The 2021 World Series of Poker Online [USA leg] awarded another four players with shiny gold bracelets. The latest champions were Philip “wingsuiter” Beck, Michael “njnj17” Leib, Vijay “Eclypzed” Para, and Bryan “Pellepelle” Piccioli. For Piccioli, it was his second career WSOP bracelet. Also running well were Michael “helionic” Dyer and Anthony “heheh” Zinno. Dyer became the first player to reach three final tables while Zinno has cashed in 9 out of the 12 completed events.
The ongoing series runs from July 1 to August 1 at online platform WSOP.com however the site is only accessible to players geo located in Nevada and New Jersey. 21 out of 33 bracelets are still up for grabs. Check out our event recaps and select WSOP updated stats down below.
2021 WSOP Online bracelet events by the numbers
WSOP #1 – #12 prize pool: US$ 6,472,560
Cumulative entries: 12,018
Biggest winner: Tyler “ShipTheShip” Denson – US$ 175,700
Biggest field: WSOP #10: No Limit Hold’em – 1,517 entries
Biggest pot: WSOP #6: NLH Deepstack $2K buy in – US$ 769,600
Most unique players: WSOP #11: NLH Ultra Deepstack – 1,078 unique players
First time bracelet winners: 11
Deepest run by non USA player: Manig “Ohio77” Loeser (Germany) – WSOP #2 champion
Final table berth by Asia Pacific players
Guo Liang “Ct188” Chen – China – WSOP #3 – 3rd place
Ye “YUAN365” Yuan – China – WSOP #1 – 3rd place, WSOP #12 – 4th place
Multi final tables
Michael “helionic” Dyer – 9th (WSOP #6), 6th (WSOP #10), and 8th (WSOP #12)
Joon “jykpoker” Kim – 9th (WSOP #3) and 2nd (WSOP #8)
Kenneth “ACE710” Neri – 3rd (WSOP #9) and 8th (WSOP #6)
Aaron “WompDatTHomp” Thivyanathan – 3rd (WSOP #2) and 6th (WSOP #9)
Ye “YUAN365” Yuan – 3rd (WSOP #1) and 4th (WSOP #12)
*Information based from WSOP.com, The Hendon Mob, PokerNews live reporting, and PokerNews Twitch.
WSOP #9: NLH 6-Max – Philip “wingsuiter” Beck – US$ 81,534
American player Philip “wingsuiter” Beck came out swinging at the WSOP #9 No Limit Hold’em 6-Max to clasp the ninth gold bracelet of the series and a career high US$ 81,534. This was Beck’s first major victory and only fifth ever WSOP cash. Prior to winning, his total earnings tracked on The Hendon Mob was US$ 79,793.
788 players sought after the title with 429 needing to re-enter for 1,217 entries total. With buy in at US$ 400, it built a prize pool of US$ 438,120. Eleven WSOP bracelet winners reached the money, among them was Anthony “heheh” Zinno who ran the deepest of 18th place. Despite no bracelet holders at the final table, there were two WSOP ring winners Justin “PocketProfit” Wong (2nd) and Kenneth “ACE710” Neri (3rd). For Neri and 6th placer Aaron “WompDatTHomp” Thivyanathan, it was their second series final table.
