The World Series of Poker Online enters its fourth week of action this week. There were some interesting names taking home bracelets in the last week including a Main Event champion.
A player awaiting to play in a World Poker Tour televised final table also won a bracelet last week. On Sunday, action also picked up internationally at GGPoker on Sunday as well. That certainly wasn’t without some controversy.
Once again, WSOP Weekly has these stories as well as all the highlights in the last week of action.
Joe McKeehen becomes 1st Main Event champ to win an online bracelet
Pennsylvania’s Joe McKeehen added a bit of added hype to last week’s series events. He became the first Main Event champion to also win a WSOP bracelet online.
The winner of the 2015 Main Event took down the biggest WSOP Online tournament so far on July 14. In Event 14: $3,200 NLHE High Roller, McKeehen topped a field of 496 entries for his third bracelet and $352,985.
The event featured a prize pool of $1.5 million. Beyond his Main Event title, McKeehen also won a bracelet in 2017 in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship for $311,817.
He now has almost $11 million in series winnings. That also includes three WSOP Circuit championship rings.
McKeehen has been one of the most successful Main Event champs in recent years. Beyond the WSOP, he also has plenty of big scores on other tours.
The World Poker Tour has been a big part of that with more than $1 million in winnings and four final table appearances. Can another deep run be in his future? With his consistency, don’t rule it out.
Six-figure payouts continue at WSOP.com
With 19 of 31 events complete, the big numbers continued at WSOP.com last week. Every event has paid out six-figure prizes for first place except for two.
The $3,200 NLHE High Roller, won by McKeehen, even produced six-figure payouts for the top four players. These are nice numbers considering players can only participate in New Jersey and Nevada.
As of July 18, tournaments were attracting an average of 980 unique entries. The average prize pool was $847,661 with a payout average of $152,084.There are some interesting events set for this week and a few highlights include:
Event 20: $500 PLO Six-Handed – Monday, July 20
The final PLO event on the schedule should attract a nice field of players who like playing with four cards. The one remaining Omaha event is in the Hi/Lo format on July 28.
Event 21: $777 No Limit Hold’em – Tuesday, July 21
A higher buy-in event, which should produce a nice first-place payout as players see the end in sight next week.
Event 26: $500 No Limit Hold’em Grande Finale – Sunday, July 26
This should be a big Sunday event to kick off the final week of play at WSOP.com. Look for a strong field of weekend warriors giving it a shot for some gold.
Here’s a complete look at the statistics and winners from the action so far.
WSOP Online 2020 Statistics and Winners
| Event | Buy-In | Unique Entries | Re-Entries | Total | Prize Pool | Top Prize | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 NLHE Kick-Off | $500 | 1195 | 520 | 1715 | $771,750 | $130,426 | Jonathan “Art.Vandelay” Dokler |
| #2 NLHE 8-Handed Deepstack | $1,000 | 647 | 272 | 919 | $873,050 | $168,586 | Louis “PokeThese” Lynch |
| #3 NLHE | $400 | 1450 | 641 | 2091 | $752,760 | $115,850 | Robert “bustinballs” Kuhn |
| #4 NLHE Super Turbo | $500 | 828 | 351 | 1179 | $530,550 | $97,091 | Matt “Bodeyster” Bode |
| #5 NLHE Freezeout | $1,000 | 854 | 0 | 854 | $811,300 | $161,286 | Allen “Acnyc718” Chang |
| #6 PLO 6-Handed | $600 | 497 | 386 | 883 | $449,820 | $89,424 | Nathan “surfbum” Gamble |
| #7 NLHE Knockout Deepstack | $800 | 989 | NA | 989 | $731,660 | $103,127 | Joon “jykpoker” Kim |
| #8 NLHE Freezeout | $500 | 1,479 | 0 | 1,479 | $665,550 | $119,400 | Alan “GladiusIII” Goehring |
| #9 NLHE Six-Max | $1,000 | 658 | 368 | 1026 | $974,700 | $188,214 | Ron “MacDaddy15” McMillen |
| #10 NLHE Monster Stack | $600 | 1,505 | 569 | 2,074 | $1,119,960 | $172,361 | Ryan “Im.sorry” Torgerson |
| #11 NLHE Turbo Deepstack 6-Handed | $500 | 1,081 | 610 | 1,691 | $760,950 | $128,601 | Raman “Acrogum” Afanasenka |
