2020 WSOP Online – Natural8: Midway festival highlights; 6 champions inducted into Team Bling; coming up Main Event, BIG 50, and more

The 2020 World Series of Poker Online [ international ] has reached its halfway mark and plenty has happened since its kick off on July 19th at online platform Natural8 – GG Network. Set to conclude on September 6th, the festival has raged past with guarantees obliterated, 28 bracelets awarded, and over $ 58.7 million in prize money paid out. The thrill continues with 26 gold bracelets and lots of cash yet to be claimed.

The most anticipated event is about to make landfall with entry flights to the $ 5,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event $25M GTD opening on August 16 @ 19:00 UTC. That and other key events to look forward to are listed below. For now, let us entertain you with highlights of the first half.

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Natural8 inducts 6 champions to Team Bling

A sensational first half for Natural8, one of GG Network’s leading skins, as six of their gold bracelet winners were awarded a Natural8 sponsorship. In conjunction with the brand’s Winner’s Circle promotion, these winners were also inducted into Team Bling.

Marcelo Jakovjlevic Pudla “Marolo” – WSOP #32: The Opener $100
Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon” – WSOP #34: $525 Super Turbo Bounty NLH 6 Handed
Hun Wei Lee – WSOP #37: $1,050 Bounty Pot Limit Omaha
Teoh Ming Juen “Paul Teoh” – WSOP #47: $1K Short Deck NLH Championship
Daniel Dvoress – WSOP #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER
Luis Assuncao Garla “Xapilskinha” – WSOP #55: HK$ 8,000 NLH Asia Championship

Team Bling was created specifically for WSOP Online 2020, and is the sister team to Natural8’s “Team Hot” Ambassadors comprising of notable professional poker players Danny Tang, Kitty Kuo, Pete Chen, and Michael Soyza to name a few. With 26 bracelets waiting to be claimed, that means there’s still another 26 seats available to be part of this elite team of champions.

Alek Stasiak “astazz” wins two bracelets at the series

Having one of the most incredible runs at the series is Canadian player Alek Stasiak “astazz” who has won not one but two bracelets. His maiden victory was at WSOP #33: $1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief [Caesars Cares] for $ 343,203.53. Stasiak didn’t actually buy in directly to this event, instead, he navigated his way via a $10 qualifier that earned him a spot to a $100 satellite into the event. If that’s not impressive enough, one week later, Stasiak took down the WSOP #52: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em for $ 273,504.86. He is the only player to have captured two titles at the series. Stasiak joins a long list of same series multi winners such as Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Shaun Deeb, Brian Rast, Jeff Lisandro, and Justin Bonomo to name a few.

Kristen Bicknell, Juha Helppi, & Yuri Dzivielevski bump up their collection

Distinguished pros came out on top of three events to bump up their collection. Canada’s Kristen Bicknell (GPI Female Player of the Year 2018 & 2019) triumphed over the 892 entrants of WSOP #44: $2,500 No Limit Hold’em 6 Handed event to lock up her third gold bracelet. Finnish legendary pro Juha Helppi outlasted the 328 runners of the WSOP #35: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship to earn his second. And following in his steps was Brazil’s Yuri Dzivielevski outlasting a cumulative field of 4,356 entries at the multi day WSOP #42: $400 PLOSSUS event to also up his gold to two.

MILLIONAIRE MAKER creates two instant millionaires

The MILLIONAIRE MAKER was just as popular as its predecessors seeing 6,299 take their chances at $ 1,500 each. This easily crushed the advertised $ 5M guarantee and in its place, a cumbersome $ 8,976,075 with the top two spots paid a handsome seven figures each. Claiming the lion’s share cut of $ 1,489,288.80 was Canadian pro Daniel Dvoress while runner up Brazil’s Caio De Almeida “Ez4ENCE” took home $ 1,072,428.22. These two players are currently the festival’s largest earners and are the only ones that have pocketed over a million bucks.

Teoh Ming Juen “Paul Teoh” with three final table visits

Malaysia’s Teoh Ming Juen “Paul Teoh” has been on fire with five deep runs that included a victory at WSOP #47: $1K Short Deck NLH Championship. He currently holds the record for three final table appearances at the series. He nearly landed a fourth at WSOP #55: HK$ 8,000 No Limit Hold’em Asia Championship where he departed in 12th place.

