammer slipped to seventh of seven. Then came a hand that saw Brammer open for the maximum, betting 210,000 from early position and leaving himself about 270,000 behind.

It folded to Nlzkm9 in the big blind who reraised pot, and Brammer called all in, showing [Ah][Kh][Jd][8s] while Nlzkm9 had [Kd][Kc][8h][8c]. The community cards brought lots of clubs, coming [6c][3c][9c][Jc][7s], giving Nlzkm9 a flush and stopping Brammer in seventh.

A huge hand developed shortly thereafter, one beginning with Nlzkm9 raising to 120,000 from early position. MeJohann three-bet to 420,000 from the small blind, Nlzkm9 called, and the flop came [5d][Td][4c]. That prompted an all-in bet of 772,918 from MeJohann, and Nlzkm9 was there with the call.

MeJohann turned over [Ac][Kc][Qd][7d] for a diamond flush draw, while Nlzkm9 had [Jc][Tc][8d][6d] for top pair, a lesser flush draw, and a gutshot to a straight. The turn was the [Qh], giving MeJohann a better pair, but the river brought the [6s] to make a second pair for Nlzkm9 and thrust the Hungarian into the chip lead. That knocked out MeJohann in sixth, the fifth cash already in this year's WCOOP for the U.K. player on PokerStars.

Two more knockouts quickly followed, carrying things up to the day's three-hour mark.

First it was Nlzkm9 opening with a 2x raise to 160,000 from the cutoff and watching Ben "vindog03" Vinson call from a seat over. kalashn1kovv then three-bet to 680,000 from the big blind, forcing a fold from Nlzkm9 but Vinson called. The flop then came [5s][2d][9h], prompting kalashn1kovv to shove all in and Vinson to call off with the almost 280,000 he had left.

Vinson had [Qh][Ts][9s][8d] for nines and overcards while kalashn1kovv had [6c][5h][4d][3h] for a big wrap to a small straight. The turn was the [Ac], keeping Vinson in front, but the river was the [6s] to make that straight for kalashn1kovv and knock out Vinson in fifth.

Just two hands later UziStuNNa limped in from the small blind, Nlzkm9 raised to 240,000 from the big, and UziStuNNa called. The flop brought three Broadway cards -- [Jh][Kh][Qc] -- and after UziStuNNa checked, Nlzkm9 fired 120,000. UziStuNNa then check-raised all in for almost 700,000, and Nlzkm9 called.

UziStuNNa had [As][Tc][7h][3s] and Nlzkm9 [Ah][Qd][Ts][5h], meaning both had flopped straights though Nlzkm9 had a redraw to a heart flush. The turn was the [3h], bringing the flush, making the [7c] no matter and eliminating UziStuNNa in fourth.

Hour number four of Day 2 began with Nlzkm9 way ahead with about 4.17 million, kalashn1kovv next with just over 2.04 million, and wuutti third with a shade under 1.6 million.

Almost 15 minutes later, the blinds were 40,000/80,000 when Nlzkm9 opened for 200,000 from the small blind, wuutti three-bet to 600,000 from the big, Nlzkm9 made it 1 million to go, wuutti pushed for about 1.35 million total, and Nlzkm9 called.

Nlzkm9: [Ad][Qc][Jd][7c]
wuutti: [Kc][Qh][9c][8c]

The board came [Ad][5c][7d], then [Kd], then [3h], giving wuutti a just a pair of kings while Nlzkm9 had made two pair. wuutti was out in third, and heads-up play began with Nlzkm9 sitting on 5.26 million versus kalashn1kovv's 2.55 million.

Eighteen hands later the gap between the pair had narrowed with Nlzkm9 down just under 4.44 million and kalashn1kovv up to almost 3.38 million.

Then with the blinds at 50,000/100,000 a preflop raising war erupted with kalashn1kovv min-raising to 200,000 from the button, Nlzkm9 making it 600,000, kalashn1kovv four-betting to 1.8 million, Nlzkm9 shoving all in, and kalashn1kovv calling with what was left behind.

Nlzkm9: [Ah][Kd][Ks][8d]
kalashn1kovv: [9h][8h][7c][6c]

Nlzkm9 had been dealt that big pair and was single-suited. Meanwhile kalashn1kovv was double-suited with a rundown of middle cards and was looking for some cooperating community cards to come to prolong the match.

The flop came promisingly for kalashn1kovv, coming [5h][Qd][9d] to provide a pair and a wrap draw although another diamond would mean doom. The turn and river were both blanks, though, coming [3c] then [Th], meaning Nlzkm9's pair of kings had held to win the pot and the title.

Congrats to Nlzkm9 for besting a big WCOOP field to win the bracelet and a first prize worth more than $57K.

WCOOP-15: $215 PL Omaha (1R1A)

Entries: 740 (405 rebuys, 418 add-ons)

Prize pool: $312,600

Places paid: 99

1. Nlzkm9 (Hungary) $57,362.10
2. kalashn1kovv (Slovenia) $40,950.60
3. wuutti (Finland) $30,947.40
4. UziStuNNa (Hungary) $23,288.70
5. Ben "vindog03" Vinson (United Kingdom) $16,255.20
6. MeJohann (United Kingdom) $13,129.20
7. Christopher "NigDawG" Brammer (United Kingdom) $10,003.20
8. akia86 (Germany) $6,877.20
9. magic_mente (Slovenia) $4,063.80


So much has happened already and it's still only the first week of the 2015 World Championship of Online Poker. Head over to the WCOOP page for info about the rest of the 70-event schedule, as well as results so far and updated totals in the Player of the Series race currently led by none other than EPT11 Player of the Year Dzmitry "Colisea" Urbanovich.

Haven't gotten a PokerStars account yet? Join the world's biggest site now.

Quads. Every poker player dreams about flopping quads and having your opponent shove into your monster hand. In the turbo-charged Event #19, Russia's moshmachine was heads-up and on the brink of elimination when moshmachine got it all in with pocket fours and flopped quads. That auspicious hand - quad fours - allowed the Russian to stave off elimination and double up. Riding a tidal wave of momentum, moshmachine easily came from behind to win heads-up and become the newest WCOOP champion.

2015 WCOOP Event #19 $320 NL Turbo Zoom attracted 1,916 runners. Those action-packed enthusiasts generated a prize pool worth $574,800.00. The top 252 places paid out with $91,968.00 initially set aside to the champion.

On the cusp of the final table bubble, the fastidious action went hand-for-hand with ten remaining. AMAK316 attempted to double up with [4h][4s] but moshmachine hit the flop with [Ah][Kd] to win the pot and sent AMAK316 home in tenth place. The final table was set.

WCOOP Event #19 - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: antroff (934,194)
Seat 2: Yayoshow (731,179)
Seat 3: kylef89 (951,037)
Seat 4: VicBiggs (401,822)
Seat 5: Siegmann (1,068,579)
Seat 6: WiljamK (621,240)
Seat 7: RuiNF (1,312,355)
Seat 8: Barrrii (1,269,151)
Seat 9: moshmachine (2,290,443)

The final table commenced during Level 39 with blinds at 25K/50K and a 6,250 ante. Russia's moshmachine held the lead with 2.2M. Meanwhile, VicBiggs was the shorty with 401K. The final table featured a former WCOOP champion (antroff won one back in 2007) and one former SCOOP winner (Yayoshow won one 2013). In addition, Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira was seeking a third career COOP. RuiNF binked a SCOOP last year and already won a WCOOP title this week shipped Event #14.

GLASS ONION: WiljamK eliminated in 9th place

Bustout on the first hand. If you blinked, then you missed it. WiljamK bombed it all-in for 614,990 with [As][8c], but moshmachine woke up with [Qs][Qd]. The board finished up [Ts][7s][5h] [Jh][Kc] and moshmachine's pocket Queens held up. WiljamK's failed to improve and became the first player to exit the final table. Ninth place paid out $5,748.00.

HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN: VicBiggs eliminated in 8th place

Shorty VicBiggs insta-shoved for 295,572 with [Kd][Jh] and Barrrii called with [As][9h] from the big blind. The board ran out [Ad][8c][2s][3c][7h]. VicBiggs never improved and Barrrii flopped an Ace to drag the pot. For an eighth-place performance, VicBiggs collected $10,059.00.

DEAR PRUDENCE: Yayoshow eliminated in 7th place

Another quickie... antroff min-raised to 160,000, Yayoshow shoved for 381,179 and antroff called. Yayoshow led with [As][Qc] against antroff's [Ad][Th]. However, the board finished up [Tc][7c][6c][7s][3h] and antroff flopped a pair of tens to eventually clinch the pot with two pair. Former SCOOP champion Yayoshow was unable to improve and hit the virtual rail in seventh place, which paid out $15,519.60.

WILD HONEY PIE: RuiNF eliminated in 6th place

Seriously, if you sneezed then you missed another bustout... kylef89 min-raised to 200,000, RuiNF bombed it all-in for 1,432,604 with [Kh][Qc], and kylef89 called with [Ah][Th]. The board ran out [Td][5s][2s][6c][3s]. RuiNF did not improve and kylef89 won the pot with a pair of tens. Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira was unable to win a second WCOOP this week when he was knocked out in sixth place, which paid out $21,267.60.

With five remaining, kylef89 was closing in on 4M, while Siegmann was the shorty with 620K.

BUNGLAOW BILL: Barrrii eliminated in 5th place

Barrrii open-shoved for 992,723 with [Td][Ts] and big-stacked kylef89 called with [Ac][9s]. The board finished up [6d][5h][3s][Kh][Ad] and kylef89 rivered a pair of Aces to win the pot. Barrrii was picked off in fifth place, which paid out $27,303.00.

OB-LA-DI, OB-LA-DA: Siegmann eliminated in 4th place

Shorty Siegmann bombed it all-in for 350,882 with [Ah][Tc] and monster-stacked kylef89 called with [4d][2h]. The board ran out [Js][7d][4h][8h][5d]. Siegmann never improved and lost to kylef89 who hit the flop and paired a four. For a fourth-place performance, Siegmann earned $37,793.10.

WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS: antroff eliminated in 3rd place

The bustouts kept coming when antroff moved all-in for 1,065,373 with [Kd][Qh] and moshmachine woke up with [Tc][Th]. The flop was [Td][9s][6s] and moshmachine flopped a set of tens. The turn was the [4s] and the river was the [2c]. Alas, antroff was unable to win a second WCOOP. The Swede never improved and busted out in third place, which paid out $51,732.00.

HEADS-UP: kylef89 (Canada) vs. moshmachine (Russia)
Seat 3: kylef89 (7,034,746)
Seat 9: moshmachine (2,545,254)

The final table progressed at a rapid pace, but heads-up was a much slower affair. kylef89 held a sizable lead when heads-up began, but moshmachine methodically chipped away and eventually seized the lead on a behemoth of a hand. Here's what went down... moshmachine got it all-in preflop with [4d][4h] vs. kylef89's [Kd][Qd]. The flop was [8c][4s][4c] and that's all she wrote. The monstrous moshmachine flopped quad fours and avoided an elimination. Not only did moshmachine double up to over 6.4M, but the Russian took control of the lead. In a couple of minutes, it would be all over.