| #12 BIG 500 NLHE | $500 | 1,624 | 803 | 2,427 | $1,092,150 | $159,563 | Ryan “joeyisamush” Depaulo |
| #13 NLHE High Roller Freezeout | $1,500 | 649 | 0 | 649 | $924,825 | $164,249 | Michael “miguelfiesta” Lech |
| #14 No Limit Hold’em High Roller | $3,200 | 368 | 128 | 496 | $1,507,840 | $352,985 | Joe “fanofdapoker” McKeehen |
| #15 PLO 8-Max HR | $1,000 | 386 | 277 | 663 | $629,850 | $133,780 | Guy “PhilLaak” Dunlap |
| #16 NLHE Turbo | $500 | 1,044 | 484 | 1,528 | $687,600 | $116,204 | Terrell “Heezahustla” Cheatham |
| #17 NLHE | $777 | 917 | 465 | 1,382 | $967,400 | $173,551 | Pat “IchiiKawawa” Lyons |
| #18: NLHE 8-Handed Turbo DeepStack | $1,000 | 697 | 290 | 987 | $937,650 | $181,060 | Scott “BudLightLime” Hempel |
| #19: NLHE | $400 | 1,757 | 788 | 2,545 | $916,200 | $133,856 | Kenny “Chopuh” Huynh |
| TOTALS | 18625 | 25577 | $16,105,565 | $2,889,614 |
Winning a bracelet, awaiting WPT final table
It’s been quite a year Scott Hempel. In March, the 31-year-old online grinder qualified for the televised final table of the LA Poker Classic.
He’ll be fifth in chips when play picks up at the final table in front of WPT cameras at the HyperX Esports Arena at Luxor in Las Vegas. When that happens is still up in the air, but that hasn’t slowed Hempel down.
Originally from Chicago and now spending much of his time in Canada, Hempel notched his fourth cash of the series in a big way on July 18.
Hempel won Event 18: $1,000 NLHE Eight-Handed Turbo DeepStack for $181,060. That comes after finishing seventh a day earlier in a $777 NLHE event for $22,500.
When play resumes in the LAPC, Hempel faces quite a challenge. His final table includes WPT champions James Carroll and Matas Cimbolas as well as three-time WSOP bracelet winner Upeshka De Silva.
Hempel credits his online skills for a late rally at the Bike to qualify for the final table. He now has a shot at a WPT title as well in his first-ever cash on the tour.
“Today I was down to 10 blinds several times,” he told WPT.com. “I guess fortunately with an online background, I’m very comfortable playing those stack sizes. I think a lot of people find themselves in nebulous spots, but you play enough of these online tournaments and you get in tons of reps on those shorts stacks. But you still have to get extremely lucky once you’re that short.”
Those online skills continue to pay off in big ways.
Flyin’ Lyons soars to WSOP title
Another WPT regular also added a bracelet to his poker resumé last week. Pat Lyons already has a WPT title after winning the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in 2016 for $615,346.
He’s now added a bracelet after winning Event 17: $777 NLHE. Lyons took home $173,552 for his efforts.
One of the more interesting players in the game, Lyons is originally from San Mateo, California, and has $1.6 million in live tournament winnings.
I won the bracelet #wsop 777 #braceletHunting #worldfamousPatLyons style. #imcoollikeThat #blessed
#ichiiKawawa pic.twitter.com/3uzx8k6luG
— Pat Lyons (@flyinlyons) July 18, 2020
Beyond poker, he enjoys sports betting and horse race handicapping. He admits his big wagers are pretty crazy, including occasional six-figure bets.
“It’s a little ridiculous,” he says. “Life is so short, I enjoy life. You can’t take money with you.”
Lyons now has another six figures to consider for sports about to get back in action.
GGPoker forced to delay events on 1st day after server issues
The WSOP Online moved to a second platform on Sunday. GGPoker is scheduled to offer 54 bracelet events to international players.
With three events set for Sunday, an unexpected high number of players led to numerous disconnections, lag, bugs, and log-in issues.
The issues caused numerous complaints among players on social media. The site was forced to reschedule two of Sunday’s three events to July 26.
The rescheduling was also met with complaints from players who lost significant chips after they were disconnected. Others weren’t pleased the events were postponed as they may not be able to play in a week.
GG ambassador Daniel Negreanu even took to Twitter to apologize for the issues.
Apologize for the issues today on @GGPokerOfficial I totally feel your pain. Nothing more aggravating than software issues!
