Joaquin Melogno Wins the WSOPC #2: $10,300 Super MILLION$ High Roller
Uruguay's Joaquin Melogno won the biggest buy-in event of the 2020 World Series of Poker Winter Online Circuit at GGPoker after defeating Russia's Andrey Kotenikov in heads-up play to win the $636,072 top prize and a coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring.
The tournament was a huge success and met all the expectations and excitement a $5 million guarantee will bring. The field attracted 511 entries to eclipse the guarantee and bring the prize pool up to $5,110,000.
This is Melogno's second WSOP Circuit ring championship and his first online at GGPoker. His first WSOP Circuit ring came after taking down the 2018/19 International Circuit $2,500 GRAN FINAL MILLONARIA at Enjoy Punta del Este in his home country for a top prize of $505,606.
Although Melogno came into the final table with the chip lead, it wasn't all smooth sailing for him as he gave up the lead on multiple occasions including twice during heads-up play.
Melogno's aggression was apparent throughout the final table to the dismay of the five players he eliminated at the final table single-handed including the final four players en route to victory.
WSOPC #2: $10,300 Super MILLION$ High Roller Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joaquin Melogno | Uruguay | $636,072 |
| 2 | Andrey Kotelnikov | Russia | $526,881 |
| 3 | MK-Ultra | Canada | $436,434 |
| 4 | Joakim Andersson | Sweden | $361,514 |
| 5 | veca | Turkey | $299,455 |
| 6 | Phillip "tazmania888" Mighall | United Kingdom | $248,049 |
| 7 | Samuel Vousden | Finland | $205,468 |
| 8 | RogerScruton | Brazil | $170,196 |
| 9 | Jorma Nuutinen | Finland | $140,908 |
Action of the Day
The second and final day began with Melogno in the captain's chair at the final table with Finland's Joakim Andersson and United Kingdom's Phillip "tazmania888" Mighall closest on his tail.
Finland's Jorma Nuutinen was the first player to hit the rail when he jammed his ace-four unsuccessfully into the pocket eights held by Turkey's "veca" in the big blind.
Shortly after, Brazil's "RogerScruton" became Melogno's first victim at the final table to go out in eighth place after his tens proved to be no match to Melogno's queens.
Samuel Vousden was the next to go in seventh place. He was short on chips and jammed the button with queen-ten only to run into Andersson's queens.
A big pot then developed after Mighall three-bet jammed with ace-jack suited. He ran into the jacks held by Canada's "MK-Ultra" and was eliminated in sixth place after whiffing on the board.
Andrey Kotelnikov then had the lead but this didn't stop Melogno from storming back. He first eliminated "veca" in fifth place after his ace-queen held against ace-eight.
Andersson was the next casualty after not getting there with king-six suited against Melogno's king-queen.
"MK-Ultra" then took a bad beat which could have changed the course of the tournament if it went the other way. Melogno four-bet jammed with ace-jack and was up against the wall after "MK-Ultra" called with kings. An ace hit the flop and "MK-Ultra" didn't get saved by the rest of the board to hit the rail in third place.
Melogno entered heads-up play with more than a 2:1 chip advantage against Kotelnikov. The battle was intense with the lead switching back and forth between the two players twice.
The second to last hand was a bit of a cooler. Melogno four-bet jammed with queens and was called by Kotelnikov with nines. At this point, Kotelnikov was left short on chips and finished runner-up after his ten-three suited was unable to improve against Melogno's queen-deuce.
Meanwhile, congratulations to Joaquin Melogno for winning his second WSOP Circuit gold ring and added a monstrous $636,072 to his bankroll.