BACK IN THE U.S.S.R.: kylef89 eliminated in 2nd place; moshmachine wins WCOOP Event #19 Zoom Turbo!

Once kylef89 ran into quads, he was unable to get anything going. On the final hand... kylef89 shoved for 2,425,094 with [9s][7c] and moshmachine called with [Ks][Jh]. Neither player improved on a board of [8s][4c][2h][6d][Ah], but moshmachine won the hand with a superior King-high kicker. Unfortunately, kylef89 was booted in second place. Canada's kylef89 earned $68,976.00 for a gutsy runner-up performance.

Congrats to Russia's moshmachine, who collected a first-place prize worth $91,968.00, for binking WCOOP Event #19 Zoom Turbo!

WCOOP-19: $320 NL Hold'em (Turbo, Zoom)
Entrants: 1,916
Prize Pool: $574,800.00
Places Paid: 252

1. moshmachine (Russia) $91,968.00
2. kylef89 (Sweden) $68,976.00
3. antroff (Sweden) $51,732.00
4. Siegmann (Denmark) $37,793.10
5. Barrrii (Belgium) $27,303.00
6. Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira (Czech Republic) $21,267.60
7. Yayoshow (Canada) $15,519.60
8. VicBiggs (Canada) $10,059.00
9. WiljamK (Finland) $5,748.00

Visit the WCOOP home page for a complete schedule of remaining events. Plus, check out the leader board and find out who is in contention for Player of the Series.

If you do not have a PokerStars account, then what are you waiting for? Sign up today and jump into the action!

Pauly McGuire is an author and freelance contributor to PokerStars.

Marathon final tables test your patience and discipline. You can have all the skill and ability in the world, but if you cannot maintain focus for an extended period of time, then you're doomed to fail when it counts the most. The final table in WCOOP Event #16 hit a lull when it got down to six players. During that 100-minute stretch, the entire dynamic of the final table had shifted and changed a dozen times. Coming out of that arduous dead zone, Liskacha shifted gears into aggro-mode. The Bulgarian chipped up to an immense lead and eventually got down to heads-up against Poland's actaml. Liskacha failed to put actaml away early and the short stack went into full-blown "alligator blood" mode to extend their battle to over 90 minutes. But similar to the extended lull in the middle of the final table, Liskacha hunkered down and regained focus. Liskacha patiently waited for another opportunity to finish off actaml and finally landed a crushing blow to become the newest WCOOP champ.

2015 WCOOP Event #16 $1,050 NL Hold'em (Progressive Super-Knockout, Thursday Thrill Special Edition) attracted 1,828 runners to this two-day affair. They contributed to a total prize pool worth $1,828,000, with a fair split of $914,000 devoted to the regular prize pool and bounty prize pool. The top 216 places paid out with $149,941.70 set aside to the champion. In this Progressive Super-KO format, each player begins with a $500 bounty and whenever someone is eliminated, the winning player collects half the bounty and the other half is added to their initial bounty.

Day 1 ended with 63 players advancing to Day 2 and marty7 (United Kingdom) sat in the top spot with 744K.

Day 2 progressed slowly and the final table was even slower. When action started hand-for-hand with 10 remaining, three big stacks were jockeying for the top spot: Liskacha (Bulgaria) held the lead with 3.1M, with actaml (Poland) and chiconogue (Brazil) right behind. UK's pablotenisis was the shortest stack with barely 420K. One of the other short stacks, Vitorbrasil, made a final stand with [2c][2h] against Howié's [Kh][Qh]. Vitorbrasil's pocket deuces held up through the turn but the [Qc] spiked on the river and Howié won the pot. Vitorbrasil bubbled off the final table in tenth place, which paid out $7,220.60. Howié picked up a bounty worth $4,796.87 for picking off Vitorbrasil and Howié's own bounty increased to $14,881.81.

WCOOP Event #16 - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: Howié (2,408,904)
Seat 2: Negriin (1,268,355)
Seat 3: pablotenisis (318,556)
Seat 4: actaml (3,500,108)
Seat 5: Liskacha (3,589,587)
Seat 6: chiconogue (3,181,272)
Seat 7: leopeluca (1,605,675)
Seat 8: FaZeHigh (1,481,587)
Seat 9: gray31 (925,956)

The final table commenced during Level 43 with blinds at 17.5K/35K and a 4,375 ante. Liskacha held the lead with approximately 3.6M, and pablotenisis was struggling with only 318K. The final table featured Francisco 'chiconogue' Nogueira, who won a WCOOP last year.

BOB DYLAN'S BLUES: pablotenisis eliminated in 9th place

The final table quickly saw an exit when one of the shorties hit the road... pablotenisis insta-shoved for 274,806 and FaZeHigh re-shoved for 1,420,337, and everyone else bailed. Heads-up. FaZeHigh was ahead with [Qc][Qs] against pablotenisis's [Kc][Js]. The board ran out [9h][7d][2d][Tc][4h]. Although pablotenisis turned a gutshot draw, it never filled in and pablotenisis failed to improve. FaZeHigh faded a straight and pocket Queens held up for the win. For a ninth-place finish, pablotenisis earned $9,140.00.

DOWN THE HIGHWAY: gray31 eliminated in 8th place

The final table played for almost two levels before we saw a second elimination. One of the biggies took out a small stack... actaml min-raised to 90,000 and gray31 called from the big blind. Both players checked the flop of [5h][3h][3s]. When the [Qs] fell on the turn, gray31 fired out 112,500, actaml bumped it to 315,000, and gray31 called. The [2h] hit the river, gray31 shoved for 377,873 and actaml called.

gray31: [7h][4h]
actaml: [5c][5s]

Although gray31 rivered a flush, it was meaningless because actaml flopped a full house. Poland's actaml won the pot and collected $5,113.28 for busting gray31 and their own bounty increased to $21,417.95. Alas, Canada's gray31 was knocked out in eighth place and took home $15,995.00.

THE GIRL FROM NORTH COUNTRY: Howié eliminated in 7th place

Howié opened to 111,000, actaml called, and chiconogue called. The flop was [Ah][Th][3h] chiconogue checked, Howié bet 200,875, actaml called, and chiconogue folded. Heads-up. All the money went in on the turn when the [Jc] fell.

Howié: [Ad][Kd]
actaml: [Qh][9h]

Howié flopped top pair, but actaml flopped a flush. The [Tc] on the river did not help Howié. Poland's actaml won the pot and Howié busted out in seventh place, which paid out $25,135.00. Poland's actaml earned another bounty. This one was worth $7,440.91, and actaml's own bounty increased to $28,858.85. With six to go, actaml was closing in on 6M and leopeluca was last with 866K.

SLOW DOWN

The dreaded slowdown. With six left in the hunt, the lead changed hands several times, but no one was ever close to busting. Negriin became the new leader with 5.7M, while FaZeHigh was the shorty with 1.1M.

A HARD RAIN'S GONNA FALL: FaZeHigh eliminated in 6th place

Six-handed lasted nearly 100 minutes before someone finally bowed out. FaZeHigh bombed it all-in for 994,685 with [As][Qd] and actaml woke up with [Jd][Jh]. The board ran out [Tc][4h][2s][Jc][Qh]. FaZeHigh turned a Broadway gutshot draw, but never got there on the river. Instead, FaZeHigh backdoored a pair of Queens, which were no match against actaml's set of Jacks (which popped up on the turn). FaZeHigh busted in sixth place, which paid out $34,275.00. Poland's actaml earned a bounty worth $11,937 for picking off FaZeHigh and their own bounty jumped to $40,795.84.

With five remaining, Liskacha was closing in on 7M, followed by Negriin (4.4M), actaml (3.5M), leopeluca (2.5M), and chiconogue (777K).

TALKIN' WORLD WAR III BLUES: chiconogue eliminated in 5th place

Five-handed lasted a couple of hands. Negriin min-raised to 200,000, super-short chiconogue moved all-in for 517,204 and Negriin called. A desperate chiconogue attempted to double up with [Kc][5c] against Negriin's [As][6s]. Although chiconogue flopped a flush draw, the Brazilian never got there. The board finished up [Jc][Jh][2c][7s][Jd] and neither player improved. Negriin won the pot with an Ace-kicker. For a fifth-place performance, chiconogue took home $43,415.00. Negriin picked up $7,015.62 for chiconogue's bounty. Meanwhile, Negriin's own bounty increased to $16,976.54.

With four to go... Liskacha still led with 7.7M, followed by Negriin's 5.3M. Bringing up the rear was leopeluca with 2.1M.

DON'T THINK TWICE, IT'S ALRIGHT: Negriin eliminated in 4th place

Liskacha was in full bully mode and open-shoved for 11,243,316 and Negriin called all-in for 1,827,796 with [9c][9s]. Liskacha had overcards with [Qc][Tc]. The board finished up [Kd][Qd][8h][5h][Ad]. Liskacha flopped a pair of Queens to win the pot. Negriin was dunzo in fourth place, which paid out $61,238.00. Liskacha earned another bounty. This one was worth $8,488.27. Liskacha's own bounty was bumped up to $11,238.27.

With three remaining, Liskacha sat atop a mountain of chips with 13.2M, followed by actaml's 3M and leopeluca's 2M.

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND: leopeluca eliminated in 3rd place

Liskacha went on the attack and shoved for 13,246,112 with [Qd][4c] and leopeluca called all-in for 1,577,338 with [Ac][7s]. Despite the better hand, leopeluca never improved. The board finished up [Jh][Ts][3d][9c][Qs] and Liskacha rivered a fortuitous Queen to win the pot. Argentina's leopeluca was knocked out in third place, which paid out $82,260.00. Liskacha earned another bounty -- $6,124.02 for busting leopeluca. Liskacha's own bounty increased to $17,362.28.

HEADS-UP: actaml (Poland) vs. Liskacha (Bulgaria)
Seat 4: actaml (3,319,050)
Seat 5: Liskacha (14,960,950)

Almost a 5-to-1 edge for Liskacha. The final heads-up battle would be waged over four levels.

Level 50... actaml doubled up and avoided an elimination by making a straight with [Td][6d] against Liskacha's [Qs][Jh] and two pair. Near the end of the level, actaml struck again and doubled up a second time in a 7.5M pot that was a battle of two pair (Jacks and Eights vs. Eights and Sixes).

Level 51... actaml dominated this level playing small ball and nearly pulled even. By the end of the level, actaml was only down 9.8M to 8.4M.

Level 52... Liskacha applied pressure and picked up a trio of pots worth 1.2M to get back over 13M. Liskacha chipped away had actaml on the ropes for the rest of the level.

Level 53... the final outcome would be determined less than ten hands.

MASTERS OF WAR: actaml eliminated in 2nd place; Liskacha wins WCOOP Event #16 Super-KO!

Going into the final hand, actaml was down to 4M and Liskacha was over 14.2M... actaml min-raised to 320,000, Liskacha bumped it up to 680,000, actaml four-bet shoved for 3,999,700 and Liskacha called. Liskacha was way ahead with [Kc][Kd] against actaml's [9h][9c]. The board finished up [Jh][7h][7c][Qh][8d] and Liskacha's Kings held up to win the pot with two pair -- Kings and sevens. Unfortunately, actaml was unable to improve and busted out in second place. Liskacha collected a bounty on actaml worth $20,397.92, and Liskacha's own bounty increased to $37,760.20.

