WCOOP-22-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, High Roller], $750K Gtd
Day 1 Completed
PokerStars WCOOP 2021
WCOOP-22-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, High Roller], $750K Gtd
Day: 1
Nemeth Near the Top; Dzivielevski, Leonard and Spragg Advance to the Money in WCOOP-22-H: $5,200 NLHE PKO
Level 20
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
The next high-stakes contest of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) 2021 is one step closer to crowning a champion. Out of a field of 160 entries in WCOOP-22-H: $5,000 NLHE PKO, only 20 players remain. They have all locked up a portion of the $800,000 prize pool and all but two finalists have also earned bounty prizes on their final entry.
"HITRII999" leads the pack with a stack of 4,784,840 after bursting the money bubble against fellow Russian player "Nes1989". Right behind on the leaderboard is Hungarian high-stakes crusher Andras "probirs" Nemeth with a stack of 4,284,408. Nemeth has numerous accolades on his online and live poker resume, which includes his maiden victory in WCOOP 37-H: $5,200 PLO during the 2020 edition.
Third in chips is the Pablo "pabritz" Brito Silva with 3,539,824. The 2020 SCOOP Main Event champion headlines an armada of Brazilians after Day 1 as no fewer than seven of them made the cut. This also includes Yuri "theNERDguy" Dzivielevski, who earned his fifth WCOOP title a few days ago and now sits in seventh place with a healthy stack of 2,030,103.
Other well-known online regulars such as Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker, Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph, Teun "tinnoemulder" Mulder, Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson, Konstantin "krakukra" Maslak, and Rafael "GM_Valter" Moraes can also be found in the overnight chip counts.
Top 10 Counts After Day 1 in 2021 WCOOP-22-H: $5,200 NLHE PKO
| Position | Player | Country | Bounty | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HITRII999 | Russia | $5,625 | 4,784,840 | 120 |
| 2 | Andras "probirs" Nemeth | Hungary | $13,438 | 4,284,408 | 107 |
| 3 | Pablo "pabritz" Brito Silva | Brazil | $1,250 | 3,539,824 | 88 |
| 4 | Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani | Brazil | $9,375 | 3,254,297 | 81 |
| 5 | Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker | Austria | $13,750 | 2,849,462 | 71 |
| 6 | Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph | Germany | $7,031 | 2,712,346 | 68 |
| 7 | Yuri "theNERDguy" Dzivielevski | Brazil | $4,375 | 2,030,103 | 51 |
| 8 | FishOnHeater | Hungary | $4,688 | 1,929,528 | 48 |
| 9 | Teun "tinnoemulder" Mulder | Netherlands | 1,715,772 | 43 | |
| 10 | Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson | Sweden | $4,688 | 1,700,789 | 43 |
Ben "Spraggy" Spragg was the only PokerStars ambassador to survive the day out of the five that entered the fray. The newly-married online poker streamer advanced with a stack of 1,044,059. He will be joined on the final day by fellow Brit Patrick "pads1161" Leonard, who has already claimed two WCOOP titles during the ongoing festival.
The Action of the Day
Five PokerStars ambassadors entered the event and some of them even shared the same table for an extended period.
Parker "tonkaaaa" Talbot and Lex "L. Veldhuis" Veldhuis were among the early chip leaders but couldn't keep the momentum going, as they had to settle for the accumulated PKO bounties. Sam "SamSquid" Grafton saw his kings cracked by the turned nut straight of online legend Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet in level three and his following two bullets were not crowned by success either.
Fintan "easywithaces" Hand spent some time among the big stacks but ultimately exited on a bad beat when his ace-jack suited ended up second-best to the ace-nine suited of Eder "edercampana" Campana. Once Talbot departed in 28th place, only Spragg was left to represent the red spade. Along the way, the Brit knocked out Damian "pampa27" Salas, who was one of many high-profile casualties throughout the day.
At the business end of the day, Andras "probirs" Nemeth dominated the action and secured one of the biggest stacks despite several setbacks. Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo fell two spots away from the money and the bubble burst shortly after to send all 20 survivors on break.
The final day resumes at 1.05 pm EST on Saturday, August 28. The blinds will continue at 20,000 / 40,000 with a running ante of 5,000 and the PokerNews team will provide as many key hands as possible en route to crowning another WCOOP champion.
