The Sunday Briefing: Mark "RedRad 01" Darner Among Early WCOOP Champions

Posted at 12:15 2012-09-05 by Mickey Doft, Brett Colsson

The 2012 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) kicked off Sunday, and poker players from all over the world set their sights on millions of dollars in prizes over the three-week series. Poker pro Mark Mark "RedRad 01" Darner was among the early winners, earning more than $144,000 for his victory in Event #5. The biggest prize, though, went to "ASIAAN," who collected $231,221 as the top earner in Event #2.

Also making final tables in WCOOP events were Kevin "KevBoyStar" Stani, Hiren "hustla16" Patel, Steve "gboro780" Gross, Ami "UhhMee" Barer, and Ben "ShankingYou" Palmer.

PokerStars WCOOP 1 - $215 No-Limit Hold'em 6-max ($1M Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	7,322	$1,464,400

The first event of the World Championship of Online Poker was a two-day $215 No-Limit Hold'em six-max tournament. The opening event attracted more than 7,300 players, generating a prize pool of $1,464,400.

Narrowly missing out on the final table were Ken “kenny05” Smaron (13th - $8,786.40) and Jim "Mr_BigQueso" Collopy (14th - $8,786.40). With four players remaining, a deal was agreed on which locked up six-figure paydays for each player. Argentina's "ezepoker90" emerged as the champion, winning $184,388.82 and the first WCOOP bracelet of the 2012 series.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	ezepoker90	$184,388.82
*2	EspBju	$132,213.12
*3	moyerboide	$120,415.59
*4	TEENageTuRtL	$112,135.95
5	Phantom4444	$36,610
6	flysohigh87	$21,966

*denotes four-handed deal

PokerStars WCOOP 2 - $215 No-Limit Hold'em ($1.5M Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	10,608	$2,121,600

The Sunday Million this weekend was run as WCOOP Event #2 this week. Making deep runs were Jimmie "AlusivPnkBny" Guinther (56th - $3,182.40), Aditya "intervntion" Agarwal (74th - $2,545.92), and Ben "KidCardiff6" Warrington (76th - $2,545.92). After a six-way deal at the final table, "ASIAAN" came away with the victory for more than $230,000.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	ASIAAN	$231,221.20
*2	Kotovi	$129,526.66
*3	SLUMMDOGG51	$160,291.24
*4	Kevin "KevBoyStar" Stani	$135,322.91
*5	pablotavi	$127,894.56
*6	gorogheee	$154,025.89
7	jollyholl914	$42,432
8	tommytight	$23,337.60
9	daveyt86	$14,851.20

*denotes six-handed deal

PokerStars WCOOP 3 - $320 Pot-Limit Omaha ($250K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$300+$20	1,714	$514,200

The first non-hold'em event of the 2012 WCOOP was Event #3, a $320 Pot-Limit Omaha affair. Nick "caecilius" Petrangelo (16th - $2,313.90), Christian "charder30" Harder (20th - $2,005.38), and Adam "Roothlus" Levy (41st - $1,491.18) made deep runs, and notable pros Ben "ShankingYou" Palmer and Hiren "hustla16" Patel made the final table. In the end, though, "utvekklo2" walked away with the title after securing a three-way deal.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	utvekklo2	$65,717
*2	JAAKARHU99	$68,926.64
*3	huiiiiiiii	$57,692.87
4	Sick Pastorr	$34,451.40
5	Hiren "hustla16" Patel	$24,424.50
6	4DTitle	$19,282.50
7	Ben "ShankingYou" Palmer	$14,140.50
8	I_Mr_U_Bean	$8,998.50
9	Paris Dedes	$5,142

*denotes three-handed deal

PokerStars WCOOP 4 - $320 No-Limit Hold'em 6-max Shootout ($200K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	1,296	$388,800

Among those who just missed the shootout final table in Event #4 were Dane "WatchTheSea" Miller (7th - $2,721.60), Steve "gboro780" Gross (9th - $2,721.60), Sam "SamSquid" Grafton (14th - $2,721.60), and Kenny "LoneHixx" Hicks (15th - $2,721.60). The first outright victory of the 2012 WCOOP went to "Raaadzio91."