For a sensational runner-up performance, actaml earned $109,680.00.

Congrats to Bulgaria's Liskacha for winning Event #16! First place paid out an impressive $149,941.70.

WCOOP-16: $1,050 NL Hold'em (Progressive Super-Knockout, Thursday Thrill SE)
Entrants: 1,828
Prize Pool: $1,828,000 (Regular prize pool: $914,00; Bounty prize pool: $914,000)
Places Paid: 216

1. Liskacha (Bulgaria) $149,941.70 + $37,760.20 bounties
2. actaml (Poland) $109,680.00 + $40,795.84 bounties
3. leopeluca (Argentina) $82,260.00 + $12,248.03 bounties
4. Negriin (Argentina) $61,238.00 + $16,976.54 bounties
5. Francisco 'chiconogue' Nogueira (Brazil) $43,415.00 + $14,031.23 bounties
6. FaZeHigh (Netherlands) $34,275.00 + $23,873.99 bounties
7. Howié (Belgium) $25,135.00 + $14,881.81 bounties
8. gray31 (Canada) $15,995.00 + $10,226.56 bounties
9. pablotenisis (United Kingdom) $9,140.00 + $7,140.62 bounties

Visit the WCOOP home page for a schedule of remaining events and take a peek at the leader board to find out who is in contention for Player of the Series.

Want to play on PokerStars? Click here and sign up for an account and start playing .

Pauly McGuire is an author and freelance contributor to PokerStars.

11:05pm: Makoto Yoshimichi eliminated in 2nd place (HK$1,117,000)

It's all over here!

In what was one of the fastest final tables ever James Chen has emerged victorious after defeating Makoto Yoshimichi.

The final hand saw Yoshimichi open preflop to 160,000 from the button and Chen three-bet to 420,000. Yoshimichi made the call and the flop landed [Tc][5c][4s].

Chen continued for 475,000 and with a call from Yoshimichi the dealer turned the [Qh]. It was then that Chen bet 750,000 and Yoshimichi moved all in over the top for 1,650,000. Chen made a quick call and they turned up their hands.

Yoshimichi: [Th][6h]
Chen: [Js][Jc]

Yoshimichi needed a ten or six to keep the tournament going but the [Qc] river saw the board repeat to finish things up.

Congratulations to James Chen! Winner of H$1,704,000 and the MPC23 High Roller title. Thanks for joining our coverage today, we'll have a full recap of proceedings soon!

11:00pm: Heads up chip counts

Heads up play is now underway.

Here are the stacks of our remaining two.

James Chen - 5,0450,000
Makoto Yoshimichi - 2,455,000

10:55pm: Tom Alner eliminated in 3rd place (HK$726,000)

Heads up is set!

It's been just over an hour on this final table and already we've reach heads up play after Tom Alner's elimination in 3rd place.

Alner moved all in from the small blind for 910,000 in chips and James Chen called it off from the big blind.

Alner: [Qc][9d]
Chen: [Ac][4c]

Chen had the lead and held it through the [Kc][6h][6d][6c][ts] runout to send Alner to the rail.

10:50pm: Liang Yu eliminated in 4th place (HK$559,000)

And then there were three.

Liang Yu just committed his stack preflop but ran into the pocket aces of Makoto Yoshimichi.

Yu: [4c][4s]
Yoshimichi: [Ac][Ad]

Yu needed a four but the [6c][3d][jd][7h][6d] board failed to save him. He finished in 4th place while Yoshimichi brings his stack to 2,500,000.

10:40pm: Chip count update

James Chen has a significant lead over the other three remaining players at the moment. Here's how they stack up.

James Chen - 3,900,000
Liang Yu - 550,000
Makoto Yoshimichi - 2,000,000
Tom Alner - 900,000

10:30pm: Wei Yi Zhang eliminated in 5th place (HK$391,000)

Wei Yi Zhang was our next final table casualty after running his king-ten into the pocket kings of Makoto Yoshimichi.

The [Kc][Ah][jh] flop meant Zhang could catch a queen to make Broadway but it wouldn't come on the [4d] turn and [6s] river.

Zhang leaves us in 5th place and Yoshimichi climbs to over 2,000,000 in chips.

10:15pm: Yan Cai eliminated in 6th place (HK$335,000)

There are only five players remaining now after Yan Cai was knocked out at the hands of Tom Alner.

Cai moved all in from the small blind for 500,000 and Alner called off in the big blind. It was a flip as Cai held pocket eights against the ace-nine of Alner.

The board came down [th][9d][5d][9c][as] to see Alner make a full house to run Cai down. Alner moves up to over a million in chips as Cai finds the exit in 6th.

10:10pm: Level 19, blinds 30,000/60,000 (5,000)

10:05pm: Scott Davies eliminated in 7th place (HK$279,000)

And another one down!

That makes three final table eliminations in 10 minutes with Scott Davies the last to leave us.

Makoto Yoshimichi opened to 80,000 from the hijack and Scott Davies pushed all in for his last 435,000. Yoshimichi snapped it off and the cards went on their backs.

Davies: [Ah][8c]
Yoshimichi: [Qs][Qc]

Yoshimichi's queens were in front and Davies couldn't catch up on the [7s][9h][9c][kh][td] run out.

10:00pm: Xiang Zhu eliminated in 8th place (HK$251,500)

It's only been five minutes since ninth place was awarded and already another player has fallen by the wayside.

James Chen opened the action with an under the gun raise to 80,000 before Xiang Zhu moved all in from middle position. Chen made the call when it got back to him and they flipped up their hands.

Zhu: [As][Qh]
Chen: [Kh][Ks]

Zhu was chasing an ace to dodge an 8th place finish but a king in the window on the [Kd][Qc][8c] saw Chen spike top set and almost lock up the hand. The [Ah] rolled off on the turn which meant Zhu could find another ace for a higher full house, but the [4d] river couldn't save him.

Zhu finished in 8th place for HK$251,500 while Chen extends his chip lead to 3,000,000.

9:55pm: Huidong Gu eliminated in 9th place (HK$223,500)

We've lost one already on this final table.

It folded around to the shortstacked Gu who jammed the last of his chips from the cut off. Makoto Yoshimichi made the call from the big blind to put Gu at risk.

Gu: [qc][ts]
Yoshimichi: [Ah][4s]

Gu was behind and the [ac][2h][3s] flop all but ended his tournament already. The [Qs] turn gave a glimmer of hope but the [5s] river bricked off to see Gu eliminated in 9th place.

Yoshimichi moved up to 875,000 in chips.

9:40pm: Final table time!

Players are back in there seats for this High Roller final table.

They have all locked up HK$223,500 and are playing for the $1,704,000 top prize.

Blinds continue at 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante.

Stay with us for the exciting High Roller conclusion!

8:55pm: Final table seat draw and chip counts

The final nine have just gone on a 45 minute dinner-break before they return to fight it out to be High Roller champion.

Here's where they currently sit and their stacks.

1 - Wei Yi Zhang - 1,320,000
2 - James Chen - 1,895,000
3 - Huidong Gu - 430,000
4 - Liang Yu - 1,040,000
5 - Xiang Zhu - 475,000
6 - Makoto Yoshimichi - 545,000
7 - Yan Cai - 675,000
8 - Scott Davies - 545,000
9 - Tom Alner - 585,000

8:45pm: Bubble bursts with Fu Bang Huang eliminated

The final table is set!

Fu Bang Huang has the title of bubble boy here after a three-way preflop all in.

Tom Alner moved all in from the cut off before Yan Cai moved all in over the top from the button. It got to the shortstacked Fu Bang Huang in the big blind and after giving it some thought, he called it off to put himself at risk.

Alner: [7d][7s]
Cai: [8c][8d]
Huang: [Ah][Kc]

Huang needed to hit to avoid elimination but on a board of [5d][Qc][6h][8h] he was drawing dead by the turn. The [Jh] came on the river with Cai's set taking down the pot and sending Huang to the rail in 10th place.

8:40pm: Cards back in the air

The remaining 10 have returned to their seats to continue the tournament.

Blinds are 20,000/40,000 (5,000)

8:30pm: A moment away

The final 10 players have just commenced a 10-minute scheduled break.

Action resumes momentarily as we continue on the money bubble.

8:25pm: Time for bubble as Mikael falls

Mikael Andersson was just eliminated at the hands of Wei Yi Zhang and with that we're on the final table and money bubble.

Andersson got it all in preflop with [Ks][Js] against Zhang's [As][Kd] and couldn't improve on the [4h][9h][ac][8s][tc] run out.

Zhang's newfound chips bring him up to 1,050,000.

8:15pm: Reigning champ falls short

The reigning High Roller champion Yuguang Li was just knocked out three from the final table after running into the pocket kings of Liang Yu.

Li held ace-ten and while he did manage to pair the ten it wasn't enough to save his tournament life. Yu moves up to 1,200,000 with that elimination.

8:00pm: Big stacks clash

Two of our chip leaders just butted heads and it now appears James Chen is the biggest stack of our remaining 12 players.

The action started with Tom Alner raising the button to 60,000 before James Chen clicked it back from the big blind to 150,000 to go. Alner came along and the flop landed [7d][3d][6c].

Both players checked and the turn brought the [tc]. Chen checked again but after a bet from Alner to 135,000 Chen put in a huge jam for around a million in chips. Alner looked frustrated but didn't take long to fold his hand.

He drops to 760,000 in chips while Chen eclipses 1,500,000.

7:45pm: Level 17 begins, blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000)

7:35pm: Sun down

We're one step closer to the High Roller final table here after the recent elimination of Sun Sheng.

He got his chips all in preflop against Tom Alner and the two were flipping for the pot.

Sheng: [Qc][8c]
Alner: [7h][7c]

The [2h][th][7s] flop was bad news for Sheng with Alner flopping a set to take a huge lead in the hand. The [9c] turn and [5d] river couldn't save him as Alner chipped up to over 800,000.

7:25pm: Zhu takes from Zhang

Xiang Zhu was all in and at risk against Wei Yi Zhang. The two of them got the money in preflop and revealed their hands.

Wei Yi Zhang: [ad][js]
Xiang Zhu: [qc][2c]

Zhu needed to improve to stay alive and the [3c][kc][qh] flop was the answer. The [jc] turned to make Zhu a flush and guaranteed him the pot before the [3h] river even landed.

Zhu takes his stack up to 520,000 and Zhang falls to 620,000.

7:15pm: Things slowing down

As we approach the money bubble the action has really began to slow down.

With only the final table of nine seeing a return on their investment, the 13 remaining players seem to playing with caution.

6:55pm: Pete pushed out

Pete Chen's stack was crippled in a recent spot against Yuguang Li before Chen was eliminated shortly after.

Yuguang Li moved all in preflop from the cut off for 254,000 and Pete Chen gave him action from the button.

