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A WCOOP 2024 Week: High Rollers, Big Wins, and One Tonkaaaa Triumph

A WCOOP 2024 Week: High Rollers, Big Wins, and One Tonkaaaa Triumph
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Iva Dozet News Editor
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: September 25, 2024 · 4 minutes to read

The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is back in full swing, and it’s shaping up to be every bit the legendary showdown we’ve come to expect.

For over two decades, WCOOP has been the crown jewel of PokerStars’ annual tournament schedule, bringing the very best online poker talent together for almost a month of nail-biting action. From its humble beginnings in 2002 with just nine events, WCOOP has evolved into a colossal festival with over 300 tournaments.

Not only have the stakes risen over the years, with six-figure buy-ins making an appearance, but so has the prestige. Legends like J.C. Tran, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, and Fedor Holz have all etched their names into WCOOP history.

Now, with WCOOP 2024 underway, it’s time to look back at the first few days of this year’s action. We’ve selected five, of what we think, are the biggest stories of the first few WCOOP day.

1. Monday – The Day of (Almost) Seeing Double

Monday night saw some major action, kicking off with a victory for Christopher “lissi stinkt” Frank, who secured his third WCOOP title in Event #5-H – $1,050 PLO. Frank had already made headlines earlier by grabbing his second WCOOP title in Event #2-H $530 Kickoff, bagging $40,400 for his efforts.

It could have been a double win for him that night, but he was denied in Event #3-H $1,050 Mystery Warm-Up, where he finished third. Guillaume “Nolet20” Nolet took home the top prize and claimed his second WCOOP title, narrowly beating Sintoras, who himself was chasing a back-to-back win after triumphing on opening night.

PokerStars WCOOP 2024 Christopher "lissi stinkt" Frank
Christopher “lissi stinkt” Frank
PokerStars WCOOP 2024 Blaz "Skarmak3r" Zerjav
Blaz “Skarmak3r” Zerjav

Not to be outdone, danieldl7 made sure to make Monday memorable, bagging $116,811 in Event #4-M $215 Sunday Million, which also marked their second WCOOP title. Add in second wins for Dennys “dennysramos2” Ramos and Blaz “Skarmak3r” Zerjav, and it’s safe to say that Monday was stacked with repeat champions.

Photo Credit: Hayley Hochstetler & Regina Cortina

2. Lex Veldhuis Steals the Spotlight

This week also brought some fireworks as Lex Veldhuis, one of the biggest names in the poker streaming world, finally claimed his first-ever WCOOP title. Veldhuis triumphed in Monday’s WCOOP 09-H: $5,200 NLHE [Bounty Builder Super High Roller], outlasting a field of 89 entries and securing a piece of the $445,000 prize pool.

The top 11 players made the money, with familiar faces like Jerry “perrymejsen”

3. Jerry Odeen Does It Again

By Tuesday, the excitement hadn’t slowed down, with Jerry “perrymejsen” Odeen stepping into the winner’s circle yet again. Odeen, already a heavy favorite coming into this year’s WCOOP with a total of 14 COOP titles, claimed his seventh WCOOP title after winning Super Tuesday’s WCOOP 13-H: $320 NLHE [8-Max] for $28,165.

TFO 2023 Main Event Jerry "Perrymejsen" Odeen
Jerry “Perrymejsen” Odeen

Odeen had to navigate a final table packed with talent, including Alexandre “Cavalito” Mantovani, Juanki “B4NKR0LL3R” Vecino, and fellow Swede Niklas “Lena900” Astedt. Though Team tonkaaaa, which Odeen is part of, didn’t quite break into the podium spots, his win is a signal that the Swedes are ready to make their mark this WCOOP season.

4. High Roller Madness

Wednesday brought us the biggest payout of the week in the form of the $10,300 NLHE Super Tuesday High Roller. The Belarusian grinder “IgamiI€120” came out on top, securing a massive $189,477 payday after striking a heads-up deal with Brazil’s Rodrigo “SELOUAN1991” Selouan.

This high-roller showdown featured some of the game’s brightest stars, with Yuri “theNERDguy” Dzivielevski, Artur “mararthur1” Martirosian, and Ole “wizowizo” Schemion all reaching the final table. In the end, it was “IgamiI€120” who came out victorious, rounding off an incredible Thursday at WCOOP.

6. Tonkaaaa Takes the Crown

Somewhere between Thursday night and Friday morning, the poker world witnessed yet another thrilling moment as Parker “tonkaaaa” Talbot was crowned the WCOOP World Champion of H.O.R.S.E.

Talbot claimed his fifth WCOOP title by winning the $1,050 World Championship of H.O.R.S.E., taking home $21,903.81. He now joins an exclusive group of five-time WCOOP champions that includes names like Dan “djk123” Kelly, Connor “blanconegro” Drinan, and Andras “probirs” Nemeth.

Talbot navigated a challenging 88-entry field, entering

A Team Leaderboard Update

And in case you were wondering what’s going on with the WCOOP Leaderboard, things have shifted a bit since we last talked about the tournament. For one, Team peace&loove’s is leading the charge with a total of 1350 points, with easywithaces and now tonkaaaa trailing not far behind.

WCOOP 2024 Leaderboard
WCOOP 2024 Team Leaderboard

What to Expect This Weekend

As we head into the weekend, the action is only heating up. Players can look forward to some of the most highly anticipated events, including WCOOP 32-H: $1,050 NLHE on Saturday and of course, WCOOP $5,200 World Championship of 6-Max NLHE on Sunday.

Whether you’re grinding the Low, Medium, or High buy-ins, this weekend promises to bring plenty of drama, high-stakes action, and — no doubt — a few more champions to celebrate.

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