2021 WSOP Online [International]: Eduardo Rodrigues delivers double KO for first career gold; Dario Sammartino runner up, Soojo Kim 3rd place

The hunt for the twentieth series bracelet ended in a stunning double elimination. Brazil’s Eduardo Cappellaro “Ghazbaran” Rodrigues denied Italian pro Giuseppe Dario Sammartino and South Korean pro Soo Jo “choleeek89” Kim to capture the dream WSOP title and gold bracelet. Also running well was Natural8 player Karolis “Internecik” Sereika who reached back to back final tables. Check out our recap, updated Natural8 leaderboards, and other festival stats down below.  

The 2021 World Series of Poker Online [International] kicked off on August 1 at online platform Natural8 [GG Network] and runs through September 12. To date, nearly US$ 41 Million has been paid out with 16 out of 20 events pulling in seven figures. More bracelets and cash yet to be claimed along with 11 remaining bracelets. If there is just one event that must not be missed, it is the series’ headliner MAIN EVENT featuring a $20M guarantee. Day 1 flights are ongoing leading up to the final day on September 5. Buy in is US$ 5,000. Only three buy ins are allowed per player. Same day re-entries are not allowed. 

For players signed up on Natural8, expect plenty of added perks and exclusive prizes. You can read up on those incentives at the bottom of the page or via this link:

Natural8 offers $400,000 incentive to play 2021 WSOP Online

WSOP #20: $1,500 MONSTER STACK NLH Freezeout – Eduardo “Ghazbaran” Rodrigues – US$ 212,815

The two day WSOP #20: $1,500 MONSTER STACK NLH Freezeout ended in a thrilling three way showdown with Eduardo Cappellaro “Ghazbaran” Rodrigues defeating well known pros Dario Sammartino and Soo Jo “choleeek89” Kim. Rodrigues clasped his first ever WSOP bracelet and a career high US$ 212,815 payout. He became the sixth Brazilian to win a title in this series, following Joao Simao, Thiago “IneedWasabi” Macedo, Eduardo Augusto Pires, Lucio “WizardOfAz” Lima, and Renan Carlos Bruschi. In addition, Rodrigues won the WSOP $125 Daily 6-Handed side event two nights prior for US$ 11,859.

Prior to these wins, Rodrigues only had four small WSOP cashes amounting to US$ 4,341, and his largest tracked score was US$ 65,500 earned at the 2018 Brazilian Series of Poker Puerto Iguazu Main Event for 2nd place. 

For runner up Sammartino, despite being the favored of the finalists, it was another missed gold. Back in 2019, the Italian pro placed 2nd at the WSOP Main Event and a few days ago, he finished 5th at the WSOP #18: $5,000 Short Deck Championship. As for third place finisher Soo Jo “choleeek89” Kim, playing under the final table screen name Caballero Jerecho Ramires, it was his deepest WSOP run. Last year, the South Korean pro placed 7th at the US$ 1,000 Turbo NLH 8-Handed. Despite the miss, Kim earned a career high score of US$ 119,674. 

Event recap

1,080 players came out for the two day WSOP #20: $1,500 MONSTER STACK NLH Freezeout to generate a seven figure prize pool of US$ 1,539,000. Day 1 reached the limit of 32 levels with 24 players remaining. 

Among the Asia Pacific players in the money were Gab Yong “GabD” Kim (49th), Joshua McCully (58th), Hyungyu “GHSLG” Park (83rd), Xuejian “LuckyCat00” Li (88th), Cliff “TicTacTok” Chow (98th), Jacky “MCPJ” Wong (110th), James Chen (129th), and Yan Shing “Anson” Tsang (143rd). Hong Kong pro Edward “edyam1” fell in 30th place with outdrawn by Ricardo “stamina22” Da Silva’s , ace on the flop. 

