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WSOP Weekly: Tony Dunst, Phil Hellmuth Run Deep in WSOP Online Early Events

Five events down, five bracelets awarded. The World Series of Poker Online rolls on this week with plenty of action remaining.

The first week of events featured some big names making runs at a title as well as some lesser-known players. So far, prize pools have been big at WSOP.com. Only one event fell short of a six-figure winner payout.

WSOP Weekly offers readers a look at the action each week. Here are some of the stories from the series so far.

Bracelets on the line add plenty of players to the WSOP.com online poker mix

The addition of gold bracelets have certainly added to the player pools at WSOP.com. With the chance to win some hardware, many have jumped at the chance to get in the game in New Jersey or Nevada.

A quick comparison of the first five events of the last few series exemplifies the large prize pools. The first bracelet event on July 1, the $500 NLHE Kickoff, attracted 1,715 entries and a prize pool of $771,750.

Prize pools have proven much larger and the lower buy-in events, $400 and $500, have produced the biggest fields. It’s interesting to review the numbers in the first five events compared to the most recent WSOP Circuit online series.

2020 WSOP Online Series Early Action Comparison

Event Series Entries Prize Pool First place
1 (July) WSOP Online: $500 Kickoff 1,715 $771,750 $130,426
1 (June) Online Circuit Finale: $215 Kickoff 596 $177,200 $42,528
1 (March) Super Circuit: $215 NLHE Double Stack 570 $171,000 $41,895
2 WSOP Online: $1,000 NLHE 8-Handed 919 $873,050 $168,586
2 Online Circuit Finale: $320 NLHE 397 $184,500 $46,125
2 Super Circuit: $215 Monster Stack 941 $188,200 $43,286
3 WSOP Online: $400 NLHE 2,091 $752,760 $115,850
3 Online Circuit Finale: $250 Turbo 460 $149,375 $23,810
3 Super Circuit: $215 Turbo 669 $133.800 $32,781
4 WSOP Online: $500 Super Turbo 1,179 $530,550 $97,091
4 Online Circuit Finale: $500 Big 500 247 $197,074 $52,225
4 Super Circuit: $1,000 High Roller 290 $276,949 $74,777
5 WSOP Online: $1,000 Freezeout 854 $161,286 $161,286
5 Online Circuit Finale: $525 Monster Stack 491 $331,500 $81,218
5 Super Circuit: $215 NLHE 859 $171,800 $41,232

Through the first five events, the WSOP Online has seen some nice numbers. With no live poker, many are craving a shot at big-field events.

The chance at a bracelet, no matter one’s opinion on their legitimacy, has brought out plenty of players. Here’s a look at some WSOP Online averages:

  • Number of players – 1,352
  • Prize pool – $747,882
  • Buy-in – $680
  • First-place payout – $134,648

Big names run deep in early events

Plenty of big names played the Super Circuit and Season Finale, but WSOP Online should be on another level.

Players around the country have made an effort to get to Nevada or New Jersey. Many are also hoping to get in on the second half at GGPoker.

Right out of the gate, well-known players battled near the top at a few events. Seinfeld fans may have gotten a chuckle after Jonathan “Art.Vandelay” Dokler took down the first event for $130,426. But some other names also stand out.

WPT commentator Tony Dunst came close to his second bracelet, finishing third for $57,881. Phil Hellmuth also took 11th for $57,881 after being chip leader late in the event. He made an interesting observation about he and Dunst’s recent WSOP finishes on Twitter.

 

Twitch streaming star Jason Somerville scored a sixth-place finish in the second event as he sought his second bracelet. GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu also took 18th.

In Event 4: $500 Super Turbo, two-time bracelet winner Kevin McPhee took fifth $22,389. Poker pro Ari Engel scored his third cash of the series as he seeks his second bracelet.

