WCOOP-72-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Main Event]
Day 1 Started
PokerStars WCOOP 2020
WCOOP-72-H: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Main Event]
Day: 1
As of 1.05 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), the highly anticipated flagship event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker 2020 will kick off and feature a guaranteed prize pool of $10,000,000. Nearly 90 minutes prior to the start, there are already more than 430 players registered and that number is certain to grow in the hours to come.
The pinnacle event of the festival has been taking place since 2002 and players from the United States have earned the most titles, including big names as J. C. “area23JC” Tran, Carter “ckingusc” King and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko.
Also among the winners is none other than Fedor “CrownUpGuy” Holz who earned the title in 2014, followed by regulars of the international poker circuit such as Jonas “llJaYJaYll” Lauck and Steven “ SvZff” van Zadelhoff.
The defending champion is the UK's Fraser “BigBlindBets” Russell who defeated a field of 2,236 entries in 2019 and took home $1,665,962.04, the third-biggest winner prize in the history of the event.
WCOOP-72-H: $5,200 NLHE Main Event Day 1 Level Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 min | 500 | 1,000 | 125 |
| 2 | 30 min | 600 | 1,200 | 150 |
| 3 | 30 min | 700 | 1,400 | 175 |
| 4 | 30 min | 800 | 1,600 | 200 |
| 5 | 30 min | 1,000 | 2,000 | 250 |
| 6 | 30 min | 1,250 | 2,500 | 325 |
| 7 | 30 min | 1,500 | 3,000 | 375 |
| 8 | 30 min | 1,750 | 3,500 | 450 |
| 9 | 30 min | 2,000 | 4,000 | 500 |
| 10 | 30 min | 2,500 | 5,000 | 625 |
| 11 | 30 min | 3,000 | 6,000 | 750 |
| 12 | 30 min | 3,500 | 7,000 | 875 |
| 13 | 30 min | 4,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 |
| 14 | 30 min | 4,500 | 9,000 | 1,100 |
| 15 | 30 min | 5,000 | 10,000 | 1,250 |
Day 1 will feature a total of 15 levels of 30 minutes each with a starting stack of 250,000 and the late registration will remain open until 1.05 p.m. EST the following day, five minutes prior to the restart of Day 2. During the late registration period, up to two re-entries are available and the tournament will play down to a champion throughout the next four days.
| Day | Date | Start Time | Further Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 20th, 2020 | 1.05 PM EST | Play 15 levels of 30 minutes |
| 2 | September 21st, 2020 | 1.10 PM EST | Play concludes when 72 remain |
| 3 | September 22nd, 2020 | 1.05 PM EST | Play concludes when 9 remain |
| 4 | September 23rd, 2020 | 1.05 PM EST | Play down to a winner |
The PokerNews live reporting team will provide all the action from start to finish, and the final day will also be broadcasted on the PokerStars Twitch channel with cards-up coverage and commentary on a delay of at least 20 minutes.
Level: 1
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 125
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 125 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
||
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
||
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
||
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
||
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 125 ante
The action kicked off with two big pots for "Noobjoke969" which vaulted them into the top spot right away.
They first raised and called a three-bet to 7,000 by "CTU Operator" to then check-call three barrels on a board of 
with the final bet worth 66,000. "CTU Operator" tabled 
for a bluff and "Noobjoke969" won the pot with 
.
One hand later, "Noobjoke969" four-bet to 22,000 from under the gun and was called by three-bettor Adrian "Amadi_017" Mateos in the cutoff. Mateos called bets of 16,800 on the 
flop and 24,030 on the turn to then call a final bet of 45,555 on the river. "Noobjoke969" tabled 
for the nut flush and dragged in the next big pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
460,885 | |
|
152,000 | |
|
141,365
141,365
|
141,365 |
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 125 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
||
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 125 ante
Norway's "fredbulll" raised to 3,000 and called a three-bet to 9,000 by Fraser "BigBlindBets" Russell from one seat over in the cutoff. On a flop of 
, "fredbulll" bet 6,000, Russell raised to 16,725 and called a reraise to 33,000.
The turn brought a bet of 10,000 by "fredbulll" and a call by Russell and the same action repeated for 15,000 on the 
river. "fredbulll" tabled 
for queens and eights, which won the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
314,700 | |
|
|
172,875 | |
|
||
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 125 ante
Fintan "easywithaces" Hand has started well and made a small profit already on a table that also includes 2020 WCOOP three-time champion Yuri "theNERDguy" Dzivielevski while Felix "xflixx" Schneiders has just joined the fray.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
267,126 | |
|
|
247,000 | |
|
||
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 125 ante
Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson started well and took a bigger pot off "MarinkaHT" to make a decent profit in the first level of the day.
Several big names are on the same table and among them, Mike "SirWatts" Watson just lost a pot to drop below the starting stack. Watson defended the big blind and check-called two barrels by "GreenBoo" on the 
board as both checked the river. Watson turned over 
which was no good against .
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
298,770 | |
|
269,640 | |
|
247,625 | |
|
|
241,230 | |
|
231,825 | |
|
|
208,480 |
Level 1
: 500/1,000, 125 ante
With just over half of the first level completed, the field has grown to 724 entries of which 721 players remain. Among the trio that busted was also known Brazilian Rodrigo "seijistar" Seiji who will likely re-enter soon again.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
|
||