Date: August 28 to 29
Buy in: US$ 1,500
Players: 1,080
Prize pool: US$ 1,539,000
ITM: 179 places

The final day kicked off with Soo Jo “choleeek89” Kim up top, followed by Dario Sammartino just 7 BB behind. Also in the lineup were three Japanese players, Shota “Daniel Negranue” Murakami, “NUCLE”, and “HAKU06”. The latter two were first to depart while Murakami exited in 16th place. The last bracelet holder, Estonia’s Ranno “RukKuRuku” Sootla, fell in 11th place. Shortly after, the final table was formed at the elimination of short stacked Rick “chucknorris” Hutting to Eduardo Cappellaro “Ghazbaran” Rodrigues. This was Rodrigues’ third victim, having earlier railed Da Silva (13th) and China’s “LiuliAAAA” (11th). Rodrigues carried in the biggest stack of 107 BB into the final table with average at 45 BB. 

While there were no bracelet holders at the table, USA’s Chris “AIR-JORDAN” Karambinis sported two WSOPC rings. Karambinis and South Korea’s Jin Hyang “SON_7” Lee were the biggest movers of the day, rising up from the bottom ranks. Sammartino, Romain Jean “Flingue” Dours, and Natural8 player Karolis “Internecik” Sereika were equally impressive, navigating their way into a series second final table. For Sereika it was a back to back having placed 7th at the recently concluded WSOP #19: $840 6 Handed Bounty No Limit Hold’em. 

It took well over two hours to reach the final three matchup. Along the way, Karambinis booted Sereika (9th) with king on the flop dusting , however the boost only got him as far as 7th place. Karambinis busted to Dours with pocket Kings dominating pocket Queens. Claiming the most heads was Sammartino who railed three players – Lee (8th), Dours (6th), and Renato Almeida Prado “BizaCarmela” Valentim (5th). Sammartino cracked Valentim’s with set on the flop, shoves were seen at the turn. (Hand pictured below)

At four handed, the silent Australian Thomas “zizelux” Harvey landed a double up with pocket Kings over Sammartino’s pocket Queens but couldn’t get past Kim on the next shove. Harvey pushed on the flop with on a board that completed to only to be outkicked and kicked out in 4th place by Kim‘s . 

The three handed battle ran for twenty minutes with Rodrigues stealing the chip lead from Kim. From there, he shaved his opponents to amass over half the chips in play. Kim was down to just 16 BB when the final hand erupted. Kim shoved , Sammartino repopped for all his chips with , and chip leader Rodrigues called showing . When the board felted , Rodrigues landed the best five card spread for a crushing double knockout and a glorious victory. 

Final table payouts

1st Eduardo Cappellaro “Ghazbaran” Rodrigues – Brazil – US$ 212,815
2nd Giuseppe Dario Sammartino – Italy – US$ 159,588
3rd Soo Jo “choleeek89” Kim – South Korea – US$ 119,674
4th Thomas “zizelux” Harvey – Australia – US$ 89,743
5th Renato Almeida Prado “BizaCarmela” Valentim – Brazil – US$ 67,297
6th Romain Jean “Flingue” Dours – France – US$ 50,466
7th Chris “AIR-JORDAN” Karambinis – USA – US$ 37,844
8th Jin Hyang “SON_7” Lee – South Korea – US$ 28,379
9th Karolis “Internecik” Sereika – Austria – France – US$ 21,281

Open: WSOP #27: $5,000 MAIN EVENT, $20M GTD

The WSOP #27: $5,000 MAIN EVENT Online Championship is underway with 17 qualifying heats leading up to the final day on September 5. Last year, this event generated a massive 5,802 entries for a record breaking US$ 27,559,000 online tournament prize pool. This year’s edition will see the buy in remain at US$ 5,000 with a US$ 20,000,000 guarantee in tow. Only three Day 1 buy ins maximum permitted per player and same day re-entry is not allowed. Last chance to qualify for the Final Day is on September 5. 

