Kickoff Events Deliver Massive Turnouts
The WCOOP Kickoff got things rolling in style last night, with low and medium buy-ins smashing their guarantees and delivering massive fields.
WCOOP 02-L: $5.50 NLHE [WCOOP Kickoff], $50K Gtd
Some 10,720 entries created a prize pool of $52,528. After a heads-up deal, Brazil’s "vinicius_sci" triumphed for $6,781, with the UK’s "viking3737" banking $5,201.
| Rank | Player | Country | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vinicius_sci | Brazil | $6,781* |
| 2 | viking3737 | UK | $5,201* |
| 3 | JimmyLane90 | Germany | $3,552 |
| 4 | Malertv | Latvia | $2,532 |
| 5 | Clinio84 | Brazil | $1,805 |
| 6 | bballcall | Austria | $1,287 |
| 7 | BGRNavarro | Brazil | $917 |
| 8 | Rafael "Rgreick" Silva | Brazil | $654 |
| 9 | Pedroljc | Brazil | $466 |
*heads-up deal
WCOOP 02-M: $55 NLHE [WCOOP Kickoff], $150K Gtd
Kurt “kurt23x” Fitzgerald secured the first WCOOP title of his career after besting 3,593 entrants for $22,510. Brazilian crusher and one-time WCOOP winner Patrick "Nelepo10" Ulysséa finished runner-up for $21,657.
| Rank | Player | Country | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurt “kurt23x” Fitzgerald | Costa Rica | $22,510 |
| 2 | Patrick "Nelepo10" Ulysséa | Brazil | $21,657 |
| 3 | Mago Foso | Brazil | $13,102 |
| 4 | tpb69645 | UK | $9,339 |
| 5 | Zuriklan | Mexico | $6,658 |
| 6 | koenn8 | Netherlands | $4,746 |
| 7 | GabeAndrey | Brazil | $3,383 |
| 8 | NorbertasP | Lithuania | $2,411 |
| 9 | Budasek2013 | Thailand | $1,719 |
WCOOP 02-H: $530 NLHE [WCOOP Kickoff], $150K Gtd
The $530 high-stakes Kickoff lived up to its billing as one of the marquee openers, attracting 398 entries to generate a $199,000 prize pool, well ahead of the $150K guarantee. The top 55 finishers were paid, with everyone still in now guaranteed at least $3,058 while the eventual champion will collect $36,210.
Only 11 players remain, and the final table bubble is stacked with big names. Andy "BowieEffect" Wilson leads the way with more than 9 million chips as he hunts down his third career WCOOP title. Not far behind him is Patrick "pads1161" Leonard, who could extend his legacy even further by capturing a 12th WCOOP crown.
Other contenders include Pavel "silentm0de" Plesuv, Daniel "SmilleThHero" Smiljkovic, and Rayan "Beriuzy" Chamas, with Brazil well represented through LRedwolf, chrisgoataui, and Kelvin Kerber.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy "BowieEffect" Wilson | UK | 9,169,411 |
| 2 | Pavel "silentm0de" Plesuv | Brazil | 5,203,321 |
| 3 | LRedwolf | Brazil | 5,149,544 |
| 4 | chrisgoataui | Mexico | 5,106,470 |
| 5 | Patrick "pads1161" Leonard | UK | 4,523,219 |
| 6 | elKKJitow | Brazil | 3,698,561 |
| 7 | CheckMahNuts | Sweden | 1,848,874 |
| 8 | Daniel "SmilleThHero" Smiljkovic | Canada | 1,512,336 |
| 9 | Rayan "Beriuzy" Chamas | Brazil | 1,487,206 |
| 10 | Kelvin "Kelvin_FP:AR" Kerber | Brazil | 1,186,400 |
| 11 | necgaidziai | Lithuania | 914,658 |