2021 WSOP Online [International]: Samuel Vousden and Gabi Livshitz win career first gold bracelets

Milestone victories at the 2021 World Series of Poker Online [International] as Samuel Vousden and Gabi “kidrurim” Livshitz each clinched their first ever WSOP title and gold bracelet. Livshitz crushed the PLOSSUS event to bring Israel its first series bracelet and sixteenth overall, Vousden stood tall at the GGMasters HR Freezeout to lift a series first for Finland and seventh overall. Check out our recaps, updated Natural8 leaderboards, and other festival stats down below.  

If you are just tuning in, the 2021 WSOP Online [International] has been well underway since August 1 at online platform Natural8 [GG Network]. The 43 day festival boasts US$ 53+ Million in guaranteed prize pools. To date, over US$ 36.7 Million has been paid out with 14 out of 17 events pulling in seven figures. 16 gold bracelets are still up for grabs and plenty of cash yet to be won with games running until September 12. 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 #16: $1,050 WSOP GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH – Samuel Vousden – US$ 274,519

2,240 players hunted down the sixteenth bracelet at the $1,050 WSOP GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH to generate another handsome seven figure prize pool worth US$ 2,240,000. After two days of play, Finland’s Samuel Vousden was the last man standing, defeating China’s Qibing “degenkaliu” Wang at heads up to seize the US$ 274,519 first prize and his first ever WSOP title and gold bracelet. 

Considerably the most decorated online player in the final table lineup with over US$ 1.7 Million in The Hendon Mob tracked online earnings, the win was Vousden’s biggest WSOP score and second largest career payout. Back in April 2020, he won the US$ 25.5K Poker Masters Online for US$ 520,000. According to Sharkscope, Vousden is deep in the red in the GG Network, however with today’s victory, he catapults back in the black with around US$ 90k in tournament profit. 

The event was a two day affair with 37 players surviving Day 1. Among the N8 and Asia Pacific players cashing in the top 100 were Cliff “TicTacTok” Chow (94th), Isaac Haxton (77th), Hyungyu “GHSLG” Park (74th), Neville Endo “NevSlater “Costa (72nd), Hinojas “POLALIFE!” Jerome (65th), Fan Chih Wei (64th), George Kitsios (60th), and Sosia “Aunty_Ninja” Jiang (45th).  Leading the pack into the final day was Australian pro / N8 player Joshua McCully who was also the frontrunner of the N8 Asia Pacific Amazing Race leaderboard. Down the line was the last remaining player representing India, Neel Joshi, who was ranked 11th. 

Final Day

The first hour of the Final Day saw 16 players bump the rail, among them was Joshi who fell on a three way showdown. He was later joined by McCully who called Alexander “0_really” Zubov’s push on the river with two pair that was dusted by a set of sevens. (Hand pictured below)

By the end of the second hour, the final table was formed after the fall of Brazil’s Danilo “Senhor” Demetrio in 10th place. At the helm was China’s Qibing “degenkaliu” Wang who earned a large portion of his stack when his gutshot improved to a straight to oust Brazil’s “billgates07” in 17th place. All of the finalists were hunting their first WSOP title and bracelet. 

Date: August 22
Buy in: US$ 1,050
Players: 2,240
Prize pool: US$ 2,240,000
ITM: 377 places

Final table payouts

1st Samuel Vousden – Finland – US$ 274,519
2nd Qibing “degenkaliu” Wang – China – US$ 205,859
3rd Zac “Psychedelic” Duce – Australia – US$ 154,372
4th Bernardo Granato – Brazil – US$ 115,762
5th Nicolo “Do-WhatYou-lov3” Bartolone – Austria – US$ 86,809
6th Sergei Denisov – Russia – US$ 65,098
7th Fong Alexander Joseph “AMATERA5! de Guzman – Canada – US$ 48,816
8th Alexander “0_really” Zubov – Russia – US$ 36,607
9th Rushik “PFMT” Gandhi – USA – US$ 27,451

Final table recap

Less than fifteen minutes in, short stacked Rushik “PFMT” Gandhi got it all in with , but missed the board to fall to Bernardo Granato’s . The next two hours were dominated by Vousden, eliminating four players along the way. He first doubled up through Wang with pocket Kings over pocket Jacks, then his sixes improved to a set to win a big pot against Nicolo “Do-WhatYou-lov3” Bartolone to take the lead. Vousden’s stack grew further after he emptied out Zubov with pocket Jacks over pocket Nines, Granato booted Fong Alexander Joseph “AMATERA5!” de Guzman for his second victim, then two minutes later, Sergei Denisov gambled it all with pocket Sevens that ran into Vousden’s pocket Aces. 

