We are down to the final week of the World Series of Poker Winter Online Circuit on Natural8 – GG Network. Another three rings were claimed for a total of 12 awarded. The latest champions were Natural8 Team Bling / Hong Kong pro Yan Shing Anson “Tara@0z” Tsang, Oleg “Ad Astra” Vasylchenko, and Fabian “lordof0513” Schmidt. In flag representation, one each for Uruguay, USA, India, Luxembourg, Korea, Brazil, Estonia, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Germany, and two for Russia. At the WSOPC #13: US$ 10,000 Heads Up NLHE, the field is down to the final four players. Game resumes on January 9 @230am HKT. Recaps below.
The ongoing series kicked off on December 13 and will run until January 10. A massive 100 Million Dollars is guaranteed. To date, US$ 20,159,323 in ring events and US$ 43,494,928 in side events have been paid out. Only one week of games remain and six rings up for grabs.
At the time of posting, Day 2 of the US$ 400 NEW YEAR COLOSSUS was underway which means the next key event to set your sights on is the series headliner, the US$ 1,700 MAIN EVENT with a guaranteed TEN MILLION DOLLARS in tow. Join the action by signing up on Natural8.com.
For players signed up on Natural8, you can win from US$ 5,000 to US$ 50,000 in WSOPC LiveX Live Event Sponsorship if you champion any of the ring events. Last night, Natural8 Team Bling member Anson “Tara@0z” Tsang did just that. The two time bracelet champion became the first to capture one of these exclusive sponsorship packages for his victory at the CHRISTMAS PLOSSUS. For new players, bundles of new player incentives awaits and a chance at the LiveX sponsorship packages.
In addition to winning events, players that reach the money automatically earn points towards the WSOPC Player of the Series Leaderboard. The top 100 at the end of the series are awarded a share of the US$ 100,000 purse with the highest in points pocketing US$ 10,000. Pascal Hartmann still holds the top spot followed closely by Wei Zhao.
Now let’s have a look at the games that recently transpired.
WSOPC #10: $400 CHRISTMAS PLOSSUS – ANSON “Tara@0z” TSANG – US$ 178,921
Intense tug of war between Hong Kong pro Yan Shing Anson “Tara@0z” Tsang and Canada’s SHOOT_YOURFACE at the US$ 400 CHRISTMAS PLOSSUS event. It took roughly half an hour of nail biting heads up action before Tsang finally sealed it to hook in his first ever WSOP circuit ring. Tweeting on his victory, Tsang wrote,
“So thankful to capture my first WSOPC ring @Natural8 @GGPoker @WSOP! Probably the first WSOPC ring for Hong Kong too! Absolutely a good start in 2021. What a crazy HU match btw lol. Congratulations to all the bettors too! May the heater keep going.”
A very good start indeed. On an earlier tweet, Tsang mentioned this was his first appearance at the ongoing series and was thrilled to have made it to the final table. For his triumph, Tsang pocketed the US$ 178,921.10 first prize and a Natural8 WSOPC $5,000 LiveX Sponsorship.
A little bit about the champion. Getting on the tournament board in 2009, it wasn’t until 2013 when Tsang scored a monster finishing 7th at the GuangDong Asia Millions Main Event for HK$ 7,150,000 (~US$ 921,004). To date, this remains his largest tournament cash. His first major win and gold bracelet came at the WSOPE €2,200 Pot Limit Omaha 8 Max in 2018 then nearly clasped a second shiner in 2019 when he took 3rd place at the WSOP US$ 10,000 Short Deck No Limit Hold’em event. More deep runs followed late in the year at the WSOPE however it was the WSOP Online 2020 that brought him a second gold strap at the US$ 500 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em event. Tsang currently has over US$ 3.3 million in tournament earnings. His recent win gave Hong Kong its first victory at this series.
Event Recap
The US$ 400 CHRISTMAS PLOSSUS event kicked off on December 21 covering 31 starting flights leading up to Day 2 on December 28. A cumulative 3,638 entered to breach the guarantee for a closing pot of US$ 1,364.638. 446 advanced however only 400 got paid. The Final 9 payouts were determined on January 3.
