"spaise411" Wins 2021 WCOOP-22-H: $5,200 NLHE PKO High Roller ($149,837)
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The 2021 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) has crowned a new first-time champion. Russia's "spaise411" came out on top of a field of 160 entries in WCOOP-22-H: $5,200 NLHE PKO High Roller to claim their maiden WCOOP title, denying the third victory for Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani. Both shared the biggest slice of the $800,000 prize pool, as "spaise411" boosted their bankroll with a combined payday of $149,837.
Little is known about the player from Russia, who surfaced on the high-stakes cash game tables back in 2015 and battled against some of the biggest names in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi and Hi-Lo, as well as draw games. They were in the middle of the pack when the action resumed with 20 players remaining and started the heads-up against Garagnani with a commanding lead despite having collected by far fewer bounties.
Other notable finalists included the 2020 SCOOP Main Event champion Pablo "pabritz" Brito Silva, Andras "probirs" Nemeth, Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph, and Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker. PokerStars ambassador Ben "Spraggy" Spragg was eliminated on the final two tables and the same also applied for Patrick "pads1161" Leonard, who had won two WCOOP titles during the current festival already.
Final Result 2021 WCOOP-22-H: $5,200 NLHE PKO High Roller
| Place | Winner | Country | Bounty Prize (in USD) | Cash Prize (in USD) | Total Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | spaise411 | Russia | $78,125 | $71,712 | $149,837 |
| 2 | Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani | Brazil | $56,785 | $71,712 | $128,497 |
| 3 | Pablo "pabritz" Brito Silva | Brazil | $7,969 | $48,878 | $56,847 |
| 4 | HITRII999 | Russia | $28,281 | $38,053 | $66,334 |
| 5 | Andras "probirs" Nemeth | Hungary | $13,438 | $29,625 | $43,063 |
| 6 | Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph | Germany | $16,563 | $23,064 | $39,627 |
| 7 | FishOnHeater | Hungary | $4,688 | $17,956 | $22,644 |
| 8 | Paul "Fold Machiii" Dando | United Kingdom | $3,750 | $13,979 | $17,729 |
| 9 | Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker | Austria | $13,750 | $11,039 | $24,789 |
The Action of the Final Day
All 20 remaining players had locked up a portion of the cash pool after surviving the money bubble and the deep stack sizes left a lot of wiggle room. Yet, it didn't take long for the field to be whittled down to the final two tables. Teun "tinnoemulder" Mulder was the first casualty of the day when his aces were cracked by the tens of Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani. It was the first sign of things to come, as Garagnani was a proverbial wrecking ball and built a massive bounty prize.
Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson fell just shy of the final two tables when Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph rivered a full house with a dominated pocket pair. The first casualty thereafter was then PokerStars ambassador Ben "Spraggy" Spragg, who ran with ace-queen into the ace-king of Garagnani. Patrick "pads1161" Leonard bowed out next when ace-nine couldn't crack the kings of "spaise411" while five-time WCOOP title holder Yuri "theNERDguy" Dzivielevski bubbled the final table.
Garagnani kicked off the proceedings by sending Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker to the rail and fellow countryman Pablo "pabritz" Brito Silva claimed the next two bounties. The Brazilian rampage continued when Garagnani ousted Rudolph and the hopes of a second WCOOP title for Andras "probirs" Nemeth ended in fifth place.
Down to the final four, it was a battle between Brazil and Russia with two contenders each in the mix. "spaise411" took over the lead from Garagnani without showdown and yet, it was Garagnani who struck next by sending "HITRII999" to the rail in fourth place. "spaise411" gained an overwhelming lead after catching Garagnani bluffing before the Brazilian knocked out Brito Silva in third.
The heads-up battle commenced with a near 3-1 lead for "spaise411" but it didn't take Garagnani to close the gap. He then lost several big pots in a row and eventually came up short of a third title when trips tens were beaten by a straight. "spaise411" only claimed one bounty on the final table but it was the one that mattered the most in order to secure the WCOOP title.
That concludes the PokerNews updates for this event but the next Super Sunday is already around the corner with further exciting offline and online poker tournaments.
flop on which Pedro "pvigar" Garagnani checked his option. "spaise411" made it 337,500 to go only for Garagnani to check-raise for 936,000 total, which his opponent called.
turn and called a bet worth 1.8 million to then check the 
river with just shy of 7 million behind. "spaise411" moved all-in with the far superior stack and Garagnani called it off with the 
for trips tens. However, that was not enough to double as "spaise411" had turned a seven-high straight with 
.
river. That spelled the end for "HITRII999" in fourth place and they earn $28,281 in bounties and $38,053 in cash.
runout, sending the Hungarian pro out in Fifth Place for $29,625 and $13,438 in bounties.
river on which the Brazilians opted to check as well.
for a pair of nines. Brito Silva had that beat with 
for a set and collected the second bounty in a row.
river completed the board and Garagnani now checked. Muehloecker bet 1,313,037 with 276,942 behind and then called it off when Garagnani raised. His 
. Muehloecker's run ends in 9th place for $11,039 in cash and $13,750 in bounties.
flop improved the Brazilian but Rudolph regained the lead on the 
turn. Nothing changed on the 
river and Dzivielevski had to settle for $8,717 in cash and $5,625 in bounties.