Biggest bounty earners

Two WSOP champions were unmatched at their respective events pulling in impressive six figure bounty rewards. Slashing heads were WSOP #45: $840 Bounty No Limit Hold’em winner Patrick Kennedy “Muddington” and WSOP #50: $2,100 NLH Bounty Championship winner Enrico Camosci “GTOExploiter”. Kennedy collected $ 104,680.51 in bounties to pocket a combined total $ 245,448.39; Camosci amassed a heftier $ 142,740.26 in bounties for a combined $ 327,319.28 payday.

Daniel Negreanu selling action at no markup

After running up 15 cashes at the 2020 WSOP Online [ USA ], Daniel Negreanu finally made his way to Mexico to take part in the international leg of the online series. Negreanuwas just in time to qualify for the MILLIONAIRE MAKER Final Day where he went on to cash in 39th place. Fans and players have been thrilled alike at his attendance, most especially at seeing him sell a percentage of his action with no markup. Expectedly, they were quickly snatched up. For the lucky stakers, Negreanu has since cashed in 4 events.

Largest turnout

With players coming out in droves for this historic event, it has turned up mammoth fields for the multi day events. The largest to date was WSOP #32: The Opener $100 [ $2M GTD ] seeing an unprecedented 29,306 entries built across 8 starter flights. Marcelo Jakovjlevic Pudla “Marolo” rose above the 4,599 final day qualifiers to ship a career high $ 265,879.63. Under the single day events, it was WSOP #57: $150 GGMasters WSOP Edition [ Freezeout ] that scored the highest with a tremendous 9,835 players. Last man standing was Russia’s Anatoly Suvorov “Pohitrusha”, turning his $ 150 buy-in into a mighty $ 183,525.90.

Three countries enter the WSOP bracelet ranking

Three players made their country very proud by bringing home its first WSOP gold bracelet. WSOP #41: $400 COLOSSUS winner Ranno Sootla “RukKuRuku” locked it up for Estonia, Vladas Burneikis “apuokos” won it for Lithuania at WSOP #49: $500 Turbo Deepstack No Limit Hold’em, and the latest champion Orhan Ates “yirtil” lifted it for Turkey at the WSOP #60: $525 Bounty NLH 6 Handed event.

Guarantees Smashed

Multiple events have surpassed their guarantees so far; one of the biggest to date being WSOP #55: No Limit Hold’em Asia Championship, which saw its HK$ 8M (~US$ 1,032,198) guarantee more than triple to a final prize pool of HK$ 24,677,200 (~US$ 3,183,900).

Another monstrous one was WSOP #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER, which had a $ 5 million guaranteed prize pool and $1 million set for the first place winner. The MILLIONAIRE MAKER eventually saw a total of 6,299 entries and a final prize pool of a massive $8,976,075, completely crushing its guarantee. Due to this, two players shipped seven figures.

Other events that easily surpassed their guarantees included:
● WSOP #32: $100 The Opener from $ 2M GTD to $ 2,696,152
● WSOP #41: $400 COLOSSUS from $ 3M GTD to $ 4,796,632
● WSOP #42: $400 PLOSSUS from $ 1M GTD to $ 1,637,856
● WSOP #56: GGMasters WSOP Edition [ High Roller ] from $ 2.5M GTD to $ 3,068,025
● WSOP #57: GGMasters WSOP Edition [ Freezeout ] from $ 1M GTD to $ 1,357,230

KEY EVENTS

WSOP #77: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event [ $ 25M GTD ]

Year after year, players flock to Las Vegas with dreams of winning a bracelet, however no gold is more desired than that of the WSOP Main Event. The hunt for the 51st champion begins on August 16 with entry flights running daily until August 30. Players are allowed only three bullets with no same day re-entry offered.

Buy in: $ 5,000
Guarantee: $ 25,000,000
Entry Dates: August 16 to August 30
Entry Flights: 22 offered
Final Day: August 30 [ 3-Day Freezeout Flights ]

WSOP #71: BIG 50 [ $1M GTD ]

At the 50th anniversary of the WSOP held last year, the BIG 50 event was introduced. Due to its massive draw of 28,371 entries, it is back in the roster. With the buy in lowered to a very affordable $ 50, players can expect a monstrous field.

