Event #70: $25,000 NLH POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, $10M GTD
Day 1 Completed
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Event #70: $25,000 NLH POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, $10M GTD
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events
Buy-in
$25,000
Prize Pool
$10,000,000
Entries
407
Level
42
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
60,000
Entries
407
Players Left
9
Koon Claims Final Table Chip Lead in Event #70: $25,000 NLH POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Level 36
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
The final table of Event #70: $25,000 NLH POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP has been set after a lengthy bubble with Jason Koon claiming the chip lead with 7,863,055 in chips. This prominent event offered players a gargantuan guarantee of $10,000,000 and attracted 407 entries by the end of the registration period.
Koon is no stranger to the high buy-in tournament fields with over $31 million in live cashes according to The Hendon Mob and a plethora of online tournament wins. Koon started climbing up to the top of the counts and got there when there were only ten tables left and never really looked back.
Koon is joined on the final table by many more familiar names and faces like Shankar "Saquon" Pillai, Christian Rudolph, Aram "Pusha T" Zobian, Chris Hunichen, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Aliaksei "BladeRunner1" Boika, Paulis "ChickenBBQ" Plausinaitis, and Brunno Botteon.
The Final Nine Players at a Glance
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Koon | United States | 7,863,055 | 39 |
| 2 | Shankar "Saquon" Pillai | United States | 6,875,234 | 34 |
| 3 | Christian Rudolph | Germany | 5,544,188 | 28 |
| 4 | Aram "Pusha T" Zobian | United States | 4,405,440 | 22 |
| 5 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 4,175,274 | 21 |
| 6 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Latvia | 3,883,951 | 19 |
| 7 | Aliaksei "BladeRunner1" Boika | Belarus | 3,297,276 | 16 |
| 8 | Paulius "ChickenBBQ" Plausinaitis | Lithuania | 2,905,555 | 15 |
| 9 | Brunno Botteon | Brazil | 1,750,027 | 9 |
From the Start to the Bubble
The tournament kicked off as expected but shortly after the start, some technical difficulties caused for all tournaments to pause their action with the cards to start flying again just after the first scheduled break of the day. By the time the registration period closed, there were 171 players left to battle it out for a spot in the top 55 as those spots would get paid at least $57,592.
It would take just over 2.5 hours before it was time for the bubble with 57 players left in the field. Dan Smith busted to Pillai when he called the shove of the latter with sixes. Pillai held ace-ten and found another ace on the flop to connect with. The bubble would end up lasting fifteen minutes as Michael Addamo three-bet shoved with ace-jack and was called by Ponakovs who held ace-king. The king-kicker came into play to burst the bubble.
Outbreak of Eliminations
After the bubble burst, the gust of eliminations started flying in. Within 50 minutes, 33 players busted with the bracelet winners like Davidi Kitai James Chen, Thai Ha, Kartik "Mandovi" Ved, David Peters, and Hun Wei Lee as some of the more notable names to leave the tournament.
Another 30 minutes later, the field had been reduced to the final two tables with Chris "nelanio" Ferguson, Jake Schindler, Stephen Chidwick, and Thomas Muehloecker all falling.
Battle for a Spot at the Final Table
Alexandru "Bot Marley" Papazian, Scott Seiver, Michel "CrossfireX" Dattani, Song "xuesong" Xue, "AntreVolt", and John "Hamburger!" Thrower all busted in quick succession to get the tournament down to the final table bubble.
That bubble ended up lasting forty minutes and even though Jack Salter doubled up once, in the end, his three-bet put him effectively all-in as he kept enough chips behind to pay one small blind. He made the call for the remainder with pocket eights, when Pillai put him at risk. Pillai held ace-jack and flopped top pair and even improved to trips on the river for a prettier picture.
When the players return on Saturday, August 29 at 6 p.m. UTC, they will battle it out for the top prize of $1,800,290 while they have already secured at least $154,416. They will resume play on Level 37 which features a small blind of 100,000, a big blind of 200,000, and a running ante of 25,000. The blinds will increase after every 30 hands.
This is what they are all still competing for:
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,800,290 |
| 2 | $1,332,097 |
| 3 | $979,138 |
| 4 | $719,700 |
| 5 | $529,005 |
| 6 | $388,837 |
| 7 | $285,808 |
| 8 | $210,079 |
| 9 | $154,416 |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back again for the final table action so make sure to come back to see who will take this tournament down and add the coveted WSOP bracelet to their collection in addition to the first-place prize that comes with it and the WSOP Europe package here on GGPoker.