Buy in: US$ 400
Guarantee: US$ 1,225,000
Cumulative entries: 3,638
Day 2 Qualifiers: 446
Prize pool: US$ 1,364,128
Payout distribution: 10%
ITM: 400 places
Starting Days: 31 (started dec 21)
Day 2: December 28 @0230 HKT
Final 9: January 3 @230 HKT
Final table running time: Three hours and 49 minutes
The final table opened with Romania’s Cosmin-Ionut “cosmiNik89” Nica at the helm, Anson “Tara@0z” Tsang in fifth position, and Russia’s v_NIstelrooy bringing up the rear. Bracelet holders Chris Moorman and Tomas Ribeiro were also in the lineup, both seeking their second gold. That dream quickly ended for Moorman who fell on the first hand to Tsang with 
dominated by 
higher flush on a board 
. This was the first of four knockouts delivered by Tsang. After short stacked players v_Nistelrooy (8th) and Kristof “ultrafish” Segers (7th) got the boot, a long six handed round followed with the average stack over 55 BB. The round lasted 52 minutes. Brazil’s Murilo “Fruble” Milhomem (6th) busted to become Tsang’s second victim.
Five handed action was just as dynamic with the chip lead moving around the table from cosmiNik89 to Tsang to KING MC who landed a big double up off Tomas Ribeiro. Ribeiro was crippled to below one big blind which went to Tsang. The final four players remained relentless as big pots shifted from player to player. SHOOT_YOURFACE took the lead for the first time after emptying out KING MC with 
two pair over 
on a board 
.
SHOOT_YOURFACE proceeded to bully with its big stack to amass over half the chips in play however Tsang found a spot to double up then won a big pot against cosmiNik89 to zoom to the top. SHOOT_YOURFACE finished off cosmiNik89 to bring about heads up with Tsang up just 8 BB. It took half an hour before the champion was determined. During that time SHOOT_YOURFACE doubled up to a 2:1 chip lead, Tsang grinded then landed a big double to rise to an 8:1 advantage. However, SHOOT_YOURFACE was resilient shipping two double ups to regain the lead. Back to grinding, Tsang clawed to the top once again. Both players then tugged at the chip lead until Tsang banked another full boost again with a higher two pair. Two minutes after, Tsang closed it out with 
full house over 
two pair on a board 
.
Final Table Payouts
1st Yan Shing Anson “Tara@0z” Tsang – Hong Kong – US$ 178,921.10
2nd SHOOT_YOURFACE – Canada – US$ 134,170.23
3rd Cosmin-Ionut “cosmiNik89” Nica – Romania – US$ 100,613.52
4th KING MC – San Marino – US$ 75,449.45
5th Tomas Ribeiro – Portugal – US$ 56,579.08
6th Murilo “Fruble” Milhomem – Brazil – US$ 42,428.34
7th Kristof “ultrafish” Segers – Belgium – US$ 31,816.77
8th v_Nistelrooy – Russia – US$ 23,859.29
9th Chris Moorman – UK – US$ 17,891.88
WSOPC #11: $1,050 Bounty Hunters Championship – OLEG “Ad Astra” VASYLCHENKO – US$ 145,005.48
Ukraine is on the champions board after Oleg “Ad Astra” Vasylchenko outlasted the 1,293 runners of the WSOPC #11: US$ 1,050 Bounty Hunters Championship. Vasylchenko shipped the US$ 53,285.67 first prize and a mammoth US$ 91,719.81 in bounties for a combined killing of US$ 145,005.48. This was his largest known score and second major career victory. In addition, Vasylchenko is now a proud owner of a WSOP Circuit ring.
Vasylchenko has been attacking the GGPoker virtual felt since this summer where he cashed at ten 2020 WSOP Online events. His deepest finish was 28th out of 2,323 at the US$ 1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief for US$ 6,552. He fared better at the side events with two big cashes amounting to US$ 100,975. Vasylchenko has easily over US$ 500K in known tournament earnings.