Briefly reviewing the final table, it ran for one hour and 25 minutes with Beck cleaning out the last four players. After Kristian “Daaanutzzzzz” Michi railed Thivyanathan in 6th place, “Daaanutzzzzz” fell to Beck with pocket Tens burned by pocket Nines set. Beck proceeded to rail Ameer “CashIsK1NG” Wakil (4th) then Neri (3rd) to enter heads up on a 4:1 chip lead against Wong. When Beck’s lead widened to 8:1, Wong was down to 10 bbs. The final hand was tabled with Beck’s 
dominating Wong’s 
on a dry board 
. (Hand pictured above)
Date: July 9, 2021
Buy in: US$ 400
Entries: 1,217 (788 uniques, 429 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 438,120
ITM: 167 places
Final table payouts
1st Philip “wingsuiter” Beck – USA – US$ 81,534
2nd Justin “PocketProfit” Wong – USA – US$ 50,384
3rd Kenneth “ACE710” Neri – USA – US$ 35,663
4th Ameer “CashIsK1NG” Wakil – Canada – US$ 25,586
5th Kristian “Daaanutzzzzz” Michi – USA – US$ 18,576
6th Aaron “WompDatTHomp” Thivyanathan – USA – US$ 13,669
WSOP #10: No Limit Hold’em – Michael “njnj17” Leib – US$ 81,645
WSOP #10: No Limit Hold’em was the cheapest event offered with buy in at just US$ 333. This dragged 986 players into the virtual arena, of which 531 re-entered, for a whopping 1,517 field and a prize pool of US$ 455,100. Locking up the title was the windy city’s Michael “njnj17” Leib for his first ever gold bracelet and a career high takedown of US$ 81,645. This was Leib’s 39th WSOP cash and third of the series. He previously placed 13th at the WSOP #8 No Limit Hold’em Crazy Eights and 16th at WSOP #6 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack.
Among the 207 players in the money were eleven WSOP bracelet winners that included China’s Yueqi “anoob” Zhu (24th) and multi winners Anthony “heheh” Zinno (98th) and Brandon Shack-Harris (100th). Well known pro Shannon “Aulophobia” Shorr also cashed in, departing in 12th place for his 3rd series cash. Reaching the final table were Michael “helionic” Dyer who was on his second series final table, WSOP ring winner Robert “LuckyLuch11” Aronowitz, and high stakes player Dan “oiltrader513” Shak who carried in the chip lead.
The final table ran a fast one hour and 20 minutes with seven players knocked out in the first 40 minutes. The next 40 minutes witnessed a hard battle for the title. Leib and Aronowitz were neck on neck until Leib’s 
set shipped a double up against Aronowitz’s 
two pair (hand pictured above). Up 10:1, Leib went on to ship it with 
pair over 
missed draw on a board 
.
Date: July 10, 2021
Buy in: US$ 333
Entries: 1,517 (986 uniques, 531 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 455,100
ITM: 207 places
Final table payouts
1st Michael “njnj17” Leib – USA – US$ 81,645
2nd Robert “LuckyLuch11” Aronowitz – USA – US$ 50,562
3rd Richard “3ofspade” Bruner – USA – US$ 35,907
4th Dan “oiltrader513” Shak – USA – US$ 25,850
5th Michael “helionic” Dyer – USA – US$ 18,887
6th Mijael “Diaper_money” Meza – USA – US$ 13,926
7th Vinny “Vinnyj88” John – USA – US$ 10,467
8th Michael “MMenz08816” Menzer – USA – US$ 7,919
9th George “gkon86” Konstantoulakis – USA – US$ 6,098
WSOP #11: NLH Ultra Deepstack – Vijay “Eclypzed” Para – US$ 86,210
The highly popular WSOP #11 No Limit Hold’em Ultra Deepstack was the first event to surpass one thousand unique players with 1,078 saddling up and 339 re-entering for a 1,417 entry field. At US$ 400 buy in each, this built a prize pool of US$ 510,120. USA’s Vijay “Eclypzed” Para overcame a deficit at heads up against Belgium’s Felix “madenspauwke” Vandeput to capture his first ever WSOP gold bracelet and a career high score of US$ 86,210. This was another superb performance by Para this year. In late February, he locked up his first WSOP gold ring at the WSOP.com Planet Hollywood Circuit. He now has 12 WSOP cashes amounting to US$ 125,346.
Among the long list of players in the action, 23 WSOP bracelet holders reached the money including 2017 WSOP Main Event champion Scott Blumstein who finished 93rd. Others were Upeshka De Silva (34th), Jason Dewitt (55th), Brandon Shack-Harris (159th), Jeff “NedrudRelyt” Madsen (198th), and Yueqi “anoob” Zhu (10th) who bubbled to the final table. This was Zhu’s deepest run so far and 4th series cash.