Be sure to follow @GGPokerOfficial for the compensation plan for those of you who were affected.
Really brutal. Sorry everyone! https://t.co/PQpIZvoeQQ pic.twitter.com/Zmtt58my0X
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 19, 2020
Not everything was problematic however. The $525 Super Turbo Bounty ran as scheduled with Japanese player Shoma Ishikawa taking home $117,650. Ishikawa became the first player to win an online bracelet outside the US.
The rough start comes at a time when online poker has experienced a mini-boom in recent months. That has included nice revenue numbers for June in the US.
With events currently running at WSOP.com and PokerStars, nice revenue numbers should continue in July.
Robert Kuhn still atop WSOP leaderboard
After already scoring one bracelet in the series, Robert “bustinballs” Kuhn continues earning big results. He also has a fourth-place finish as well as eight total cashes.
Kuhn remains atop the Online Bracelet Leaderboard. There’s an extra $100,000 on the line with the winner taking home $18,000.
- 1st – Robert “BustinBalls” Kuhn, 2,439.7 points
- 2nd – Michael “miguelfiesta” Lech, 2071.12
- 3rd – Ryan “Im.Sorry” Torgerson, 2068.81
- 4th – Roland “prngls12” Israelashvili, 2062.91
- 5th – Philip “tomte” Yeh, 2038.93
* standings as of July 19
WSOP Online schedules, information
Here’s a look at the remaining events on the schedule as well as the international half of the series at GGPoker.
For more information, including facts, events, and Twitch streams, visit the USPoker Total WSOP Online page.
2020 WSOP Online
| Event | Date | Time (PT) | Game | Buy-In |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 1 (W) | 3 p.m. | No Limit Hold’em Kick-Off | $500 |
| 2 | July 2 (Th) | 3 p.m. | No Limit Hold’em 8-Handed Deepstack | $1,000 |
| 3 | July 3 (F) | 3 p.m. | No Limit Hold’em | $400 |
| 4 | July 4 (Sa) | 3 p.m. | No Limit Hold’em Super Turbo | $500 |
| 5 | July 5 (Su) | 3 p.m. | No Limit Hold’em Freezeout | $1,000 |
| 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 |
2020 GGPoker WSOP Online
| Date | Event Number | Tournament | Buy-in | Prize Guarantee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, July 19, 2020 ** Day 2 postponed to July 26 |
1 | $100 The Opener [Final Day], $2M GTD | $100 | $2,000,000 | 2-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Sunday, July 19, 2020 ** Day 2 postponed to July 26 |
2 | $1,111 Every 1 for Covid Relief [Caesars Cares] | $1,111 | 2-Day Event | |
| Sunday, July 19, 2020 | 3 | $525 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $525 | ||
| Tuesday, July 21, 2020 | 4 | $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship | $5,000 | ||
| Wednesday, July 22, 2020 | 5 | $1,500 FIFTY STACK No Limit Hold’em | $1,500 | ||
| Thursday, July 23, 2020 | 6 | $1,050 Bounty Pot Limit Omaha | $1,050 | ||
| Saturday, July 25, 2020 | 7 | $600 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $600 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, July 26, 2020 | 8 | $1,500 No Limit Hold’em | $1,500 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, July 26, 2020 | 9 | $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha | $2,500 | ||
| Sunday, July 26, 2020 | 10 | $400 COLOSSUS [Day 2], $3M GTD | $400 | $3,000,000 | 3-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Sunday, July 26, 2020 | 11 | $400 PLOSSUS [Day 2], $1M GTD | $400 | $1,000,000 | 3-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Tuesday, July 28, 2020 | 12 | $10,000 Short Deck No Limit Hold’em Championship | $10,000 | ||
| Wednesday, July 29, 2020 | 13 | $2,500 No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $2,500 | ||
| Thursday, July 30, 2020 | 14 | $840 Bounty No Limit Hold’em | $840 | ||
| Saturday, August 01, 2020 | 15 | $500 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em | $500 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, August 02, 2020 | 16 | $1,000 Short Deck No Limit Hold’em | $1,000 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, August 02, 2020 | 17 | $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER [Day 2], $5M GTD, $1M to 1st | $1,500 | $ 5,000,000 | 3-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Sunday, August 02, 2020 | 18 | $500 Turbo Deepstack No Limit Hold’em | $500 | ||
