US poker pro Nick Petrangelo is $624,676 wealthier this weekend after crushing a field of 149 players in the $3 million guaranteed, $25,000 buy-in NLHE [8-Max, High Roller at the World Championship of Online Poker currently in its third week of non-stop action and big money prizes.
The field generated a prize pool well over the guarantee at $3,654,225, allowing 17 players to cash.
The final table of the event found Petrangelo facing tough and respected players like Charlie Carrel, Viktor Blom and Bryn Kenney, and it was the latter who would ultimately face Petrangelo in the heads up.
Mikita “fish2013” Badziakouski held the chip lead on the final day as 18 survivors of the starting field took their seats for the last time. Among them was Spanish ace Adrian Mateos, Patrick Leonard and Don Peters, who was the first to be eliminated as the bubble boy, clearing the way for the remaining players to take some money home.
By the time the final table of nine players was reached it was Bartlomeij “bartek901” Machon in charge with a stack in excess of 2 million chips – twice that of his nearest rival.
Machon retained his commanding position right through to three-handed play, when survivors Kenney, Machon and Petrangelo paused to negotiate a chop that gave Machon $636,113, Kenney $559,694, and Petrangelo $551,591, with $73,085 and the title on the table for the winner.
Soon after, Machon’s lead melted away and he was finally eliminated at third for $636,113 by Petrangelo. That enabled Petrangelo to enter the heads up stage against Kenney with a slight chip lead, which he managed to build to a 6 to 1 advantage before busting Kenney at second for $559,694 and claiming the WCOOP Champion title and $624,676 first prize.
The rest of the final table cashed as follows:
Viktor “Isildur1” Blom $355,846
Patrick “pads1161” Lenard $275,473
Henrik “hhecklen” Hecklen $213,253
Linus “LLinusLLove” Loeliger $165,087
Charlie “Epiphany77” Carrel $127,799
Mikita “fish2013” Badziakouski $105,205