Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier had a fantastic WCOOP, cashing seven times and nearly winning a bracelet. He agreed to give us a few of this thoughts now that WCOOP is behind him.

by ElkY

Since I began playing poker online, WCOOP has become the most awaited series of the year, because it merges the great structure and big prize pool from the live tournaments, and the fast-paced action typical of the online world.

For someone like me, it's always disappointing not to win. Looking back at it, with the exception of the Triple Shootout final table where I didn't play my best due to staying awake longer than 40 hours, I don't regret any of the plays I made, especially not deep in the events.

The more I played poker lately, and the more heads-up is becoming my favorite game. It's a combination of really fast action, the fact that you can play all those hands that are trash in ring games, and that you get yourself and your opponents in marginal situations all the time. More importantly, one of my favorite aspect of the game, adaptability, is even more important in heads-up.

So when I heard about that new WCOOP event, the 25k$ heads-up, I was eager to compete. The structure was really wonderful and it brings so much depth to the game itself.

I had the toughest game of my tournament against IluvAntonius, a really strong player, but good cards at the key times brought me my 2nd win of the event. I actually felt he was outplaying me and had the edge early on, but winning key flips put me back on track and let me win the game.

Most of the games I played I started at a chip disadvantage early on, but the structure really let room for lots of play, and it allowed me to come back many times. I was fortunate enough to have a big rush of cards against Gavin Griffin in semi-finals, and while playing them very aggressively, it helped me secure a win.

As for the final heads up, after a slow start, my opponent really went on a big rush of cards and I believed I was able to lose very little against those, and even to get the chip lead back, but I believe I made a crucial
mistake when I made a call way too loose against his full house, that gave him the lead back, and I never really got the cards to get up from it.

Congratulations to all this years winners, as it takes not only skill but a lot of dedication and stamina to beat the toughest and biggest online fields ever.

I'm thrilled that the WCOOP this year was such a tremendous success, and I'm now definitely looking forward to the next edition to do even better. I have one year to improve, and even if the offline circuit keeps me busy, I'll try my best to keep playing the big PokerStars tournaments, because that's really where you learn the most.

So you want to win a million bucks, huh?

Well, here's how you do it. First, you manage to make it to the final table of the World Championship of Online Poker. Then you do exactly what you see below.

To cap off our WCOOP coverage, PokerStars.tv has put together the final highlights reel.

Below you can see the final table of the Main Event play out with all the hole cards exposed. Enjoy!

Watch WCOOP Highlights: $5,200 Main Event on PokerStars.tv

Zachary “ckingusc” King outlasted a massive field of 2,185 players including some of the world’s biggest stars to take down the Main Event of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker. The 2-day event had a record $10,925,000 prize pool, with $1,260,000 heading to the young pro from Columbia, SC. Oh, and for the record, the “usc” in his screen name does refer to the college, but the University of South Carolina, not the other USC that some folks might have heard of.

We caught up with King a little while after the Main Event, which he called “the most amazing moment of my life so far.” With his newly inflated bankroll, he plans to “definitely buy myself something nice, possibly a new car.” I think with $1.26 million in the bank, you can buy a really nice car, Zachary!

King, a 22-year-old pro, got inspired to play poker by watching Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker make his amazing run at the WSOP Main Event. Following in Moneymaker’s footsteps, King parlayed his $320 Mega-Satellite entry into a Main Event bracelet. King used poker as a way to get to know people in high school, as he moved around a lot early in life and enjoyed the social aspect of the game. That continued into his professional poker career, making friends with top online pros like Shaun Deeb, psyduck101, Thay3r, Intervntion and Cdbr3799, who he cites as some of the players who helped teach him the game.

As a professional tournament player, King knew many of his opponents throughout the event, especially Bertrand ‘ElkY” Grospellier from Team PokerStars Pro. Grospellier capped off a successful WCOOP with a 21st-place finish in the Main Event. When asked about the play he saw from the other pros in the event, King said “The obviously all played well and I pretty much avoided them except for a few well-timed 3-bet spots.”

With no legal live poker in South Carolina, King plays tournaments online “almost every day” and has spent the last two summers in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker, racking up an impressive five cashes in his first two years of eligibility. He made his first final table this year in Event #3, Pot Limit Hold’em, and cashed in two other No Limit Hold’em events. He also has a runner-up finish in a WSOP Circuit event and dozens of online tournament victories on his resume, including one six-figure score earlier this year.

With his win in the WCOOP Main Event, King has joined a rare crowd of players that have claimed prizes of more than $1 million in one tournament. We expect this young man to ride the wave of his success to even greater heights in the future. Because when you're a 22-year-old millionaire and World Champion with one WSOP final table already to your credit, the future is bright enough to need two pairs of shades! Congratulations to Zachary "ckingusc" King, our 2008 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event Champion!

23-year-old Andrew “TheActionKid” Glogowski is an online poker old-timer, despite his youth. Glogowski got his start in online poker almost five years ago, making six figures the first year and never looking back. Despite tournament scores in the $20-30K range, his victory in Event #27 of the World Championship of Online Poker was his biggest win to date. He plans to take the $76,545 he nabbed for taking down the No Limit Hold’em Triple Shootout and invest in more tournament buy-ins, working his was to a WSOP bracelet to match his WCOOP gold!

Glogowski got into online poker at 18, and joined PokerStars almost three years ago. One thing he enjoys about the poker lifestyle is the flexibility of travel, “you also get to see a lot of new places and meet a lot of people on trips which is awesome. I have gone to the WSOP in Vegas every year for the entire 6-7 weeks for the past two years, and went for about three weeks the year before when I was 21. I also try to play smaller tournament series at places like Canterbury Park in Minnesota and local casinos around Chicago.”

Poker isn’t Glogowski’s only source of income, although some would say he’s been a professional gambler no matter what the title. “Up until recently I was a securities and options trader at a firm near my house. I still dabble in the stock market with my own personal portfolio but nothing too major anymore.” Now that’s the type of gamble we expect from someone nicknamed The Action Kid! Recently he’s become part owner of Elite Chicago Rentals, “a company here in Chicago that deals with short term corporate and vacation rentals for people traveling to the Chicagoland area.”

Glogowski’s poker education has taken a familiar route – after a childhood playing 5-card Draw around the kitchen table, he picked up Hold’em after seeing the WSOP on television. “I tried to surround myself with winning players and read as much as I could about poker to improve my game. To this day I am still constantly talking to other good players and discussing strategies and reviewing our hand histories together, etc... because you are a student your entire life when it comes to poker, always learning new things as the game is constantly changing.”

With a good head on his shoulders and a new gold bracelet on his wrist, we expect more good things out of Andrew “TheActionKid” Glogowski in the future. Congrats, Andrew!

The dust never settled because there was no dust. The clouds never lifted because there were no clouds. If it had happened in a live casino, those things might have happened. But this monstrosity of a poker festival all happened online at PokerStars. It was nearly beyond description. No trite turn of phrase was available. It simply was what it was: a nearly $40 million poker tournament series that saw nearly 23,000 unique players compete for some of the most coveted titles in poker.

It wasn't always this way. It's not been too many years since PokerStars was an innovator, offering a brick-and-mortar style poker festival that players could battle from the comfort of their lazy chair. While PokerStars was creating the mold for future series of the like, no one would've ever guessed back then that the World Championship of Online Poker would become bigger than nearly every other tournament series--live or online--on planet Earth. Just look at the hard numbers.

