The 2021 World Series of Poker is well underway in the United States of America with games taking place at online platform WSOP.com. Just like last year, only players geo-located in New Jersey and Nevada have access to the site and have a chance at the year’s first gold bracelets. The series kicked off on July 1 and will run until August 1. Buy ins range from US$ 333 to US$ 7,777 with a total of 33 shiners are up for grabs.
The first four have already been claimed by Jose “deposit Noboa, Donnell “Spreezy52” Dais, Jeffery “Steelvikes7” Hoop, and highly achieved German superstar Manig “Ohio77” Loeser. For the champions, it was their first ever WSOP gold bracelet, beating out numerous pros and decorated players such as 15x winner Phil Hellmuth, 6x winner Daniel “DNegs” Negreanu, multi winners Max “MaxSparrow” Pescatori, Jeff “NedrudRelyt” Madsen, Anthony “heheh” Zinno, and Upeshka “gomezhamburg” De Silva. Read up on those victories and series update down below.
*Information based from WSOP.com, The Hendon Mob, PokerNews live reporting, and PokerNews Twitch.
2021 WSOP Online bracelet events by the numbers
WSOP #1 – #4 prize pool: US$ 1,945,170
Cumulative entries: 4,115
Biggest winner: Jose “deposit” Noboa – US$ 105,161
Biggest field: WSOP #1 – NLH The Big 500 Kick Off – 1,277 entries
Deepest run by Asia Pacific: Guo Liang “Ct188” Chen (China) – WSOP #3: 3rd place
WSOP #1: NLH The Big 500 Kick Off – JOSE “deposit” NOBOA – US$ 105,161
Setting the pace of the series was the WSOP #1: No Limit Hold’em The Big 500 Kick Off with buy in at US$ 500. The event pulled in 1,277 entries for a prize pool of US$ 574,650. Out of the four completed bracelet events, this event attracted the largest field and amassed the largest prize pool. Emerging victorious was Jose “deposit” Noboa who defeated double ring winner Christopher “Basile28” Basile to lock up his maiden WSOP victory, a career high score US$ 105,161, and the coveted gold bracelet.
Hailing from New Jersey, prior to this victory Noboa had 23 total WSOP cashes (combined live and online) amounting to US$ 77,895. His biggest series cash was in December for US$ 20,304 at the WSOP.com 2020 Online US$ 10K Main Event where he finished 60th out of 705 players. Following that deep run, in May 2021, Noboa came close to a WSOP ring at the WSOP.com Caesars Atlantic City Circuit, taking 3rd at the $125K GTD NLH Monster Stack 3x Re-entry 8 Max for US$ 19,793. Going even further, Noboa returned to the online felt and finally sealed his first ever WSOP win and bracelet at the 2021 WSOP #1: NLH The Big 500 Kick Off.
At the final table, Noboa knocked out the last four players, which included bracelet winner Steve “Gborooo” Gross (3rd) and two time WSOPC ring winner Christopher “Basile28” Basile (2nd). Noboa now has US$ 183K in WSOP winnings. Also running deep was well known pro Shannon “Aulophobia” Shorr who was on his 24th final table WSOP appearance. Shorr bowed out in 8th place for US$ 10,114.
The money round opened at the fall of Poker Hall of Famer Jack “borgia92” McClelland in 181st place. A total of 17 bracelet winners cashed, among them were 3x winner Nick “CashUsKlay” Schulman (38th), 4x winner Joseph Cada (80th), 15x winner Phil “Lumestackin” Hellmuth (141st), and 2x winners Ryan “BITC0IN” Riess (143rd), Anthony “heheh” Zinno (151st), and Jason “heybuddyyyyy” Dewitt (164th).