Day 1 flights: August 22 to September 5
Buy in: US$ 5,000
Guarantee: US$ 20,000,000
Final Day: September 5

2021 WSOP Online bracelet events stats

WSOP #1 – #20 prize pool: US$ 41,626,154
Cumulative entries: 72,372
Seven figure prize pools: 16
Largest phased field: WSOP #1: $50 The Return NLH – 30,810 entries
Largest one day entry field: WSOP #5: $315 Bounty Deepstack NLH – 2,989 entries
Biggest pot (phased): WSOP #7: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER NLH – US$ 7,747,725
Biggest pot (single day entry): WSOP #12: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller NLH – US$ 6,052,800
Smallest field: WSOP #18: $5,000 Short Deck Championship – 144 entries
Smallest pot: WSOP #9: $400 DOUBLE CHANCE PLO – US$ 366,600
First time bracelet winners: 16
Natural8 champions: 3 
Multiple final tables: 8 players 
Largest payout: WSOP #7: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER NLH – Eduardo Pires – US$ 1,384,013
Deepest run by Asian player: Keun Woo “POLALIFE!” Lee – Korea – 1st place at WSOP #12: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No Limit Hold’em

2021 WSOP Online champions

WSOP #1: $50 The Return NLH – Bartlomiej “Chester20o” Swieboda – Poland – US$ 161,110
WSOP #2: $1,111 Caesars Cares Charity Event – Joao Simao – Brazil – US$ 206,075
WSOP #3: $2500 Limit Hold’em Championship – Nicolo Molinelli – Italy – US$ 88,461
WSOP #4: $800 DOUBLE CHANCE NLH – Thiago “IneedWasabi” Macedo – Brazil – US$ 161,636
WSOP #5: $315 Bounty Deepstack No Limit Hold’em – Kacper Pyzara – Poland – US$ 79,789
WSOP #6: $200 FLIP & GO No Limit Hold’em – Georgios Sotiropoulos – Greece – US$ 117,022
WSOP #7: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER NLH – Eduardo Pires – Brazil – US$ 1,384,013
WSOP #8: $5,000 6-Handed NLH Championship – Daniel Smiljkovic – Germany – US$ 423,426
WSOP #9: $525 Superstack Turbo Bounty NLH – Lucio “WizardOfAz” Lima – US$ 91,204
WSOP #10: $400 DOUBLE CHANCE PLO – Roland “Quina Quen” Czika – Hungary – US$ 55,369
WSOP #11: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller – Erik Seidel – USA – US$ 977,842
WSOP #12: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No Limit Hold’em – Keun Woo “POLALIFE!” Lee – Korea – US$ 635,575
WSOP #13: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship – Vincas “seimininkas” Tamasauskas – Lithuania – US$ 268,926
WSOP #14: $500 THE BIG 500 – Renan Carlos Bruschi – Brazil – US$ 150,326
WSOP #16: $1,050 WSOP GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH – Samuel Vousden – Finland – US$ 274,519
WSOP #17: $400 PLOSSUS [Bounty] – Gabi “kidrurim” Livshitz – Israel – US$ 152,165
WSOP #18: $5,000 Short Deck Championship – Radmir “KOPOBA” Sadirov – Russia – US$ 169,110
WSOP #19: $840 6 Handed Bounty No Limit Hold’em – Andrii Derzhypilskyi – Ukraine – US$ 154,322
WSOP #20: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH Freezeout – Eduardo Cappellaro “Ghazbaran” Rodrigues – Brazil – US$ 212,815

Ninth career bracelet won

Erik Seidel – USA – WSOP #11: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller

Second career bracelet won

Nicolo Molinelli – WSOP #3: $2500 Limit Hold’em Championship
Georgios Manousos Sotiropoulos – WSOP #6: $200 FLIP & GO No Limit Hold’em

Multiple final tables

Stanislav Kuvaev 
8th – WSOP #3: $2,500 Limit Hold’em Championship
5th – WSOP #9: $525 Superstack Turbo Bounty NLH 

Renan Carlos Bruschi 
2nd – WSOP #3: $2500 Limit Hold’em Championship
1st – WSOP #14: $500 THE BIG 500 