Events played: 33
Total Number of Buy-Ins: 55,758
Number of unique players: 22,873
Total Prize Money: $39,958,000.00
Countries represented: 119
Countries cashed: 80


For a complete numbers break down, visit the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker statistics page.

This was a whole new year for WCOOP. As it always has, PokerStars did not rest on a six-year accumulation of laurels. The tournament team put together an amazing schedule that was as innovative as it was fun to watch. It introduced new events. It introduced two-day tournaments. All the while, PokerStars once again broke the mold with live coverage and highlights at PokerStars.tv. Heck, even we here at the PokerStars Blog tried something new with live blog coverage from the beginning to the end of every tournament (check out all the live blog and wrap up links at the end of this post).

There were 33 champions in 2008 WCOOP, but only one who could claim the Main Event title. That honor went to South Carolina Gamecock fan ckingusc who, after cutting a deal at the final table, won more than $1.2 million.

Here's a complete list of winner's from this year's WCOOP.

Event	Entrants	Winner	First Prize
NL Hold'em [6-max]	7,217	shane147	$200,856.66
PL 5-Card Draw	1,024	ImBillMcNeal	$34,201.60
Limit Hold'em	2,258	cwp394	$73,385.00
2-7 Triple Draw	734	playitsafe	$24,809.20
High-Roller NL Hold'em	321	dorinvandy	$617,925.00
NL Hold'em*	7,351	Calvin32	$452,086.50
PL Omaha [6-max]	2,457	Mary 717	$71,730.20
8-game Mixed Event	1,128	Ulett_23	$50,797.28
NL Hold'em [4-max]	3,290	jonasof87	$95,410.00
Razz	1,288	dinho_style	$43,096.48
PL Omaha Hi/Lo	1,733	92848	$88,383.00
Mixed Hold'em [6-max]	1,496	Randers	$66,000.00
NL Hold'em w/Rebuys	2,234	lrdvoldemort	$207,772.50
7-Card Stud	627	Mildred53	$28,608.50
NL Hold'em [Heads-Up]	2,048	Huxfluxen	$89,744.00
PL Omaha [1R1A]	1,223	Andy McLEOD	$98,280.00
PL Hold'em [6-max]	960	poker1O1	$80,400.00
HORSE	2,091	Sensor	$57,421.66
High-Roller HU NL Hold'em	64	stevesbets	$560,000.00
NL Hold'em*	3,467	NYC P.I.M.P	$257,953.38
7-Card Stud Hi/Lo	525	weaktight	$42,735.78
Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo [6-max]	620	BUCKIZ6	$55,800.00
NL Hold'em [1R1A]	1,159	ddrufnek	$194,902.00
NL 2-7 Single Draw	308	luvgamble	$42,000.00
PL Omaha w/rebuys	748	shaundeeb	$144,112.50
NL Hold'em [6-max]	3,273	rubenrtv	$135,687.64
NL Hold'em Triple Shootout	729	TheActionKid	$76,545.00
Limit Omaha Hi/Lo	829	Big10	$69,801.88
NLHE w/Rebuys [6-max]	852	PiKappRaider	$211,133.76
PL Omaha	742	salamandra24	$97,291.28
Limit Hold'em [6-max]	580	aasezz	$107,300.00
HORSE	125	DocHolatchya	$287,500.00
NL Hold'em Main Event*	2,185	ckingusc	$1,265,432.23

You can be sure PokerStars is already thinking about next year's WCOOP. Said one tournament organizer, "This year we had 33 events. What's next? Forty?"

At this point, it's simply impossible to say. The only thing that's sure is that if this year's innovative and professional schedule was any indication, we have a lot of fun ahead of us at PokerStars in the coming year.

Congratulations to everyone who cashed in at this year's WCOOP. For a complete look at this year's PokerStars Blog coverage, check out any of the links below.

WCOOP Winner interviews

PokerStars.tv WCOOP highlights

Event 1

Event 2

Event 3

Event 4

Event 5

Event 6

Event 7

Event 8

Event 9

Event 10

Event 11

Event 12

Event 13

Event 14

Event 15

Event 16

Event 17

Event 18

Event 19

Event 20

Event 21

Event 22

Event 23

Event 24

Event 25

Event 26

Event 27

Event 28

Event 29

Event 30

Event 31

Event 32

Event 33

ckingusc takes down the WCOOP Main Event

Day 2 of the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event began with 60 players vying for the $1.775 million first prize. Those were the survivors of 2,185 runners who started the event on Sunday. The number of entrants created an online poker record prize pool of $10,925,000.

That record prize pool was a fitting end to the largest WCOOP ever. The final tallies – 33 events, 55,758 buy-ins and $39,958,000 in prize money – exceeded expectations in every way. Players from 118 countries participated in the 2008 edition of the WCOOP. PearlJammer and thedonator each had 10 cashes to lead the field. Dorinvandy was the top earner prior to the Main Event, with $652,529.95 in winnings. But everyone knew that record would go down on Monday.

August35 came into the final day of play as the chipleader, but with plenty of play in each player’s stack (an average of more than 36 big blinds) it was still anybody’s game.

Play began quickly on Day 2, with the short stacks praying for double ups. In fact, 10 players of the 60 remaining were gone in the first 20 minutes of play, and we were down to 32 after the first hour of play. Not surprisingly eliminations slowed after that as the remaining participants had enough ammo in their stacks to fire a few bullets and dodge a few mortars.

August35 suffered a major freefall and finished in 23rd. The last remaining Team PokerStars Pro, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, who had a heck of a series with seven cashes and more than $400,000 in winnings, exited in 21st.

Final table play began just after 8:30pm EST after nearly 15 hours of play over two days. The seating and chip counts heading into the final were:

Seat 1: kovi99 561,348
Seat 2: klslcz 4,828,175
Seat 3: ckingusc 8,056,086
Seat 4: liberace 13,111,107
Seat 5: AJKHoosier1 3,700,250
Seat 6: BOLLDOZER 3,310,739
Seat 7: Sumpas 2,959,856
Seat 8: ShoesRDurrty 6,547,232
Seat 9: Markush13 11,433,207

With blinds of 65,000/130,000 and antes at 13,000, the short-stacked players didn’t have time to wait. Kovi99 got right at it and managed to triple up early by getting all-in twice as an underdog and winning (K-3 versus K-6 and K-Q versus A-3). Kovi99 wasn’t so lucky a third time when while playing with blinds of 80K/160K he raised to 320K under the gun and Markush13 called from the big blind. After a flop of 3d-Kc-8s, Markush13 checked and kovi99 bet 640K. Markush13 put kovi99 all-in for his last 300K and he made the call with Ah-Js. Markush had him dominated with Kh-7h and won the pot after the turn and river came 9h-Th.

BOLLPOKER would exit in 8th only two hands later. He shoved all-in for 1.3 million with 3h-3d and ckingusc (who has the South Carolina Gamecock as his avatar photo) made the call in the big blind with Ad-Qh. The race looked good for BOLLPOKER at first, but didn’t end well on a board of 5d-9s-Jd-Kh-Tc.

