In Level 23 with blinds at 10,000/20,000/2,500, "DoubleDab22" raised to 62,200 from middle position and then called Mike "PeppSee" Long's 515,156 three-bet jam from the cutoff.
"DoubleDab22": 
Mike "PeppSee" Long: 
Long was ahead but the 
flop gave him a sweat as it gave "DoubleDab22" the nut flush draw.
Both the turn and river were red cards but the 
completed the board securing the double-up for Long.
One player off to a hot start in the 2021 MICOOP is 40-year-old Eric "Eze0302" Rayner III, who grew up in Brighton, went to Eastern Michigan, and currently resides in Plymouth with his wife Karina, son Éric IV, and a foster son his family is working to adopt. When not playing poker, Rayner helps run a small brokerage called Midtown Home Mortgage.
"I got invited to a home game that was a $1/$2 limit game on Tuesdays and a $1/$2 mixed game on Sundays. That’s where I learned Omaha 8, my favorite game," Rayner said when asked how he learned the game."I play more mixed games than anything but I play all of them. When going to Vegas, I stay at The Orleans for their mixed games and O8
Prior to the pandemic, Rayner would often play live at Doc's Sports Bar and Greek Town while also dabbling online. That includes now playing on PokerStars, usually $0.50/$1.00 NLH but also taking a seat anytime Omaha 8 has a table running.
Rayner got off to a hot start in the MICOOP finished 10th in a field of 883 entries in Event #1: $100 NLHE Kick Off, Nightly Star SE Event, good for $755. He also placed 34th in Event #3: $50 NLHE 8-Max for $175, and fourth in Event #13: $50 PLO8 8-Max for $975. Not too shabby as he had only played six tournaments up to that point in the series.
In addition, he's already won a satellite into Event #55: $300 NLHE [Main Event], $125K Gtd on March 7-8. Until then, he'll continue to grind when not at his day job or spending time with his family.
"I'll play the limit and mixed game events for sure," he said. "But [loan] rates have dropped so I've been writing loans the last few days."
Players are on a quick five-minute break.
In Level 22 with blinds at 8,000/16,000/2,000, action folded around to "raykbr1253" who moved all in for their last 6,836 and "wicked_smaaart" looked them up from the big blind.
"raykbr1253":
"wicked_smaaart": 
"raykbr1253" held the better hand but fell behind after the 
flop gave "wicked_smaaart" trip nines.
The 
turn was no help to "raykbr1253" as they needed to spike a king on the river to stay alive.
Unfortunately for "raykbr1253", the 
completed the board and ended their tournament on the money bubble.
Matthew "Luna_Nova21" Davis is a 31-year-old former director of mortgage banking for Quicken Loans and now an owner of his own Allstate Insurance Agency. Davis, who is single with no kids, resides in Washington, Michigan not far from Detroit.
"I started playing poker when I was 15 with friends from school," he said when asked how he learned the game. "There was about four of us who would play $5 sit n gos. I play mostly Texas hold ‘em, but I mix in PLO, 7-Card Stud, and five-card PLO from time to time. I play mainly tournaments but I do want to start playing more cash. I do really well in cash games but I love to hunt for titles."
He continued: "I used to play online before Black Friday. I’ve been playing on another site for the last few years but now play on PokerStars. I’ve mostly played tournaments. I typically will play the mid to higher-stakes games online."
In the live realm, Davis has more than $160K in lifetime earnings according to The Hendon Mob. That includes a career-high $98,120 for finishing 76th out of an 8,569-player field in the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He also finished 24th in the 2015 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond $1,675 Main Event for $13,437, 28th in the same tournament in 2019 for $8,065, and 21st in the 2014 Heartland Poker Tour Mount Pleasant $1,650 Main Event for $4,933.
Only time will tell if Davis' live success will translate to the online felt here in the 2021 MICOOP.
In Level 19 with blinds at 5,000/10,000/1,250, "str0ngside313" raised to 24,000 from early psoition and then called off their 133,322 stack after "wicked_smaaart" three-bet jammed for 355,768 from the small blind.
"str0ngside313":
"wicked_smaaart": 
"str0ngside313" was ahead with their made hand until an ace appeared in the window on the 
flop.
The 
was a bad card for "str0ngside313" as it took away one of their outs and the 
river ended their tournament.
Only 73 players remain in Level 18 (4,000/8,000/1,000) and "Mirana99" sits atop the chip counts with 861,923.
The remaining 75 players are on a five-minute break.
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