In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting online poker industry news from across the world and all platforms.
PokerStars concludes successful MicroMillions series
Success across PokerStars’ online festivals remains to be of no surprise given the site’s reputation and following throughout the community. Most recently, the site once again concluded its flagship MicroMillions series with smashing results way past its initial combined guarantee of $4.7 million. In total, the two-week schedule awarded over $5.8 million in prizes across its 207-tournament lineup with Brazil’s “matthews085” claiming the biggest prize pool of the season.
The MicroMillions Main Event attracted an astonishing 27,544 entries, generating a notable prize pool of $550,880 well above its $500K guarantee. Champion “matthews085” cashed in huge profits after turning his $22 buy-in into $36,295 in winnings after defeating United Kingdom’s “jimpot139” in heads up play. Other series specials such as the MicroMillions 105 – $11 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, Sunday Special], $100K Gtd and the MicroMillions 204 – $55 NLHE [8-Max, High Roller], $200K Gtd, similarly recorded exceptional turnouts and boosted its prize pools to over 50% better of its guarantees. With 1.1 million entries collected, there is no doubt that PokerStars’ MicroMillions brand continues to be a fan-favorite series across its users.
Winamax’ €1M jackpot claimed at €1 Expresso table
Whether you believe in miracles or not, the wildest of occurrences happened this month of August on European online poker site Winamax’ €1 Expresso table. Breaking through the seemingly impossible odds of 1:10,000,000, the brand’s seven-figure jackpot hit the bells on a €1 buy-in game and awarded a lucky 24 year old from Toulouse, an €800,000 payday. The hyper-turbo sit and go allotted the whopping €800,000 payout for the winner while the runner-up and third place finisher settled for €120,000 and €80,000 in prizes, respectively.
The game lasted six hands with Expresso grinder “Bastuguee” winning five of those to clinch the jackpot of a lifetime. The final hand saw “Bastuguee” seal the deal with top pair and left opponent “Npus3113”’s dreams of cashing in the lottery unclaimed.
The French local now joins this year’s list of Expresso winners mentioned below:
January 2022: CALIENTE25 (Expresso Nitro)
February 2022: 1234Manu1234 (Expresso Nitro)
February 2022: 12491548 *€2M Jackpot (Expresso Nitro)
April 2022: vince2293 (Expresso Nitro)
May 2022: _ditch_ (Expresso Nitro €25)
July 2022: O0julie0O (Expresso Nitro €5)
August 2022: Bastuguee (Expresso Nitro €1)
Argentina’s ‘manuma29’ trumps $10M GTD The Venom
Part of the site’s 21st anniversary celebration, the third Venom for 2022 posted an ambitious guarantee of $10,000,000 and successfully met its goal after the completion of five starting flights. The popular tournament attracted a total of 4,017 entries for a final prize pool amounting to $10,042,500 for Americas Cardroom’s largest prize pool of all-time. The record-breaking event eventually awarded Argentina’s “manuma29” a life-changing $1,169,951 after outlasting the massive field.
The final day saw seven players return, with each guaranteed a minimum payout of $94,400. Day 3 was geared to end with eight players in contention but was sideswept when Brazil’s “G26” scored a double elimination last minute and ended up with a significant chip lead. His run however, would fall one spot short of the title as “manuma29” maneuvered his way to relinquishing the lead in heads up play. The final hand saw “G26” limp-jam with 
right into “manuma29”’s 
for his remaining chips. The Argentinian locked up the title in swinging fashion having run a Royal Flush to cement his victory and leave his opponent for a runner-up finish.
The Venom Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize (US$) |
| 1 | manuma29 | Argentina | $1,169,951 |
| 2 | G26 | Brazil | $879,723 |
| 3 | Amo4sho | USA | $633,681 |
| 4 | KODA420 | USA | $391,657 |
| 5 | CBALLBOY | USA | $219,930 |
| 6 | br3ak_th3_b4nk | USA | $118,501 |
| 7 | brockLesnar95 | India | $94,400 |
Final Table Recap: https://m.twitch.tv/videos/1551454883
2022 WSOP Online at Natural8 – GGNet underway
Another round of official World Series of Poker bracelet events is hitting the leading network this August 14 through September 27 for five weeks of nonstop action. The 2022 WSOP Online features 33 bracelet tournaments along with a $20,000,000 guaranteed Main Event similar to that of its previous edition. Last year’s festivities awarded Russia’s Aleksei Vandyshev a $2.5 million top payout after outlasting the 4,092-entry field and securing the coveted WSOP gold.
Other highlights include multi-day #7: Million Dollar Mystery Bounty for the festival’s lowest buy-in bracelet event yet still with a worthy $10,000,000 guarantee. Buy-ins remain to cater to higher bankroll players with its most expensive listed at $10,000 for Events #10: Heads Up NLH Championship and #12: Super MILLION$ High Roller NLH. A plethora of side events, satellites and feeders however, run alongside these events for those looking to partake in the action and try their luck on the tables.