Klslcz would go out in 7th place in disgusting fashion only a few minutes later. He raised to 420K from under the gun and Markush13 re-raised to 1.3 million from the big blind. Klslcz flat called and the two players saw a flop of 9h-9s-Qc. Here is how that hand concluded:

This WCOOP Main Event was not to be for klslcz when the final two cards came 8c-Ks to give Markush13 a set and a nice 15.78 million stack.

Sumpas was the next to go in 6th with blinds still at 80K/160K. ckingusc raised to 404K and liberace called from the cutoff. Sumpas pushed all-in for 4.74 million from the small blind. Ckingusc folded, but liberace called. Sumpas was well behind with Ac-Qd versus Ad-Kh and the board didn’t help him with Td-Ts-3c-8d-Jh. The hand put liberace in a dominating position over the final five with 28.5 million of the 55 million chips in play.

The table knew liberace was running good when he put AJKHoosier1 all-in a short time later with Qd-Kh versus 7h-7c, the flop came 8d-7d-6c and he still didn’t lose the hand. That’s because the turn and river came 9c-Tc to put a straight on the board.

The players then discussed and finally agreed to a deal after a few tries. AJKHoosier1, a tournament force in the online poker scene, managed to carve out an additional $100K in the arrangement. He then proceeded to double up with 7-7 versus the 2-2 of ShoesRDurrty, leaving ShoesRDurrty crippled.

ShoesRDurrty was next to go in 5th. Ckingusc raised to 487K and ShoesRDurrty re-raised all-in for 1.1 million from the big blind with 3s-3c. Ckingusc made the call with Qh-Qd and won when the board came 4h-8h-6c-7d-Jh.

Markush13 was able to wrestle the chip lead away from liberace when he hit a set with his pocket sevens to crack liberace’s pocket eights, and a few hands later when he pushed liberace out of a 10 million pot with an all-in bet on the flop. However, over the next 20 minutes liberace regained the lead and finally put an end to Markush13 in 4th place. Liberace, sitting with 23.3 million chips, raised the 200K big blind to 600K preflop. Markush13, with about 12 million, re-raised to 1.8 million in the small blind. Liberace called and the two chipleaders saw the flop of Qs-9s-9d heads-up. Both checked. The turn brought the 6d and Markush13 led out for 2.33 million. Liberace called. The river was the 7h and Markush13 fired again – this time for 9.31 million, or all of his chips. Liberace quickly called with Th-8h for the rivered straight and had amassed 37 million chips after all Markush13 could produce was ace high with Ad-Ts.

After play got down to three handed, ckingusc made a move. First he doubled through AJKHoosier1 with kings versus A-T and then he played aggressive poker with liberace to take down a couple of pots uncontested. Ckingusc then put out AJKHoosier1 when AJKHoosier1 pushed over the top of a ckingusc 600K raise from the button for 4 million all-in from the big blind. Ckingusc called with 9h-9c and was well ahead of the Ad-7c of AJKHoosier1. The nines held and we were down to two.

When heads-up play began, liberace held the lead 34.5 million to 20 million, but that would change very quickly. Liberace raised to 500K from the button and ckingusc called. After a flop of 8c-3d-7d, ckingusc checked, liberace bet 1 million and ckingusc check-raised to 3 million. This didn’t sit well with liberace who immediately shoved all-in. ckingusc made the call with Kd-Jd for two overcards and a flush draw while Liberace held Qh-7s for second pair. The Kc on the turn did the trick, making the 6d on the river overkill. Regardless, ckingusc now had control with 40 million chips.

The match would end just a few hands later. Here is the final hand of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker:

Liberace can take solace in the fact that he made the most money thanks to the five-handed deal in this marathon final event that lasted close to 17 hours over two days. So concludes two and a half weeks of the biggest online poker event in history. See you next year!

WCOOP Main Event Final Table Results (payouts reflect five-way chop based on chip count)

1. ckingusc $1,265,432 and bracelet
2. liberace $1,375,249
3. AJKHoosier1 $782,542
4. Markush13 $961,718
5. ShoesRDurrty $801,153
6. Sumpas $415,150
7. klslcz $305,900
8. BOLLPOKER $196,650
9. kovi99 $121,267

Day 2 live blog coverage of the WCOOP Main Event, $5,200 No-Limit Hold'em is brought to you by Johnny Kampis and Martin Harris.

Have a story? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. Click refresh to see the latest information. For a look at previous coverage, see the Main Event Day 1 live blog and the Day 1 recap.

10:34pm--It's over! liberace eliminated in 2nd place; ckingusc wins 2008 WCOOP Main Event bracelet!

It was just the 12th hand of heads up play. ckingusc had 39,992,242, a huge lead over liberace's stack of 14,632,758. With the blinds 125,000/250,000, ckingusc raised to 600,000 from the small blind/button, and liberace reraised to 1.5 million. ckingusc shoved, and liberace called.

ckingusc showed 8c-Ac, and liberace Kd-Jd. The flop brought a pair to both: As-Kc-Th. The turn was the 4c, and the river the 9d. ckingusc's ace gave him the pot and the bracelet!

According to the earlier deal, liberace takes home a pretty nice consolation prize -- a whopping $1,375,249! And with the extra $200,000, ckingusc ends up with $1,265,432. Congratulations to both!

10:28pm--ckingusc grabs huge pot, chip lead

A huge swing in just the 7th hand of heads up! liberace raised to 500,000 from the button/small blind, and ckingusc called. The flop came 8c-3d-7d. ckingusc checked, liberace bet 1 million, ckingusc check-raised to 3 million, and liberace shoved all in. ckingusc called with his remaining 16,933,621.

liberace: Qh-7s
ckingusc: Kd-Jd

This could be it for ckingusc! But the Kc on the turn changed the situation. And a 6d on the river gave him the flush and the 40 million-plus chip pot!

ckingusc now has a better than 3-to-1 advantage over liberace!

10:25pm--Chip counts as we begin heads up play

1. liberace 34,666,379
2. ckingusc 19,958,621

ckingusc: gl
liberace: u2 sorta

10:24pm--AJKHoosier1 knocked out in 3rd; heads-up play begins

AJKHoosier1 had battled valiantly with the short stack ever since play had become five-handed. Then came a hand where ckingusc raised to 600,000 from the button, and AJKHoosier1 shoved all in for 3,869,354 from the big blind.

AJKHoosier showed Ad-7c, and ckingusc 9h-9c. The board came 2d-3c-4s-Qh-2h, and AJKHoosier goes out in third place, collecting $782,542 as agreed upon earlier.

We are down to heads up!

10:21pm--Special request may require special delivery

ckingusc: when i cash out can i get a big novelty check?
StaffBryanS [Host]: I'm not sure that a giant foamboard check will fit through the post, ck. ;)
ckingusc: ship it freight imo

10:14pm--Chip counts at 16-hour mark (fifth break of Day 2)

Level 33
Blinds 125,000/250,000, antes 25,000
Players remaining: 3
Average chip count: 18,208,333

1. liberace 35,021,944
2. AJKHoosier1 11,121,200
3. ckingusc 8,481,856

10:10pm--Markush13 eliminated in 4th place

liberace, with 23.3 million, raised 3x to 600,000 from UTG/the cutoff, and Markush1 reraised to 1.8 million from the small blind. It folded back to liberace who called.