Place	Player	Prize
1	Raaadzio91	$62,608.36
2	C-Mor87	$46,656
3	Andrzejeczek	$34,992
4	Spyver	$23,328
5	allucan3at	$15,552
6	xSuPrA	$9,642.24

PokerStars WCOOP 5 - $215+R No-Limit Hold'em Turbo ($500K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	1,807	$1,150,400

Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko (14th - $7,074.96), Dag Martin "dmmikkel" Mikkelsen (16th - $5,176.80), Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen (29th - $3,796.32), Griffin "Flush_Entity" Benger (30th - $3,796.32), and Mike "Timex" McDonald (31st - $3,796.32) were among the top finishers in Event #5, the $215 turbo rebuy. Earning the victory after a four-handed deal was high-stakes regular Mark "RedRad 01" Darner.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	Mark "RedRad 01" Darner	$144,086.07
*2	arnon shraga	$111,774.87
*3	lemonrad	$135,130.96
*4	Eifffel	$110,294.60
5	daskalos	$54,644
6	wowKKa	$42,564.80
7	Aduobe4	$31,060.80
8	joe soprano	$20,132
9	el17@bk	$11,504

*denotes four-handed deal

PokerStars Sunday 500 ($300K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$500+$30	965	$482,500

Tom “7tHEcROw7” MacDonald (10th - $4,584.75) bubbled the final table of this one, missing out on a shot at the $84,341 top prize. There was no deal at this final table here as "Gaasbeek888" won the event outright, besting a final table that included Steve "gboro780" Gross.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Gaasbeek888	$84,341
2	shears458	$61,277.50
3	hnidel	$45,837.50
4	Mr iQbREMz	$34,257.50
5	SixZeros	$24,125
6	a.S.e High	$19,300
7	Steve "gboro780" Gross	$14,475
8	Letitdumar	$9,650
9	pimmie	$5,548.75

PokerStars $109 Sunday Rebuy ($225K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	1,308	$436,100

Several notables ran deep in the $109 Sunday Rebuy, but none reached the final table. Calvin "cal42688" Anderson (10th - $4,142.95), Athanasios "Athanasios 9" Polychronopoulos (12th - $4,142.95), and Sergey "gipsy74" Rybachenko (19th - $1,744.40) each fell short, and "danceofdead" capitalized by winning the tournament for $79,195.76.

Place	Player	Prize
1	danceofdead	$79,195.76
2	jarekk	$57,565.20
3	BigMeech99	$43,610
4	Tyren0	$32,707.50
5	dankness3	$22,895.25
6	Greenstone25	$18,534.25
7	salfshb	$14,173.25
8	ratboy x	$9,812.25
9	Milana Jones	$6,105.40

PokerStars Bigger $109 ($160K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	3,528	$352,800

The Bigger 109 more than doubled its $160,000 guarantee this week, creating a massive $55,391 payout for the winner. That honor went to Canada's "Dr.Octagon77." Sebastian "sebbau" Bauer (10th - $2,169.72) and David "highdro420" Rowan (21st - $934.92) barely missed reaching the final table.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Dr.Octagon77	$55,391.12
2	KKremate	$41,277.60
3	Greenstone25	$29,282.40
4	magom1968	$20,286
5	Curioso24	$15,103.36
6	MagicCoin	$11,466
7	Sudterak	$7,938
8	SixZeros	$4,410
9	andy123460	$2,822.40

PokerStars Bigger $162 ($150K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$150+$12	1,993	$298,950

The Bigger $162 final table was filled with stars this week. Michael "PapaGreggio18" Hawkins, Ben "bennybunny18" Richardson, Ami "UhhMee" Barer and Rick "ThEcLaiMEer" Trigg each locked up five-figure scores, with Trigg taking the biggest cut after emerging as the winner.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Rick "ThEcLaiMEer" Trigg	$47,833.04
2	ynd!	$35,874
3	Ami "UhhMee" Barer	$26,905.50
4	Min-raiseFTW	$19,655.96
5	Ben "bennybunny18" Richardson	$14,200.12
6	Michael "PapaGreggio18" Hawkins	$11,061.15
7	diegotuche	$8,071.65
8	scout236	$5,231.62
9	sergiobraga1	$2,989.50

PokerStars Sunday Storm ($300K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$10+$1	33,248	$332,480

The start of the WCOOP was the big story over the weekend, but the low buy-in Sunday Storm still surpassed its $300,000 guarantee. More than 33,000 players entered, and "Simzek" was the last one standing.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	Simzek	$27,873.79
*2	9pw6z	$18,738.09
*3	tinafaito	$17,035.81
4	nikolay76	$10,639.36
5	Gyumi27	$7,314.56
6	Moisey1979	$4,488.48
7	LEXARUS7791	$3,075.44
8	DenSi88	$2,161.12
9	booczak	$1,512.78

*denotes three-handed deal

PokerStars Sunday Kickoff ($100K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	1,600	$160,000

Dylan "Poker)evilL" Hortin (11th - $1,264) barely missed the final table of the Sunday Kickoff. In the end, "Mellow-Peach" took it down for $24,786.89 after a heads-up deal with "daddikos."

Place	Player	Prize
*1	Mellow-Peach	$24,786.89
*2	daddikos	$20,661.11
3	Big_Nemo	$14,400
4	Trona ziptet	$10,720
5	Shyam "G's zee" Srinivasan	$7,600
6	JohnyK91	$6,000
7	herrdodo	$4,400
8	sonik4	$2,800
9	Ze Goas	$1,600

*denotes heads-up deal

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