WPT500 Online Festival Event #1 surpasses the advertised prize pool at partypoker
The namesake event in the WPT500 Online Festival at partypoker needed big player turnout to meet the $1 million guarantee. The $530 buy-in event had to draw at least 2,000 entries to reach the promised seven-figure prize pool and avoid an overlay.
The opening tournament in the WPT500 Online Festival hit the 2,000 entry mark and then some. Event #1: $530 WPT500 drew 2,420 total entries, with the final prize pool ending up at $1,211,000.
New Zealand’s Dylan Rowe topped the field for the WPT500 win, bagging $181,544 in the process. Rowe outlasted Ukraine’s Andrii Novak (2nd - $123,254) in heads-up play to clinch the win.
WPT500 Online Festival $530 ($1 Million Guaranteed) final table results
| Place | Player Name | Playing From | Prize |
| 1 | Dylan Rowe | New Zealand | $181,545 |
| 2 | Andrii Novak | Ukraine | $123,255 |
| 3 | Lukas Wimmer | Austria | $84,064 |
| 4 | Deividas Kvaselis | Lithuania | $55,719 |
| 5 | Pedro Padilha Chaves | Brazil | $37,894 |
| 6 | Aaron Been | Mexico | $28,887 |
| 7 | Brandon Adams | Canada | $22,357 |
| 8 | Stoyan Kitanov | Bulgaria | $17,716 |
| 9 | David Singontiko | Netherlands | $13,801 |
Rowe tops tough competition at the WPT500 final table
The large field that registered for the WPT500 $530 event trimmed down to an impressive list of final table combatants. Runner-up finisher Novak added another six-figure cash to his resume, with previous big scores including a fourth-place finish in the 2020 GGPoker High Rollers Week Super MILLION$ Main Event, which produced a $413,101 payday.
Other top-five finishers included Lukas Wimmer (3rd - $84,064), Deividas Kvaselis (4th - $55,719), and Brazilian Pedro Padilha Chaves (5th - $37,894). Online and live tournament regular Aaron Been (6th - $28,887) rounded out the top six.
High-stakes tournament regular and all-around prolific gambler Brandon Adams (7th - $22,357) made a final table appearance, navigating through the 2,420-entry field to place seventh. Stoyan Kitanov (8th - $17,716) and David Singontiko (9th - $13,801) took home five-figure paydays for the WPT500 final table run.
WPT500 Online Festival Continues
The WPT500 series usually plays as a collection of live tournaments, produced by the World Poker Tour at poker rooms around the world. The 2021 WPT Online Festival marks the second straight year that the tournament played online at partypoker, due to COVID-19 considerations.
The WPT500 flagship tournament traditionally plays as a $500 buy-in (plus administration fees) tournament, designed to draw big fields and massive prize pools at an affordable buy-in. Event #1 of the WPT500 Online Festival played as the online equivalent of the traditional WPT500, but the festival still presents plenty of tournaments left to be played.
Highlights from the remaining WPT500 Online Festival schedule include the $530 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed Knockout PKO. That event plays out in progressive knockout format and runs March 15-23.
The WPT $530 Knockout PKO offers eight different Day 1 flights, with one running every day from March 15-22.
Featured image source: Twitter