The flop came Qs-9s-9d, and both checked. The turn was teh 6d. Markush13 bet 2,333,111, and liberace called. The river brought the 7h, and Markush13 pushed all in for 9,310,895. liberace called, turning over 8h-Th for the straight. Markush13 just had Ad-Ts for the failed bluff, and he is out in 4th place, collecting $961,718 according to the earlier deal.

10:06pm--Higher denomination chips in play

With blinds of 100,000/200,000 and an average chip stack of 13.65 million, we are routinely seeing million-chip plus pots, even when there is little action.

The short stack, AJKHoosier1, has shown the most aggression thus far, with his 7.5 million-chip stack being enough to worry the bigger stacks.

9:59pm--The fantastic four

They have outlasted 2,181 opponents and nearly 16 hours' worth of play (not counting the breaks). Here are the chip counts here halfway through Level 32:

1. liberace 21,520,216
2. Markush13 15,086,228
3. ckingusc 11,512,366
4. AJKHoosier1 6,506,190

9:51pm--A whole new ball game

Markush13 just doubled through liberace in a battle of pocket pairs. Preflop, Markush13 had the worst of it with 7d-7c versus liberace's 8d-8c. Was looking bad after that Js-2d-2h flop, too. But a seven on the turn changed everything.

Markush13 now has almost 12.7 million, and liberace maintains the lead with 19.7 million.

9:48pm--Check out live WCOOP coverage on PokerStars.tv

Don't forget, you can also follow all of the action right up until the final hand over on PokerStars.tv. Click here to watch live video with commentary.

9:44pm--Baby pair fails ShoesRDurrty again, knocking him out in 5th

Four hands after being crippled by AJKHoosier1, ShoesRDurrty shoved with 3s-3c and ckingusc called him with Qh-Qs. The board came 4h-8h-6c-7d-Jh, and ShoesRDurrty ends in 5th place. He takes home $801,153, as agreed upon by the earlier deal.

9:41pm--ShoesRDurrty stubs toe as AJKHoosier1 doubles up

Coming back from the deal-making, the first ten hands or so were reasonably quiet, then came an all in confrontation between AJKHoosier1 -- who held 7h-7c -- and ShoesRDurrty -- who had 2h-2d. AJKHoosier1 had raised to 411,111, ShoesRDurrty reraised to 1,444,444, AJKHoosier pushed, and ShoesRDurrty called.

A seven flopped, and AJKHoosier's hand held up, giving him the 8.5-plus million chip pot. Meanwhile, ShoesRDurrty now has just 1.17 million.

9:34pm--Players come to terms; play continues for $200K and bracelet

Discussion began with Bryan S., the Tournament Director, providing pay outs according to a "chip chop" agreement -- i.e., with the prize pool reapportioned according to players' current stack sizes. Remember, no matter what deal is reached, at least $200,000 remains on the table to go to the eventual winner (along with the coveted WCOOP bracelet).

Here were the figures Bryan came back with reflecting such a deal:

liberace: $1,600,249
ckingusc: $1,065,432
Markush13: $866,718
ShoesRDurrty: $781,153
AJKHoosier1: $672,542

Players immediately expressed reservations, especially AJKHoosier1. After a lengthy discussion -- including a second set of figures being refused by AJKHoosier1 -- a new arrangement was proposed:

liberace: $1,375,249
ckingusc: $1,065,432
Markush13: $961,718
ShoesRDurrty: $801,153
AJKHoosier1: $782,542

All five agreed, and are thus guaranteed these payouts. They now play on for the remaining $200,000 and the bracelet!

9:19pm--Let's make a deal?

With five players remaining -- and a whopping $5.18 million in prize money still up for grabs -- all have agreed to discuss a possible deal.

Here are the chip counts at the moment:

1. liberace 24,858,660
2. ckingusc 12,501,128
3. Markush13 7,909,641
4. ShoesRDurrty 5,932,571
5. AJKHoosier1 3,423,000

9:11pm--Sumpas out in 6th; liberace increases lead

Player liberace is starting to take over this final table. He had just won a 9.7 million pot without a showdown against Markush. Then came this hand versus Sumpus.

ckingusc raised to 404,250 from UTG+1, and liberace called behind him. Then Sumpas raised all in for 4,736,518 from the small blind. ckingusc folded, and liberace made the call.

Sumpas: Qd-Ac
liberace: Ad-Kh

Tough spot for Sumpas. The board came Td-Ts-3c-8d-Jh, and Sumpas is out in 6th place, earning $415,150. With that 10.1 million-chip pot, liberace now has over 28 million -- nearly half the chips in play with five players left!

9:02pm--Another nasty river sends klslcz out in 7th

After all nine players survived the first half-hour or so of final table play, we've had our third bustout in ten hands.

klslcz raised to 420,000 from UTG, then Markush13 reraised to 1,300,999 from the big blind. klslcz called. The flop came 9h-9s-Qc. Markush13 bet 1,899,999, and klslcz promptly shoved all in for 4,861,175. Markush13 made the call, creating a 12 million-plus chip pot.

Markush13 showed Kh-Kc, but klslcz had Ad-Ac. "omg" typed AJKHoosier1, looking on. The turn was the 8c, but the Ks on the river gave the huge pot to Markush13 and knocked klslcz out in 7th, for which he gets $305,900.

8:57pm--Tough river eliminates BOLLPOKER in 8th

Just two hands after kovi99's elimination, we had our second final table bustout. BOLLPOKER open-shoved all in for almost 1.3 million from middle position, and ckingusc -- having 7.35 million with which to play -- called from the big blind.

ckingusc: Qh-Ad
BOLLPOKER: 3h-3d

The race was on. The board came 5d-9s-Jd-Kh... Tc! That ten on the end gave ckingusc the hand and knocked out BOLLPOKER in 8th. He earns $196,650.

8:53pm--kovi99 first to go at final table

In the second hand back from break, kovi99 minimum-raised to 320,000 from under the gun, and it folded back around to Markush13 who called from the big blind.

The flop came 3d-Kc-8s. Markush13 checked, and kovi99 considered for a good while before betting 640,000, leaving himself just 408,392 behind. Markush13 quickly check-raised to 160,000, and kovi99 had little choice but to make the call.

Markush13 showed Kh-7h for top pair, while kovi99 had Ah-Js. The turn was the 9h and the river the Th, and kovi99 goes out in 9th place, collecting $121,267.50.

8:47pm--Chip counts at 15-hour mark (fourth break of Day 2)

Level 31
Blinds 80,000/160,000, antes 16,000
Players remaining: 9
Average chip count: 6,069,444
First prize: $1,775,312.50

1. liberace 16,257,107
2. ckingusc 7,398,086
3. Markush13 7,364,175
4. klslcz 6.546,174
5. ShoesRDurrty 6,224,571
6. Sumpas 4,604,517
7. AJKHoosier1 2,667,500
8. BOLLPOKER 2,162,478
9. kovi99 1,400,392

8:38pm--Nine lives

All nine of our players are still alive after the first 15 hands of final table play. Our short-stack entering the final table, kovi99, has survived three all ins and has nearly tripled up to 1.46 million. liberace continues to maintain the chip lead here in the early stages of final table play with 14.8 million, with Markush13 his nearest competitor with 9.23 million.

