Record breaking Sunday at the 2020 World Series of Poker Online [ international ] with the highlighted WSOP #77: $ 5,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event generating a massive $ 27,559,500 prize pool. This was officially the largest tournament pot in online poker history. Day 2 wrapped up with 38 players remaining led by USA’s Bryan Piccioli “smbdySUCKme”. Also in the lineup was Natural8 Team Hot Ambassador Phachara Wongwichit ranked 26th.
Firing up the tables alongside were two other bracelet events. Lithuania’s Gediminas Uselis “NeverGambol” shipped the WSOP #76: $400 FORTY STACK No Limit Hold’em for a first gold bracelet to add to his two WSOP rings. At the WSOP #78: $1,000 Turbo No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed, it was a dream come true for Finland’s Adnan Hacialioglu “Bolazar” whose maiden career victory brought him a coveted gold.
The 2020 WSOP Online [ international ] has been running since July 19th on Natural8 – GG Network. 46 bracelets have been claimed and a cumulative $ 98 million paid out (Main Event not included). Only 8 bracelets remain. The series runs until September 6th. For first timers, time is running out to join the action. Make sure to sign up on Natural8 to avail of fantastic promos and incentives. Read about it at the bottom of the page.
Day 2 recap: WSOP #77: $ 5,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event [ $25M GTD ]
The esteemed WSOP #77: $ 5,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event is the tournament everyone hopes to conquer and with this year’s edition guaranteeing a jaw dropping $ 25 million – the largest in online poker history – a massive field was anticipated. At the completion of 23 entry flights, it did not disappoint. 5,802 ponied up the $ 5,000 buy in for a smashing $ 27,559,500 prize pool. 728 stood to earn a cut with the top four spots pocketing seven figures.
Day 2 kicked off with 1,171 players and closed at the final 38 players led by American pro Bryan Piccioli “smbdySUCKme”. Not only is Piccioli backed by a 92.1 BB stack, he also has one WSOP bracelet and one WSOP ring under his belt.
Buy in: $ 5,000
Guarantee: $ 25,000,000
Entry flights: 23 completed
Total Entries: 5,802
Day 2 qualifiers: 1,171
Prize pool: $ 27,559.500
ITM: 728 places
Running time: 12 hours and 20 minutes
Final Day: September 7 @ 18:30 UTC
Top 15 in chips
Remaining payouts
A brief rundown of the action at 100 remaining, Shankar Pilliai fell in 99th place, India’s last hope Shreyas Voodari “raavan” couldn’t bring it further than 90th, Vlad Martynenko “CheckEtoFold” later followed in 78th place, then Vietnam’s final contender Tien_Dau79 bowed out 77th. Two Japanese players were still in the running; Satoshi Isomae “Tamito” climbed further up the ranks after railing Sam Greenwood (75th) however for Eiichi Nakano, it was the opposite, halted in 67th place.
Australian pro Joshua McCully “thefreshest”, a frequent flyer at the Asian live circuit, ranked 18th at the close. At 70 remaining, McCully doubled up off hot running Benjamin Rolle with 
pairing the King to overtake 
. He later railed Decent! (48th) and Orestis Kanakopoulos “UsedtobeGood” (40th). For entering chip leader, Kahle Burns, his run ended at 52nd place with 
no good against Argentina’s Martin Ilobera “colinchow” with 
.
Natural8 Team Hot Ambassador Phachara Wongwichit qualified via the final flight and is the only sponsored pro remaining. His rank fluctuated during the final 100 players going from 27th to 5th to 54th then settled at 26th at the close. A couple of hands to mention, Wongwichit doubled up Natural8 Team NLG pro Stefan Schillhabel with K-Q dominated by A-Q then made up the loss on a double up off Tyler Cornell “TheRayGuy” with pocket Queens staying ahead of A-J.
Another Asian circuit player in the field was Thomas Ward “readytoship” who was the happy receiver of a three way showdown that sent Redondez@ out in 42nd place leading to the bubble to the final day. It took nearly half an hour to get there. During that time, Michael Kane “All Love” with a set of sevens won a big pot against Martin Ilobera “colinchow” which he then used to rail Bruno Severino “s1mpleBR” in 41st place. He ended the day ranked second. Falling simultaneously were Orestis Kanakopoulos “UsedtobeGood” (40th) and Allison Eleres “ippo88” (39th).