Date: July 1, 2021
Buy in: US$ 500
Entries: 1,277 (837 uniques, 440 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 574,650
ITM: 180 places
Final table payouts
1st Jose “deposit” Noboa – USA – US$ 105,161
2nd Christopher “Basile28” Basile – USA – US$ 64,935
3rd Ye “YUAN365” Yuan – USA – US$ 46,144
4th John “LND999” Freemon – USA – US$ 33,330
5th Ryan “PostmatesSel” Franklin – USA – US$ 24,250
6th Steve “Gborooo” Gross – USA – US$ 17,872
7th Charles “ChuckTheBum” Varner – USA – US$ 13,389
8th Shannon “Aulophobia” Shorr – USA – US$ 10,114
9th Michael “ParxBigStax” Marder – USA – US$ 7,758
WSOP #2: NLH Monster Stack – MANIG “Ohio77” LOESER – US$ 104,313
Despite an impressive portfolio, littered with titles and big scores amounting to nearly US$ 12 Million, German pro Manig Loeser still had one thing missing.. he had yet to land a WSOP title. On July 2, that dream became a reality after conquering the 1,038 entry field of the WSOP #2: NLH Monster Stack event to earn US$ 104,313 and his first ever gold bracelet.
Loeser entered the final table of the 2021 WSOP #2: NLH Monster Stack event as chip leader after railing China’s Guo Liang “Ct188” Chen in 10th place then went on to knock out Aaron “WompDaTHomp” Thivyanathan (3rd) and double ring winner Mark “NostraDonkus” Liedtke at heads up. Just as impressive was Liedtke who charged upwards from 8th rank to runner up. Ring winner Damian “martillo1978” Alonso finished in 4th place. Other WSOP decorated players in the money were Chance Kornuth (34th) Upeshka “gomezhamburg” De Silva (37th), Nipun “javatini” Java (89th), and Daniel “DNegs” Negreanu (92nd).
It took 11 years for Loeser to reach this milestone. His first WSOP cash was in 2010 finishing 178th out of 7,319 players at the $10K Main Event World Championship for US$ 48,847. In 2013, he came close, missing the gold by one spot at the $1,500 No Limit 6 Handed event where he earned a fat payout worth US$ 200,698. This was his first six digit WSOP win. The following year, the gold was within reach once again, but fell short in 3rd place at the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em for an even larger US$ 288,912 payout. Through the years witnessed several more chances which included a runner up finish at the 2019 WSOPE € 2,500 Short Deck for € 62,929.
Apart from Loeser’s WSOP achievements, his largest career score was at the 2017 Triton Super High Roller Montenegro when he took down the HK$ 1,000,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em Main Event for HK$ 16,877,600 (~US$ 2,162,644). He also has three World Poker Tour titles amounting to a combined ~US$ 490,800, and a 2019 European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Main Event victory for € 603,777 (~US$ 678,393).
Loeser has also done well in the Asia Pacific region. Among his numerous cashes, in 2017 he finished 3rd at the PokerStars Championship Macau HK$ 400K NLH Super High Roller event for HK$ 4,124,000 (~US$ 530,700). Two years later, he placed 2nd at the 2019 Aussie Millions Poker Championship A$ 50,000 No Limit Hold’em event for A$ 772,246 (~US$ 555,000).
Date: July 2, 2021
Buy in: US$ 600
Entries: 1,038 (727 uniques, 311 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 560,520
ITMJeffery: 167 places
Final table payouts
1st Manig “Ohio77” Loeser – Germany – US$ 104,313
2nd Mark “NostraDonkus” Liedtke – USA – 54,460
3rd Aaron “WompDaTHomp” Thivyanathan – USA – 45,626
4th Damian “martillo1978” Alonso – USA – 32,734
5th Jordyn “THLstCrdBndr” Miller – USA – 23,766
6th Justin “LappyPoker” Lapka – USA – US$ 17,488
7th Craig “mrjanovich” Mason – USA – US$ 13,060
8th Julie “I.win.13” Polatchek – USA – US$ 9,865
9th Alexandre “alexmdm” Besse – Switzerland – US$ 7,567
WSOP #3: NLH Turbo Deepstack – DONNELL “Spreezy52” DAIS – US$ 90,801
Coming out of the Atlanta, Georgia dugout was Donnell “Spreezy52” Dais who shipped the WSOP #3: NLH Turbo Deepstack to capture his first ever WSOP bracelet and a career high US$ 90,801 payout. Based on The Hendon Mob, Dais has only cashed 17 times on the live felt and 2 on WSOP.com. His 3rd online deep run was the charm, defeating a field of 950, and a tough final table that included bracelet winner Joon “jykpoker” Kim (9th) and highly decorated Simon “BagelBites” Lam (5th). To secure the title, Dais denied ring winner Mike “SammyTwizz” Azzaro at heads up with 
outdrawing 
on a board 
. Only seven bracelet winners reached the money that included Jeff “NedrudRelyt” Madsen (20th) and Phil “Lumestackin” Hellmuth (58th).