Finding their way into the final table were five WSOP decorated players. Two time bracelet winner Anthony “heheh” Zinno finished 8th. Zinno has been running red hot in the series. This was his eighth cash. Bracelet and double ring winner Anthony “Nowb3Athat” Spinella finished 6th, ring winner Alexander “ShadowFiend1” Condon placed 4th, and double ring winner Alexander “RIP_Neiko” Rocha took 3rd place. This was Rocha’s fourth series cash and 109th WSOP cash. The other decorated player was Para who entered heads up against the bulldozing Vandeput on a 2:1 deficit. Vandeput eliminated five final table players.
It was a tight one hour battle for glory. The average stack was 44 bb at the kick off then just 15 bb at the close. Within the first twelve minutes, Para grinded to even. By the half hour mark, Para was ahead and maintained it to the finish despite Vandeput’s aggression. The final hand was a head turner. Vandeput shoved 
bluff on a board 
, Para called with 
two pair for the win.
Date: July 11, 2021
Buy in: US$ 400
Entries: 1,417 (1,078 uniques, 339 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 510,120
ITM: 248 places
Final table payouts
1st Vijay “Eclypzed” Para – USA – US$ 86,210
2nd Felix “madenspauwke” Vandeput – Belgium – US$ 53,155
3rd Alexander “RIP_Neiko” Rocha – USA – US$ 38,259
4th Alexander “ShadowFiend1” Condon – USA – US$ 27,802
5th Tobias “MasPollo” Antilla – Finland – US$ 20,456
6th Anthony “Nowb3Athat” Spinella – USA – US$ 15,202
7th Jordan “DroppinDimes” Ragan – USA – US$ 11,427
8th Anthony “heheh” Zinno – USA – US$ 8,672
9th Jesse “Rebuysexual” Cohen – USA – US$ 6,683
WSOP #12: NLH Turbo Deepstack – Bryan “Pellepelle” Piccioli – US$ 83,332
The second US$ 500 buy in No Limit Hold’em Turbo Deepstack drew nine entries more than the first of its kind with 959 total entries (654 uniques, 305 re-entries) for a prize pool of US$ 431,550. The champion emerged in just seven hours. WSOP decorated American pro player Bryan “Pellepelle” Piccioli shipped it to secure the US$ 83,332 first prize and his second ever WSOP gold bracelet. This was Piccioli’s fourth series cash. Piccioli clasped his first bracelet at the 2013 WSOP Asia Pacific No Limit Hold’em Accumulator event then added a ring to the jewelry box in February 2020 after winning the WSOP.com Online Circuit No Limit Hold’em Knockout. He now has 81 WSOP cashes and nearly US$ 2.7 million in WSOP earnings.
The hunt for the twelfth bracelet included many of the usual suspects such as WSOP multi bracelet winners Phil “Lumestackin” Hellmuth, Mike “thegrinder44” Mizrachi, Mike “mouth123” Matusow, Joe “ihatechae” McKeehen, Upeshka “gomezhamburg” De Silva, Tony “Panoramic” Dunst, Ben “WhyIsGamora” Yu, and Jeff “NedrudRelyt” Madsen, however each one missed the money round. On the flip side, series WSOP #7 champion Michael “Stiltwalk” Mercaldo (24th), Daniel “DNegs” Negreanu (62nd), Ryan “BITC0iN” Riess (98th), and Anthony “heheh” Zinno (9th series cash) were among those that cashed in.
Bryan “Pellepelle” Piccioli was the only bracelet holder to reach the final table. Joining him were well known pro players Dan “Feeltheflow” Sindelar (109 WSOP cashes amounting to US$ 1.73 Million) and Darren “darrenelias” Elias (US$ 8.1 Million in live cashes), WSOP ring winner Matthew “peepeepoopoo” Paoletti, China’s Ye “YUAN365” Yuan who was on his second series final table, and Michael “helionic” Dyer who was on his third series final table.