Notable players in the money (top 200): Isaac Haxton (121st), Christopher Puetz “RambaZamba” (123rd), Mike Leah (128th), Ali Imsirovic (139th), and Yuan Yuan Li “Sunny Summer” (190th).
WSOP #76: $400 FORTY STACK No Limit Hold’em – Gediminas Uselis “NeverGambol” – $ 239,185.69
Third time’s the charm for Lithuania’s Gediminas Uselis “NeverGambol” who fired the maximum at the WSOP #76: $400 FORTY STACK No Limit Hold’em to capture his first WSOP gold bracelet. Uselis was the most achieved player at the final table with two WSOP rings under his belt, the second one was won at the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series this past May. For his latest victory, Uselis shipped a career high score $ 238,185.69 and the added $ 15,000 WSOP Europe Package. He also brought Lithuania its second ever gold bracelet following Vladas Burneikis “apuokos” who won it earlier in the series.
Buy in: $ 400
Entries: 4,461
Prize pool: $ 1,677,336
ITM: 548 places
Running time: 12 hours and 17 minutes
Recapping the final stretch, UK’s Andrew Wilson “PaxRomana” carried in the largest stack to the final table after railing both Ole800 (11th) and Gleb Tremzin “IamMVP” (10th). Other than Uselis, the only other known live tournament pro was Nicolau Villa Lobos “dezelfaixa”. Also seated was cash game specialist Espen Uhlen Jorstad “COVFEFE-19” and online player Guilherme Sazan dos Santos “Forest trump”.
Action proceeded with China’s Yucheng Xiao “Xyc666” falling within the opening twenty minutes. Wilson railed the next five players to amass a monster stack entering three-handed against Uselis and Yaniv Bohadana. Both short stacks began to chip away at Wilson’s stack until Uselis landed a double up with a higher two pair to steal the chip lead. Wilson had 
, Uselis 
, the board 
. Uselis went on to rail Bohadana in 3rd place to bring about heads up with the advantage.
A few minutes in, the biggest pot came down with Wilson exposing Uselis’s bluff. On a board 
, Wilson checked his 
, Uselis fired ⅔ of the pot, Wilson tank-called. Despite retaking the lead, Wilson couldn’t keep it intact. Uselis grinded to cut the gap then landed a double up to surge ahead 3:1. The final hand came with Uselis defeating Wilson with quads crushing the flush. For runner up, Wilson still earned a sizable $ 169,127.96, his largest career score.
Final table payouts
1st Gediminas Uselis “NeverGambol” – Lithuania – $ 239,185.69
2nd Andrew Wilson “PaxRomana” – UK – $ 169,127.96
3rd Yaniv Bohadana “netasheli528” – Israel – $ 119,591.37
4th Silviya Kaymakchieva “Impala” – Serbia – $ 84,563.73
5th Espen Uhlen Jorstad “COVFEFE-19” – UK – $ 59,795.51
6th Yucheng Xiao “Xyc666” – China – $ 42,281.78
7th Michelle Roberts “CallTheFloor” – Mexico – $ 29,897.67
8th Guilherme Sazan dos Santos “Forest trump” – Brazil – $ 21,140.63
9th Nicolau Villa Lobos “dezelfaixa” – Brazil – $ 14,948.58
Asia Pacific and notable players in the money (top 100): Kazuhiro Shirasawa “propofol-san” (14th), Fabrizio Gonzalez “UknowWhoIam” (17th), Brian Rast (26th), Cuong Huynh “WinterSea18″ (29th), Chun Kit Leung “FathiSon” (35th), Ren Le Lin “li_xiaolong” (43rd), Ravid Garbi “jerbi9999” (48th), George Wolff (56th), Trygve Leite “FullSendWig” (86th), and Rui Ferreira (95th).
WSOP #78: $1K Turbo NLH 8-Handed – Adnan Hacialioglu “Bolazar” – $ 259,841.90
The WSOP #78: $1,000 Turbo No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed attracted 1,910 runners for a prize pool of $ 1,814,500. Out of the 278 that profited, it was Adnan Hacialioglu “Bolazar” who shipped the big kahuna slice worth $ 259,841.90 and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. He was the second player from Finland to win at the series, bumping up the country’s bracelet tally to six. With no prior WSOP winnings and just a meager list of cashes, this was Hacialioglu’s first recorded victory and largest live score. Hacialioglu also won a $ 15,000 WSOP Europe Package.
