2020 WSOP Online – Natural8: The Opener sets new record but bugs out; two events postponed; Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon” captures his first WSOP bracelet

What was anticipated to be an exciting opening day at the 2020 World Series of Poker hosted on the GG Network – Natural8, turned out to be a brutal disappointment for many players. Out of the three bracelet events up for grabs, only the $ 525 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed reached completion. The other two – The Opener $ 100 [$ 2M GTD] and $ 1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief [Caesars Cares] – were postponed to July 26 due to a “critical bug”.

Addressing the issue on GGPoker twitter:

The bug was caused by an overwhelming number of players joining The Opener and other side events. The tournament servers were unable to resume due to high loads. We will increase more capacity (we just doubled it) to make sure future events run smoothly

— GGPoker – HOME OF WSOP 2020 ONLINE BRACELET SERIES (@GGPokerOfficial) July 19, 2020

However, the cause for delay is not an isolated case for the online network. In fact, it is more of a recurring issue that everyone hopes is resolved immediately. With the prestigious WSOP festival moved online this year, more players are expected to join. This was evident at The Opener with a record breaking 29,306 entries across eight starting flights. To compensate, remaining players of The Opener received $100 while donation to the Covid Relief event will be doubled by the network.

As for the good news, Natural8 player Japan’s Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon” emerged as the first WSOP bracelet winner on GG Network – Natural8 for $ 117,650.43. We’ve provided a brief recap below including info on the suspended events.

The 2020 WSOP kicked off on WSOP.com on July 1st exclusively for players residing in Nevada and New Jersey with 31 bracelet events running throughout the entire month. For the rest of the world, the series opened on July 19th on Natural8 – GG Network with 54 bracelet events running until September 6th inclusive.

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WSOP #34: $525 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed – Shoma Ishikawa ($117,650)

The $525 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed darted at record pace, bringing the 2,214 entry field down to 1 in just over three hours. At the top was Japan’s Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon” for a six figure $ 117,650.43 payout. With no prior WSOP live stats, this was pp_syon’s first series cash and when compared to his career live scores, it may possibly be his single largest earning to date. pp_syon became the third Japanese player to win a WSOP bracelet following Naoya Kihara (2012) and Takahiro Nakai (2015).

Playing on Natural8, Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon” also won his admission to “Team Bling “. His package will include a 6 month Team Bling Sponsorship and $7,500 Las Vegas Package ($5,000 to cover buy-ins and $2,500 for expenses).

Buy in: $ 525
Entries: 2,214
Prize pool: $ 1,107,000
ITM: 314 places
Running time: 3:12:22

With blinds increasing every 4 minutes, it was an ultra aggressive race to chip up. The money was reached in just an hour and a half of play with 314 places paid. During the bubble round to the final table, pp_syon chunked down Diego Ostrovich “El Motron” by doubling up with over , ace on the turn. El Motron followed it up with a shoving spree, finding no callers to win three pots. The final table was formed at the fall of “hu4trollzz” to Daniel Strelitz “Gyrocopter” with pocket twos falling to queen-six, queen on the board.

Entering the final table with the largest bounty on his head was “El Motron” and entering as massive chip leader was Gary Johnson “STARDOG13”. First shove gave Dimitar Yosifov “Mort” the boot with mulgyeolkim “waterwave” shipping it. However on the next hand, waterwave couldn’t do the same to El Motron whose set crushed two pair. waterwave bit it next, falling to STARDOG13. The ensuing five busts were delivered by El Motron to face pp_syon at heads up sporting a 4:1 chip advantage.

However, all of El Motron’s hard work dissolved when pp_syon claimed a succession of pots to cut the gap to 2:1. The first heads up showdown soon arrived with pp_syon doubling up holding to El Motron’s on a board . With leadership reversed and pp_syon up 8:1, El Motron was eliminated on the next hand as pp_syon emerged the newest WSOP golden champion. pp_syon earned $ 82,425 for his win plus $ 35,235 in bounty rewards for a combined $ 117,650.43 in winnings.

Final Table payouts (inclusive of bounty rewards)

1st Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon” – Japan – $ 117,650.43
2nd Diego Ostrovich “El Motron” – Argentina – $ 86,972.44
3rd Gary Johnson “STARDOG13” – Canada – $ 51,800.87
4th Daniel Strelitz “Gyrocopter” – Canada – $ 50,430.53
5th Yulian Bogdanov “Ector” – Bulgaria – $ 34,677.35
6th Tom Delaine “Pik00rs” – Malta – $ 20,225.33
7th Ilya Anatski – Belarus – $ 20,343.15
8th Mulgyeol Kim “waterwave” – China – $ 15,029.90
9th Dimitar Yosifov “Mort” – $ 12,102.14

Notables in the money: Vincent Kwun Ngai Li “Peleus34” (59th), Adrian Mateos (76th), Fedor Holz (96th), Michael Soyza (136th), Juan Pardo Dominguez (196th), Darren Elias (265th), Farid Jattin (271st), Chance Kornuth (311th).

Postponed Events

WSOP #32: The Opener $100 [$2M GTD]

Over the course of eight entry flights, The Opener pulled in a record breaking 29,306 entries. With each one at a very affordable $ 100, it more than eclipsed the $ 2M guarantee. Final Day players were now looking to squeeze out the largest share of the $ 2,696,152 prize pool. However, system trouble at crunch time left 3,684 stranded. The event ended in anti-climactic fashion with the Final Day game paused after an hour of play. The money was not reached. The game resumes on July 26 at 18:30 UTC. Remaining players were compensated $ 100.

When players return, they will be gunning for the $ 265,879.63 first place cash. The eventual winner will also receive a WSOP Europe Package Ticket.

Buy in: $ 100
Guarantee: $ 2,000,000
Entries: 29,306
Prize pool: $ 2,696,152
ITM: 3,039
Final Day players: 4,599
Players remaining: 3,684
Chip leader: Tata1407 – 1,968,983 (164 bbs)

WSOP #33: $1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief [Caesars Cares]

The $ 1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief [Caesars Cares] event had the same fate as The Opener, leaving a sizable 1,418 players literally hanging. A few minutes of late registration was still open at the time of the shutdown however it is uncertain if that will still be available once it resumes on July 26 at 18:00 UTC. To compensate, the network will double the donation for Covid Relief.

To name a few of the notable players remaining: bracelet winners Shawn Buchanan, Naoya Kihara, Fedor Holz, and Bertrand Grospellier “ElkY”. Other notable players seen were Natural8 Team Hot Ambassadors: Yen Han Chen “TurboPete”, Michael Soyza, Thai Ha, and Henri Buehler.

Buy in: $ 1,111
Entries: 1,598
Prize pool: $ 1,775,378
ITM: TBA
Players remaining: 1,418
Chip leader: jack chan – 98,014 (196 bbs)

Stick with us at Somuchpoker as we bring you daily updates on the ongoing 2020 WSOP. 

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