Date: December 30 @2am HKT
Buy in: US$ 1,050
Guarantee: US$ 1,000,000
Entries: 1,293
Prize pool: US$ 1,293,000
Payout Distribution: 12%
ITM: 188 places
Running time: Nine hours and thirty seven minutes
Recapping the action at 14 remaining, Internecik eliminated SAPCpokeranimal, Hong Kong pro Sparrow “FacelessMan” Cheung fell in 13th place on a bad beat when his pocket Jacks were cracked by Michal “houzhumi8888” Wywrot’s pocket Tens turned set. Bracelet holder Simon Klas Lofberg lost a chunk to Steve Austin then tumbled out 12th on a three way won by “yammm”. Another bad beat brought the field down to 10 players with Martin “RetremntFund” Mathis’s pocket nines set booting Francis “TwoPairTom” Anderson’s red pocket Kings. To form the final table, Vasylchenko aka Ad Astra, railed short stacked looloo123. At the other table, houzhumi8888 paid off Austin yet still carried in a massive chip lead and the largest bounty on his head. Also on the round was Senthuran “Prodigal Sen” Vijayaratnam, 11th placer of the 2020 WSOP Main Event International.
The final table completed in two hours. Opening hand witnessed the downfall of Austin with Ad Astra shipping it. On the third hand, Cindere11a wiped out Prodigal Sen. Ad Astra claimed his second prey in yammm with pocket Tens holding against A10o. Internecik was out next on a flush over nut flush against chip leader houzhumi8888.
At five handed, several double ups were awarded before Dominik Panka was chunked down to 8 BB by big stacked houzhumi8888 holding top pair over second pair. The ailing Panka then pushed the rest with 
, called by the leader with 
, two threes came on the flop to see Panka off in 5th place. By this point, houzhumi8888 amassed over half the chips in play and became the target of his opponents. Ad Astra won multiple pots off him then scored a big one to take the lead for the first time. Ad Astra soared even higher by railing Cindere11a in 4th place. Martin “RetremntFund” Mathis joined in, spiking an Ace with A8o to double up through houzhumi8888. Ad Astra put the finishing touches on houzhumi8888 with 
straight over 
top pair on a board 
. Despite taking 3rd place, houzhumi8888 still earned the second largest payout due to the high amount of bounty rewards added to his winnings.
Heads up kicked off with Ad Astra ahead 5:1 against RetremntFund which quickly widened to victory. The final hand was all in on a river board 
with Ad Astra showing straight over RetremntFund’s 
two pair.
Final table payouts
1st Oleg “Ad Astra” Vasylchenko – Ukraine – US$ 53,285.67 + US$ 91,719.81 bounties = US$ 145,005.48
2nd Martin “RetremntFund” Mathis – USA – US$ 53,155.76 + US$ 7,933.59 bounties = US$ 61,089.35
3rd Michal “houzhumi8888” Wywrot – Canada – US$ 40,684.28 + US$ 26,673.82 bounties = US$ 67,358.10
4th Cindere11a – Austria – US$ 31,101.27 + US$ 12,721.68 bounties = US$ 43,822.95
5th Dominik Panka – Poland – US$ 23,775.48 + US$ 11,296.86 bounties = US$ 35,072.34
6th Internecik – Lithuania – US$ 18,175.26 + US$ 6,015.63 bounties = US$ 24,190.89
7th yammm – New Zealand – US$ 13,894.19 + US$ 2,906.25 bounties = US$ 16,800.44
8th Senthuran “Prodigal Sen” Vijayaratnam – Canada – US$ 10,621.43 + US$ 5,160.15 bounties = US$ 15,781.58
9th Stevan “Steve Austin” Chew – USA – US$ 8,119.57 + US$ 6,734.37 bounties = US$ 15,781.58
WSOP decorated players in top 100 money: Simon Klas Lofberg (12th), Arkady “Kamsky” Tsinis (18th), Rainer Kempe (28th), Ajay “Ross_Geller” Chabra (32nd), Damian Salas (33rd), Andres “chokitin” Korn (35th), Peter “MrDagobert” Traply (52nd), Ravid “jerbi9999” Garbi (55th), Claas Segebrecht (56th), Kartik “Mandovi” Ved (68th), Sihao “Mr_3rdBullet” Zhang (69th), Alex “Pl3ase_MuCk” Fortin-Demers (76th), Brock Wilson (98th).