Buy in: $ 1,000
Entries: 1,910
Prize pool: $ 1,814.500
ITM: 278 places
Running time: 6 hours and 47 minutes
The final road to victory was paved with extremely good fortune for the Finland player. Hacialioglu knocked out the last five players that included double ring winner Tim West “TMay420” and Swedish pro Robin Andreas Berggren “Kabuzzi” at heads up. Kicking off the final table, Hacialioglu was ranked third in chips while Germany’s Niko Koop “niNohR” was chip leader.
Opening hand was an immediate boost for West with Hacialioglu paying up. West proved to be the most difficult player for Hacialioglu to eliminate. The American pro was just as lucky, costing Hacialioglu four double ups before putting him down in 3rd place. The first two players to fall were seasoned pros double ring winner Tuan Bui Le “FudGuy” (8th) and Korean superstar Soo Jo Kim “choleeek89” (7th). After West doubled up again, Andriy Lyubovetskiy “smbcall911” (6th) followed the pros to the rail to become Hacialiooglu’s first of five casualties.
Next showdown was a runner runner win for West who had at the flop shove, running behind Hacialioglu’s 
two pair on a board 
. However, the turn 
and river saved West for his third double up off Hacialioglu. Down in chips, Hacialioglu recovered off chip leader Koop with A-6 offsuit finding an Ace to overtake pocket nines. Koop proceeded to lose another face off with Berggren collecting. This gave Hacialioglu the lead for the first time which he held to the end.
For Hacialioglu’s second bust he cracked the 
of Jargo Alavali “Bungakat” when 
improved to a straight. His stack ballooned further after winning another lucky draw to bounce out Koop in 4th place. It was all in preflop, Hacialioglu with 
, Koop , a King fell on the turn. Three left, West scored his fourth double up off Hacialioglu with A-J becoming a straight to dust A-K. However, two minutes later, West’s luck ran out with 
missing against Hacialioglu’s 
.
Heads up arrived with Hacialioglu ahead 3:1. The final hand quickly arrived with Hacialiouglu’s winning the flip against Berggren’s 
when a Queen graced the board.
Final table payouts
1st Adnan Hacialioglu “Bolazar” – Finland – $ 259,841.90 + $ 15,000 WSOP Europe Package added to 1st place
2nd Robin Andreas Berggren “Kabuzzi” – Sweden – $ 197,274.43
3rd Tim West “TMay420” – USA – $ 143,162.05
4th Niko Koop “niNohR” – Germany – $ 103,892.64
5th Jargo Alavali “Bungakat” – Estonia – $ 75,394.83
6th Andriy Lyubovetskiy “smbcall911” – Ukraine – $ 54,713.88
7th Soo Jo Kim “choleeek89” – Korea – $ 39,705.79
8th Tuan Bui Le “FudGuy” – USA – $ 28,814.44
Notable players in the money (top 100): Joao Vieira (11th), Pedro Velasco (12th), Bernardo Dias “GGeKKo” (15th), Kosei Ichinose (21st), Justin Park “RockyRagoo” (43rd), Isaac Baron (54th), Alex Papazian (63rd), Hun Weil Lee (67th), Shyngis Satubayev “somebodyelse” (80th), Vlad Martynenko “CheckEtoFold” (95th), Thai Ha (99th), and Kazuhiro Shirasawa “propofol-san” (100th).
WSOP SIDE EVENTS
As always, Sunday at the series served up a platter of guaranteed side events. It was especially engaging for high rollers with five events of buy ins ranging from $ 840 to $ 3,000 and $ 2,352,100 in combined guarantees. In the aftermath, the side events paid out a whopping $ 4,849,449. Two events produced seven digit prize pools. The richest was the WSOP Side Event: $1,500 Sunday Deepstack at $ 1,262,500. Here’s a look at all the winners.
WSOP Side Event: $1,500 Sunday Deepstack – Ronny Kaiser – $ 212,408.69
Liechtenstein’s Ronny Kaiser has been ripping up the high roller games but since they weren’t series side events, it hasn’t been in our recaps. Well, that’s all changed with Kaiser shipping last night’s $ 1,500 Deepstack. Kaiser overcame a strong field of 886 runners to claim the $ 212,408.69 first prize. Prior to this win, Kaiser won two network high roller events and finished 7th at the MILLIONAIRE MAKER where he pocketed a cool $ 207,644.