Chen: [Ah][Jd]
Li: [Ad][ks]

Chen couldn't catch up on the [6d][th][8h][8s][9c] board and was left with only 50,000 to his name. He was unable to recover and found the rail not long after just shy of the final table.

6:45pm: Davies picking up monsters

After having aces only five minutes ago, Scott Davies picked up pocket kings and doubled through Sun Sheng.

Davies: [Kh][Kc]
Sheng: [As][Qh]

The two of them got the money in preflop and the [9h][8d][7d][9s][8c] was safe for Davies to chip up again.

6:40pm: Aces for Davies

Scott Davies found aces just at the right time and got his short stack in preflop against Makoto Yoshimichi.

Davies: [Ac][As]
Yoshimichi: [Kd][Qd]

The [td][8c][3s] flop was safe for Davies but the [js] turn did give Yoshimichi an open ended straight draw. The [5s] bricked off to see Davies stay alive and Yoshimichi drop to 200,000.

6:35pm: Andersson running pure

After spiking a set to stay alive against pocket aces only just over half an hour ago, Mikael Andersson cracks aces again to keep his tournament run going.

Andersson moved all in pre for 264,000 and was up against Pete Chen who had him in bad shape.

Andersson: [Ah][5h]
Chen: [Ad][Ac]

The [7h][2c][Ks] flop didn't give Andersson much hope but the [2h] turn meant another heart would see him double. The river delivered with the [4h] arriving to keep Andersson in the game.

That hit drops Chen down to 230,000 in chips.

6:25pm: Play resumes

The High Roller has recommenced with players taking their seats again as we push closer towards the final table here.

6:15pm: 10 minutes off

The players left the tournament area for another break.

They'll be back to the action in 10 minutes time.

6:10pm: Chin knocked out

Daniel Chin is now out of the tournament after his pocket kings fell to the queen-ten of James Chen just before the break.

Chin was in the small blind and bet 75,000 on the [2c][5c][9c] flop. Chen called and the [6d] rolled off. It was then that Chin moved all in for 250,000 in chips and Chen called it off almost instantly.

Chin: [Kd][Kc]
Chen: [Qc][Tc]

It was a cooler with Chen flopping a flush against Chin's overpair but Chin could still catch a club to take the lead. The river wouldn't deliver, bringing the [td] to see Chin eliminated.

6:00pm: Lucky double for Mikael

Mikael Andersson was looking like he was going to be sent home when he got his stack of 233,000 in preflop with [2d][2s] against Yan Cai's [ac][ad].

However, when the dealer rolled out a [ks][qs][2s] flop, Andersson had taken the lead with a set of deuces. The [8c] turn and [5h] river were safe for Andersson and would see Cai slam the table in frustration.

Andersson is now up towards 500,000 in chips, while Cai is still healthy with just over 400,000.

5:55pm: Li lives

Yuguang Li just scored a double up to keep his tournament hopes alive after getting his money in good preflop against Liang Yu.

Li: [Ac][qd]
Liang: [ah][jh]

The board ran out [tc][5h][kd][ts][8d] with Li's queen kicker playing for a 250,000 chip pot. Liang still has a stack of 700,000 despite losing that hand.

5:45pm: Zhou and Tollefsen eliminated

Steven Zhou was just sent packing after a preflop confrontation with Yan Cai.

Zhou: [Ts][Th]
Cai: [Ad][3s]

Zhou was in front and faded danger through the flop of [4d][qs][2d]. The [Ac] turn, however, left him chasing one of only 2 outs. It wouldn't come on the [Qd] river and Zhou was sent to the exit.

Only moments later Henrik Tollefsen was also knocked out of this High Roller so we're now down to 16 players remaining.

5:35pm: Level 14 begins, blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000)

5:30: Davies doubles with a royal flush

Scott Davies was all in preflop and at risk against James Chen in a recent hand.

Davies: [As][Js]
Chen: [Ah][Th]

Davies was in front and guaranteed himself the pot from the flop with [Qs][Ts][Ks] to make him a royal flush. The inconsequential [5s] and [Ad] fell on the turn and river as Davies chipped up to 335,000.

5:25pm: Quads for Xiang Zhu

Xiang Zhu just scored a double up with pocket tens after spiking quads against the ace-king suited of Yuguang Li.

Players were all in preflop and the [5s][ts][8s] flop saw Zhu hit top set. He locked up the hand with the [tc] turn for quads before the [5c] river rolled off.

Zhu climbs to 420,000 while Li dips to 150,000 in chips.

5:15pm: Final two table draw

Here is where the remaining 18 players find themselves:

Table 19
Seat 1: Makoto Yoshimichi
Seat 2: Tom Alner
Seat 3: Daniel Chin
Seat 4: James Chen
Seat 5: Scott Davies
Seat 6: Fu Bang Huang
Seat 7: Henrik Tollefsen,
Seat 8: Sun Sheng
Seat 9: He Chang

Table 20
Seat 1: Yuguang Li
Seat 2: Pete Chen
Seat 3: Huidong Gu
Seat 4: Liang Yu
Seat 5: Wei Yi Zhang
Seat 6: Xiang Zhu
Seat 7: Mikael Andersson
Seat 8: Yan Cai
Seat 9: Steven Zhou

5:00pm: Cai climbing as we're down to 18

Yan Cai just raked in a nice pot after eliminating Japan's Takashi Ogura.

Cai opened the action with an under the gun raise to 22,000 and after a call from the player in the cut off, Tom Alner made it 160,000 to go from the button. Ogura in the big blind moved all in for 187,000 before Cai came over the top for around 320,000.

The other players folded and Cai and Ogura tabled their hands.

Cai: [ks][kc]
Ogura: [jc][js]

Ogura needed help, but it wouldn't come on the [2c][qh][9h][3s][9d] board as Ogura was sent to the rail. Not long after Ogura was eliminated, the final 18 players redrew for seats at the final two tables. We will post up a seating draw as soon as possible.

4:55pm: Level 13 begins, blinds 6,000/12,000 (1,000)

4:40pm: Full payout list

There are nine places paying tonight. Here's what the each of them are worth.

1st - $1,704,000
2nd - $1,117,000
3rd - $726,000
4th - $559,000
5th - $391,000
6th - $335,000
7th - $279,000
8th - $251,500
9th - $223,500

All payouts in HKD

4:30pm: Nanonoko no more

Team PokerStars Pro Randy 'Nanonoko' Lew just hit the rail in this High Roller event. He broke down what happened to his followers on Twitter.

"Short stack shoves J7 & I shove too 88 and Jack on flop. Left me 4000 which eventually grew a little to bust 55 to T9s. #WCOOP time? #MPC23."

4:15pm: And we're back

Players have returned to their seats for Level 12 of this MPC23 High Roller.

Blinds are 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante.

4:05pm: First break

The remaining 25 players have just stepped away from the tables for their first break.

Play resumes in 10 minutes.

3:55pm: Jain jams at the wrong time

India's Shashank Jain was just eliminated at the hands of Chang He in a recent hand.

After a raising war preflop He called a four-bet from Jain and players saw a [7d][6c][8c] flop. Jain continued the betting for 52,000 and He made a call.

Both players checked on the [4d] turn and when the river landed the [8d], Jain moved all in for around 120,000 in chips. Before Jain could push his stack all the way into the middle He had turned over the [Kd][Qd] and stood up and stood up from his seat.

When it was clarified that He had called with the flush, Jain tossed his hand into the muck. Being an all-in situation Jain was forced to reveal his hand and the dealer retrieved and flipped the [Ah][Td].

Jain finds the rail while He climbs to 580,000 in chips.

3:40pm: Prize pool confirmed

Now that the tournament is locked out we can tell you there were 75 total entries.

That means the total prize pool is HK$5,586,000 which is an all-time high for this event. Nine places will be paying dividends and the winner will collect HK$1,704,000 when a High Roller champion is crowned tonight.

It's already been an action packed afternoon and now only 27 players remain. Let's get back to it!

3:25pm: Level 11 begins, blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000)

3:10pm: No luck for Lin

Team PokerStars Pro Celin Lin was just eliminated by way of a bad beat from WSOP APAC champion Scott Davies.

Lin made a preflop open to 13,500 and after a call from her first opponent, Davies moved all in for 120,000. It folded back to Lin who called off for her 100,000 and with the third player out of the way they turned their hands up.

Lin: [Jh][Js]
Davies: [9d][9h]

The Team PokerStars Pro was in great shape to double up until thee [9s][Ac][As] left her drawing thin. Lin could still catch a jack or an ace to improve to a higher full house but the [Tc] turn and [Ts] river failed to save her.

With that hands Davies brings his stack up to around 250,000.

2:55pm: Roller coaster for Li

It's been up and down for reigning champ Yuguang Li here after being on the winning and losing end of back to back hands.

The first began with a raise from the United Kingdom's Tom Alner before Li put in a raise to 21,000 from the cut off. Alner made the call to see a flop of [5h][Ah][Ac].

After a quick check from Alner, Li continued for 26,000 and with a call the dealer turned the [9s]. Both players checked and the [As] river peeled off.

Alner checked for a final time and after Li glanced back at his cards he opted to do the same. Alner tabled first to show [Kd][Qh] for king high but Li was too good with [8h][9h] for a full house.

The second hand would find Li doubling up Wei Yi Zhang after getting all the money in on the turn after an action card peeled off.

The board read [3s][9s][5c][2s] and Li had turned a set of deuces with [2d][2h]. He was, however, behind Zhang's [Ks][8s] for a flush. The river wouldn't pair the board and Li took a 77,500 hit, taking him back down to 430,000 in chips.

2:45pm: Level 10 begins, blinds 3,000/6,000 (500)

2:35pm: Big pot for Andersson

Facing a button raise to 8,500, Sweden's Mikael Andersson put in a three-bet to 32,000. It was then on Australia's Dean Blatt in the big blind and he went into the tank.

Andersson and Blatt ultimately got stacks in and with the initial raiser out of the way Blatt needed some help with pocket eights against pocket jacks.

He couldn't improve on the [6h][6c][Qd][Qs][As] board and drops to 32,000 in chips. Andersson now sits with a stack just shy of 300,000.

2:15pm: Chip leader takes a huge hit

Wing Cheong Chong who started the day as chip leader has just pushed most of his stack to Geoff Mooney.

It was Chong's ace-king against Mooney's pocket queens and the pair held for Mooney to scoop a pot of 800,000. Chong drops from 582,000 down to around 180,000 in chips.

2:00pm: Cards in the air

The action is now underway here for Day 2 of the High Roller event.

Blinds begin at 2,000/4,000 with a 500 ante. Late registration is open for the first level. We'll have the final player count and payouts as soon as the tournament is locked out.

MPC23 HK$80,000 final day!

While the Red Dragon was coming to a close yesterday, the High Roller event was just beginning. Play started at 7:30pm for a night of eight 40-minute levels.

This afternoon will see 37 players return to the tables but with late registration and re-entry still open that number is expected to climb.

Hong Kong's Wing Cheong Chong leads the way starting the day. He finished up last night 582,000 in chips. Hot on Chong's heels with 544,500 is MPC22 Red Dragon winner and reigning High Roller champion Yuguang Li.