Date: July 3, 2021
Buy in: US$ 500
Entries: 950 (641 uniques, 309 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 427,500
ITM: 99 places
Final table payouts
1st Donnell “Spreezy52” Dais – USA – US$ 90,801
2nd Mike “SammyTwizz” Azzaro – USA – 55,703
3rd John “sn1p3rjdubz” Duci – USA – US$ 38,518
4th Patrick Brokerpat” Megna – USA – US$ 27,061
5th Simon “BagelBites” Lam – USA – US$ 19,323
6th Andrew “grandpaed” Neeme – USA – US$ 14,022
7th Jeffery “itilthard” Kim – USA – US$ 10,388
8th Yonghui “pokermaster8” Jiang – USA – US$ 7,823
9th Joon “jykpoker” Kim – USA – US$ 5,985
WSOP #4: NLH Super Turbo – JEFFERY “Steelvikes7” HOOP – US$ 73,861
The fourth bracelet event was the fast paced WSOP #4: NLH Super Turbo attracting 850 to the virtual arena. Once the final table was formed it was loaded with WSOP decorated players namely, triple ring winner Wendy “Cardthartic” Freedman (7th), and ring winners Ryan “sychosid” Hohner (2nd), Martin “BathroomLine” Zamani (4th), Vinny “brownmagic” Pahuja (8th). Also making it through was China’s Guo Liang “Ct188” Chen who missed his chance at WSOP #2 NLH Monster Stack event, exiting in 10th place. Chen went on to finish in 3rd place. Emerging victorious was Minnesota player Jeffery “Steelvikes7” Hoop for a happy fourth of July payout amounting to US$ 73,860 and a shiny WSOP gold bracelet. This was Hoop’s first ever WSOP title and largest known score.
Falling short of the final table was bracelet and double ring winner Jonathan “Art.Vandelay” Dokler in 9th place. His pocket kings were bad beaten by Steelvikes7’s pocket fives turned set. Dokler and 10th placer “CalcDaddy” were eliminated simultaneously during hand for hand play to the final table. Other notable players in the top 100 money were Anthony “heheh” Zinno (20th), Jesse “MrJesseJames” Sylvia (34th), and Max “MaxSparrow” Pescatori (86th).
Date: July 4, 2021
Buy in: US$ 500
Entries: 850 (608 uniques, 242 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 382,500
ITM: 143 places
Final table payouts
1st Jeffery “Steelvikes7” Hoop – USA – US$ 73,860
2nd Ryan “sychosid” Hohner – US$ 45,670
3rd Guo Liang “Ct188” Chen – China – US$ 32,168
4th Martin “BathroomLine” Zamani – USA – US$ 22,950
5th Matthew “bizpoker18” Beier – USA – US$ 16,600
6th Mychael “JJcorrado87” Robertson – USA – US$ 12,163
7th Wendy “Cardthartic” Freedman – USA – US$ 9,065
8th Vinny “brownmagic” Pahuja – USA – US$ 6,846
Next bracelet events
With four bracelets events in the books, there are 29 more on the plate. The next events run on July 5 to July 8 with buy ins ranging from US$ 777 to US$ 2,000.
July 5: WSOP #5: No Limit Hold’em 8-Max – US$ 1,000 buy in
July 6: WSOP #6: No Limit Hold’em Deepstack – US$ 2,000 buy in
July 7: WSOP #7: No Limit Hold’em Lucky 7’s – US$ 777 buy in
July 8: WSOP #8: No Limit Hold’em Crazy Eights – US$ 888 buy in
One event to mark down is the WSOP #33: No Limit Hold’em Grand Finale US$ 1,000,000 guaranteed, taking place on August 1. Buy in is just US$ 500.
Stick with us at Somuchpoker as we bring you recaps and updates of the ongoing series. All times and dates are listed in Las Vegas, Nevada time.
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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