Buy in: $ 1,500
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 750,000
Entries: 886
Prize pool: $ 1,262,500
ITM: 116 places
Winner: Ronny Kaiser – Liechtenstein – $ 212,408.69
2nd Keith Lehr “lehrjett” – Germany – $ 155,694.76
WSOP Side Event: $3,000 Sunday Double Stack – P Lefrancois – $ 204,018.84
The other big side event winner was Canada’s P Lefrancois at the $ 3,000 Sunday Double Stack. Lefrancois bested a field of 395 entries, defeating bracelet winner Juha Helppi at heads up to ship the lion’s share worth $ 204,018.84. This was Lefrancois’s first win and largest score of the series.
Buy in: $ 3,000
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 750,000
Entries: 395
Prize pool: $ 1,125,750
ITM: 55 placesWinner: P Lefrancois – Canada – $ 204,018.84
2nd Juha Helppi – Finland – $ 149,960.81
3rd Robert Heidorn “MalbecFueled” – Austria – $ 110,226.46
WSOP Side Event: $840 Bounty High Roller – Omar Gonzalez “nviDiablo” – $ 51,887.11
First win this series for Omar Gonzalez “nviDiablo” at the $ 840 Bounty High Roller event. Gonzalez triumphed over the 319 entry field, finishing off kisaaa at heads up. Gonzalez shipped $ 23,774.61 plus a larger $ 28,112.50 in bounties to carry away a sizable $ 51,887.11.
Buy in: $ 840
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 150,000
Entries: 319
Prize pool: $ 255,200
ITM: 47 places
Winner: Omar Gonzalez ‘nviDiablo” – Mexico – $ 51,887.11
2nd kisaaa – Israel – $ 27,129.30
3rd Upswinger – India – $ 16,057.70
4th Wenhao Peng “pwhwin” – China – $ 15,653.07
WSOP Side Event: $400 Six Handed – YallaHabibi – $ 74,630.89
At four-handed, YallaHabibi won the flip against II!II!II!I then proceeded to knock out the rest in immediate succession to claim the $ 74,630.89. This was YallaHabibi’s first WSOP side event win this series, adding to the numerous deep runs earned at the network’s high roller games.
Buy in: $ 400
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 250,000
Entries: 1,256
Prize pool: $ 472,256
ITM: 170 places
Winner: YallaHabibi – Canada – $ 74,630.89
2nd JCardz – Canada – $ 54,159.21
3rd hectorballer – Ireland – $ 39,303.36
4th II!II!II! – Brazil – $ 28,522.42
WSOP Side Event: $2,500 Second Chance
Buy in: $ 2,500
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 500,000
Entries: 279
Prize pool: $ 662,625
ITM: 39 places
Winner: Daniel Hindin “RussianBot1” – Mexico – $ 106,364.53 (heads up deal)
2nd gymkhana1 – New Zealand – $ 113,976.79 (heads up deal)
WSOP Side Event: “There’s Always Next Year” $1K Super Turbo – khushkush15 – $ 78,085.99
Catchy side event title to inspire those that missed the mark. The “There’s Always Next Year” $1K Super Turbo drove 461 to action to more than double the distinct $ 202,100 guarantee. The incredibly fast race clocked in at 2 hours and 44 minutes when Canada’s Shaylen Anita “khushkush15” defeated Russia’s Gleb Tremzin “IamMVP” for the $ 78,085.99 first prize. This was Anita’s first win this series.
Buy in: $ 1,000
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 202,100
Entries: 461
Prize pool: $ 437,950
ITM: 63 places
Winner: Shaylen Anita “khushkush15” – Canada – $ 78,085.99
2nd Gleb Tremzin “IamMVP” – Russia – $ 57,568.48
3rd 01123581321 – Brazil – $ 42,442.26
WSOP Side Event: $250 Super Turbo Six Handed
Buy in: $ 250
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 150,000
Entries: 992
Prize pool: $ 228,160
ITM: 134 places
Winner: Kamal Huseynov “hki23” – Azerbaijan – $ 28,654.06 (four way deal)
2nd Patawells – Argentina – $ 24,342.72 (four way deal)
3rd Freedom35 – Brazil – $ 25,257.68 (four way deal)
4th Veraaa1 – Russia – $ 20,664.42 (four way deal)
WSOP Side Event: $200 Sunday Second Chance
Buy in: $ 200
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 250,000
Entries: 1,762
Prize pool: $ 324,208
ITM: 242 places
Winner: Apratim Sharma “checm@te” – India – $ 41,840.55 (heads up deal)
2nd shaguoxin – China – $ 42,597.17 (heads up deal)
WSOP Side Event: $84 Bounty Hunter
Buy in: $ 84
Date: August 30
Guarantee: $ 50,000
Entries: 1,010
Prize pool: $ 80,800
ITM: 134 places
Winner: Sandro1958 – Brazil – $ 12,595.93
Update: WSOP Online Leaderboard – Top 10
With the WSOP Asia Player of the Series won by Brazil’s Luis Eduardo Assuncao Garla “Xapilskinha”, next focus is on the WSOP Player of the Series title. In store for the ultimate winner is the WSOP Pure Gold Mouse trophy. Players that finish 2nd to 5th will also each win a Pure Gold Card.