| Tuesday, August 04, 2020 | 19 | $2,100 No Limit Hold’em Bounty Championship | $2,100 | ||
| Wednesday, August 05, 2020 | 20 | $400 Pot Limit Omaha | $400 | ||
| Thursday, August 06, 2020 | 21 | $1,000 No Limit Hold’em | $1,000 | ||
| Saturday, August 08, 2020 | 22 | $800 Double Stack Pot Limit Omaha | $800 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, August 09, 2020 | 23 | HK$8,000 No Limit Hold’em Asia Championship [Final Day], HK$8M GTD | HK$8,000 | HK$8,000,000 | 2-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Sunday, August 09, 2020 | 24 | $150 GGMasters WSOP Edition [Freezeout], $1M GTD | $150 | $1,000,000 | Freezeout |
| Sunday, August 09, 2020 | 25 | $10,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold’em Championship [No Late Reg, 128 Cap] | $10,000 | 2-Day Event, Freezeout | |
| Tuesday, August 11, 2020 | 26 | $5,000 No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship | $5,000 | ||
| Wednesday, August 12, 2020 | 27 | $2,500 Double Stack No Limit Hold’em | $2,500 | ||
| Thursday, August 13, 2020 | 28 | $525 Bounty No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $525 | ||
| Saturday, August 15, 2020 | 29 | $300 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $300 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, August 16, 2020 | 30 | $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha | $1,500 | ||
| Sunday, August 16, 2020 | 31 | $500 Mini Main Event [Final Day], $5M GTD | $500 | $5,000,000 | 2-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Sunday, August 16, 2020 | 32 | $840 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold’em | $840 | ||
| Tuesday, August 18, 2020 | 33 | $600 No Limit Hold’em Deepstack Championship | $600 | ||
| Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | 34 | $800 Pot Limit Omaha | $800 | ||
| Thursday, August 20, 2020 | 35 | $500 Limit Hold’em | $500 | ||
| Saturday, August 22, 2020 | 36 | $500 Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em | $500 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, August 23, 2020 | 37 | $1,500 Marathon No Limit Hold’em | $1,500 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, August 23, 2020 | 38 | $25,000 NLH POKER PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, $10M GTD | $25,000 | $10,000,000 | 2-Day Event |
| Sunday, August 23, 2020 | 39 | BIG 50 [Final Day], $1M GTD | $50 | $1,000,000 | 2-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Tuesday, August 25, 2020 | 40 | $1,500 Limit Hold’em Championship | $1,500 | ||
| Wednesday, August 26, 2020 | 41 | $1,000 No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $1,000 | ||
| Thursday, August 27, 2020 | 42 | $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha | $1,500 | ||
| Saturday, August 29, 2020 | 43 | $300 Double Stack No Limit Hold’em | $300 | Asia Time Zone | |
| Sunday, August 30, 2020 | 44 | $400 FORTY STACK No Limit Hold’em | $400 | ||
| Sunday, August 30, 2020 | 45 | $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event [Day 2], $25M GTD | $5,000 | $25,000,000 | 3-Day Event, Feezeout Flights |
| Sunday, August 30, 2020 | 46 | $1,000 Turbo No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed | $1,000 | ||
| Tuesday, September 01, 2020 | 47 | People’s Choice Event [Most Popular] | TBA | TBA | TBA by Vote |
| Wednesday, September 02, 2020 | 48 | People’s Choice Event [Pros Vote] | TBA | TBA | TBA by Vote |
| Thursday, September 03, 2020 | 49 | People’s Choice Event [Spin the Wheel] | TBA | TBA | TBA by Vote |
| Saturday, September 05, 2020 | 50 | People’s Choice Event [Most Popular] | TBA | TBA | Asia Time Zone, TBA by Vote |
| Saturday, September 05, 2020 | 51 | $1,050 Beat the Pros [Bounty] | $1,050 | ||
| Sunday, September 06, 2020 | 52 | $10K WSOP Super MILLION$, $5M GTD | $10,000 | $5,000,000 | 2-Day Event |
| Sunday, September 06, 2020 | 53 | $100 WSOP MILLION$ [Final Day], $2M GTD | $100 | $2,000,000 | 2-Day Event, 1-RE Flights |
| Sunday, September 06, 2020 | 54 | $500 The Closer [LAST CHANCE] | $500 |
Joe McKeehen photo courtesy of WPT/Joe Giron
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