Day 1 Final Chip Counts
Level 36
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,863,055 | |
|
||
|
6,875,234 | |
|
||
|
5,544,188
-325,000
|
-325,000 |
|
4,405,440
-313,750
|
-313,750 |
|
|
||
|
4,175,274
-205,000
|
-205,000 |
|
3,883,951 | |
|
|
||
|
3,297,276
448,750
|
448,750 |
|
2,905,555
395,000
|
395,000 |
|
1,750,027 | |
Jack Salter Eliminated in 10th Place ($126,773)
Level 36
: 80,000/160,000, 20,000 ante
Shankar "Saquon" Pillai raised to 320,000 from under the gun and Jack Salter three-bet to 1,762,548 from the cutoff, keeping 80,000 behind. The action folded back to Pillai who four-bet to put Salter all-in who tanked for a while and then called for the rest.
Jack Salter: 
Shankar "Saquon" Pillai: 
The board ran out 
for Pillai to flop top pair and improve to trips on the river to burst the final table bubble.
The nine remaining players will finish the final table next Saturday, August 29.
A recap is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,863,055
-340,000
|
-340,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
6,875,234
2,682,548
|
2,682,548 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,883,951 | |
|
|
||
|
|
1,750,027
-160,000
|
-160,000 |
|
Busted | |
Level: 36
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 20,000
Pillai Wins Without Showdown
Level 35
: 60,000/120,000, 15,000 ante
Shankar "Saquon" Pillai min-raised to 240,000 first to act and was called by Aleksejs Ponakovs in the big blind.
The duo checked through the 
flop and Ponakovs bet the 
turn for 202,950, which Pillai called.
On the river, Ponakovs checked and folded when facing a bet of 420,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,203,055
912,750
|
912,750 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,192,686
-490,800
|
-490,800 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,883,951
-1,125,450
|
-1,125,450 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,182,548
165,000
|
165,000 |
|
|
1,910,027
538,500
|
538,500 |
Rudolph Catches Hunichen Bluffing
Level 35
: 60,000/120,000, 15,000 ante
Christian Rudolph defended his big blind a cutoff min-raise by Chris Hunichen and they checked the 
flop.
Rudolpg bet the 
turn for 202,950 and Hunichen raised to 648,000, which resulted in a call by Rudolph.
On the 
river, Rudolph slowed down once more and Hunichen bet 1,224,000 into 1,911,000 to send his opponent into the think tank. As the remaining time bank dropped to one second, Rudolph called and was good with 
. Hunichen had bluffed with 
for the nut flush blocker and fell behind Rudolph in the overall leaderboard.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,869,188
1,167,000
|
1,167,000 |
|
|
4,719,190
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,380,274
-822,000
|
-822,000 |
|
|
2,848,526
-120,000
|
-120,000 |
|
|
2,510,555
-240,000
|
-240,000 |
Even More for Ponakovs
Level 35
: 60,000/120,000, 15,000 ante
Aleksejs Ponakovs raised to 240,000 from under the gun and was called by both Jason Koon and Brunno Botteon in the blinds.
The flop came , it was checked to Ponakovs who continued with a bet of 225,000 which only Koon check-called.
They both checked through the 
on the turn to the 
on the river. Koon bet 431,250 for Ponakovs to raise it up to 1,186,725 for Koon to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,290,305
-911,250
|
-911,250 |
|
|
||
|
|
5,009,401
1,196,250
|
1,196,250 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,683,486
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,017,548
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
|
|
1,371,527
-255,000
|
-255,000 |
Level: 35
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 15,000
Koon Folds to Ponakovs
Level 34
: 50,000/100,000, 12,500 ante
Aleksejs Ponakovs limped in from the cutoff and Jack Salter completed his small blind while Jason Koon opted to check his big blind.
The flop came 
, it was checked to Ponakovs who bet 119,625 which only Koon called.
The turn was the 
and Koon check-called the 376,750 continuation-bet of Ponakovs.
The river completed the board with the 
, Koon checked for the last time. Ponakovs bet 1,084,555 for Koon to take some time before opting to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,201,555
-421,375
|
-421,375 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,698,486
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,813,151
671,375
|
671,375 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,032,548
-237,500
|
-237,500 |
|
|
1,626,527
-37,500
|
-37,500 |