With the 2020 World Series of Poker Online cruising through its halfway mark for the first part of the series, five more players claim gold bracelets this week. Running until the end of the month, the festival on the official client WSOP.com is set to award 13 more gold bracelets before closing. In addition, starting flights for the international leg’s first event $100 The Opener, $2M GTD have already begun on the leading Natural8 – GGPoker Network with its final day coming down this Sunday. A total of 85 bracelet events scheduled for the series, many eager participants are excited to achieve every poker player’s dream in the next few weeks.
Big winners Joe “fanofdapoker” McKeehen, Guy “PhilLaak” Dunlap, Terrell “Heezahustla” Cheatham, Pat “IchiiKawawa” Lyons and most recent winner Scott “BudLightLime” Hempel bagged the latest events, adding burly six-figure scores to their bankroll for the upcoming games. Facing both pros and recreational players alike, these champions topped the fields for events #14-18 respectively, adding a coveted WSOP title under their name. More on the final table results for each event are highlighted below.
Event #14: $3,200 No Limit Hold’em High Roller – Joe “fanofdapoker” McKeehen ($352,985)
The biggest top prize for the 2020 WSOP Online to date was won by no other than Joe “fanofdapoker” McKeehen, taking home a total of $352,985 in winnings. The three-time bracelet winner topped the 496 entry field after fourteen hours of play which generated a $1,507,840 prize pool. McKeehen, who has made a name for himself after winning the WSOP Main Event back in 2015 for over $7 million, has a stellar record of over $16 million in total live earnings. The American pro further solidified his status by following his huge win five years ago with not one, but two more WSOP bracelet titles.
McKeehen with numerous final table experiences up his sleeve, remained patient all throughout the final table play carefully picking out his spots. Slowly but steadily ranking up, McKeehen reached the heads up battle against Frank “thewholefunk” Funaro as the underdog. Funaro held a 3:1 chip advantage at the beginning but McKeehen used his experience to close the gap and eventually take the lead. In the final hand, Funaro three-bet jammed his last 17 big blinds with six-seven suited against McKeehen’s open raise only to be called by his ace-nine offsuit. The board was of no help to Funaro ending his run in second place for $219,089.
2020 WSOP Event #14: $3,200 No Limit Hold’em High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Joe “fanofdapoker” McKeehen | $352,985 |
| 2 | Frank “thewholefunk” Funaro | $219,089 |
| 3 | Roland “prngls12” Israelashvili | $148,975 |
| 4 | Zhi Hong “Jaydestar17” Huang | $103,136 |
| 5 | Lee “SoccerDJ” Vlastaris | $72,979 |
| 6 | Clayton “nevarlucky” Maguire | $52,624 |
| 7 | Nathan “innate9” Russler | $38,601 |
| 8 | David “newjerz05” Jackson | $28,951 |
Event #15: $1,000 PLO 8-Max – Guy “PhilLaak” Dunlap ($133,780)
Different from the usual No Limit Hold’em format, Wednesday night’s Pot Limit Omaha event drew in a 386 player field, 277 of which rebought pushing the total to 663 entries. It was after more than twelve hours of play when Guy “PhilLaak” Dunlap successfully bagged the lion’s share of the $629,850 prize pool, cashing in on a $133,780 payout as well as a career first gold bracelet.
Amassing six figures in online winnings, Dunlap was no stranger to the game and was finally able to seize a big win in one of the most prestigious festivals for the year. Coming down to the heads up finale, Dunlap was up against Shane “danish01” Daniels for the title, holding close to double of his opponent’s chips. Daniels was in for a second opportunity for a bracelet in the online series, settling for second place in the previous Event #6: $600 PLO8 6-Max. Unfortunately for Daniels, he was once again denied WSOP Gold and was left with a runner-up finish and an $82,069 payout.
2020 WSOP Event #15: $1,000 PLO 8-Max Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Guy “PhilLaak” Dunlap | $133,780 |
| 2 | Shane “danish01” Daniels | $82,069 |
| 3 | Todd “chi.t.420” Sladek | $56,749 |
| 4 | Jacob “Bandit275” Powers | $39,870 |
| 5 | Keith “thxsimgod” Ferrera | $28,469 |
| 6 | Blake “shampainpopn” Whittington | $20,659 |
| 7 | Matt “jacksup” Matros | $15,305 |
| 8 | Anthony “heheh” Zinno | $11,526 |
Event #16: $500 No Limit Hold’em Turbo – Terrell “Heezahustla” Cheatham ($116,204)
Another smashing career first gold bracelet was awarded to Ohio’s Terrell “Heezahustla” Cheatham after he topped the 1,528 entry field after seven and a half hours of play. The last player standing bagged the biggest payout of $116,204 for his top prize from the $687,600 prize pool. Based on the HendonMob database, Cheatham has made a few attempts to gain WSOP gold with a record career-best of $7,880 for winning a WSOP Daily Deepstack back in 2014 but it was not until this online series that Cheatham would ultimately succeed.