End-of-Day 1 Chip Counts (full)
Level 20
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,784,840 | |
|
|
4,284,408 | -5,000 |
|
3,539,824 | -7,500 |
|
3,254,297 | -104,800 |
|
2,849,462 | -216,000 |
|
|
2,712,346 | 352,500 |
|
|
2,030,103 | -87,000 |
|
1,929,528 | -431,700 |
|
1,715,772 | |
|
|
1,700,789 | 296,236 |
|
|
1,452,789 | -172,500 |
|
|
1,416,873 | -93,500 |
|
1,354,692 | -292,236 |
|
|
1,285,686 | 89,500 |
|
1,278,803 | -159,500 |
|
1,044,059 | 52,000 |
|
1,030,792 | -99,500 |
|
1,028,161 | -135,000 |
|
755,392 | 54,500 |
|
551,384 | -47,000 |
"Nes1989" Eliminated on the Money Bubble
Level 20
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
"HITRII999" opened to 82,400 and was called by fellow Russian player "Nes1989" on the button and Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani in the big blind. The flop fell 
and Garagnani check-folded to a continuation bet worth 102,102 and the call by "Nes1989".
"HITRII999" slowed down on the 
turn and check-called for 280,000, which led them to the 
river. "HITRII999" checked once more and "Nes1989" bet 720,000 with 770,871 behind. That triggered a check-raise to 1.6 million by "HITRII999" and "Nes1989" called all-in.
They revealed 
for the nut straight but "HITRII999" had that beat with 
for the effective nuts. And just like that, the money bubble has burst and the remaining 20 players are now on a break until Saturday, August 28.
The full chip counts and a recap of today's action are to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,784,840 | 1,973,073 |
|
|
Busted |
Mulder Doubles Through Nemeth
Level 20
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Teun "tinnoemulder" Mulder raised to 100,000 from under the gun and subsequently called a three-bet to 300,000 by chip leader Andras "probirs" Nemeth on the button. On the 
flop, Mulder check-called all-in for 507,886 on the direct money bubble.
Teun "tinnoemulder" Mulder: 
Andras "probirs" Nemeth: 
The turn improved Mulder to a set while Nemeth now needed clubs to burst the bubble. What followed was the blank 
river and Mulder survived.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,289,408 | -675,886 |
|
|
1,715,772 | 1,195,386 |
Bonomo Felted by Rudolph
Level 20
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
After losing the massive pot just prior, Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph was in the big blind and faced the limp of Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo in the small blind. Rudolph jammed for almost 1.2 million and Bonomo called for one big blind fewer.
Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo: 
Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph: 
Both players flopped a pair on 
. The 
turn sent Bonomo on the brink of elimination and he couldn't find any help on the 
river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,359,846 | 158,122 |
|
|
Busted |
Brito Silva Gets There After Check-Raising Flop
Level 20
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph opened to 80,000 from the lojack and Pablo "pabritz" Brito Silva defended his big blind. Rudolph continued for 120,000 on the 
flop and Brito Silva check-raised to 387,200. Rudolph made the call. Brito Silva slowed down on the 
turn and Rudolph fired for 588,000. Brito Silva called.
Both players checked the river and Brito Silva flipped over 
for top two-pair. Rudolph mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,547,324 | 1,109,700 |
|
|
1,356,024 | -845,700 |
Garagnani Beats Muehloecker in Showdown
Level 20
: 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker won a third pot in a row and then defended the big blind against a raise by Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani. They headed to the 
turn for free and Muehloecker bet 127,400, which Garagnani called. On the 
river, Muehloecker bet another 224,000 and his opponent from Brazil called.
Muehloecker flipped over the 
but Garagnani had that beat with 
for the superior kicker.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,359,097 | 385,500 |
|
|
3,065,462 | 43,900 |
Level: 20
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 5,000
Two In a Row for Muehloecker
Level 19
: 17,500/35,000, 4,500 ante
Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani made it 80,500 to go and was called by Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker in the cutoff and "spaise411" out of the big blind. The 
flop brought no betting action and Garagnani then led the turn for 240,800. Only Muehloecker called and Garagnani check-folded the river when facing a bet worth 578,900.
One hand later, "HITRII999" opened to 74,200 and they called Muehloecker's three-bet to 227,500. Once more the flop brought no betting action and the initial raiser bet the turn for 315,000. Muehloecker came along to the river, on which "HITRII999" check-folded eventually.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,021,562 | 1,063,800 |
|
|
2,973,597 | -369,800 |
|
|
2,811,767 | -425,500 |
|
|
2,030,673 | -112,500 |
|
|
1,510,373 | -111,500 |
|
|
1,196,186 | -31,000 |
|
|
598,384 | -13,500 |