Gostisa Stuns Peters Heads-Up to Win WPT World Online Championships Main Event
Rok Gostisa overcame a heads-up deficit to defeat David Peters and win the 2021 WPT World Online Championships Main Event. He defeated a field of 1,179 players to win $959,493.
Having dominated large portions of the final table, Peters held a commanding lead three-handed after the eliminations of Philipp Hofbauer and Bruno Volkmann in quick succession. However, Gostisa would bust start-of-day chip leader Vlad Darie in third to remain in contention ahead of heads-up play.
Gostisa's courageous triple-barrel bluff saw him close the gap to Peters, and he would soon turn the tables, moving into a 2:1 chip lead of his own after a well-timed pot-sized bet.
He closed out proceedings in spectacular fashion, rivering a two outer after Peters flopped a set, with the American forced to settle for second place and $660,482.
WPT World Online Championships Final Table Result
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rok Gostisa | Slovenia | $959,493 |
| 2 | David Peters | Canada | $660,482 |
| 3 | Vlad Darie | Austria | $453,677 |
| 4 | Bruno Volkmann | Brazil | $296,185 |
| 5 | Philipp Hofbauer | Austria | $202,734 |
| 6 | Talal Shakerchi | United Kingdom | $156,421 |
| 7 | Manuel Fritz | Austria | $123,182 |
| 8 | Rodrigo Sirichuk | Brazil | $97,472 |
| 9 | Joao Simao | Brazil | $76,713 |
Final Table Recap
It was Vlad Darie who led the final nine players, but after eliminating partypoker Ambassador Joao Simao in ninth, and shoving on Rodrigo Sirichuk, it was David Peters who took over as the chip leader.
Peters would then eliminate Sirichuk to move above 100 million in chips. However, Darie then eliminated both Manuel Fritz and Talal Shakerchi in the same hand, flopping them both dead, to cut the deficit.
Philipp Hofbauer would double through Peters, but would run kings into the aces of the same opponent a short while later to bust.
Next it was Bruno Volkmann's turn to double, but again this proved to be the kiss of death as Peters sent him to the rail shortly afterwards. Peters had flopped trips, with Volkmann shoving with a gutshot straight draw. Despite completing his straight on the turn, the river paired the board, giving Peters a full house and eliminating the Brazilian.
Peters extended his lead three-handed, holding more than three times his opponents combined at one point, before Gostisa busted Darie to trim the gap. However, it was Peters who remained ahead by almost 2:1.
Heads-Up Play
The contest between the two of them began with a lively pot, with Gostisa bluffing with jack-high, betting flop and turn before shoving river. Peters held bottom pair - the best hand - but folded. This gave Gostisa momentum, moving into the chip lead after his pot-sized bet was called with both players holding two pair.
Gostisa was keen to press home his advantage, moving into a 2:1 chip lead of his own as Peters searched for a way back into the contest.
And he thought he'd found it, calling it off with top set against the overpair of Gostisa. However, the Slovenian rivered one of the last two tens in the deck to send Peters to the rail and add his name to the Mike Sexton Champions Cup.
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