8:26pm--Final table is set

We have reached the final table of this historic WCOOP Main Event! Here was the scene as the first hand was being dealt:

Chip counts and seat assignments at start of final table:

Seat 1: kovi99 574,348
Seat 2: klslcz 4,841,175
Seat 3: ckingusc 8,069,086
Seat 4: liberace 13,124,107
Seat 5: AJKHoosier1 3,713,250
Seat 6: BOLLPOKER 3,323,739
Seat 7: Sumpas 2,972,856
Seat 8: ShoesRDurrty 6,560,232
Seat 9: Markush13 11,446,207

8:24pm--Fluffdog87 out in 10th place

After that crippling hand versus ShoesRDurrty, Fluffdog87 pushed his last 510,516 all in with Ad-2h and was called by klslcz who had 5c-5d. The board came Qh-3h-4d-Ts-7d, and Fluffdog87 is our final table bubble boy, earning $87,400 for a 10th place finish.

8:21pm--Fluffdog87 takes a big hit

Huge hand just went down here at one of our five-handed tables. Fluffdog87 raised to 355,575, then ShoesRDurrty repopped to 3,273,616. Fluffdog87 called, leaving himself 757,516 behind.

ShoesRDurrty had pocket sixes, and Fluffdog87 Ad-Kc. The flop brought a six, and the hand held, moving 6.67 million into ShoesRDurrty's stack.

8:14pm--charder30 out in 11th

With 1.744,239 chips to start the hand, charder30 pushed all in from UTG and liberace called from the small blind. liberace showed Ad-Td, while charder30 turned over 4d-4c.

The flop was okay for charder30 -- Jh-Qd-8d. But the turn was the Ah and he was in trouble. The river 2h sealed it, and charder30 goes out in 10th place, $87,400 richer.

We are now down to 10 players and are playing hand for hand until we reach our final nine.

8:10pm--Who needs a kicker?

ShoesRDurrty pushed for 1.5 million and BlueDevils09 came over the top to get play heads-up with Kd-3d for ShoesRDurrty and As-Kd for BlueDevils09. Unfortunately for BlueDevils09 the board ran out Jd-Qd-2c-Td-6d to give ShoesRDurrty the flush.

Two hands later after BlueDevils09 had doubled up once, but then he lost a flip for all of his chips with ShoesRDurrty with 7-7 versus Q-K and went out in 12th, collecting $87,400.

8:02pm--Live coverage at PokerStars.tv

Remember you can head over to PokerStars.tv to follow coverage of the last two tables of tonight's historic WCOOP Main Event.

Currently the hosts are interviewing Team PokerStars pro Vicky Coren in between describing all of the action.

Check it out! Live audio and video of the play!

Tune in by clicking here.

7:58pm--Double knockout sends cbsplash & KingKobeMVP to rail

As we came back from the break, we had some fireworks at Table 105. It began with cbsplash raising to 266,554 from middle position. Markush13 called from the button, then KingKobeMVP raised all in for 2,433,056 from the small blind. It folded back around to cbsplash who committed his last 1,482,000. And, as we discovered, Markush13 was only too glad to make the call as well...

KingKobeMVP: 6c-6h
cbsplash: 8d-8c
Markush13: As-Ad

As he had both covered, Markush13 had an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone here. The board came out 7h-4d-Qc-4c-Qs, and we were down to 12.

As cbsplash had the smaller stack when the hand began, he ends in 14th, with KingKobeMVP taking 13th. Both win $65,550.

7:49pm--Chip counts at 14-hour mark (third break of Day 2)

Level 29
Blinds 50,000/100,000, antes 10,000
Average chip count: 3,901,785
Players remaining: 14
First prize: $1,775,312.50

1. liberace 11,489,959
2. AJKHoosier1 9,417,974
3. Markush13 7,226,370
4. Sumpas 4,579,889
5. charder30 3,687,981
6. cbsplash 3,428,572
7. BlueDevils09 3,174,808
8. Fluffdog87 2,173,323
9. BOLLPOKER 2,104,845
10. klslcz 1,746,467
11. kovi99 1,713,848
12. ShoesRDurrty 1,710,276
13. ckingusc 1,309,446
14. KingKobeMVP 861,242

7:42pm--That's some serious cabbage

With just 14 players left, we are getting close to that final table where a whopping $6.2 million of the prize pool awaits. The pay jumps are becoming considerable here -- indeed, if one thinks about it, the biggest pay jumps in online poker history!

The next two to go out earn $65,550. Then the next three will each get $87,400.

Not bad. But look what comes next...

9th: $121,267.50
8th: $196,650
7th: $305,900
6th: $415,150
5th: $524,400
4th: $633,650
3rd: $941,735
2nd: $1,311,000
1st: $1,775,312.50

This schedule of payouts doesn't take into account any possible deals at the end, of course. Incidentally, if any deal is done, at least $200,000 will have to be set aside for the eventual winner.

7:37pm--BillieD out in 15th after losing flip

BillieD raised to 210K from the cutoff and BlueDevils09 pushed all-in for 1.2 milliion from the button. The rest of the table folded and BillieD made the call for his tournament life with Qs-Qh. BlueDevils09 held Ac-Kc.

The flop looked safe with the 8s-5c-2d, but the turn 4c gave BlueDevils09 18 outs and one of those -- the 2c -- came on the river to send BillieD packing with $65,550 for 15th.

7:34pm--For the love of the railbirds

Observer chat has been turned off for awhile now, but Fluffdog87 wanted to remind them of his appreciation:

Fluffdog87: shoutout to all of the people railing me right now!

7:26pm--WCOOP Highlights on PokerStars.tv

Highlight reels of several WCOOP events have been compiled and are ready for viewing over on PokerStars.tv. A similar highlight reel will be compiled for today's event as well. For now, though, enjoy this one from Event 31, the $1,050 Limit Hold'em event won by assezz:

Watch WCOOP Highlights: Event 31 - $1,050 FLHE (6-max) on PokerStars.tv

7:19pm--Want to know how to win the WCOOP?

The first step is to win an 8-million chip flip.

AJKHoosier1 just got it all-in against KingKobeMVP with 9-9 versus A-K and survived to put himself into second place with 8.1 million. KingkobeMVP fell to 246K.

7:18pm--Current chip leaders

There are 15 players remaining. Your top five...

1. liberace 11,195,179
2. AJKHoosier1 8,156,414
3. Markush13 6,542,320
4. Sumpas 5,998,188
5. charder30 5,237,299

7:16pm--Reminder: Check out coverage of the last two tables over on PokerStars.tv!

They've begun their coverage over on PokerStars.tv of the endgame of PokerStars' WCOOP Main Event. Live commentary and video! Click here to check it out.

7:13pm--ViP_MoDee out in 16th

With blinds 30,000/60,000, chip leader liberace raised to 180,000 from middle position and ViP_MoDee reraised all in for 1,357,825 from the small blind. liberace called, showing 7s-7d. ViP_MoDee was in a race for his tournament life with Ah-Jc.

The board came 4d-8c-3c-4h-Qs, and ViP_MoDee hits the rail in 16th place, earning $43,700 for his efforts.

Meanwhile, liberace currently remains atop the leaderboard with about 10.6 million.

7:10pm--ShiP ThA $$$ ships his stack to no avail, out in 17th

ShiP ThA $$$ shoved his last 569K into the pot preflop and AJKHoosier1 re-raised from the small blind to isolate and the two went heads-up.