WSOPC #12: $500 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em – FABIAN “lordof0513” SCHMIDT – US$ 90,942.95
The third Asia friendly time zone event – WSOPC #12: $500 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em – attracted 1,445 entries for another guarantee smasher. 233 players earned a piece of the US$ 686,375 prize pool. After ten hours and thirty minutes of play, Germany’s Fabian “lordof0513” Schmidt defeated fellow countryman Oliver Weis to claim the US$ 90,942.95 first prize and his first ever WSOP Circuit ring. For runner up Weis, it was a highly profitable day, adding US$ 62,187.50 for finishing 7th at the WSOPC #13: US$ 10,000 Heads Up NLHE which ran simultaneously.
Date: January 2 @8pm HKT
Buy in: US$ 500
Guarantee: US$ 500,000
Entries: 1,445
Prize pool: US$ 686,375
ITM: 233 places
Running time: Ten hours and thirty minutes
After eight and a half or so hours in, it was down to the final table with Fabian “lordof0513” Schmidt as chip leader. Another finalist was Scottish pro Ludovic “Gr4vyB04t” Geilich and 2020 WSOP Main Event International Segment 5th placer Marco “fullbabyfull” Streda.
The final table battle for the series’s twelfth circuit ring wrapped up in less than two hours with lordof0513 leading the entire way. First to chip up was James “MonsterCurry” Leong through lordof0513 then Oliver Weis railed the first two, Matthias “Mattinho” Auer (9th) and Geniusbabies (8th). MonsterCurry chipped up again off the leader lordof0513 which he used to finish off Streda (7th) who was previously chunked by UncrownedK.
Down to six players, Weis claimed a third victim in UncrownedK (6th), Gr4vyB04t ousted jerryv36 (5th), and lordof0513 knocked out MonsterCurry in 4th place. Despite Weis adding a fourth casualty to his list in Gr4vyB04t, lordof0513 entered heads up as the overwhelming chip leader ahead 24:1. Weis impressively trimmed it to 3:1 however he couldn’t go any further. Lordof0513 shipped it with 
over on a dry board.
Final table payouts
1st Fabian “lordof0513” Schmidt – Germany – US$ 90,942.95
2nd Oliver Weis – Germany – US$ 68,196.44
3rd Ludovic “Gr4vyB04t” Geilich – Scotland -US$ 51,140.14
4th James “MonsterCurry” Leong – Singapore – US$ 38,349.71
5th jerryv36- Canada – 2US$ 28,758.18
6th UncrownedK – China – US$ 21,565.63
7th Marco “fullbabyfull” Streda – Switzerland – US$ 16,171.95
8th Geniusbabies – Singapore – US$ 12,127.22
9th Matthias “Mattinho” Auer – Austria – US$ 9,094.13
Final 4: WSOPC #13: $10,000 Heads Up NLHE [128 cap]
Massive overlay of US$ 88,200 at the WSOPC #13: $10,000 Heads Up NLHE with only 94 players saddling up. This was the only event that failed to surpass its guarantee. Among the players in attendance were 2020 WSOP Online US$10K Heads Up champion David Peters and 2020 WSOP Online US$ 25K Heads Up runner up Brunno Botteon De Albuquerque however both players exited before reaching the money. After nine hours of play, the event paused at the final four players, to resume on January 9 at 230am HKT. When they return, they will each be hunting down their first ever circuit ring and the US$ 348,250 first prize.