Buy in: $ 50
Guarantee: $ 1,000,000
Entry Dates: August 16 to 23
Entry Flights: 15 offered
Final Day: August 23 @ 18:30 UTC

WSOP #70: $25,000 NLH POKER PLAYER CHAMPIONSHIP [ $10M GTD ]

For the high rollers and deep pocketed no title is more coveted than this one, the No Limit Hold’em Poker Player Championship. Expect the biggest names in poker in attendance. If you have $ 25,000 to burn, this is the event to wage your skills against the creme de la creme.

Buy in: $ 25,000
Date: August 23 @ 18:00 UTC
Guarantee: $ 10,000,000
Notes: 2 day event

WSOP #84: $100 WSOP MILLIONS [ $2M GTD ]

Buy in: $ 100
Guarantee: $ 2,000,000
Entry Dates: August 31 to September 6
Entry Flights: 26 offered
Final Day: September 5 @ 18:00 UTC / September 6 @ 02:00 HKT

WSOP #83: $10K WSOP Super MILLION$ [ $5M GTD ]

Buy in: $ 10,000
Date: September 6 @ 18:00 UTC / September 7 @ 02:00 HKT
Guarantee: $ 5,000,000
Notes: 2 day event

Update: WSOP Leaderboard

In addition to striving for the WSOP gold bracelet is the esteemed Player of the Series title. For the first time, three types of POS titles will be awarded. The ultimate leaderboard champion will win the WSOP Pure Gold Mouse, the WSOP Pure Gold Dragon will be awarded to the Asia Player of the Series – highest points accrued on the Asia Time Zone events -, and the exclusive Pure Gold Card to be given to leaderboard finishers 2nd to 5th. Current standings after 28 completed events.

WSOP 2020 Online Leaderboard – Top 10

WSOP 2020 Online Leaderboard [ Asia Time Zone Events ] – Top 10

Natural8 Promos

For players signed up on Natural8, expect fantastic player incentives. WSOP Online champions Luis Assuncao Garla “Xapilskinha”, Daniel Dvoress, Hun Wei Lee, Teoh Ming Juen “Paul Teoh”, Shoma Ishikawa “pp_syon”, and Marcelo Jakovjlevic Pudla “Marolo” have already won a Team Bling Sponsorship package for their incredible achievement. Other promos are the First Deposit Bonus and WSOP Silk Road leaderboard race. 28 days left to avail of the promos!

WSOP Winner’s Circle Sponsorship Packages

Main Event = $100,000 Natural8 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
$15,000 Las Vegas Package ($10,000 to cover your buy-ins and $5,000 for expenses)
$25,000 for live event sponsorships
T$60,000 in online sponsorships, paid out over 12 months

Buy-ins of $1,000 and above = $15,000 Natural8 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
$15,000 Las Vegas Package ($10,000 to cover your buy-ins and $5,000 for expenses)

Buy-ins from $50 to $999 = $7,500 Natural8 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
$7,500 Las Vegas Package ($5,000 to cover your buy-ins and $2,500 for expenses)

WSOP First Deposit Bonus

First time depositors on Natural8 can expect a special bump in the load. For a minimum deposit of $20 are gifts worth up to $ 100 over six consecutive days. The initial $ 60 in WSOP tickets – WSOP Satellite and WSOP Spin & Gold, another $ 40 in WSOP tickets for those that complete all 6 AoF challenges of 100 AoF hands per day.

WSOP Silk Road

The WSOP Silk Road Micro Series has been ongoing since July 1st and will run until August 31st. This is for players looking to enter bracelet events for cheap. And seriously, who wouldn’t want to win a multi million event for as low as $ 1.08? Via this route, buy-ins only go as high as $ 21.60. Top the Natural8 Silk Road Leaderboard to win an instant ticket to the WSOP #77: $5,000 Main Event [ $25M GTD ].

Plenty of action still to come so stick with us at Somuchpoker as we bring you daily updates on the ongoing 2020 WSOP Online on Natural8.

Join Natural8 – $100 in Free tickets with your 1st Deposit