ShiP ThA $$$ was dominated with Qh-7c versus the Ah-7d of AJKHoosier1. The board ran out harmlessly with 9s-Ks-6h-Kc-3c and ShiP ThA $$$ collected $43,700 for 17th place. AJKHoosier1 chipped up to 4.3 million.

7:04pm--Kicker advantage shoots liberace above 11-million mark

Forza Parma got the rest of his chips in the middle with A-Q. His problem was that liberace was holding A-K. Here is the hand that put Forza Parma out in 18th and with $43,700 in hand:

7:03pm--Nice pay bump

Now that we are down to two tables, all remaining players are guaranteed $43,700 -- a nice bump up from the $22,942.50 those finishing 19th-27th received. But you can be assured any of them would be disappointed with that result at this point.

7:01pm--JBlaze20 extinguished in 19th

JBlaze20 was down to 582,187 when his final hand began. It was a blind-vs.blind showdown with BOLLPOKER, with JBlaze20 completing from the SB and BOLLPOKER checking his option from the BB.

The flop came 5c-6s-Kc. JBlaze20 checked, BOLLPOKER bet 180,000, JBlaze20 check-raised to 420,000, and BOLLPOKER repopped it all in. JBlaze20 called, and we saw he was gunning for a flush with Jc-7c. Meanwhile, BOLLPOKER had flopped top two. As you can see here, the flush didn't arrive, and JBlaze20 is out:

6:58pm--McMang can't crack aces and leaves in 20th

McMang shoved his last 524K into the pot with Ah-7c, but ran into the As-Ad of KingKobeMVP to his left. The board ran out 4d-5s-5d-9h-Jh and the outcome was never in doubt. McMang earned $22,942.50 for his work while KingKobeMVP sits with a stack of 4.9 million.

6:52pm--It's raise, re-raise and take it

At this point in the tournament, few hands see the flop. Most hands lately have played out in a simple formula:

1) Raise
2) Re-raise
3) Fold

Big stacks don't want to collide to risk missing out on a six or seven figure paygay, but when they do the sparks can fly...

6:45pm--Unlucky seven knocks ElkY out in 21st

Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier has just been eliminated in 21st, culminating a terrific WCOOP for ElkY.

Fluffdog87 had raised to 152,575, and ElkY, down to 655,381 (20th out of 21 players remaining), reraised all in. Fluffdog87 made the call, showing 7d-7h. ElkY was in good shape with 9d-9h.

Good shape until the flop, anyway -- 2d-7s-6c. The 8c on the turn gave Grospellier added hope, but the 3d on the river sent him to the rail in 21st. He earns $22,942.50 for his efforts in Event No. 33.

Today's cash marks the seventh cash overall for Grospellier in this year's WCOOP.

6:38pm--Chip counts at 13-hour mark (second break of Day 2)

Level 27
Blinds 30,000/60,000, antes 6,000
Average chip count: 2,601,190
Players remaining: 21
First prize: $1,775,312.50

Top ten players:
1. Liberace 6,814,954
2. KingKobeMVP 6,706,763
3. Markush13 5,712,324
4. cbsplash 4,958,829
5. Sumpas 4,449,613
6. klslcz 2,977,513
7. AJKHoosier1 2,970,295
8. charder30 2,784,299
9. Forza Parma 2,775,895
10. kovi99 2,007,073

Team PokerStars pros remaining:
Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier 613,381 (21st)

6:31pm--Ace on the river sens lucky_aces08 home in 22nd

ElkY raised to 124K from UTG, klslcz made it 300K to his left and lucky_aces08 shoved for 701K from the button.

ElkY got out of the way, but klslcz was priced in and made the call with Ah-5h. lucky_aces08 had to like the flop and turn of 8h-9s-Td-3d, but the river was the As to send him away in 22nd place and $22,942.50 richer. klslcz now has about 2.8 million in his stack.

6:29pm--Day 2 chip leader out in 23rd

august35 entered Day 2 as our commanding chip leader, and maintained that lead for most of the first half-hour or so today. But a failed bluff on the last hand of the first level robbed august35 of a big chunk of chips, and after continuing to slide he finds himself out of the tourney in 23rd place.

On the final hand august35 had 1.29 million to start. Forza Parma raised to 125,700, and august35 called from the cutoff. ViP_MoDee also called from the small blind. The flop came 8s-Qh-Jd. ViP_MoDee checked, Forza Parma bet 195,000, august35 called, and ViP_MoDee got out of the way.

The turn was the 2h. This time Forza Parma checked, and august35 bet 450,000. Forza Parma reraised all in, and august35 called. Forza Parma showed Ts-9s for the flopped straight, and august35 8c-8d for a set of eights. The river was the Tc, and august35 was history.

6:24pm--liberace looking for a bracelet to go with all of those rings

When asked about critics' unfavorable reviews, the real Liberace famously responded "I cried all the way to the bank."

It is doubtful that player liberace -- our current chip leader with about 6.48 million -- is doing much crying at the moment, though he's certainly angling toward a trip to the bank.

liberace is followed by KingKobeMVP with 5.78 million.

6:19pm--All hail the King

KingKobeMVP was back at it, cracking the pocket kings of mcstuntz and sending him home in 24th place with $22,942.50. Here is how that happened:

6:17pm--Congrats to kudos1017, out in 25th

Down to 292,123, kudos1017 open-shoved from middle position with Js-7d and Markush13 called behind him with Ks-Qh. The board came 3h-Kd-Jh-Tc-9s, giving Markush13 the straight and knocking out kudos1017 in 25th place.

6:15pm--Follow final table action on PokerStars.tv!

Don't forget, coming up in just a little while we will have live coverage of the final few tables of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event.

PokerStars.tv coverage should begin around 6:30 ET -- just about 15 minutes from now.

Don't miss your chance to watch and listen! Tune in by clicking here.

6:10pm--Flopped set does in m3tph

m3tph raised to 150K from UTG, klslcz called from the cutoff and liberace called from the big blind.

The flop was 2d-7s-Td and liberace checked. m3tph bet 700K, more than the 520K pot, and klslcz folded, but liberace check-raised enough to put m3tph all-in for his last 1.78 million.

m3tph made the call and couldn't have liked seeing the 7c-7d of liberace for the flopped set. m2tph held Qh-Qs and did not improve on the 6h turn and Jh river to finish in 26th place and earn $22,942.50. liberace, meanwhile, jumped into the chip lead with a stack of 6.4 million.

6:04pm--River saves BillieD

BillieD was just now all in with Qc-Tc versus JBlaze20's pocket jacks. The flop came Ad-Jh-3s, giving JBlaze20 a set. The turn was the 8s, but the Kc on the river saved BillieD, giving him Broadway and a 1.636 million-chip pot. JBlaze20 now has about 916,000.

5:56pm--baloo1962 departs in 27th place

baloo1962 limped in the cutoff for 40K and McMang raised to 130K from the button to eliminate the rest of the field. baloo then re-raised to 300K and McMang called.

After a flop of Td-9d-5d, baloo1962 pushed all-in for 535,818 and McMang thought and called. The hands:

baloo1962: Kc-Kd
McMang: As-Th

baloo1962 was in great shape, but the board ran out 2s-Ah to create an unlikely victory in the hand for McMang, who chipped up to 1.8 million. baloo1962 received $22,942.50 for 27th place.

