Nick Maimone Among Latest GGPoker WSOP Winter Circuit Champions

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Nick Maimone

Nick Maimone helped himself to more than $114,000 the week before Christmas when he won a pair of tournaments online at GGPoker. He continued his impressive form by taking down the $1,050 Naughty or Nice Bounty, part of the GGPoker WSOP Winter Circuit, for $157,755 and a shony, gold WSOP Circuit ring.

The $1,050 Naughty or Nice Bounty was the 12th ring-awarding event on the bustling WSOP Winter Circuit schedule. Some 1,399 players bought in and created a guarantee-busting prize pool worth $1,399,000. That chunky pot meant nobody at the final table took home less than $12,763 with bounties included.

Juan Vecino's time at the nine-handed final table was short-lived because he was the first grinder heading for the exits. The likes of "1_2_3" of Latvia, "CZG2009," "OpusAsu," and "ilvali" busted, leaving only four players in the hunt for the title and a six-figure hau.

The final four became three when Bryan Paris bowed out, then two when Finland's Andreas Nasman ran out of steam. Heads-up saw Maimone lock horns with "RojerBauRICH" and got the job done, defeating his final opponent. Victory came with $157,755, the title of champion, and a WSOP Circuit ring.

#12: $1,050 Naughty or Nice Bounty NLH Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryBountiesPrizeTotal Prize
1Nick MaimoneCanada$99,695$58,060$157,755
2RojerBauRICHKazahkstan$10,867$57,920$68,787
3Andreas NasmanFinland$22,003$43,804$65,807
4Bryan ParisAustria$3,156$33,089$36,245
5ilvaliAndorra$20,402$24,994$45,396
6OpusAsuRomania$6,148$18,880$25,028
7CZG2009China$4,093$14,262$18,355
81_2_3Latvia$11,554$10,773$22,327
9Juan VecinoEstonia$4,625$8,138$12,763

Montagnolli Pots His Way to a WSOP Circuit Ring

Daniel Montagnolli
Daniel Montagnolli

Before Maimone won his WSOP Winter Circuit title, 3,459 of the world's best Pot-Limit Omaha players bought into #10: $400 Holiday PLOSSUS, creating a $1,279,830 prize pool as a result. Only 322 of those starters made it though to the final day, and it was Daniel "Vanessa23" Montagnolli who was the last player standing when the dust settled.

Montagnolli overcame a tough final table that saw Leonid Yankovski, Bojan "22blok22CZ" Berberovic, and Dimitrios Michailidis take their seats but fail to go deeper than fourth place. The Austrian champion-elect eventually found himself heads-up against "SlimLady" of Cyprus in a battle for a huge final bounty payment, one worth more than first-place prize money! Montagnolli defeated SlimLady and walked away with a total haul worth $116,352. A very merry Christmas indeed.

#10: $400 Holiday PLOSSUS Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryBountiesPrizeTotal Prize
1Daniel "Vanessa23" MontagnolliAustria$68,750$47,602$116,352
2SlimLadyCyprus$18,680$47,477$66,157
3Happy-AYAAlbania$18,997$33,236$52,233
4Dimitrios MichailidisCyprus$10,762$23,243$34,005
5Bojan "22blok22CZ" BerberovicMontenegro$6,987$16,259$23,246
6Leonid YanovskiIsrael$23,716$11,379$35,095
7luckexpressAustria$2,278$7,969$10,247

Kulev Crowned Deepstack Champion

Alex Kulev
Alex Kulev

There are few poker tournament grinders that can match Alex "FutureofMe" Kulev's rise from the mid-stakes to the high-stakes world. The Ireland-based Bulgarian is a phenomenal talent and has been crushing the high stakes scene of late.

Kulevrecently won the GGPoker Super MILLION$ for a career-best $538,138. Now he has another $189,841 plus a WSOP Circuit ring, thanks to outlasting 946 opponents in the $1,500 Deepstack Championship NLH.

The final table of the $1,500 Deepstack Championship was a star-studded affair, as you would expect from such a high buy-in event. Anatoly Filatov, Maxim "Nesher_boy" Sheingart, and Matias "PrisonMike69" Arosuo were the first trio of stars heading for the exits. They were joined by Pulkit Goyal, Alexandros Theologis, Joel Nystedt, then Joshua McCully, the latter falling in third place and securing the event's first six-figure score.

Kulev fought it out with the United Kingdom's "LondonJon" in what was essentially a $47,500 heads-up sit & go! No deal was struck, so Kulev collcted $189,841 when he brushed his final opponent aside, resigning the runner-up to a $142,360 consolation prize.

#11: $1,500 Deepstack Championship NLH Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Alex "FutureofMe" KulevIreland$189,841
2LondonJonUnited Kingdom$142,360
3Joshua McCullyNew Zealand$106,755
4Joel NystedtAustria$80,055
5Alexandros TheologisAustria$60,032
6Pulkit GoyalIndia$45,018
7Matias "PrisonMike69" ArosuoFinland$33,758
8Maxim "Nesher_boy" SheingartIsrael$25,315
9Anatoly FilatovEstonia$18,984

"darklion" Roars to COLOSSUS Victory

The $400 Christmas COLOSSUS NLH concluded on boxing day with a heads-up deal that saw those two players pad their GGPoker bankrolls with more than $600,000! Some 9,442 players bought in across the various Day 1s, with 1,155 making it through to Day 2, each sharing the common goal of scooping some of the $3,550,192 prize pool.

Seasoned grinders Mauricio "Promoking" Ferreira Pais, Abhinav "OBellaCiao" Iyer, Ramon "lekdoidoo" Sorgatto, and Timothy Cramer reached the nine-handed final table but could not quite finish the job.

Eventually, "darklion" found themselves heads-up against "Grind4Libertad" and the heads-up duo struck a deal to less the huge pay jumps. That deal resulted in Grind4Libertad taking home $310,732 when they fell in second place, and darklion getting their hands, or should that be paws, on a $297,842 payday.

#13: $400 Christmas COLOSSUS NHL Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1darklionCanada$297,842*
2Grind4LibertadNetherlands$310,732*
3Main_UAFinland$195,554
4Timothy CramerCanada$146,652
5RhinOOsmYYTurkey$109,982
6chnsosMalaysia$82,482
7Ramon "lekdoidoo" SorgattoBrazil$61,861
8Abhinav "OBellaCiao" IyerIndia$46,397
9Mauricio "Promoking" Ferreira PaisUnited Kingdom$34,801

*reflects a heads-up deal

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