The second and final day begins at 2:00pm here at PokerStars LIVE Macau. Stay with us for all your live reporting needs!

Click here for Day 2 seating draw

Today saw once again what the Macau Poker Cup has become renowned for - records broken!

The record 75-player MPC23 High Roller field just worked its way down to a champion after one of the fastest final tables in MPC history.

And that champion was Taiwan's James Chen, who took only 75 minutes to navigate his way through the final table. Chen dwarves his biggest cash to date with his victory for HK$1,704,000 - his previous best was HK$230, 700 for a runner up finish in the MPC Baby Dragon earlier this year.

Before Chen chewed through the final table it was two days of exciting poker action, with a star-studded field in tow. Team PokerStars Pros Randy 'Nanonoko' Lew, Yaxi Zhu and Celina Lin were all among the field. Lin busted earlier today after getting it in good with pocket jacks against the poket nines of Scott Davies. She couldn't hold though with Davies flopping nines full of aces to send the Team Pro packing.

With only nine places paying dividends it made sense that everyone was shortstacked entering the final table. There was a lot of money on the line and players were trying to avoid the bubble. The title of bubble boy would ultimately go to Fu Banh Huang after a three way all in with ace-king against Yan Cai's pocket eights and Tom Alner's pocket sevens. Cai turned a set to see the final table set.

And what a final table it was!

It would take only 15 minutes for the first elimination before the floodgates opened and one by one players hit the rail in quick succession. Huidong Gu was first to go before the eventual champion Chen eliminated Xiang Zhu in 8th place. Chen held pocket kings against Zhu's ace-queen and improved by flopping top set to thin the field to seven.

The next thirty minutes would see three eliminations. Scott Davies (7th place), Yan Cai (6th place) and Wei Yi Zhang (5th place) all found the rail, and with Liang Yu running his pocket fours into Makoto Yoshimichi's aces for 4th place only three were left in the hunt.

It would only take 5 more minutes from that point to get to heads up play. 3rd place went to Tom Alner after he jammed from the small blind with queen-nine off suit and Chen called from the big blind with ace-four of clubs. Neither of them hit and Chen's ace-high held to scoop the pot and bring the tournament to heads up.

And just to keep things in line with the rest of the final table, heads up would only last five minutes too. The final hand began with Yoshimichi opening from the button to 160,000 and Chen three-betting to 420,000 from the big blind. Yoshimichi called and the flop came down [Tc][5c][4c].

Chen bet again for 475,000 and Yoshimichi called once more. When the [qh] peeled off Chen continued for another 750,000 and Yoshimichi moved all in over the top for a total of 1,650,000. Chen called with the hopes of ending the tournament right there and the cards went on their backs.

Chen: [Js][Jc]
Yoshimichi: [Th][6h]

Yoshimichi needing a ten or six to keep the tournament alive bricked on the [Qc] river and Chen emerged as our new MPC High Roller Champion.

MPC23 High Roller Results

1st: James En Ning Chen (Chinese Taipei) - $1,704,000
2nd: Makoto Yoshimichi (Japan) - $1,117,000
3rd: Tom Alner (UK) - $726,000
4th: Liang Yu (China) - $559,000
5th: Wayne Wei Ye Zhang (China) - $391,000
6th: Yan Cai - (China) $335,000
7th: Scott Davies (USA) - $279,000
8th: Xiang Zhu (China) - $251,500
9th: Huidong Gu (Macau) - $223,500
All amounts in HKD

Congratulations to Chen and thanks to PokerStars LIVE Macau for hosting another well-run tournament here in Macau. We hope you enjoyed our coverage this week. We'll be back for the 2015 Asia Championship of Poker!

Watching and reading the PokerStars coverage here over the week, a pattern seems to emerge. Names of past champions and final table players have already made their marks on the WCOOP 2015 campaign. Like Matt "Plattsburgh" Vengrin who won Event #6 after earning a WCOOP title last year. The two-day Event #17 would also crown a familiar name as Patrick "pads1161" Leonard would win $108,415.51 and the bracelet after a brief heads-up match against Roman "RomeOpro" Romanovskyi.

Check out below for Leonard's run to the title.

The overnight chip leader Patrick "pads1161" Leonard has two prior 'COOP final tables in his pocket. Normally the Omaha specialist based on past finishes, Leonard nearly snagged a watch in SCOOP 2014 Event #35-M PLO Hi/Lo as the runner-up and a sixth place in this year's TCOOP Event #14 NLO Hi/Lo. Leonard would come into day two of this NL Hold Em' tournament with nearly double the chips of second place pinguinho.

Pinguinho also seems to like the non-NLHE games with a final table in TCOOP 2013's Event #12 Triple Stud (finishing fourth), and two final tables at SCOOP 2015 in Event #13-M (Stud, finishing as the runner-up to Woody "plplya" Deck), and Event #19-L Limit Omaha Hi/Lo (finishing seventh). But, pinguinho's hot streak is a continuation of winning two Sunday Majors last weekend including the weekly 6-max for $14K.

Starting off day two cheeky4714 would be the first to improve position. After doubling through mindgamer two minutes into the new day, cheeky4714 would show mindgamer the door on the next hand after sneaking [9h][Ah] past mindgamer's big slick [Ad][Kh] on a heart filled [5h] [Th] [4h] [Td] [8h] board sending mindgamer out in 16th place ($5,420.74).

Well, pinguinho's two-week hot streak came a screeching halt as the starting second place stack took a huge hit early with Aptok taking away a key 1.2 million chip pot. Then, with the blinds up to 10K/20K ante 2.5K, pinguinho tried to three barrel bluff JJ@mess off two pair with the board showing [3d] [Ts] [7h] [6s] [4s]. It did not work as pinguinho earned $5,420.74 in 13th place.

At the first break Leonard's lead was cut into a bit by OMGACEACEACE by taking down a 1.4 million chip pot right before the five minute intermission. Only half of the day two field remained on task for the $108,415.51 up top, as hand-for-hand loomed.

Cheeky4714 made it to the final table of Event #2 here last year (also a six-max event) finishing fifth. Unfortunately, cheeky4714's journey for a second WCOOP final table would end and the hand of Leonard in seventh place ($11,798.09).

Eight minutes later with the blinds up to 17.5K/35K ante 4,375 Aptok would shove 380K from the small blind as RomeOpro called with [Ah][3d]. Aptok's [Kh][5h] failed to connect on the [7s] [Jd] [7d] [Td] [9d] board starting up the final table below:

Seat 1: OMGACEACEACE (3252166 in chips)
Seat 2: JJ@mess (2516916 in chips)
Seat 3: HKN291209 (1722850 in chips)
Seat 4: Patrick "pads1161" Leonard (4075850 in chips)
Seat 5: Roman "RomeOpro" Romanovskyi (1499423 in chips)
Seat 6: Manni1822 (1317795 in chips)

Patrick "pads1161" Leonard started the day as the chip leader and would start the final table as the chip leader. Would he end the day with all the chips and a shiny gold and diamond bracelet? Or will JJ@mess notch the third leg of the PokerStars Slam after winning a SCOOP watch in 2014 and the Sunday Million? Read on.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl after the rapid eliminations of the first hour.

45 minutes into the second hour with the blinds up to 20K/40K ante 5K OMGACEACEACE tried to get in cheap by limping in from the small blind as JJ@mess made it 120K to go. OMGACEACEACE made the call to see a couple of tens on the [Ts][Td][4d] flop. OMGACEACEACE would check-call bets on the flop and the turn [8s]. Then the river [Ah] saw JJ@mess push all-in for 1.96 million. Holding [7c][Ac] OMGACEACEACE called off the remaining 947K only to see the flopped trip tens [Tc][3c] of JJ@mess. OMGACEACE would take away $19,132.05 in sixth place. This was another huge score for OMGACEACEACE who took down the Sunday Major NLHE $109+R in May for $68K.

The final table would not lose its second player until five minutes before the third hourly break. With the blinds up to 50K/100K ante 12.5K current chip leader RomeOpro and HKN291209 would get to the river with the board showing [5c] [4d] [2s] [3d] [9d]. HKN291209 checked as RomeOpro shoved all-in. Holding a wheel [9h][Ac] HKN291209 made the call for 1.1 million. But, RomeOpro turned over the higher straight [6h][As] knocking out HKN291209 in fifth place ($30,292.41).

JJ@mess' run for a third leg of the PokerStars slam would come an end with a flip. With the blinds still at 50K/100K ante 12.5K Manni1822 would min-raise from the button as JJ@mess shoved 1.74 million from the small blind with big slick [Kc][Ac]. Manni1822 covered and made the call holding pocket jacks [Jd][Jc]. Despite gaining a couple of outs on the river [5d] [Tc] [9d] [Qh] [9c] JJ@mess would need to wait until the next WCOOP tournament for a bracelet, earning $43,047.11 in fourth place.

If you take a look at RomeOpro's avatar it's from Raising for Effective Giving. Basically the site allows players to donate a percentage of their winnings to charity in a way that gets and uses the funds to the appointed charity in the most cost-effective way.

It sounds like RomeOpro wants to maximize giving after this tournament, nixing the first round of chop talks shortly after JJ@mess' demise.

A few minutes before the fourth hourly break, Leonard would knockoff the short stack to set up a fairly short heads-up battle. With the blinds up to 70K/140K ante 17.5K Manni1822 would shove all-in for 781,517 chips as both Romanovskyi and Leonard jumped into the fray. After the [4s][7c][Td] flop and a bet from Leonard, Manni1822 would flip up top pair with a decent kicker [Ts][Kd]. However, pads1161 showed pocket aces [Ad][As]. After the third ace [Ac] hit the turn Manni1822 would collect $61,860.29 in third place.

Romanovskyi really wants that six figure score and let Patrick "pads1161" Leonard know it after Manni1822 left the table and temporarily pushing away an attempt to chop up the remaining prize pool.

However, after just five hands of heads-up play the two would play the determining hand for the bracelet.

With Leonard holding a 8.2 million to 6.1 million chip lead, he would raise to 302K as Romanovskyi called to see a [3c][4s][Tc] flop. Romanovskyi checked as Leonard fired for 2.2 million and Romanovskyi called again. The [3s] paired the board but caught no one's interest as both checked. Romanovskyi would check the [2d] river as Leonard bet enough to leave Romanovskyi with one chip.

He would make the call, and owned one chip as Leonard showed the turned boat [4d][3d] and Roman mucked.

The literal "chip and a (virtual) chair" story only lasted one hand as Patrick "pads1161" Leonard took down the next hand to win $108,415.51 and WCOOP 2015 Event #17!

