Artur "mararthur1" Martirosian Leads Final 10 Players in 2020 WCOOP-16-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, High Roller]
In just over seven hours of play, a field of 95 entries in WCOOP-16-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, High Roller] has been whittled down to the final 10 players, who have all locked up a portion of the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. The second five-figure prize pool of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker 2020 (WCOOP) narrowly missed out on meeting the guarantee and the usual suspects gave it a shot to earn one of online poker's most prestigious titles.
When all was done and dusted, a double knockout let the bubble burst and reduced the field to just 10 hopefuls instead of the scheduled 11 and Artur "mararthur1" Martirosian bagged up a comfortable lead. The Russian, who has stormed into the live and online poker High Roller scene with numerous big cashes, already min-cashed WCOOP-10-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, High Roller] and seems poised to add a first WCOOP title to his poker resume.
Martirosian claimed 6,255,647 to his name and $26,250 in accumulated bounty prizes tie second-placed Rodrigo "Seijistar" Seiji (4,100,954) who was responsible for the conclusion of the day. A late surge propelled Thomas "MarToMchat" Boivin to a stack of 2,563,690 with Brunno "botteonpoker" Botteon (2,424,456) and Ole "wizowizo" Schemion (2,391,932) close behind.
The remaining finalists include "Kurtkaare" (1,734,322), "LeslieGroves" (1,410,345), Joao "Naza114" Vieira (1,355,841), Adrian "Amadi_017" Mateos (901,808) and David "dpeters17" Peters (611,005). Peters is the only player without any accumulated bounty prizes thus far and will have 15 big blinds at his disposal.
The Final 10 Contenders in WCOOP-16-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, HR]
| Position | Player | Country | Bounty Prize So Far | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artur "mararthur1" Martirosian | Russia | $26,250 | 6,255,647 | 156 |
| 2 | Rodrigo "Seijistar" Seiji | Brazil | $26,250 | 4,100,954 | 103 |
| 3 | Thomas "MarToMchat" Boivin | Belgium | $5,000 | 2,563,690 | 64 |
| 4 | Brunno "botteonpoker" Botteon | Brazil | $21,250 | 2,424,456 | 61 |
| 5 | Ole "wizowizo" Schemion | Germany | $10,937.50 | 2,391,932 | 60 |
| 6 | "Kurtkaare" | Norway | $34,531.25 | 1,734,322 | 43 |
| 7 | "LeslieGroves" | Russia | $6,250 | 1,410,345 | 35 |
| 8 | Joao "Naza114" Vieira | Portugal | $10,625 | 1,355,841 | 34 |
| 9 | Adrian "Amadi_017" Mateos | Spain | $3,750 | 901,808 | 23 |
| 10 | David "dpeters17" Peters | United States | 611,005 | 15 |
Action of the Day
There was a steady stream of new entries, re-entries and eliminations throughout the entire registration period and no late rush which boosted the field all of a sudden. No more than seven tables ran at the same time and it took several levels to send the first High Roller to the rail.
Among the notable hands in the early stages was a double knockout for Brunno Botteon which left Stephen Chidwick very short, as well as a triple knockout for Norway's "Kurtkaare". Botteon continued his wild ride up and down the leaderboard and found the fortune when he became short while many other big names fell without anything to show for.
The rise of Martirosian started after the fourth break when he knocked out Niklas Astedt by minor kicker advantage. He then felted Samuel Vousden with aces versus flopped second pair as the field started to settle down. By then, Ole "wizowizo" Schemion had already fired three shells without success and then doubled three times on his fourth and final entry. Right after the end of the registration period, Martirosian knocked out Simon "simon1471" Higgins in a three-bet pot when the Brit turned trips treys only to run smack dab into kings full.
Matthias "iambest2" Eibinger also ran into the kings of Martirosian and could not find any help with pocket queens. Down to the final three tables, the biggest pot of the tournament to date played out between Martirosian and Mustapha "lasagnaaammm" Kanit when both were first and second in chips. Kanit eventually bluffed into aces full and was left with fumes, he was knocked out by none other than Martirosian a while later.
Dmitry "yurasov1990" Yurasov failed to make the money and had to settle for one $2,500 bounty prize while Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi collected $9,375 in bounty prizes throughout the maximum allowed four entries. WCOOP-10-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, High Roller] champion Ludovic "ludovi333" Geilich then cold-four-bet jammed a shorter stack out of the big blind with ace-king only to see Martirosian snap-call and turn over aces once more.
Ultimately, it was a double elimination that wrapped up the action for the night when Andras "probirs" Nemeth with ace-jack and Mike "SirWatts" Watson with queens came up short against the pocket kings of Rodrigo "seijistar" Seiji.
All remaining ten players will return to their seats after a good night's sleep at 1.05 p.m. EST with almost the entire level 19 to be played at blinds of 20,000/40,000 with a running ante of 5,000.
The final day of the tournament will be streamed on the PokerStars Twitch channel with cards-up coverage and commentary on a delay of at least 20 minutes. All PokerNews updates for the remainder of the event will be published according to the delay of the live stream. You can also check out the feature coverage and results of all further assorted WCOOP events right here!
, Nemeth only found one jack and was eliminated as the bubble boy whereas Watson became the first player to cash. He had not collected any bounty prize and took home the cash prize of $13,250. All remaining 10 players are now done for the night and return as of 1.05 p.m. EST.
, Geilich found no help and departed in 13th place.
and the 
river further improved Schemion to trips tens and Shakerchi was out in 14th place.
flop on which he then check-called all-in for 242,335 following a continuation bet of Seiji.
followed and that reduced the field to the final 14 contenders.
turn. Kanit fired a bet of 395,825 and check-called the shove of Kanit on the 
and Thomas "MarToMchat" Boivin called for less than that in the small blind with the 
board delivered no upset and Boivin called.