Next to fall was Bartolone who pushed on sb with , was called by bb Vousden with , the board ran for lucky trips jacks to the leader. At four handed, Granato shoved K-9 which was dominated throughout by Vousden’s A-K. By this time, Vousden had amassed sixty percent of the chips in play which he used to pressure Wang and Zac “Psychedelic” Duce. After a series of exchanges, Wang scored a monster double up with beating Vousden’s to retake the lead then went on to clean out Duce to enter heads up with 70 BB to Vousden’s 41 BB. 

Despite the deficit, Vousden commanded the action, winning multiple big pots to climb back up top. After twenty minutes of exchanges, Wang was down to 20 BB to Vousden’s 70 BB. Wang shoved with a desperate , Vousden called with , the board ran for a victorious flush and the gold. For runner up Wang, he earned his second largest GG Network payout of US$ 205,859. 

WSOP #17: $400 PLOSSUS [Bounty] – Gabi “kidrurim” Livshitz – US$ 152,165

Reminiscent of last year’s PLOSSUS event where Gabi “kidrurim” Livshitz reached the final table only to bow out in 4th place, this year he came back with a vengeance, eliminating five of his six final table opponents to clinch his first ever WSOP title and gold bracelet. It was also a series first win for Israel. Along with the coveted merchandise, Livshitz pocketed US$ 62,539 plus an astounding US$ 89,626 in bounties for a combined total of US$ 152,165. To emphasize how large his bounty rewards were, the amount was higher than the second placer’s total winnings. Based on The Hendon Mob, Livshitz has well over US$ 1.2 Million in combined live and WSOP Online earnings. He also has US$ 540K in winnings accrued in the GG Network. 

Date: August 16 to 22
Buy in: US$ 400
Cumulative entries: 4,576 (3,486 uniques, 1,090 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 1,738,880
Final day qualifiers: 584
ITM: 500 places
Running time: 8 hours and 20 minutes

Final table payouts

1st Gabi “kidrurim” Livshitz – Israel – US$ 62,539 + US$ 89,626 bounties = US$ 152,165
2nd Yuri “sjeverest” Suvorov – Russia – US$ 62,373 + US$ 26,863 bounties = US$ 89,236
3rd Shengchao “szhu” Zhu – China – US$ 43,645 + US$ 8,6712 bounties = US$ 52,317
4th Idris Ambraisse – France – US$ 30,500 + US$ 13,439 bounties = US$ 49,939
5th Niklas Astedt – Sweden – US$ 21,315 + US$ 13,750 bounties = US$ 35,065
6th Lasse “joutoukko” Enojarvi – Finland – US$ 14,895 + US$ 4,778 bounties = US$ 19,673
7th Shih Hui “RadishGod” Wang – Taiwan – US$ 10,409 + US$  11,708 bounties = US$ 22,117

This year’s edition of the WSOP #17: $400 PLOSSUS was a Bounty tournament drawing 3,468 players and 1,090 re-entries across sixteen starting days for 4,576 total entries. It beat out last year’s turnout of 4,356 entries. At US$ 400 each, the event produced another seven figure series prize pool worth US$ 1,738,880. The final day kicked off with 584 players led by 6x bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu with a massive 493 BB stack. Negreanu went on to exit in 23rd place for US$ 8,916. (Hand pictured below)

Australia’s Ashish “NewGambler” Gupta also carried in a large 426 BB stack into the final day, going as far as 18th place for US$ 8,337. Other notable players in the top 100 ITM were Joao Vieira (19th), Renan Carlos Bruschi (25th), Simon Lofberg (26th), Tarun “AreYouAhead” Goyal (32nd), Amichai Barer (48th), Georgios Manousos Satiropoulos (68th), Anson Tsang (77th), Joakim Haraldstad (90th), Edward “edyam1” Yam (96th), and Dario Sammartino (97th). 

Just before the final 7 was formed, Fernando “JNandez87” Habegger busted in 9th place with beaten by Yuri “sjeverest” Suvorov’s two pair on a board . Habegger just missed his chance at a second final table while Suvorov brought in the largest stack after “TrumpTheGr8” fell to Niklas Astedt in 8th place. 

Final table recap

It was an all international final table with each of the finalists flying a different flag. Swedish online sensation Niklas Astedt was the only WSOP decorated player, boasting two WSOPC rings, both won this year. France’s Idris Ambraisse was looking to finally lock up his first gold having missed it by one spot at last year’s People’s Choice 6-Handed event. Impressively, Ambraisse and China’s Shengchao “szhu” Zhu started the final day in the top 7 of the counts and held strong to reach the final table. Bringing up the rear was Natural8 player Shih Hui “RadishGod” Wang. 

