The 2019 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) concluded on Wednesday after three weeks of activities. Like any other competitions, the tournament ended with casualties and conquerors, in what turned out to be a nice event for observers.
Big Blind Bets made his journey big as he signed up as the last man standing in a contest that had attracted massive entries. The field was crowded after registering 2236 entries, including the 599 re-entries. Each participant parted their way with $5200 to try their luck in winning the prestigious glory along with the financial value it brought.
True to the ambition of the entrants, the series gave the world two new millionaires, or at least they added the sum to the millions they had earlier accumulated. The winnings weren’t restricted to the millionaires, but all the participants who finished in the first 271 positions secured some handsome awards. However, the nine individuals who made it to the last day’s Main Event finals took the lion share of the prize pool.
The series was highly successful, given that it exceeded its pre-advertised advert by 40% in terms of guaranteed winnings. The event was meant to be $75 million guarantees, but it ended up generating more than $104 million. The series will go down in history as the richest online poker tournament ever witnessed so far.
Another history that the world was waiting as the series was concluding failed to materialize. Talal Shakerchi was on the brink of making a new record by becoming the first poker player to win both the SCOOP and WCOOP in the same year. However, Shakerchi bottled the chip lead he was carrying only to finish third. Shakerchi ended up settling for a consolation prize of $846528 while Danilo Demetrio bagged $1187553.
Some details about the winner
Even after making some outstanding performance in the poker ring, Big Blind Bet’s true identity is still concealed. Maybe the prestigious glory at the PokerStars’s event can encourage him to remove the mask.
It appears the series winner may be a witty individual who knows how to use Literature in his expression. In April 2015, “Big Blind Bets” posted in an online poker forum how he had begun taking his poker career seriously two years before. He used “baked bean grind” to equate his poker journey that from the rank of $100 to $200 no-limit hold’em.
He expressed his poker ambition by saying how he was busy “making many cans of baked beans in a day” to show his readiness to conquer. He further revealed that once he had baked enough beans, he would establish his “own baked beans company.”
True to his figurative speech, “Big Blind Bets” has been vindicated, and he has proved that ‘patience indeed pays’. The six years dedication has landed him a colorful accolade, coupled with brilliant financial reward.
How the contest faired
Having won the series back in 2016 plus going to the table with a chip lead, Shakerchi was the overwhelming favorite for the title. Before long, six players, including the Estonian duo gave room for the critical decision to be executed.
Shakerchi utilized his final hand to raise it to 7.49 million, but “Big Blind Bets” managed to raise it farther to 24.8 million chip with his three bets. Shakerchi threw it to almost 100 million, but “Big Blind Bet” was armed to make a decisive call. “Big Blind Bets” went to face Demetrio carrying an overwhelming lead. It wasn’t before long when the eventual winner brought it to the river and flushed to end the contest.
