The virtual poker arena has been hopping lately with the World Series of Poker Online ongoing at Natural8-GGNet. The screens lit up on August 20 and will continue until October 2, offering a grand total of 33 gold bracelets to be claimed.
Opening week witnessed strong performances by several Asian players, most notably Dicky Siu Hang Tsang from Hong Kong who just missed the shine by one spot. Other Asian finalists were Taiwan’s Hsi Hao Chen and India’s Lavi Ahuja.
Going the distance were Ori Nezer (Israel), Vinicius Felipe Steves (Brazil), Sergei Koliakov (Russia), and Paulius Vaitiekunas (Lithuania), each one locking up their career first gold bracelet. Scroll down for the results.
Or “Nezer21” Nezer wins Event #1: $108 Bankroll Builder Bounty NLHE
Or Nezer – Photo by Danny Maxwell / Pokernews
Offering a shot at winning a coveted bracelet for a mere USD 108, Event 1: Bankroll Builder Bounty NLHE drew a huge crowd of 7,619 entries for a prize pool of USD 761,900. The final table was largely marked by the presence of Israeli and Brazilian players, each side boasting three representatives. Two Asians were also in the mix, Hsi Hao Chen from Taiwan and Malaysian Muhammad Siddiqui. Between the two, Chen got closest to the gold with a 4th place finish, his deepest WSOP run.
Ultimately, it was the Israeli contingent that emerged victorious, with Or Nezer username “Nezer21” seizing the gold on his second bullet. This was Nezer’s debut WSOP bracelet victory, earning him a substantial payout of USD 58,884.
Date: August 20, 2023
Buy in: USD 108
Entries: 7,619
Prize pool: USD 761,900
ITM: 800 places
Final table payouts
Place
Player
Flag
Payout in USD
1
Or “Nezer21” Nezer
Israel
$58,884
2
Anna “Micros” Ilyevskiy
Israel
$33,058
3
Guilherme “ViKingPower” Franco
Brazil
$24,716
4
Hsi Hao “seven160305” Chen
Taiwan
$23,676
5
Gustavo Dias Da Silva
Brazil
$14,709
6
Tzlil “opener’ Ozer
Israel
$14,636
7
Manuel “5Dinks4U” Aranzadi Martinez
$8,590
8
Muhammad “StickyWickets” Siddiqui
Malaysia
$7,169
9
Talin “SoFumoGelo” Figueredo
Brazil
$8,493
Brazil’s Vinicius “pfckb” Felipe emerges Event 2: Gladiator of Poker Opener champion
Vinicius Felipe Steves – Photo by Lucas Buffa / Codigo Poker
The quest for the second bracelet took center stage at Event 2: Gladiator of Poker Opener which featured a juicy USD 2.5 Million guarantee. With a massive 9,488 entries witnessed over 18 Stage 1 heats, the prize pool surged to USD 2,647,152.
Two Asian players reached the final table, Hong Kong’s Tsz Kin Heung username “ZzzSz” and India’s Lavi Ahuja username “Ash Win 20 20”. Heung finished 7th while Ahuja gained one spot higher for 6th place. The title was seized by Brazil’s Vinicius Felipe Steves username “pfckb” after a delivering a crushing full house over full house at heads up. Steves turned his USD 300 buy in for a jaw dropping payout of USD 234,707.
Runner up Maher “maherfish” Achour and third placer Iago Savino “RanThisTable” Peixoto didn’t do too bad as well, both walking away with six figures.
Date: August 21, 2023
Buy in: USD 300
Guarantee: USD 2,500,000
Entries: 9,488
Prize pool: USD 2,647,152
ITM: 1,135
Final table payouts
Place
Player
Flag
Payout in USD
1
Vinicius Felipe “pfckb” Steves
Brazil
$234,707
2
Maher “maherfish” Achour
Tunisia
$173,241
3
Iago Savino “RanThisTable” Peixoto
Brazil
$127,976
4
Rodrigo “piquet” Valente
Brazil
$94,542
5
Tyler “roseypalms” Rosenlund
Canada
$69,846
6
Lavi “Ash Win 20 20” Ahuja
India
$51,606
7
Pawl “elraziel” Lukasiak
Poland
$38,133
8
Tsz Kin “ZzzSz” Heung
Hong Kong
$28,181
9
Yiannis “GreekFreaker” Liperis
UK
$20,831
Sergei “Meruemu” Koliakov denies Dicky “Floatinworld” Tsang the gold
Another exciting NLH bounty bracelet event was virtually felted, this one was a championship tournament costing players a hefty USD 2,100. 677 took on the challenge to build a handsome USD 1,354,000 prize pool for Event 3: Bounty NLH Championship. The top 98 earned a piece.
Dicky Tsang – Photo by Poker Dream
The title came down between Hong Kong’s Dicky Siu Hang Tsang username “Floatinworld” and Russia’s Sergei Koliakov username “Meruemu”. Both players highly active and experienced in the online arena. In the end, Koliakov prevailed to secure his maiden WSOP bracelet and a substantial payout of USD 158,345.
Date: August 22,2023
Buy in : USD 2,100
Entries: 677
Prize pool: USD 1,354,000
ITM: 98 places
Final table payouts
Place
Player
Flag
Payout in USD
1
Sergei “Meruemu” Koliakov
Russia
$158,345
2
Dicky Siu Hang “Floatinworld” Tsang
Hong Kong
$85,188
3
Pedro “Maddona” Marques
Belarus
$67,190
4
Artem “TritonTriDan” Sadovsky
Serbia
$60,092
5
Ilia Streltsov
Serbia
$40,874
6
Henrique “Judite” Souza
Brazil
$26,502
7
Toni “Seurapiirihrmri” Kaukua
Finland
$42,041
8
Geraldo Cesar “UmReiNoRiver” Neto
Brazil
$28,964
9
Bert Stevens
Belgium
$21,788
Paulius “redpillgame” Vaitiekunas wins the Bounty PLO
Paulius Vaitiekunas – Photo by WSOP / Pokernews
The first Pot Limit Omaha bracelet event attracted 706 entries at a buy in of USD 840 each. This generated a prize pool of USD 564,800, the lowest of all the completed bracelet events. Despite this, the top prize was worth a decent $24,895. Lithuania’s Paulius Vaitiekunas username “redpillgame” conquered to clasp his first bracelet. In addition to the payout, Vaitiekunas collected USD 56,953 in bounties for a combined score of USD 81,848.
Impressively, this wasn’t Vaitiekunas’ first WSOP merch. Back in 2018, he won a WSOP Circuit ring at the Czech Republic. To date, he has 43 WSOP cashes and around USD 390K in WSOP winnings.
Date: August 25 to 26, 2023
Buy in: USD 840
Entries: 706
Prize pool: USD 564,800
ITM: 98 places
Winner: PAULIUS “redpillgame” VAITIEKUNAS – Lithuania – USD 81,848
Links:
WSOP Online 2023 is Here!
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