Running in turbo format, the pressure of the blinds were increasing at a faster rate pushing players to engage in more action at the final table. Eliminating already two competitors, Cheatham took the lead in a crucial spot three-handed, getting it in with a flush draw on the flop against Lev “Methinks” Milman’s trip aces. A river heart boosted Cheatham’s stack greatly taking 33.3 million into heads up play against Julian “Julian” Parmann’s 12.4 million chip stack. The tournament ended soon after Parmann shoved his last ten big blinds with ace-three and was called by Cheatham’s ace-deuce. Initially ahead of his opponent, a flopped deuce sent Parmann to the rail in second place for $71,648.
2020 WSOP Event #16: $500 No Limit Hold’em Turbo Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Terrell “Heezahustla” Cheatham | $116,204 |
| 2 | Julian “Julian” Parmann | $71,648 |
| 3 | Lev “Methinks” Milman | $51,570 |
| 4 | Marc “Mojoesmarc” Bernal | $37,474 |
| 5 | Andrea “Andrewbull88” Buonocore | $27,573 |
| 6 | Daniel “StayActive” Chan | $20,490 |
| 7 | Jeremy “http401” Govert | $15,402 |
| 8 | Phillip “AvonB” Rhodes | $11,689 |
| 9 | James “cbmezz99” Messeroll | $9,008 |
Event #17: $777 No Limit Hold’em – Pat “IchiiKawawa” Lyons ($173,551)
Almost reaching the $1 million mark, the seventeenth event of the series welcomed a field of 1,382 entries, generating a $967,400 prize pool. After an eleven hour grind, Pat “IchiiKawawa” Lyons more commonly known as “Flyin’ Lyons” in the industry came out on top, scoring $173,551 in winnings along with the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Lyons, who won the WPT Legends of Poker back in 2016 for a whopping $615,346, has now over $1.5 million in lifetime live tournament earnings according to HendonMob.
Playing for the win, Lyons scored the first elimination of the final table busting out opponent Dave “DunningKrugr” Alfa with pocket aces. Runner up in the previous event Julian “Julian” Parmann and Event #1 winner Jonathan “Art.Vandelay” Dokler made final table appearances once again but fell short of bagging the title. By three-handed play, Lyons had already amassed a significant chip lead which led him to eventually seal the deal and successfully secure a career first WSOP bracelet.
2020 WSOP Event #17: $777 No Limit Hold’em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | “Pat “IchiiKawawa” Lyons | $173,551 |
| 2 | “NJ_GLive” | $107,478 |
| 3 | Barry “_MLB_” Wenger | $76,327 |
| 4 | Jonathan “Art.Vandelay” Dokler | $54,948 |
| 5 | Jim “Bocaratone” Collopy | $40,147 |
| 6 | “veepoh” | $29,602.44 |
| 7 | Scott “BudLightLime” Hempel | $22,250 |
| 8 | Julian “Julian” Parmann | $16,832 |
| 9 | Dave “DunningKrugr” Alfa | $12,963 |
Event #18: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed Turbo DeepStack – Scott “BudLightLime” Hempel ($181,060)
The latest WSOP bracelet was awarded to Canada’s Scott “BudLightLime” Hempel just today as he scooped up this Saturday’s Event #18: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed Turbo DeepStack. Beating through the 987 entry field, Hempel came out on top to win majority of the $937,650 prize pool, taking home a total of $181,060 in earnings. Finishing in seventh place in the event prior, Hempel quickly redeemed himself shipping WSOP gold only less than 24 hours thereafter.
Additionally, Hempel is in waiting for the WPT L.A. Poker Classic Main Event final table to resume which was temporarily paused in light of the pandemic. In this major tournament, Hempel is already guaranteed to take home at least $185,330 making his 2020 definitely a profitable year.
Running hot, Hempel was responsible for four eliminations in the final table prior to the heads up battle against opponent Myles “Shipthemoney” Kotler. His good run of cards swiftly pushed him up the lead taking 24 million in chips to Kotler’s 15.5 million chip stack. The final hand saw Kotler calling off with king-ten only to be crushed by Hempel’s pocket tens. Holding for the win, Hempel secured the WSOP title up for grabs, along with $181,060 in profits.
2020 WSOP Event #18: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed Turbo DeepStack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Scott “BudLightLime” Hempel | $181,060 |
| 2 | Myles “Shipthemoney” Kotler | $111,955 |
| 3 | “GoatMaster” | $78,856 |
| 4 | Daniel “IntoTheRiver” Fischer | $56,259 |
| 5 | Barry “puigmyfriend” Hutter | $40,694 |
| 6 | Landon “ActionDealer” Tice | $29,817 |
| 7 | Harrison “harrisond33” Dobin | $22,222 |
| 8 | Matthew “EarvinMagic” Parry | $16,784 |