Hellmuth also added his second cash of the series in that same event. Here’s a look at all the winners so far:

  • Event 1: $500 Kickoff – Jonathan Dokler, $130,426
  • Event 2: $1,000 NLHE 8-Handed – Louis Lynch, $168,586
  • Event 3: $400 NLHE – Robert Kuhn, $115,850
  • Event 4: $500 Super Turbo – Matt Bode, $97,091
  • Event 5: $1,000 Freezeout – Allen Chang, $161,286

A look at the bracelet series leaderboard

WSOP.com has put an extra $100,000 on the line for topping the Online Bracelet Leaderboard. As of Monday, Robert “BustinBalls” Kuhn held the top spot. He won Event 3: $400 NLHE for a cool $115,850 and his first bracelet.

Beyond that, he has two other cashes including a 29th-place finish in the $500 Super Turbo. It’s been a nice run so far for this player from Ohio who now lives in Las Vegas.

“Tonight may have been my most surreal day ever,” he noted on Twitter. “I won a WSOP bracelet for 115k and in addition another 21k score to add. Thank you guys so much for all the love and support tonight. This doesn’t get better than this feeling and you guys were part of it!”

Kuhn has 894.55 points with Dokler following behind in second with 837.6. Louis “PokeThese” Lynch, winner of Event 2: $1,000 NLHE 8-Handed, sits in third.

Here’s a look at the complete standings:

  • 1st – Robert Kuhn, 894.55 points
  • 2nd – Jonathan Dokler, 837.6
  • 3rd – Louis Lynch, 824.40
  • 4th – Ryan Ko, 589.92
  • 5th – Justin Turner, 563.24

Follow the streaming action at USPoker.com

Along with this weekly column, USPoker also hosts a landing page offering players a chance to check out the action.

Players will easily find facts about the series as well as the streaming action from WSOP.com and GGPoker throughout the series. For the WSOP Online Series Twitch streams, click here.

The week ahead at WSOP.com

Plenty of action remains with 26 more bracelet events on the agenda throughout July. On Monday, players get a break from No Limit Hold’em with Event 6: Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Six Handed.

How will the prize pool compare in a non-Hold’em event? That will be interesting to see. With only one bracelet event a day, it’s a good bet there will still be a nice field.

Thursday brings another $1,000 NLHE event, which should produce another nice prize pool. Both $1,000 events so far have produced prize pools of more than $800,000.

Sunday brings the Big 500, a $500 event meant to capture the excitement of last year’s Big 50 in Las Vegas. It should attract many weekend warriors looking for a big payday at a lower buy-in. Here’s a look at the complete schedule of remaining events.

2020 World Series of Poker Online

Event Date Time (PT) Game Buy-In
6 July 6 (M) 3 p.m. PLO8 6-Handed $600
7 July 7 (Tu) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Knockout Deepstack $800
8 July 8 (W) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Freezeout $500
9 July 9 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em 6-Max $1,000
10 July 10 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em MonsterStack $600
11 July 11 (Sa) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Turbo Deepstack 6-Handed $500
12 July 12 (Su) 3 p.m. The BIG 500 No Limit Hold’em $500
13 July 13 (M) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em High Roller Freezeout $1,500
14 July 14 (Tu) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em High Roller $3,200
15 July 15 (W) 3 p.m. PLO 8-Max HR $1,000
16 July 16 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Turbo $500
17 July 17 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’emÊ $777
18 July 18 (Sa) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed Turbo DeepStack $1,000
19 July 19 (Su) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em $400
20 July 20 (M) 3 p.m. PLO 6-Handed $500
21 July 21 (Tu) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed $777
22 July 22 (W) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Turbo Deepstack $500
23 July 23 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Knockout $500
24 July 24 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed $400
25 July 25 (Sa) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Summer Saver $500
26 July 26 (Su) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Grande Finale $500
27 July 27 (M) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Freezeout $400
28 July 28 (Tu) 3 p.m. Omaha 8 6-Max $1,000
29 July 29 (W) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Turbo Deepstack 6-Handed $600
30 July 30 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Seniors Event $500
31 July 31 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold’em Championship $1,000

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