Niklas Astedt (Sweden)
Mirza Muhovic (Luxembourg)
Cooper Li (Malaysia)
Ian Modder (Canada)
Remaining Payouts
1st US$ 348,250
2nd US$ 199,000
3rd US$ 99,500
4th US$ 99,500
5th Juan Pardo Dominguez – Spain – US$ 62,187.50
6th George Wolff – USA – US$ 62,187.50
7th Oliver Weis – Germany – US$ 62,187.50
8th Wiktor Malinowski – Poland – US$ 62,187.50
How the Final 8 reached the money round
Round 1 – 60 players
Oliver Weis defeated Adria Diaz Dalmau
Mirza Muhovic defeated Anton Morgenstern
Cooper Li defeated Fabian Spielmann
Ian Modder knocked out Michael Watson
Round 2 – 64 players
Oliver Weis defeated Viacheslav Buldygin
Mirza Muhovic defeated Koray Turker
Cooper Li defeated Ioannis Droushiotis
Ian Modder defeated Ioannis Konstas
Niklas Astedt defeated Timothy Adams
Juan Pardo Dominguez defeated David Yan
Wiktor Malinowski defeated Manuel Ruivo
George Wolff defeated Dave McLeod
Round 3 – 32 players
Oliver Weis defeated Jeremhy McLellan
Mirza Muhovic railed Fany Auge
Cooper Li defeated Daniel Shak
Ian Modder railed Joakim Anderson
Niklas Astedt railed Lucas Reeves
Juan Pardo Dominguez defeated Daniyar Aubakirov
Wiktor Malinowski defeated Kenneth Smaron
George Wolff defeated Mikita Badziakouski
Round 4 – 16 players
Oliver Weis defeated Ajay Chabra
Mirza Muhovic defeated Juan Carlos Vecino Duenas
Cooper Li defeated Gortikov Gortikov
Ian Modder defeated Mateusz Wozniak
Niklas Astedt defeated Guillaume Nolet
Juan Pardo Dominguez defeated Pauli Ayras
Wiktor Malinowski defeated Ramon Munoz
George Wolff defeated Stephen Chidwick
Round 5 – 8 players – ITM
Mirza Muhovic defeated Juan Pardo Dominguez
Cooper Li defeated George Wolff
Ian Modder defeated Oliver Weis
Niklas Astedt defeated Wiktor Malinowski
Event Details and Recap
Date: January 3 @2am HKT
Final Day: January 9 @230am HKT
Buy in: US$ 10,000
Guarantee: US$ 1,000,000
Entries: 94
Prize pool: US$ 1,000,000
ITM: 8 places
Action kicked off with 60 players heads up while 34 had a bye. First to advance to Round 2 was David Peters, defeating Lucas Greenwood in just half an hour. He was then joined by Mikita Badziakouski, Stephen Chidwick, Daniel Dvoress, Nicholas Petrangelo, and Timothy Adams to name a few. Song Xue secured round 2 on a bad beat to Felipe Ramos with flush dominating trips on a board 
. Another crushing hand was Sami Kelopuro’s quads over Luis Arturo Coppel Del Castillo full house on a board 
.
Second round opened with 64 players – 30 advancing from the first round and the 34 that sat out. Fany Auge (who defeated Botteon at Round 1) was first to reach round 3, railing Romain Jean Joseph Dours in just eight minutes. Others that fell were David Peters to Ismet Toktas on a full house over full house, Natural8 Team Hot’s Daniel Tang to Ottomar Ladva, Isaac Haxton to Rui Neves Ferreira, Sam Greenwood to Daniyar Aubakirov, and Stephen O’Dwyer to Daniel Shak.
Third round was down to 32 players. Twenty minutes in, George Wolff bounced out Mikita Badziakouski with quads over full house, Pauli Ayras denied Daniel Dvoress, and last to advance was Stepehen Chidwick who railed Ottomar Ladva.
Fourth round was the make of break stage with the final 16 players battling to reach the money. Oliver Weis was first to break free after defeating Ajay Chabra with 
two pair over top pair on a board . The all in was on the turn. Niklas Astedt dominated Guillaume Nolet with KQo over K10s, Juan Pardo Dominguez eliminated Pauli Ayras with flush over trips.
Stephen Chidwick fell to George Wolff, Wiktor Malinowski rivered trips to rail Ramon Munoz . All the chips went in on the river. Mirza Muhovic’s pocket sevens held against Juan Carlos Vecino Duenas’s A4o, Cooper Li drained Gortikov Gortikov, and Ian Modder took nearly two hours to dispose of Mateusz Wozniak (pictured below).
With the money intact, the final 8 raced for a spot at the semis. It took one hour before the first one dropped. Wiktor Malinowski fell to Niklas Astedt with top two pair on the flop outdrawn by flush on a board 
. All in on the turn.
Next to advance to the semis was Ian Modder who bad beat busted Oliver Weis with pocket sevens turned set overtaking pocket Tens. Cooper Li earned his semis seat with higher two pair over George Wolff’s on a board . All the chips went in on the flop. And to complete the final four was Mirza Muhovic who drained out Juan Pardo Dominguez.