The final bracelet chase lasted just over two hours with Israel’s Gabi “kidrurim” Livshitz knocking out five players. His first victim came in the first fifteen minutes with Wang getting the boot. Before delivering his second bust, Livshitz doubled up through Shengchao “szhu” Zhu then assumed command by railing Finland’s Lasse “joutoukko” Enojarvi in 6th place. Next on Livshitz’s chopping block was Astedt whose stack was down to 11 bb when he shoved with , big blind Livshitz called with , the board ran for a winning two pair. 

The only player Livshitz didn’t rail was Ambraisse who fell to Suvorov with flush spades outdrawing on a board . Three handed saw Suvorov reclaim the chip lead but after losing multiple pots to Zhu, who then lost it all to Livshitz, it was heads up with Livshitz back on top. Livshitz had a 74 BB stack to Suvorov’s 40 BB. It took a quick five minute match for Livshitz to lock up the gold bracelet. The final hand was Livshitz over Suvorov’s on a board .  

Events this week + MAIN EVENT

The MAIN EVENT 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. 

Another phased event running is the COLOSSUS with 16 qualifying heats leading up to the final day on August 29. Buy in is US$ 400. Last year this event amassed 12,757 entries for a US$ 4.7 Million prize pool. 

August 22 to September 5:  WSOP #27: $5,000 MAIN EVENT Online Championship, $20 Million GTD – Day 1 flights currently running
August 22 to 29: WSOP #22: $400 COLOSSUS, $3 Million GTD – Day 1 flights currently running
August 24: WSOP #18: $5,000 Short Deck Championship [3-stack]
August 26: WSOP #19: $840 6 Handed Bounty No Limit Hold’em
August 28: WSOP # 20: $1,500 MONSTER STACK  NLH [Freezeout]
August 29: WSOP #21: $25,000 Super High Roller Championship NLH, $5 Million GTD

2021 WSOP Online bracelet events stats

WSOP #1 – #17 prize pool: US$ 37,761,154
Cumulative entries: 69,095
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 #3: $2500 Limit Hold’em Championship – 180 entries
Smallest pot: WSOP #9: $400 DOUBLE CHANCE PLO – US$ 366,600
First time bracelet winners: 13
Largest payout: WSOP #7: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER NLH – Eduardo Pires – US$ 1,384,013

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: $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No Limit Hold’em – Keunwoo “POLALIFE!” Lee – Korea – US$ 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

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 

Bracelets by Country

Brazil – 5
Poland – 2
Italy – 1 
Greece – 1 
Germany – 1
Hungary – 1 
Korea – 1
USA – 1
Lithuania – 1
Israel – 1
Finland – 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

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

Natural8 WSOP Amazing Race Leaderboard update (current top 3 for each category)

Asia Pacific 
Joshua McCully – New Zealand – 5,415.79 points
“Imar54” – New Zealand – 3,296.93 points
Vincent “Moist” Huang – New Zealand – 2,992.67 points

Latin America
Rafael “riskgambler” Furlanetto – Brazil – 5,695.49 points
Eduardo Augusto Pires – Brazil – 3,972.70 points
Daan “DaanOss” Mulders – Mexico – 3,336.43 points

Rest of World
Vincas “seimininkas” Tamasauskas – 5,132.63 points
Isaac Haxton – Canada – 4,499.09 points
Tomas “CoronaMyAss” Jozonis – Lithuania – 4,149.73 points

Taiwan 
Pete Chen – 2,910.52 points
Yen-liang “yao_poker” Yao – 1,372.21 points
Chin-Wei “davidchien88” Chien – 1,365.61 points

Thailand 
George Kitsios – 1,433.93 points
“LuffyJd” – 1,192.91 points
Phachara Wongwichit – 731.53

Vietnam
“LittleFishVN” – 1,094.89 points
“Huethuong89” – 1,010.35 points
Cuong “CLVT” Trinh – 925.98 points

Japan 
“8809” – 1,107.30 points
Takashi “IKAIKA” Ogura – 842.3 points
Shota “shorta222” Nakanishi – 829.57 points

Hong Kong 
Dicky Siu Hang “Floatinworld” Tsang – 4,620.85 points
Edward “edyam1” Yam – 1,705.99 points
Anson Tsang – 1,656.68 points

India
Sriharsha “Upswinger” Doddapaneni – 4,010.32 points
“happysim” – 2,320.82 points
Gaurav “Haversham” Sood – 2,007.75 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.