David “MPEW299” Wang 
5th – WSOP #13: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship
8th – WSOP #14: $500 THE BIG 500 

Joao Vieira
7th – WSOP #3: $2500 Limit Hold’em Championship
2nd – WSOP #18: $5,000 Short Deck Championship

Yen Liang “yao_poker” Yao
2nd – WSOP #6: $200 FLIP & GO No Limit Hold’em
3rd – WSOP #18: $5,000 Short Deck Championship

Giuseppe Dario Sammartino 
5th – WSOP #18: $5,000 Short Deck Championship
2nd – WSOP #20: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH Freezeout 

Romain Jean “Flingue” Dours 
6th – WSOP #3: $2500 Limit Hold’em Championship 
6th – WSOP #20: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH Freezeout 

Karolis “Internecik” Sereika
7th – WSOP #19: $840 6 Handed Bounty No Limit Hold’em
9th – WSOP #20: $1,500 Monster Stack NLH Freezeout 

Bracelets by Country

Brazil – 6
Poland – 2
Italy – 1 
Greece – 1 
Germany – 1
Hungary – 1 
Korea – 1
USA – 1
Lithuania – 1
Israel – 1
Finland – 1
Russia – 1
Ukraine – 1

Seven figure prize pools

WSOP #1: $50 The Return NLH – US$ 1,417,260
WSOP #2: Caesars Cares Charity Event  – US$ 1,759,824
WSOP #4: $800 Double Chance NLH – US$ 1,248,680
WSOP #6: $200 FLIP & GO No Limit Hold’em – US$ 1,209,920
WSOP #7: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER NLH – US$ 7,747,725
WSOP #8: $5,000 6-Handed NLH Championship – US$ 2,275,250
WSOP #9: $525 Superstack Turbo Bounty NLH – US$ 1,114,500
WSOP #11: $1,000 DOUBLE CHANCE NLH – US$ 5,599,300
WSOP #12: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller NLH – US$ 6,052,800
WSOP #13: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship – US$ 1,268,250
WSOP #14: $500 THE BIG 500 – US$ 1,253,525
WSOP #15: $10K Heads Up NLH Championship – US$ 1,561,700
WSOP #16: $1,050 WSOP GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH – US$ 2,240,000
WSOP #17: $400 PLOSSUS – US$ 1,738,880
WSOP #19: $840 6 Handed Bounty No Limit Hold’em – US$ 1,642,000
WSOP #20: $1,500 MONSTER STACK NLH, Freezeout – US$ 1,539,000

Natural8 Exclusive Promo results

Natural8 Team Bling Sponsorship Package winners

Joao Simao – WSOP #2: Caesars Cares Charity Event – US$ 10,000 Sponsorship
Eduardo Augusto Pires – WSOP #7: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER NLH – US$ 10,000 Sponsorship
Vincas “seimininkas” Tamasauskas – WSOP #13: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship – US$ 10,000 Sponsorship

Natural8 WSOP 2-in-1 Challenge winners

Week 1
“Masukito83” – Dominican Republic – US$ 823.61
“DanielTsai” – Taiwan – US$ 597.12
“LotusFocus” – India – US$ 433.33

Week 2
Wai Yew “wong0410” Wong Malaysia – US$ 851.94
Richard Gryko – Canada – US$ 624.04
“All6886” – Vietnam – US$ 457.42

Week 3
Jonathan Katz – Argentina – US$ 851.94
“Flip888” – Hong Kong – US$ 624.04
“PhilIveyBrother” – Vietnam – US$ 457.42

Natural8 WSOP Amazing Race Leaderboard update

Asia Pacific
Joshua McCully – New Zealand – 6,571.13 points
“Imar54” – New Zealand – 3,405.24 points
Vincent “Moist” Huang – New Zealand – 3,089.58 points
David “MPEW299” Wang – Malaysia – 2,630.26 points
Hun Wei Lee – New Zealand – 1905.6 points
“TradingHalt” – New Zealand – 1,862.31 points 