Event #17: $700 NLHE 6-Max, 3-Stack
Entrants: 959
Prize pool: $637,735.00
Places paid: 120

1. Patrick "pads1161" Leonard $108,415.51
2. Roman "RomeOpro" Romanovskyi $81,311.21
3. Manni1822 (Germany) $61,860.29
4. JJ@mess (Czech Republic) $43,047.11
5. HKN291209 (United Kingdom) $30,292.41
6. OMGACEACEACE (Poland) $19,132.05

Ready to own your WCOOP bracelet? Click here to get your account started

This afternoon, in dirty basements* from Vancouver to Croatia, over 27,000 poker fans watched live as Jason Somerville played the final table of a Stud Hi/Lo tournament. For the moment, let's set aside the fact that it was, by Somerville's own admission, the third stud tournament he had ever played. Let's forget that the third stud tournament he ever played was a $1k buy-in WCOOP, where the competition is some of the finest you'll be pressed to find. And let's forget that his result was the largest cash he's ever made in a non-hold'em MTT.

27,000 people were watching a Stud Hi/Lo tournament broadcast live, in real time, over the internet. Not no-limit hold'em. Stud Hi/Lo. Somerville may not have broken the Twitch record he set Monday night, when he final tabled Event #7, but... ARE YOU SERIOUS, 27,000 PEOPLE WERE WATCHING THIS GUY PLAY STUD HI/LO! And they were loving every minute of it.

The Twitch experience brings a final table sweat to a whole new level. With more than 800 hours of live streaming behind him, Somerville is a seasoned pro in the medium, mixing expert hand breakdowns with affable, stream-of-consciousness commentary. His chat-box fans respond with enthusiastic communication-by-emoji, hurling virtual cartoon pork chops his way when he splits a pot and showering their hero with bell icons as he (DING!) rakes in some chips. It may not have the decibel level of an Andre Akkari heads-up match at the WSOP, but it's still a party.

Event #18 kicked off at 2pm EDT on Friday afternoon and played 18 levels before wrapping for the day. Of the 185 entrants, 27 survived and three more would need to bust before the money bubble burst at 24. Among those advancing to Day 2 were Somerville (108,825), Team PokerStars Pro and champion of too many poker things to count Jason Mercier (141,357), three-time SCOOP champion Woody "plplaya" Deck (63,533), 2012 WCOOP Player of the Series and three-time bracelet winner Mikal "mikal12345" Blomlie (47,296), and confirmed Klingon Matt "plattsburgh" Vengrin (16,986).

End of Day 1 Top 5 in chips

Gerald "viking47 Ringe (United Kingdom) 155,344
Orjan "Aftret" Skommo (Norway) 145,984
JasonMercier (Canada) 141,357
Maicoshaa (Russia) 125,074
Jens "Fresh_oO_D" Lakemeier (Germany) 120,866

Action resumed Saturday afternoon, 24 hours after it began. Forty-five minutes into Day 2, the money bubble burst when vantala150's threes and deuces fell to Harleyy30040's trip aces. Vantala150 went home empty-handed in 25th place and the remaining players were each guaranteed at least $2,312.50 for their efforts.

With 14 players remaining, Somerville and Mercier landed on the same table and tangled in a hand Somerville took down on fifth street to put his stack back over the 100,000 mark. Now that they were similiarly stacked, Mercier had a proposal.

JasonMercier: friendly last longer?
JasonMercier: im playing every hand seet
JasonMercier: maybe decide after the hand?
jcarverpoker: yea maybe...
JasonMercier: take it
JasonMercier: streaming brah?
jcarverpoker: all day erry day
hhecklen: isnt that like asking if satan likes the heat?

In fact, Somerville is currently on his 28th consecutive day streaming, averaging about nine hours of play each day.

Overnight chip leader Gerald "viking47" Ringe busted in 11th place and moments later, the tournament went hand-for-hand on the final table bubble. With the betting limits up to 8,000/16,000/1,600, Mercier brought it in with the [6h] up and 55,000 in chips behind. Raconteur completed to 8,000 with the [Qc] and Mercier called. Raconteur made the high board on fourth street and led out. Mercier called. However, Mercier made an open pair of nines on fifth street and fired 16,000. Raconteur raised and Mercier called all-in.

JasonMercier ([2s][3d]) [6h][9s][9c][8s] ([Ts])
raconteur ([4c][7h]) [Qc][5d][6c][3h] ([Td])

When the money went in, Mercier had a pair of nines and three to a low, while raconteur held four to a seven-low and an open-ended straight draw. Raconteur hit the [3h] on sixth street to make a seven-high straight and scooped the pot, ending Mercier's run at another WCOOP title on the final table bubble.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: dimas78 (91,798 in chips)
Seat 2: raconteur (348,876 in chips)
Seat 3: mikal12345 (70,566 in chips)
Seat 4: TIETYMM (630,915 in chips)
Seat 5: jcarverpoker (170,877 in chips)
Seat 6: Chillolini (270,807 in chips)
Seat 7: Aftret (78,213 in chips)
Seat 8: raidalot (187,948 in chips)

Somerville arrived at the final table fifth in chips, but soon fell on the short stack. In a battle with Chillolini, Somerville's pair of fives was ahead on sixth street, but Chillolini rivered a pair of nines and left Somerville on 66,000 in chips. Then, with the limits up to 10,000/20,000/2,000, mikal12345 lost two-thirds of his stack to Chillolini in a similar fashion. Mikal12345's low draw did not materialize and he finished with the pair of sixes he made on fifth street, only to have Chillolini hit running nines on sixth and seventh. A few hands later, mikal12345 put the rest of his chips in on fifth street against both raconteur and dimas78.

mikal12345 ([3d][5c]) [2c][Jc][9h][7s] ([Kh])
dimas78 ([As][2d]) [6d][8s][5d][Qh] ([Qc])
raconteur ([Ah][5s]) [8h][9c][4d][5h] ([6s])

Dimas78 scooped the pot with a pair of queens and an 8-6-5-2-A low, edging out raconteur's pair of fives and 8-6-5-4-A low. For eighth place, mikal12345 picked up $5,087.50.

Somerville picked himself back up, winning three small pots to increase his stack to 115,000. However, chip leader TIETYMM crippled dimas78 when he made quad sixes, leaving him on only 37,000. The limits increased to 12,000/24,000/2,400 and dimas78 committed the last of his chips on fourth street against Chillolini and raidalot. Raidalot led out on fifth street for 24,000 and Chillolini gave up his hand.

dimas78 ([9h][9s]) [As][Jh][3c][7h] ([8s])
raidalot ([Qc][Qh]) [Ac][6d][6c][Jc] ([7d])
Chillolini (X-X) [6h][2c][Js]

Although dimas78 turned over buried nines, raidalot had buried queens and made queens and sixes on fifth street. Dimas78 did not improve and hit the rail in seventh place.

Raidalot ground it out for the rest of the level, but had fallen back to 100,000 in chips when he completed to 12,000 with the [Ah]. Raconteur called with the [6h]. Raidalot led again on fourth street when he picked up a king, ranconteur raised, and the war continued until the betting was capped. Raidalot put the rest of his chips in on fifth street and turned over a pair of kings, but they were behind the pair of aces raconteur made on fourth street.

raidalot ([Kd][6d]) [Ah][Kh][8c][9c] ([2d])
raconteur ([2c][As]) [6h][Ac][Jd][Ks] ([4d])

Raidalot did not improve any further and went out in sixth place, good for $8,325.00.

As play turned five-handed, Somerville shared with his viewers that this was officially his best-ever finish in a WCOOP event as well as his first-ever five-figure score in a non-NLHE tournament. Not bad for a guy playing his third-ever stud tournament with only card sense and a 20-minute lesson from his friend and fellow pro Eric Wasserson to go on.

Somerville's stack rose and fell, vacillating between a 209,000 high and a 50,000 low over the course of the next level. Meanwhile, chip leader TIETYMM topped 1 million in chips before Chillolini hit a rush and took a 346,000 pot off his hands with a pair of fives and a 7-6 low to move into the top spot with 790,000. TIETYMM fell to 564,000 and over the next 15 hands, tumbled to 159,000. With the betting limits up to 20,000/40,000/4,000, TIETYMM completed to 20,000 with the [8h], Aftret made it 40,000 with the [5s] and the raising continued until the betting was capped at 80,000 apiece. TIETYMM's last 4,659 went in on fourth street and Aftret called.

TIETYMM ([Ad][8s]) [8h][7d][5c][Qd] ([Jc])
Aftret ([Ah][4h]) [5s][8c][9c][Kd] ([9h])

TIETYMM picked up a low draw on fifth street to go with his pair of eights, but never improved. Aftret rivered a pair of nines and the onetime monster chip leader was suddenly on the rail in fifth place.

Aftret and Chillolini were now on top while Somerville was still fighting on the short stack. Down to only 50,808, Somerville scored a clutch double-up after getting the rest of his chips in on third street against raconteur. Raconteur made a pair of eights on fourth street, but Somerville rivered a pair of kings and doubled to 111,616. Somerville's rush continued two hands later when he doubled again vs. raconteur, rivering queens and fives to snap off the pair of aces raconteur made on fifth. Somerville was up to 263,000 while raconteur was the new short stack with 126,000.

Level 28 (30,000/60,000/6,000) saw Aftret fall from 711,000 to 224,000 while Somerville thrived, chipping up to a 511,000 peak. Down to 126,000, Aftret bet the rest of his chips on fourth street and Chillolini called.

Aftret ([3h][3s]) [Ah][Ts][7c][5d] ([7d])
Chillolini ([Qh][Qd]) [5s][As][9d][8s] ([8c])

Although Aftret rivered sevens and threes, they were no match for Chillolini's queens and eights and Aftret ended his run in fourth place.

When three-handed play commenced, Chillolini was the chip leader with 892,500, raconteur was second with 638,500 and Somerville was the short stack with 319,000.

Raconteur seized the chip lead when he scooped a big one off Somerville. Showing a board of [Kd][Ts][8h][5s], Somerville check-called 60,000 on sixth street and checked the river. Raconteur checked back and turned over buried sevens, which were good enough to scoop, both players having missed their low draws. Somerville fell to 136,000 in chips while raconteur moved up to 875,000.

A few minutes later, Somerville brought it in for a raise to 30,000, Chillolini raised and Somerville called. Somerville called Chillolini's fourth street bet and called-all-in on fifth.

jcarverpoker ([Ad][Qs]) [3h][7c][8c][7d] ([Ts])
Chillolini ([8h][Qh]) [Qd][2c][8s][5d] ([Qc])

Somerville's low draw failed to come in and he finished with a pair of sevens for high, while Chillolini's buried queens improved to queens full of eights on the river. No low hand qualified and Chillolini scooped the pot, eliminating Somerville in third place ($22,200).

Somerville, of course, took it all in stride. "We can't be too sad about it," he said as congrats rolled in on the Twitch chat box. "If you told me three days ago I would win 20k playing stud, I would have said 'What are you smoking over there? And why aren't you sharing it?'"

Somerville also picked up another 70 points in the 2015 WCOOP Player of the Series race and currently sits fourth on the leaderboard.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 2: raconteur (1,004,518 in chips)
Seat 6: Chillolini (845,482 in chips)

Chillolini started heads-up play at a slight disadvantage and wasted no time turning that around. He took a straight draw and a low draw to the river against raconteur's open pair of threes and rivered a pair of aces to take down a 432,000 pot and move into the lead with 1 million. Then, with the limits up to 40,000/80,000, Chillolini reraised on third and fired out on every subsequent street. Raconteur called him down.