5:55pm--27 remain

We just had a rapid rush of three eliminations. First abreid went out in 30th, followed closely by abreid in 29th. Then we saw Herr_Jude was knocked out in 28th after losing a race with pocket kings against Sumpas' As-Qc. The flop was fine, but an ace on the turn meant Herr_Jude was out.

Of course, that consolation prize might help Herr_Jude take a sad song and make it better. Here are all of those who will be receiving $20,757.50 for two days' work:

28. Herr_Jude
29. Cowb0y$4Life
30. abreid
31. ahh_snap
32. capinhabr
33. austinlewis
34. Daut44
35. Cobra234
36. astarisborn

And these will receive $19,665:

37. xmrstyle
38. Miss Pretty
39. PieOhMy
40. x-13

5:49pm--Kobe makes play for MVP

Not that Kobe, but KingKobeMVP, who just won a monster pot to put him near the chiplead and bust abreid in 30th place. Here is that hand:

5:46pm--ahh_snap snapped off in 31st

We just saw a huge 4.4 million-plus chip pot go down over on Table 251, with the result being the elimination of ahh_snap in 31st place. The flop looked -- Jd 3s 2s -- looked fairly innocuous. But that's when the action really started. Check it out:

5:41pm--capinhabr sails home in 32nd place

Markush13 raised to 100,000 from UTG+1 and it folded back around to capinhabr who shoved all in for 521,391 total from the big blind. Markush13 made the call.

capinhabr showed Kc-Qc, and Markush13 Kd-Js. About as good as capinhabr could hope for here. Alas, a jack came on the flop -- 5s-Jh-8c -- and capinhabr was suddenly way behind. The Ac on the turn and the 9s on the river sent capinhabr out in 32nd place.

5:36pm--Chip counts at 12-hour mark (first break of Day 2)

Level 25
Blinds 20,000/40,000, antes 4,000
Average chip count: 1,707,031
Players remaining: 32
First prize: $1,775,312.50

Top ten players:
1. AJKHoosier1 3,473,225
2. klskcz 3,449,985
3. Markush13 3,099,702
4. august35 2,818,114
5. KingKobeMVP 2,401,975
6. Fluffdog87 2,386,207
7. ahh_snap 2,378,196
8. cbsplash 2,306,365
9. Sumpas 2,254,275
10. ShoesRDurrty 2,222,552

Team PokerStars pros remaining:
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier 1,407,994 (19th place)

5:29pm--Sumpas bumps off austinlewis

In a hand right near the end of Level 24, august35 raised to 75,000 and ShiP ThA $$$ called behind from the cutoff. Then austinlewis reraised all in from the button for 613,650. Suddenly Sumpas, having apparently woken up in the small blind with a hand, repopped it all in for 1.48 million, and the other two got out of the way.

Sumpas: Ah-Qh
austinlewis: Ac-9h

Sumpas had austinlewis in a bad spot. The board came 7h-6d-4c-4h-2h, and austinlewis was eliminated in 33rd place. Sumpas meanwhile heads into the break with 2.25 million, good for ninth place at present (out of 32).

5:28pm--Daut44 down

Daut44 was just eliminated in 34th place. Daut44 open-shoved his last 456,959 from the small blind with Ac-2s, and ahh_snap called from the BB with Kc-Jc. A jack flopped, and when another came on the turn, Daut44 was drawing dead.

5:27pm--Playing back at Indiana

AJKHoosier1 is being aggressive at Table 105, raising many pots, but he's feeling the effect of his play as many players are three-betting him to make him lay down some mediocre holdings.

Despite having to surrender chips in two recent pots, AJKHoosier1 is still in second place with 3.25 million.

5:25pm--High attrition rate

As we approach the first five-minute break of day two, we're already down to 35 players. That means we've been losing players at a clip of about one every two minutes or so during the first hour of play today.

klskcz has assumed the chip lead at the moment with a little more than 3.5 million, followed by AJKHoosier1, august35, Markush13, and Fluffdog87.

5:21pm--More eliminations

We had just lost x-13 in 40th place, and PieOhMy in 39th. Then came this not-so-pretty hand involving Miss Pretty.

Sumpas raised to 70,000 from the button, and Miss Pretty, down to 331,620, called from the big blind. The flop came 3s-Qc-Td. Miss Pretty checked, Sumpas bet 75,000, and Miss Pretty reraised all in. Sumpas called, showing Kc-Qh. Miss Pretty was in tough shape with Qd-5d.

The turn was the 2c and the river the 3c, and Miss Pretty was eliminated in 38th place.

All three earn $19,665.

5:17pm--Down to 40

Here are recent eliminations and payouts:

$19,665 each --

41. sprocket94
42. psuNYY51
43. neverwin
44. LoneHixx
45. pokerhahntas

$18,572.50 each --

46. DooshDotCom
47. cpfactor
48. styroben33
49. BalkanGhost
50. Michank

5:14pm--neverwin can't win a race, is eliminated

neverwin is out in 43rd place, after having lost two races with pocket pairs versus overcards.

First came the loss of a 1.2 million-plus chip pot to lucky_aces08. neverwin open-raised from middle position to 66,666 (note bet size when you read his hand), and lucky_aces08 reraised to 225,000 behind him. neverwin then pushed all in, and lucky_aces08 called with his last 355,308.

neverwin showed 6d-6s, while lucky_aces08 turned over Jd-As. The board came Jh-Kh-Qc-Jc-8d, and neverwin was down to just 170,196.

Just two hands later, neverwin pushed with pocket fours and was called by Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who had As-Kd. Both an ace and a king flopped, then an ace on the turn meant neverwin's day was done. ElkY meanwhile has chipped up to 1.52 million.

5:06pm--Aggressive play rules the day

You can expect plenty of three-bet shoves like this one throughout the day:

Fluffdog87 raised to 78,575, AJKHoosier called on the button and xmrstyle re-raised to 244K from the small blind. Fluffdog87 folded and then AJKHoosier1 shoved all-in for 2.3 million. xmrstyle, who had about 650K behind, thought for a long time and folded.

After the hand, AJKHoosier1 chipped up to 2.8 million for third place on the leaderboard.

5:03pm--Failed river bluff costs chip leader

In the very last hand of Level 23, chip leader august35 just took a massive hit, losing half of his stack and slipping back to 5th place overall.

august35 raised 3x to 75,000 from UTG+1, and Markush13 called from the cutoff. The flop came 2h-8s-Kh. august13 bet 135,000, and Markush13 called. The turn was the 2c, pairing the board. This time august35 bet 325,000, and Markush13 again called.

The river was the 3c. august35 bet 1,002,500, and Markush13 made the big call with his last 958,900. august35 showed Ac-Qh for nothing but the pair of deuces on board, while Markush13 turned over Ks-Qd for kings and queens.

Markush13 begins Level 24 (blinds 15,000/30,000, antes 3,000) with 3,045,300, good enough for second place at the moment, while august35 slips to 2,271,542.