Germany’s Christian Rudolph zoomed into the top spot after shipping the WSOP #70: $25K NLH POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP high roller bracelet event. He also accrued points in eight other events. Canadian pro Daniel Dvoress – WSOP #71: $ 1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER champion – dropped to 2nd rank.
Open: WSOP #84: $100 WSOP MILLIONS [ $2M GTD ]
Buy in: $ 100
Guarantee: $ 2,000,000
Entry Dates: August 31 to September 6
Entry Flights: 20 offered
Final Day: September 5 @ 18:00 UTC / September 6 @ 02:00 HKT
UPCOMING KEY EVENTS
WSOP #79: $25,000 Heads Up NLHE [ 128 cap, no late reg ]
Buy in: $ 25,000
Entries: 128 cap
Late registration: N/A
Date: September 1 @ 18:00 UTC / September 2 @ 02:00 HKT
Semi Finals: September 5 @ 18:00 UTC / September 6 @ 02:00 HKT
WSOP #83: $10K WSOP Super MILLION$ [ $5M GTD ]
Buy in: $ 10,000
Date: September 6 @ 18:00 UTC / September 7 @ 02:00 HKT
Guarantee: $ 5,000,000
Notes: 2 day event
Natural8 Promos
For players signed up on Natural8, expect fantastic player incentives. Eight WSOP Online champions, namely Luis Assuncao Garla “Xapilskinha”, Daniel Dvoress, Hun Wei Lee, Teoh Ming Juen “Paul Teoh”, Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon”, Marcelo Jakovjlevic Pudla “Marolo”, Anson Yan Shing Tsang “Tara@0z”, and Thi Truong “HoneyandTHI” have already won a Team Bling Sponsorship package for their incredible achievement. Other promos are the First Deposit Bonus and WSOP Silk Road leaderboard race. 8 days left to avail of the promos!
WSOP Winner’s Circle Sponsorship Packages
Main Event = $100,000 Natural8 Sponsorship*
Win the WSOP Main Event and you’ll not only become a part of Team Bling, you’ll be the CAPTAIN of the team. This exclusive package includes:
12 month Team Bling Sponsorship
$15,000 Las Vegas Package ($10,000 to cover your buy-ins and $5,000 for expenses)
$25,000 for live event sponsorships
T$60,000 in online sponsorships, paid out over 12 months
Buy-ins of $1,000 and above = $15,000 Natural8 Sponsorship*
Win a WSOP Bracelet from any event with a buy-in of $1,000 and above, and you’ll get a Team Bling package that includes:
6 month Team Bling Sponsorship
$15,000 Las Vegas Package ($10,000 to cover your buy-ins and $5,000 for expenses)
Buy-ins from $50 to $999 = $7,500 Natural8 Sponsorship*
Win a WSOP Bracelet from any event with a buy-in of $999 and below, and you’ll get a Team Bling package that includes:
6 month Team Bling Sponsorship
$7,500 Las Vegas Package ($5,000 to cover your buy-ins and $2,500 for expenses)
WSOP First Deposit Bonus
First time depositors on Natural8 can expect a special bump in the load. For a minimum deposit of $20 are gifts worth up to $ 100 over six consecutive days. The initial $ 60 in WSOP tickets – WSOP Satellite and WSOP Spin & Gold, another $ 40 in WSOP tickets for those that complete all 6 AoF challenges of 100 AoF hands per day.
Plenty of action still to come so stick with us at Somuchpoker as we bring you daily updates on the ongoing 2020 WSOP Online on Natural8.
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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