Chillolini ([As][7d]) [8s][Ad][Kc][Th] ([Td])
raconteur (X-X) [Jc][2s][7h][3c] (X)

Chillolini turned over aces up and raconteur mucked. Chillolini moved up to 1.5 million while raconteur fell to 342,000.

Moments later, raconteur raised on third street and Chillolini called. Chillolini looked up his fourth, fifth, and sixth street bets before both players checked the river. The split fives raconteur started with on third street never improved while Chillolini rivered threes and deuces, leaving his opponent on only 134,000.

Raconteur, however, wasn't finished. In a flurry of action, he chipped back up to 542,000, then won a 656,000 pot without a showdown to top 870,000 in chips. Chillolini pulled out all the stops and quickly struck back, winning three pots in a row to push raconteur back to 334,000 in chips.

The betting limits were 40,000/80,000 when Chillolini brought it in with the [5s] and raconteur raised with the [As]. Chillolini called. Raconteur picked up another low card and led fourth street. Again, Chillolini called. Fifth street gave Chillolini a [5s][3c][6c] board while raconteur hit a "banana" with the [Jc]. Raconteur check-called Chillolini's 80,000 bet. On sixth street, raconteur check-raised all-in and Chillolini called.

raconteur ([2d][8d]) [As][4h][Jc][6h] ([7h])
Chillolini ([5h][7d]) [5s][3c][6c][Ad] ([2c])

Raconteur had ace high and a 8-6-4-2-A low when the money went in on sixth street while Chillolini held a pair of fives for high and a 7-6-5-3-A low. Although raconteur's low improved to 7-6-4-2-A on the river, Chillolini made a 6-5-3-2-A and locked up his first WCOOP bracelet.

Congratulations to Norway's Andre "Chillolini" Messmer on joining the ranks of WCOOP champions! He banked $40,237.50 for the win, while runner-up raconteur not only improved upon his third-place finish in Event #8, but earned another $28,675.00.

We have two more weeks of WCOOP action ahead! Check out the WCOOP homepage for more information and a complete schedule of events. And if you're ready to try your mettle against our resident Twitch star Jason Somerville, click here to sign up for a PokerStars account.

*= Devotees of jcarverpoker Twitch streams do their viewing from their "dirty basements." Somerville broadcasts from his.

Event #18: $1,050 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo Championship
Entrants:185
Prize pool: $185,000
Places paid: 24

1. Andre "Chillolini" Messmer (Norway) $40,237.50
2. raconteur (United Kingdom) $28,675.00
3. Team PokerStars Pro Jason "jcarverpoker" Somerville (Canada) $22,200.00
4. Orjan "Aftret" Skommo (Norway) $15,725
5. TIETYMM (Germany) $10,175.00
6. Talai "raidalot" Shakerchi (United Kingdom) $8,325.00
7. dimas78 (Russia) $6,475.00
8. Mikal "mikal12345" Blomlie (Norway) $5,087.50

Pac-Man, Frogger, and Q-Bert all used to cost a player quarter to challenge wandering ghosts, snapping alligators, and coiled purple snakes all for the glory of posting high score initials for everyone to see. Video games have come a long way since the dusty arcades with multi-million dollar League of Legends teams, college scholarships, and even selling online characters for profit. The WCOOP 2015 Event #20 NLHE (with optional re-entry) was similar to those big blocks of 8-bit goodness. Only the fee to play was $109.00 and if you needed an extra life (or five) those would cost the same amount all for the glory of putting a name on the leader board (and a little cash and jewelry).

Sorry, the Contra up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-start code for 30 extra lives (re-entries) was not available.

SQUA99, 10111420, and mr.valerius would chop the remaining funds. While 10111420 would take away the most money, SQUA99 surged just at the right time to win $85,205.12, Event #20, and get the name at the top of the high score list for everyone to see.

Read on for the story of SQUA99's come from behind win.

The try-try-try-try-try again award goes to afgan73, Ashwatthama, Calvin "cal42688" Anderson, dariepoker, Davydenko123, and Goods0077 (among others) who all managed to cash on a fifth bullet (but sadly not enough for a positive ROI).

As for people with a decent ROI in the WCOOP 2015 series, Rui "RuiNF" Ferreira holds the current WCOOP Player of the Series lead thanks to a win in Event #14 and a final table in Event #19 (finishing ninth). Ferreira would snag a couple of points, adding to his lead in this one after finishing just inside the 990 money spots in 861st place.

Second place Dzmitry 'Colisea' Urbanovich, who finished third in Event #12, and third place in the Player of the Series race Matt "Plattsburgh" Vengrin (who won Event #6) both fired three bullets at this tournament going away empty.

A lone Red Spade would make it through the dust of day one's 7,140 eliminations. Team PokerStars Pro Fatima DeMelo was one of the 128 skillful players to return for day two of Event #20's $109 NLHE with five optional re-entries but would start with a short stack in the quest for a WCOOP bracelet and $110,550.06 up top. The time back was short-lived as DeMelo quietly took away $559.63 in 122nd place for her troubles.

No one with five re-entries made it to the second day. Instigator85 scratched out a small win with four re-entries earning $603.24 in 110th place. Oxota (98th place, $719.53) and BundAA (69th place, $1,046.59) would enjoy a mild refund on their three re-entries. Only Csikken would take a fourth buy-in to the final two tables. Csikken made the final table of this event last year when no re-entries were allowed.

Unfortunately, csikken would pick the wrong time for a shortstack shove, shipping [Kc][8c] with DiegoCheblii holding [Kd][Ac]. No luck on the [4c] [Qs] [Td] [Jd] [8h] board as DieboCheblii's straight sent csikken home with $3,052.56 in 15th place.

Around the same time csikken was heading for the rail mr.valerius started running up a chip leading stack. The first player to ten million chips, mr.valerius would have over twice as many chips as second place 10111420 at the fifth hourly break of day two. The numerically named 10111420 already has a SCOOP watch from the 2015 Event #20-M and will be looking to add a leg towards the Triple COOP.

While mr.valerius racked up tournament funds on Table 106, R32-I would be all-in with a shortstack on the final table bubble against Raaadzio91 on the adjacent table. A flip potentially worth $100K as R32-I showed [7c][Ac] against the pocket treys [3c][3s] of Raaadzio91. Good news: R32-I turned two pair. Bad news: Raaadzio91 flopped a set [7h] [3h] [Td] [Ad] [Qd] as R32-I was told to leave, starting up the final table below:

Seat 1: Raaadzio91 (1507240 in chips)
Seat 2: 10111420 (4459590 in chips)
Seat 3: SQUA99 (3874064 in chips)
Seat 4: @TrashBlade@ (2589641 in chips)
Seat 5: live@pompeii (3363322 in chips)
Seat 6: DiegoCheblii (4456204 in chips)
Seat 7: AA Full Mike (2312445 in chips)
Seat 8: mr.valerius (12785157 in chips)
Seat 9: guimoura (992337 in chips)

Two out of three ain't bad as the lyrics go. Well, it ain't good for guimoura and @TrashBlade@. On the first hand of the final table with the blinds up to 50K/100K ante 12.5K with guimoura holding under a million chips, the shortstack would shove over a min-raise by AA Full Mike. Around the table back to AA Full Mike holding [Ah][Jd] and willing to make the call. Guimoura, who made a TCOOP final table earlier this year (collecting $21K in Event #45 after chopping fourth place), needed pocket eights [8d][8c] to run clean.

They did not as an ace on the turn and an ace on the river [3s] [Ks] [2h] [As] [Ad] finished guimoura's Event #20's run in ninth place ($5,632.70).

Two hands later chip leading mr.valerius would raise to 215K as @TrashBlade@ wasted no time to shove for 2.3 million. Holding over 12 million chips behind, mr.valerius was happy to gamble with [Ac][Qc] facing another shortstack with pocket eights [8s][8d]. And once again the eights would not make it home as the queen on the flop [3s] [3d] [Qs] [5c] [Jd] sent @TrashBlade@ to the curb in eighth place ($8,721.60).

Near the sixth hourly break shortstacked Raaadzio91, who already has a WCOOP bracelet from 2012's Event #4, would try to double up by open shoving [7h][9h] from the cutoff. SQUA99 showed no mercy from the small blind by re-shoving [Ah][Ts]. Despite picking up a few outs on the turn [6d] [Jd] [2c] [5d] [3d] the high-card ace shipped $15,989.60 to Raaadzio91 in seventh place.

Half way through the sixth hour with the blinds up to 80K/160K ante 20K DiegoCheblii, who had plenty of "VAMOOOOOOOOOOOOSS" cheers at the final two tables, would min-raise from middle position as AA Full Mike nearly pushed all-in for 2.72 million. DiegoCheblii was not going away with a similar chip stack and shoved all-in for 2.97 million holding pocket jacks [Js][Jc]. AA Full Mike heard the ghost of Teddy KGB knowing [Qc][Ts] was not ahead but had to call off the remaining 176K. Despite pairing the river [Kh] [Ks] [7c] [8s] [Td] AA Full Mike could not topple the jacks leaving in sixth place ($23,257.60).

Surprisingly this spurred the massive chip leader mr. valerius to start chop negotiations as Team PokerStars Online Pro Tyler "frosty012" Frost got to work to present ICM and chip chop numbers. It would be all for naught as nearly everyone chanted "MORE MORE MORE". Thus the cards went back in the air with the six-figures intact up top.

Nearly three hours after mr.valerius reached eight digits in chips, someone else would join that lofty height. Ten minutes after the nixed deal with the blinds up to 100K/200K ante 25K 10111420 would min-raise from the button as live@pompeii blew up with a shove for 4.6 million. Holding pocket jacks [Jh][Jd] 10111420 made the call, dominating the [Jc][Ad] of live@pompeii. No ace bailout on the [Qc] [4h] [8d] [5h] [9d] board would give $30,525.60 to live@pompeii to play another day in fifth place.

Bluffing the whole way, mr.valerius would cripple DiegoCheblii after taking down a 5.1 million chip pot after value betting a rivered straight. Two hands later, DiegoCheblii would call a min-raise by mr.valerius out of the big blind to see a [2c][6s][8h] flop. DiegoCheblii checked as the chip leader bet a million chips which was enough to put DiegoCheblii all-in. Flopping top pair with [8s][4s] was fortuitous as DiegoCheblii made the call. But, mr.valerius' [6h][Kh] would find another [6c] on the turn, and safely get through the river [2s] knocking out DiegoCheblii in fourth place ($39,974.00).

10111420 breached the silence asking mr.valerius (now owning a 24 million to 11.4 million chip lead over 10111420 and SQUA99) for chop considerations again. The chip leader requested $110K or locking up first place cash (hopefully with some invisible internet sarcasm) as the other two players politely declined to re-start the tournament.

Twenty minutes before the seventh hourly break 10111420 would finally dent mr.valerius castle of chips. After a flop of [2s][9h][3h] 10111420 shoved 6.7 million chips as mr.valerius made the call with top pair [9d][Td]. 10111420's pair and the nut flush draw [Ah][2h] would get there on the turn and river the unnecessary flush [2s] [9h] [3h] [Ad] [Kh] to drag 16 million chip pot and the lead.