UPCOMING KEY EVENTS
The last two key events are underway. Starting flights run daily for the US$ 1,700 buy in MAIN EVENT US$ 10M guaranteed. As for the US$ 400 NEW YEAR COLOSSUS, at the time of posting, Day 2 was in progress. The guarantee was also crushed with players looking at an extra million and more in the pot. Sporting the biggest stacks were USA’s Petar “ShenCheng123” Kalev and Poland’s “Olorion”, each with over a million. Other qualifiers were Natural8 Team Hot’s Pete Chen, Michael Addamo, Daniel Dvoress, Joshua “thefreshest” McCully, Sriharsha “Upswinger” Doddapaneni, Pulkit Goyal, Abhinav “OBellaCiao” Iyer, Kazuhiro “propofol-san” Shirasawa, Sparrow “FacelessMan” Cheung, Seungmook “7high’ Jung, and Sung Joo “ArtePokerTV” Hyun to name a few.
WSOPC #15: $400 NEW YEAR COLOSSUS
Starting Days: ongoing since December 28
Final Day: January 4 @0230am HKT
Buy in: US$ 400
Guarantee: US$ 2,021,000
Cumulative Entries: 8,725
Cumulative Prize Pool: US$ 3,280,600
Day 2 Qualifiers: 1,356 players
Payout distribution: 10%
ITM: 900 places
Top 15 in chips
Open: WSOP#18: $1,700 Main Event
The highlight event of the series is none other than the US$ 10,000,000 guaranteed Main Event. Gates have already opened to qualify to Day 2. Players are allowed three re-entries per starting day. Multiple stacks are allowed but only the biggest advances to the next round.
Starting Days: Began January 2
Final Day: January 11 @0230am HKT
Buy in: US$ 1,700
Guarantee: US$ 10,000,000
Cumulative Entries: 322
Top 15 in chips
UPCOMING EVENTS
WSOPC #14: $800 FIFTY STACK No Limit Hold’em
Date: January 4 @2am HKT
Buy in: US$ 800
Guarantee: US$ 1,000,000
WSOPC #16: $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship
Date: January 6 @2am HKT
Buy in: US$ 3,000
Guarantee: US$ 500,000
WSOPC #17: $252 Deepstack Bounty Hunters No Limit Hold’em
Date: January 9 @8pm HKT
Buy in: US$ 252
Guarantee: US$ 500,000
Exclusive Natural8 Promo: WSOPC LiveX – Live Event Sponsorship
Play in the WSOP Winter Online Circuit on Natural8 for a chance to win BONUS WSOPC live event sponsorships worth up to $50,000. So far, only Hong Kong pro Yan Shing Anson “Tara@0z” Tsang has earned one of these fine sponsorship packages for his victory at the US$ 400 CHRISTMAS PLOSSUS event. Only a handful of events left to be the next champion!
Main Event = $50,000 LiveX Crew Sponsorship
Win the WSOPC Main Event to win $50,000 and become a member of the LiveX Crew. Sponsorship package includes:
•12-month LiveX Crew Sponsorship
•$15,000 Las Vegas Package ($10,000 to cover your buy-ins and $5,000 for expenses)
•$35,000 for live event sponsorships over 12 months
Buy-ins of $1,000 and above = $10,000 LiveX Sponsorship
Win a WSOPC Ring from any event with a buy-in of $1,000 and above, and you’ll get a LiveX Crew package that includes:
•6-month LiveX Crew Sponsorship
•$10,000 Las Vegas Package ($7,500 to cover your buy-ins and $2,500 for expenses)
•Buy-ins from $999 and below = $5,000 LiveX Sponsorship
Win a WSOPC Ring from any event with a buy-in of $999 and below, and you’ll get a LiveX Crew package that includes:
•6-month LiveX Crew Sponsorship
•$5,000 Las Vegas Package ($2,500 to cover your buy-ins and $2,500 for expenses)
Stay tuned to Somuchpoker as we bring you recaps of the 2021 WSOP Winter Circuit Online Series as it unfolds.
Tricia David
Tricia David has long experience as a recreational poker player and has been covering poker events since 2010 for numerous outfits in Asia. She spent one year working part time with Poker Portal Asia then became editor and lead writer for all event coverage of the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT). Under the PPT, she overlooked content for their website, and produced live updates on all their events. In addition, she served as the live and online events website content writer for the Asian Poker Tour. Currently, she does live events reporting in Asia for online news site Somuchpoker and is also one of their news contributors.
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