4:55pm--A stack is born

astarisborn, who can now count the Main Event as his eighth cash of the 2008 WCOOP, just won a big three-way pot for his tournament life to vault into the top 15. Here is how it happened:

4:51pm--Fifty remain

We have lost ten players here in the first 20 minutes of play today. These four each received $18,572.50 for a little over a day's work:

51. C13Greentumb
52. brendol
53. ADZ124
54. Cabriovr6

And these six each earned $17,480:

55. diemaus36o
56. sandler1860
57. PowerRanger
58. PokerNoob999
59. sshyshadow
60. THEROBBOB20

4:49pm--Tune into WCOOP Main Event coverage on PokerStars.tv!

Be sure to click over to PokerStars.tv starting around 6:30pm ET today for coverage of the final stages of this historic online poker event!

4:44pm--Aces versus kings equals action

PS pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier just got some of those chips back in a three-way all in confrontation in which he held pocket rockets, kovi99 had Kh-Ks, and sandler1860 had Ad-6d. Not a good spot for sandler1860, who goes out in 56th on this hand:

4:41pm--august35 maintains big advantage

Our chip leader to begin play today, august35, has been predictably aggressive here at the start, picking up a few pots as the others don't wish to get too involved with him. He currently has about 4.17 million chips, which is more than 1.6 million ahead of his nearest foe at the moment, klslcz.

4:38pm--ElkY stumbles

PS pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier just lost about two-thirds of his stack in another preflop all in gamble. This time he open-shoved from the cutoff with Ah-7h and got called by JBlaze20 in the big blind who committed his last 404,467 with Ac-Tc.

The board came 3h-Qc-Qs-9d-4s, and ElkY is back down to a little more than 200,000. JBlaze20, meanwhile, is up to 891,434.

4:35pm--Double or nothing

We've seen no less than four all in bets within the first seven hands over on Table 77, as the short stacks are trying to grab some chips with which to work here in the early going.

The only shorty not to survive was sshyshadow who pushed for 140,421 with Ah-3c and was called by Team PokerStars pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who held As-Ts. The needed trey didn't come for sshyshadow who goes out in 59th, picking up $17,480 for doing so.

Grospellier currently has 630,222 (39th of 57 remaining players).

4:30pm--Day 2 is underway!

The first hands of Day 2 are being dealt to our remaining 60 players, assembled around 7 tables. Play begins with Level 23. The blinds are 12,500/25,000 with 2,500 antes.

At the start of play today, the average stack size is exactly 910,416 -- that's almost 36.5 big blinds.

Day 2 coverage to begin at 4:30pm ET

Join us here at 4:30pm ET for Day 2 coverage of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event. Sixty players remain in the hunt for the $1.7 million first prize. Full chip counts are below.

august35 3,865,986
Cobra234 2,378,526
Fluffdog87 2,242,203
Forza Parma 2,204,820
AJKHoosier1 2,184,184
liberace 2,073,469
klslcz 1,822,775
PieOhMy 1,382,118
Markush13 1,381,400
ViP_MoDee 1,375,402
capinhabr 1,262,891
Sumpas 1,160,506
Cowb0y$4Life 1,137,334
Herr_Jude 1,119,064
BillieD 1,068,206
cpfactor 1,036,775
ShoesRDurrty 1,036,402
abreid 1,027,391
ShiP ThA $$$ 977,595
xmrstyle 963,432
lucky_aces08 952,074
austinlewis 910,230.
charder30 901,740
BlueDevils09 900,113
baloo1962 880,068
brendol 867,244
m3tph 794,381
Daut44 793,280
ckingusc 789,130
ahh_snap 779,928
McMang 762,914
Michnak 708,462
KingKobeMVP 687,178
sprocket94 677,958
psuNYY51 641,990
cbsplash 637,172
LoneHixx 608,020
sshyshadow 607,067
x-13 564,946
Miss Pretty 515,810
mcstuntz 511,464
astarisborn 493,044
ElkY 482,177
sandler1860 475,000
styroben33 462,970
THEROBBOB20 445,937
JBlaze20 431,079
pokerhahntas 425,516
kudos1017 424,611
neverwin 417,001
DooshDotCom 413,258
ADZ124 404,146
C13Greentumb 399,128
PokerNoob999 371,757
cabriovr6 347,988
kovi99 344,430
diemaus36o 342,715
BalkanGhost 296,656
BOLLPOKER 235,953
PowerRanger 219,986

About a year and a half ago, Ruben “rubenrtv” Visser made his first deposit on PokerStars. Since then, the 19-year-old Dutch Business Administration student has been on quite a tear, with final tables in the Sunday Million, Sunday Warm-Up and other tournaments to his credit, but nothing to date can top his victory in Event #26 of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker.

Visser steamrolled the final table of the event, 6-Max No Limit Hold’em, on his way to the bracelet and $135,687,64 in prize money! Along the way, he took out Scott “dorinvandy” Dorin, a WCOOP champion this year in Event #5. By the time the tournament ended, it was a sleepy Ruben who grabbed the gold, as the event started at 10:30 PM his time, and took nearly 16 hours to complete!

Visser got his start playing 5 Card Draw, Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold’em in the school cafeteria with friends, but says “I was terrible and just loved to bluff way too much.” He read a few books, made his first deposit on PokerStars, and his poker career took off!

Like so many young players, Visser has focused on the online game even with a casino close by. The convenience of playing from home and the ability to multi-table make online poker his preferred method of playing. He considers No Limit Hold’em his best game, and after watching the replay of Event #26, we tend to agree!

At 19, many of us were just learning the ways of the world. This young champion not only is pursuing a degree in Business and has claimed a WCOOP title, but also runs an instructional poker website! When not stacking opponents, Visser enjoys lots of sports, including field hockey, snowboarding and tennis.

Visser has yet to find the same level of success live as online, so he plans to use some of his winnings to buy in to upcoming EPT events, as well as the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam. We’re sure that it won’t be long before this WCOOP champion has many more titles to his name. Congratualations to Ruben “rubenrtv” Visser on taking down Event #26!

After more than two solid weeks of poker, we are just about to bid goodbye to the 2008 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker.

Before we get Day 2 of the Main Event underway, we have another great highlight show.

PokerStars.tv has all the action from the $1,050 Limit Hold'em contest. You will be able to see the final table highlights with all the hole cards exposed.

For a peek at how the final table played out, check out the highlights show below.

Watch WCOOP Highlights: Event 31 - $1,050 Limit Hold'em (6-max) on PokerStars.tv

Other Event 31 news

WCOOP Event #31: aasezz rises from the ashes to claim limit hold'em title

WCOOP Event 31 $1,050 Limit Hold'em Live Blog

by Hevad Khan

I have positive thoughts on the 2008 WCOOP. I was never much of a mixed game player, but at the end of this entire series I have gone from a complete newbie to a knowledgable player in all mixed games to the point of being able to hold my own in all of the WCOOP fields.

The WCOOP, as Tom McEvoy pointed out earlier in PokerStars Blog article, has every type of poker tournament that you could dream of entering.

My results ended in four cashes, one of which including a win for $125,000.00 inthe $25,000.00 Heads-Up Overflow Tournament. I am very pleased with my success, and the opportunity that was brought my way.

Everyone coming fresh off of the 2008 WCOOP who has had a chance to satellite into the EPT-London Main Event should expect a very big field this year, along with an exciting time in the rainy heart of London.

If you sit at my table, you better run, because I'm going to BULLDOZE YOU ALL!!!!