Fabiano Kovalski Leads Final 11 in 2020 WCOOP-59-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Midweek Freeze]
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The latest High Roller installment of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) 2020 saw a field of 97 entries emerge in WCOOP-59-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Midweek Freeze], which came up short of the $500,000 guarantee by three entries. Unlike most previous high stakes events, the tournament was played as a freezeout and around a dozen players jumped in at the very last minute.
It took seven hours to let the money bubble burst and wrap up the action, and Fabiano "Fabiano1" Kovalski emerged at the top of the leaderboard with 2,435,617. Only two further players ended up with seven-figure stack sizes as Tomi "elmerixx" Brouk (1,429,021) and "MaxHendrix" (1,272,158) complete the overnight podium.
Several players are bunched together within a few big blinds including Sam "Str8$$$Homey" Greenwood (854,122), "Sintoras" (854,122), Filipe "Zagazaur" Oliveira (769,064), and Samuel "€urop€an" Vousden (682,232).
The Final 11 Players in WCOOP-59-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Midweek Freeze]
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano "Kovalski1" Kovalski | Brazil | 2,435,617 | 97 |
| 2 | Tomi "elmerixx" Brouk | Finland | 1,429,021 | 57 |
| 3 | MaxHendrix | Russia | 1,272,158 | 51 |
| 4 | Sam "Str8$$$Homey" Greenwood | Canada | 854,122 | 34 |
| 5 | Sintoras | Germany | 816,942 | 33 |
| 6 | Filipe "Zagazaur" Oliveira | Portugal | 769,064 | 31 |
| 7 | Samuel "€urop€an" Vousden | Finland | 682,232 | 27 |
| 8 | Steve "Mr. Tim Caum" O'Dwyer | Ireland | 579,079 | 23 |
| 9 | Jonathan "Proudflop" Proudfoot | United Kingdom | 356,889 | 14 |
| 10 | SmilleThHero | Austria | 275,080 | 11 |
| 11 | Apo5555 | Russia | 229,796 | 9 |
Steve "Mr. Tim Caum" O'Dwyer was the only last-minute entrant to make the cut and advanced with 579,079, the bottom three stacks belong to Jonathan "Proudflop" Proudfoot (356,889), "SmilleThHero" (275,080), and "Apo5555" (229,796). Especially "SmilleThHero" experienced a roller coaster of emotions throughout the late stages. As one of the big stacks after the end of late registration, he was left with just over one blind close to the money bubble. The Austrian mounted a comeback, became very short again, and still made the money as Sergi "srxakgirona" Reixach was the last to leave without anything to show for.
The Action of the Day At a Glance
Only nine players were registered at the start but that number grew consistently throughout the late registration with a maximum of eight tables in play. It took quite some time for the first contender to bust, which happened to be Jans "Graftekkel" Arends who ran a triple barrel bluff with ace-nine suited against the ace-jack suited of Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker. From there on, the eliminations kept coming frequently and especially the middle stage of the day proved to be chaotic.
One of the contenders to play exactly one hand was Rodrigo "seijistar" Seiji, who ran with queens into the aces of fellow countryman Pedro "PaDiLhA SP" Padilha moments after taking a seat. Padilha didn't make it close to the bubble either and became one of many well-known online poker regulars to hit the rail throughout the day.
Once the late surge of last-minute entrants boosted the remaining field significantly, the action exploded and there were showdowns every other minute. On the final four tables, Reixach went on a heater and knocked out two opponents in quick succession including Aliaksei "ale6ka" Boika, Matthias "iambest2" Eibinger and Ole "wizowizo" Schemion.
With 21 players remaining, Fabiano "Kovalski1" Kovalski was the shortest stack with just 14 blinds, however, he scored several doubles to get right back into contention. The biggest one of them came on the final two tables when he rivered a flush against Adrian "Amadi_017" Mateos. Kovalski would also bust the two-time champion of 2020 WCOOP short of the money soon after whereas "SmilleThHero" mounted a comeback from fewer than one and a half big blinds.
Eventually, it was Reixach who three-bet jammed ace-trey into the eights of Kovalski and an eight appeared in the window to let the bubble burst, sending all 11 survivors on break. They will return the following day at 1.05 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) to determine a champion and the returning blinds will be 12,500/25,000 with an ante of 3,250.
The final day of WCOOP-59-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Midweek Freeze] will be streamed on the PokerStars Twitch channel with cards-up coverage and commentary on a delay of at least 20 minutes. All PokerNews live updates will be published according to the delay. Exclusive PokerStars WCOOP 2020 highlights, results and live updates can be found right here!
flop left Reixach in huge trouble as he needed running cards to the ace-high straight. Instead, it was all over on the 
turn to let the bubble burst and a meaningless 
rolled off on the river.
and efkinis24" was eliminated whereas "SmilleThHero" essentially tripled up.
on the turn.
river.
, the comeback of "SmilleThHero" continued as he more than doubled.
and the ace on the flop sent "gcardenas10" out in 15th place.
river and Buldygin headed to the rail.
turn, the action was once again checked to Alavali and he moved all in for the last 183,738. "gcardenas10" called and Oliveira then moved all in over the top to force a reluctant fold.
river to bow out in 17th place.
flop brought no action and Mateos bet the 
river a formality.