Immediate calls for chop talk ended with a quick "I agree" from all three players to the amounts below (leaving $10K and the bracelet for the winner):

10111420: $85,368.81
mr.valerius: $79,885.13
SQUA99: $75,205.12

After the chop everything flipped in reverse.

Six minutes into the eighth hour of day two with the blinds up to 150K/300K ante 37.5K and a flattening of the stack sizes mr.valerius, now holding the shortest stack at 11.64 million, would min-raise from the button. SQUA99 holding 11.66 million three-bet to 2.02 million as mr.valerius shoved with [As][7d]. SQUA99 found a call with pocket sevens [7h][7s] and safely knocked-out the previous chip bully after the ace-less [Qc] [6d] [Ks] [Qh] [3c] board sent $79,885.15 to mr.valerius in third place.

A second COOP win for 10111420? Or would SQUA99's late push net a bracelet?

The answer arrived just six hands into heads-up play.

Owning a 23.2 million to 13.1 million chip lead, SQUA99 min-raised as 10111420 three-bet to two million. In no mood for a long, drawn out battle SQUA99 shoved all-in holding [Ks][Qd] as 10111420 called and turned over [Ac][Jd]. The jack on the flop did not mean much, but the queen on the river [7c] [Jh] [7s] [7h] [Qh] did as SQUA99 took away the extra cash from the chop earning a total of $85,205.12 and the WCOOP 2015 Event #20 bracelet!

WCOOP 2015 Event #20: $109 NLHE (Optional Re-Entry)
Entrants: 7,268
Prize pool: $726,800
Places paid: 990

1. SQUA99 (Romania) $85,205.12*
2. 10111420 (United Kingdom) $85,368.81*
3. mr.valerius (Russia) $79,885.13*
4. DiegoCheblii (Brazil) $39,974.00
5. live@pompeii [two re-entries used] (Mexico) $30,525.60
6. AA Full Mike (Netherlands) $23,257.60
7. Raaadzio91 (Poland) $15,989.60
8. @TrashBlade@ (Brazil) $8,721.60
9. guimoura (Brazil) $5,632.70

* = denotes a three-way deal

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They weren't the biggest stacks to start this final table, but from the jump, this was a battle between Nomarbles1 and fixfixfix. The former captured his first SCOOP title and over $100k this past spring and was looking to make it a double 'COOP today, while fixfixfix hoped to take down his first major MTT win. These rivals exchanged blows throughout the final table, knocking out three players apiece en route to heads-up play, where Nomarbles1 started with a 4.2 to 1 chip lead. Although they paused momentarily to discuss an ICM deal, one Nomarbles1 was amenable to despite his significant lead, fixfixfix turned it down and went for the whole enchilada. His gutsy move paid off and all told, he took down a $121k score along with his first WCOOP bracelet.

Event #21's $530 buy-in, Progressive Super-Knockout format drew 2,394 runners. They created a $1,197,000.00 total prize pool, split evenly in half between the regular prize pool and the bounty pool. The top 306 spots were paid with $95,760.72 set aside for first place.

Day 1 concluded after 28 levels and 41 players moved on to Day 2. Here's a look at the top stacks at the end of Day 1.

End of Day 1 Top 5 stacks

pistecaloze (Netherlands) 1,369,775
fixfixfix (Switzerland) 725,703
GX91 (Malta) 636,398
Hero239 (Russia) 618,936
FONBET_RULIT (Russia) 531,493

Action resumed Sunday at 2pm EDT and it took another three hours to whittle the field to ten players. With the blinds up to 17,500/35,000, rasmusericso, the second-shortest stack, three-bet shoved for 632,489 on the button and initial raiser firas71 called. Rasmusericso's pocket jacks were in a race against firas71's [As][Qh], and survived the [Ks][Kd][Ts] flop, but the [Ac] turned to give firas71 aces up and send rasmusericso to the rail on the final table bubble.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: Nomarbles1 (1,786,181 in chips)
Seat 2: FONBET_RULIT (343,683 in chips)
Seat 3: AntagSS (1,447,087 in chips)
Seat 4: GaryT20 (1,749,367 in chips)
Seat 5: fixfixfix (939,973 in chips)
Seat 6: 4erepashka (936,668 in chips)
Seat 7: lov10k (1,070,289 in chips)
Seat 8: NhFy (702,812 in chips)
Seat 9: firas71 (2,993,940 in chips)

Less than five minutes had ticked away at the final table when short stack FONBET_RULIT open-shoved for 497,000 from UTG and fixfixfix reshoved for 769,000 behind him. Although FONBET_RULIT turned over a strong hand with [Ts][Tc], he ran them right into fixfixfix's [Qc][Qs]. FONBET_RULIT did not improve and ended his run in ninth place. Fixfixfix picked up FONBET_RULIT'S $2,571.29 bounty and added the same dollar amount to his own bounty, now totaling $8,790.00.

Four hands later, fixfixfix continued his rush, doubling through GaryT20. All the money went in on the turn, with the board reading [Jc][9h][7h][3s]. Fixfixfix turned over [9s][9d] for a set of nines, crushing GaryT20's [Qc][Jh]. The river was the [Kd] and fixfixfix topped 3 million in chips, leaving GaryT20 on only 155,000. Although GaryT20 managed to double up, fixfixfix finished him off a few hands later when this [8h][Th] flopped two pair against GaryT20's [Kh][Jd].

Nomarbles1 put himself in position to challenge fixfixfix's chip lead when he doubled through big-stacked firas71. After five-betting preflop, Nomarbles1 moved in on a [Jh][9d][6d] flop with [Ah][Ac] and firas71 called with pocket fours. No two-outer for firas71 and Nomarbles1 moved up to 2.7 million. Shortly thereafter, lov10k four-bet shoved for 912,800 preflop and Nomarbles1 called. It was a classic cooler, as lov10k ran his [Qd][Qh] into Nomarbles1's [Kc][Kh]. The board didn't change anything and lov10k went out in seventh place while Nomarbles1 assumed the chip lead with 4.06 million.

The blinds rose to 25,000/50,000 and the cheekily-named NhFy was down to his last 297,000. He moved in from UTG+1 with [Ah][9c] and got a call from fixfixfix with [Jc][7d] in the big blind. Everything looked good for NhFy through the turn, but fixfixfix spiked a jack on the river to send him home in sixth place. With NhFy's elimination, fixfixfix's bounty increased to $12,973.08.

Six hands later, firas71 got a boost. Fixfixfix opened for 100,000, 4erepashka moved in for 753,000 and firas71 reshoved from the big blind for 956,000. Fixfixfix got out of the way. Again, big pairs ran into each other as 4erepashka revealed [Ts][Td] and firas71 turned up [Ks][Kh]. There were no miracles for 4erepashka on the [Qs][Js][3d][2s][Ad] board and he finished in fifth place, while firas71's bounty increased to a whopping $20,959.86.

Still the chip leader with over 4.8 million, Nomarbles1 put even more distance between himself and his opponents when he scored another KO in a multi-way pot. Fixfixfix led off the action with a raise to 100,000, Nomarbes1 flat-called from the small blind and AntagSS moved all-in for 527,000 from the big. Both fixfixfix and Nomarbles1 called. Action continued between fixfixfix and Nomarbles1 as the flop fell [Ts][4d][2d]. Nomarbles1 led out for 142,220 and fixfixfix called. The turn came the [4c] and Nomarbles1 fired another 242,201. Fixfixfix called. The river was the [6d] and Nomarbles1 checked to fixfixfix, who bet 1,050,000. Nomarbles1 looked him up and turned over [Ah][Th] for tens and fours. They were good against fixfixfix's [Ad][2c] for fours and deuces and Nomarbles1 raked in the 2.87 million pot. AntagSS mucked and hit the rail in fourth place.

As three-handed play commenced, Nomarbles1 was far out in front with 7.3 million, fixfixfix was second with 2.41 million and firas71 was close behind with 2.24 million. However, it was only three-handed for ten more hands before firas71 five-bet shoved preflop with [Ad][Qh] and Nomarbles1 called with [Ad][Qs]. Nomarbles1's queens held on the [9s][9c][4h][6c][6h] board and firas71 went out in third place.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 1: Nomarbles1 (9,583,482 in chips)
Seat 5: fixfixfix (2,386,518 in chips)

After one exchange of the blinds, Nomarbles1 and fixfixfix agreed to pause the action and discuss a potential deal. Nomarbles1 was not only looking for an ICM chop, but wanted to be guaranteed the bracelet as well. The ICM numbers were only $5,500 apart at this stage and despite sitting at a 4.2 to 1 chip defecit, fixfixfix decided not to accept the deal and elected to play on.

When action resumed, fixfixfix went to work and ground his stack up to 3.66 million before doubling up through Nomarbles1. All the money went in preflop, fixfixfix holding [Ah][Th] to Nomarbles1's [Kc][Jc]. Nomarbles1 flopped a jack, but a river ace saved fixfixfix's tournament life and boosted his stack to 7.33 million.

Fixfixfix was up to almost 9 million at the 40,000/80,000 level and picked up [Ad][8d]. He min-raised to 160,000 and Nomarbles1 moved in for 2.96 million from the big blind. Fixfixfix called, and was in a race against [5s][5d]. The flop fell [8c][6s][6c], giving fixfixfix the superior two pair, but Nomarbles1 struck gold when the [5c] turned, making him fives full of eights. However, as quickly as the poker gods giveth... they taketh away. In utterly brutal fashion, the [8s] landed on the river, making fixfixfix eights full of sixes. A stunned Nomarbles1 was denied his double 'COOP as fixfixfix walked away with his first WCOOP title.

Congratulations to Switzerland's fixfixfix on joining the ranks of WCOOP champions! He earned $95,760.72 for the win and kept his own $25,707.39 bounty for a total haul of $121,468.11. Kudos are also due to runner-up Nomarbles1, who earned a grand total of $97,288.63, including $25,463.63 in bounties.

There's still another two weeks of WCOOP action ahead! Check out the WCOOP homepage for all the information you need, including a full schedule of events.

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Event #21: $530 NLHE Progressive Super-Knockout
Entrants:2,394
Prize pool: $1,197,000
Places paid: 308

1. fixfixfix (Switzerland) $95,760.72 + $25,707.39 in bounties = $121,468.11
2. Nomarbles1 (Canada) $71,820.00 + $25,468.63 in bounties = $97,288.63
3. firas71 (Brazil) $52,129.35 + $20,959.86 in bounties = $73,089.21
4. AntagSS (Ukraine) $35,910.00 + $1,671.87 in bounties = $37,581.87
5. 4erepashka (Russia) $26,932.50 + $7,804.55 in bounties = $34,737.05
6. NhFy (Sweden) $20,947.50 + $4,020.49 in bounties = $24,967.99
7. lov10k (United Kingdom) $14,962.50 + $6,126.93 in bounties = $21,089.43
8. GaryT20 (Ireland) $10,174.50 + $4,345.69 in bounties = $14,520.19
9. FONBET_RULIT (Russia) $5,386.50 + $5,142.56 in bounties = $10,529.06