2022 WSOP Online Key Events
#7 Million Dollar Mystery Bounty
- August 22
- $210 Buy-In
- $10,000,000 GTD
#33 WSOP Online Main Event
- September 26
- $5,000 Buy-In
- $20,000,000 GTD
#2 $1,111 Every 1 for War Relief
- Sunday, August 14
- $111 from each buy-in will be donated to the NBU
#10 $10,000 Heads Up NLH Championship
- Saturday, August 27
- No Late Registration (128 Cap)
#13 $1,500 Millionaire Maker NLH
- Monday, August 29
- $5,000,000 GTD ($1,000,000 for 1st Place)
#22 $1,050 WSOP GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH
- Sunday, September 11
- $2,000,000 GTD (Freezeout)
2022 WSOP Online Bracelet Schedule
| Date | Day | Time (HKT) | Event Name | Buy-in | Guarantee |
| Aug 15 | Mon | 02:00 (+1) | #1: $500 The Housewarming No-Limit Hold’em [Final Day] | $500 | $2,022,000 |
| Aug 14 | Sun | 02:00 (+1) | #2: $1,111 Every 1 for War Relief | $1,111 | – |
| Aug 16 | Tue | 02:00 (+1) | #3: $2,500 Limit Hold’em Championship | $2,500 | – |
| Aug 18 | Thu | 02:00 (+1) | #4: $1,050 Bounty Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em | $1,050 | – |
| Aug 20 | Sat | 02:00 (+1) | #5: $315 6-Handed Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $315 | – |
| Aug 21 | Sun | 02:00 (+1) | #6: $800 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold’em | $800 | – |
| Aug 22 | Mon | 02:00 (+1) | #7: Million Dollar Mystery Bounty – $1M Top Bounty Prize [Day 2] | $210 | $10,000,000 |
| Aug 23 | Tue | 02:00 (+1) | #8: $5,000 6-Handed NLH Championship | $5,000 | – |
| Aug 25 | Thu | 02:00 (+1) | #9: $525 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha | $525 | – |
| Aug 27 | Sat | 02:00 (+1) | #10: $10,000 Heads Up NLH Championship [No Late Reg, 128 Cap] | $10,000 | – |
| Aug 28 | Sun | 02:00 (+1) | #11: $400 DOUBLE STACK Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $400 | – |
| Aug 28 | Sun | 02:00 (+1) | #12: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller NLH | $10,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Aug 29 | Mon | 02:00 (+1) | #13: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER NLH – $1M for 1st [Final Day] | $1,500 | $5,000,000 |
| Aug 30 | Tue | 02:00 (+1) | #14: $2,500 Deepstack Championship NLH | $2,500 | – |
| Sep 1 | Thu | 02:00 (+1) | #15: $777 LUCKY SEVENS Bounty 7-Handed NLH | $777 | – |
| Sep 3 | Sat | 02:00 (+1) | #16: $1,000 Ultra Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em | $1,000 | – |
| Sep 4 | Sun | 02:00 (+1) | #17: THE BIG 500 No-Limit Hold’em | $500 | – |
| Sep 5 | Mon | 02:00 (+1) | #18: $100 FLIP & GO No-Limit Hold’em [Go Stage] | $100 | $1,000,000 |
| Sep 6 | Tue | 02:00 (+1) | #19: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship | $5,000 | – |
| Sep 8 | Thu | 02:00 (+1) | #20: $888 CRAZY EIGHTS Bounty 8-Handed NLH | $888 | – |
| Sep 10 | Sat | 02:00 (+1) | #21: $500 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship | $500 | – |
| Sep 11 | Sun | 01:00 (+1) | #22: $1,050 WSOP GGMasters HR Freezeout NLH | $1,050 | $2,000,000 |
| Sep 12 | Mon | 02:00 (+1) | #23: $400 PLOSSUS [Bounty, Final Stage] | $400 | $1,000,000 |
| Sep 13 | Tue | 02:00 (+1) | #24: $2,100 Bounty NLH Championship | $2,100 | – |
| Sep 15 | Thu | 02:00 (+1) | #25: $315 Superstack Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $315 | – |
| Sep 17 | Sat | 02:00 (+1) | #26: $600 DOUBLE CHANCE NLH [2-Stack] | $600 | – |
| Sep 18 | Sun | 02:00 (+1) | #27: $1,500 FIFTY STACK Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $1,500 | – |
| Sep 19 | Mon | 02:00 (+1) | #28: $400 COLOSSUS [Final Day] | $400 | $3,000,000 |
| Sep 20 | Tue | 02:00 (+1) | #29: $5,000 Short Deck Championship [3-Stack] | $5,000 | – |
| Sep 22 | Thu | 02:00 (+1) | #30: $840 6-Handed Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $840 | – |
| Sep 24 | Sat | 02:00 (+1) | #31: $1,050 Beat the Pros Bounty Freezeout | $1,050 | – |
| Sep 25 | Sun | 02:00 (+1) | #32: $400 The Closer NLH [Series Saver] | $400 | – |
| Sep 26 | Mon | 02:00 (+1) | #33: $5,000 WSOP Online MAIN EVENT [Day 2] | $5,000 | $20,000,000 |
