Over 2300 players registered for the 37th 2010 WCOOP event, $320 No Limit Hold ‘Em. The event failed to meet its $750,000 Guaranteed so PokerStars ponied up a shade under $50,000 to keep its part of the bargain. The Cadillac of Poker attracted internet superstars and a bevy of Team PokerStars Pros.
Several popular pros managed to cash in WCOOP Event 37. WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer finished in 221st while the magnanimous Barry Greenstein made a slightly earlier exit in 231st. ElkY, WPT Champion and former Starcraft great, finished in 198th. Darus Suharto, an accountant who final tabled the 2008 WSOP Main Event, bested all of Team PokerStars with his 15th place finish.
All eyes were on the final table and more specifically on THAY3R. His real name is Thayer Rasmussen and he is really good at tournament poker. In January 2009 he binked a nearly $100,000 cash in a UBOC Event. This summer Rasmussen finished runner-up in the $150k Guaranteed on Absolute Poker and the $250k Guaranteed on PokerStars. Those two scores netted him over $60,000. His lifetime tournament winnings exceed $3,000,000.
We hate to built him up and then knock him down, but THAY3R was out first at the final table when he shoved his suited AJ over ChipUniter’s button min-raise. Rasmussen received $6,750, but a player of his caliber certainly wanted the WCOOP Bracelet.
ChipUniter continued to steam roll over the table. He doubled up a few players with marginal hands but eventually got heads-up with over a 6-1 chip lead over TIETYMM. The two players discussed a deal, but ChipUniter wanted to close the deal.
Unfortunately for ChipUniter, he began uniting his chips with TIETYMM’s stack. ChipUniter suffered a blow when TIETYMM rivered a straight with the championship on the line. A few hands later both players got all-in on the turn with TIETYMM holding two-pair and ChipUniter holding only one. The river blanked and the tables had turned on ChipUniter.
Now it was ChipUniter who wanted a deal. Both players came to an agreement and the race for the championship was on. Momentum shifted to ChipUniter when his ace rag flopped an ace versus the pocket nines of TIETYMM. The final hand was a classic race situation that saw ChipUniter’s pocket eights come out on top of QT.
ChipUniter received over $110,00 and a WCOOP Bracelet for his efforts. Thanks to the deal, TIETYMM earned over $99,000 for his brilliant effort.
WCOOP Event 37 (No Limit Hold ‘Em)
Buy-in: $300+$20
Prize Pool: $750,000
Entrants: 2,343
1. ChipUniter ($110,614.08)*
2. TIETYMM ($99,385.92)*
3. Kroko-dill ($65,325)
4. lent53 ($45,000)
5. RipleyCraig ($33,750)
6. gurshotjerry ($26,250)
7. bigredAK ($18,750)
8. AnthonyyKimm ($12,750)
9. Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen ($6,750)
* denotes a deal was made