The final table ran just under one hour. Elias delivered the first blow, denying Jason “qigong” Werrell in 9th place. Piccioli jumped to a commanding lead after dropping both Dyer in 8th place and Nicholas “Aceofspades3” Santo in 7th place. Elias claimed his second victim in Paoletti (6th) but not long after, Elias met the same fate as he was stopped by the leader Piccioli in 5th place. Next to go was Yuan who fell to Daniel “spleen” Fellner’s aces. Despite the pick up in chips, Fellner busted in 3rd place with dominated throughout by Piccioli’s 
.
Heads up completed in just twenty minutes. Piccioli carried the lead however five minutes in, Sindelar doubled up to grab control. Another ten minutes in, it was Piccioli banking a huge double. Sindelar pushed with , Piccioli risked it all with 
, board was dry, Sindelar plunged to 3 bb (hand pictured above). Two hands later, Piccioli shipped it for his second WSOP bracelet.
Date: July 12, 2021
Buy in: US$ 500
Entries: 959 (654 uniques, 305 re-entries)
Prize pool: US$ 431,550
ITM: 143 places
Final table payouts
1st Bryan “Pellepelle Piccioli – USA – US$ 83,332
2nd Dan “Feeltheflow” Sindelar – USA – US$ 51,527
3rd Daniel “spleen” Fellner – USA – US$ 36,293
4th Ye “YUAN365” Yuan – China – US$ 25,893
5th Darren “darrenelias” Elias – USA – US$ 18,729
6th Matthew “peepeepoopoo” Paoletti – USA – US$ 13,723
7th Nicholas “Aceofspades3” Santo – USA – US$ 10,228
8th Michael “helionic” Dyer – USA – US$ 7,725
9th Jason “qigong” Werrell – USA – US$ 5,912
Next bracelet events
The next four events look to be very exciting with games for every type of player. For No Limit Hold’em players, three are scheduled, two of which are freezeout formats. The most expensive is the NLH High Roller Freezeout with buy in at US$ 5,300. This is the first of four high roller events offered. For Pot Limit Omaha lovers, one is scheduled with buy in at US$ 600.
July 13: WSOP #13: No Limit Hold’em Freezeout – US$ 1,000 buy in
July 14: WSOP #14: No Limit Hold’em – US$ 500 buy in
July 15: WSOP #15: No Limit Hold’em High Roller Freezeout – US$ 5,300 buy in
July 16: WSOP #16: Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 6- Handed – US$ 600 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.
2021 WSOP Online champions
WSOP #1: NLH The Big 500 Kick Off – Jose “deposit” Noboa – USA – US$ 105,161
WSOP #2: NLH Monster Stack – Manig “Ohio77” Loeser – Germany – US$ 104,313
WSOP #3: NLH Turbo Deepstack – Donnell “Spreezy52” Dais – USA – US$ 90,801
WSOP #4: NLH Super Turbo – “Steelvikes7” – USA – US$ 73,861
WSOP #5: NLH 8-Max – Jeremiah “freestylerr” Williams – USA – US$ 139,600
WSOP #6: NLH Deepstack – Tyler “ShipTheShip” Denson – USA – US$ 175,700
WSOP #7: NLH Lucky 7’s – Michael “Stiltwalk” Mercaldo – USA – US$ 123,574
WSOP #8: NLH Crazy Eights – Carlos “CarlosWelch” Welch – USA – US$ 124,369
WSOP #9: NLH 6-Max – Philip “wingsuiter” Beck – USA – US$ 81,534
WSOP #10: No Limit Hold’em – Michael “njnj17” Leib – USA – US$ 81,645
WSOP #11: NLH Ultra Deepstack – Vijay “Eclypzed” Para – US$ 86,210
WSOP #12: NLH Turbo Deepstack – Bryan “Pellepelle” Piccioli – US$ 83,332
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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