Latin America
Rafael “riskgambler” Furlanetto – Brazil – 6,651.21 points
Marcelo Asensio – Brazil – 4,289.89 points
Eduardo Augusto Pires – Brazil – 4,147.55 points
Daan “DaanOss” Mulders – Mexico – 4,053.39 points
Joao Simao – Brazil – 3,778.36 points
Luciano Santos de Hollanda – 3,471.30 points
Assad “KammyStyyle” Kamran – Argentina – 3,441.30 points

Rest of World
Vincas “seimininkas” Tamasauskas – 6,222.07 points
Tomas “CoronaMyAss” Jozonis – Lithuania – 6,201 points
Isaac Haxton – Canada – 5,081.39 points

Taiwan 
Pete Chen – 3,581.69 points
Yen-liang “yao_poker” Yao – 2,123.21 points
Chin-Wei “davidchien88” Chien – 1,365.61 points

Thailand 
George Kitsios – 2,241.61 points
“LuffyJd” – 1,321.36 points
Phachara Wongwichit – 865.72

Vietnam
“LittleFishVN” – 1,418.06 points
“Huethuong89” – 1,010.35 points
Cuong “CLVT” Trinh – 925.98 points

Japan 
“8809” – 1,730.92 points
Takashi “IKAIKA” Ogura – 1,100.58 points
Shota “shorta222” Nakanishi – 953.01 points

Hong Kong 
Dicky Siu Hang “Floatinworld” Tsang – 5,316.31 points
Edward “edyam1” Yam – 1,705.99 points
Anson Tsang – 1,656.68 points

India
Sriharsha “Upswinger” Doddapaneni – 4,657.01 points
“happysim” – 2,444.19 points
Gaurav “Haversham” Sood – 2,039.83 points

Exclusive Natural8 promos

To give more value to your buck, Natural8 players can expect added incentives amounting to US$ 400,000 up for grabs throughout the series. We’ve broken them down right here. 

WSOP Team Bling Sponsorship

Win any of the 2021 WSOP Online bracelet events and you are assured entry to Team Bling along with one of these fine sponsorship packages listed: 

Main Event = $100,000 Team Bling 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
$25,000 for live event buy in sponsorships
$5,000 to cover expenses
T$70,000 in online event sponsorships, paid out over 12 months

Buy-ins of $1,000 and above = $10,000 Team Bling 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
$7,500 for live event buy in sponsorships
$2,500 to cover expenses

Buy-ins from $50 to $999 = $5,000 Team Bling 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
$3,500 for live event buy in sponsorships
$1,500 to cover expenses

WSOP Amazing Race

Top the leaderboards to win a piece of the US$ 75,000 prize pool! There are ten leaderboards running throughout the series with varying prizes. Points can only be earned at bracelet events and WSOP side events. Three different LiveX packages up for grabs are listed: 

US$ 5,000 LiveX Gold which includesUS$ 3,500 live event buy in sponsorship and US$ 1,500 in expenses. 

US$ 3,000 LiveX Silver which includes US$ 2,000 live event buy in sponsorship and US$ 1,000 in expenses. 

US$ 2,000 LiveX Bronze which includes US$ 1,500 live event buy in sponsorship and US$ 500 in expenses. 

WSOP 2-in-1 Challenge

Win a share of US$ 30,000 via the WSOP 2-in-1 incentive. This unique perk is only offered in Natural8. To start off, play any of the WSOP bracelet events and WSOP side events to earn points. As written on the website,

“Take part in any WSOP Branded Tournaments to earn points and boost those points by playing in cash games. We’ll multiply the points you’ve earned by playing tournaments with the points from cash games to reveal your chipstack for the final WSOP 2-in-1 Challenge Flipout.“

Natural8 offers $400,000 incentive to play 2021 WSOP Online

Plenty of action ahead so stick with us at Somuchpoker as we bring you recaps of the ongoing 2021 WSOP Online [International] on Natural8.