Monday was a big day for the World Series of Poker Online Bracelet Series on GGPoker. Two players, both first-timers, scored WSOP bracelets. And nine players inched closer to racking up a seven-figure score in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker event.
Daniel Dvoress leads at the final table of the Milly Maker, Event #48 of the 2020 World Series of Poker. The remaining nine players all have a shot at the $1,489,289 1st place prize. Those who don't ship the bracelet are still guaranteed a minimum payout of $107,671, a huge return on investment regardless of the final outcome.
The runner-up in this poker tournament is set to receive $1,072,428, one of the largest paydays for a non-winner in online poker history. Play has halted for a few days and the final table, which you can watch live on PokerGo, will run on Saturday, August 8.
Although Dvoress holds the chip lead, the final table will essentially be a crap-shoot, so it's anyone's ball game. The chip leader will begin play with just 30 big blinds, and five of the nine remaining players are under 10 big blinds. Most of the decisions at the final table will be to either fold or move all-in. Due to the short-stacked nature of this final table, there won't be much bluffing, although shoving to steal blinds will be highly valuable.
Dvoress is the most accomplished pro at the table. He's racked up more than $15 million in tournament cashes, which includes a $4.1 million score for winning the 2019 Super High Roller Bowl in the Bahamas at the partypoker MILLIONS series. He's the fifth winningest live tourney player in Canada's rich history. Daniel Negreanu leads the way at just over $42 million.
Two online players win precious jewelry
Part of the lure of the World Series of Poker, whether it's the online version or the annual live series in Las Vegas, is to win one of those shiny gold bracelets. Only a small fraction of the poker community has achieved this goal. On Monday, two players added their names to the list of those who have won these coveted pieces of jewelry.
The first jewelry-winner was Paul Teoh, who shipped GGPoker WSOP Event #47, $1,000 Short Deck No-Limit Hold'em, earning $82,202 for his efforts. Teoh is just the third player ever to win a bracelet in short deck, a version of no-limit Texas hold'em played without the 2-5 cards in the deck.
Teoh only has a few recorded live tourney cashes to his name. But now he's a World Series of Poker champion, and has a larger bankroll. Michelle Shah earned $60,254 for her 2nd place finish, while Mike Watson, a talented pro with $12 million in earnings, took 3rd place, good for $44,166. Watson ranks 8th on Canada's all-time earnings list, not far behind Dvoress.
Vladas Burnkeikis also took home a coveted gold World Series of Poker bracelet. The Lithuanian accumulated every last chip in the $500 Turbo Deepstack No-Limit Hold'em tournament, the 49th event of the 2020 WSOP Online Bracelet Series. He received a payout of $192,523 for his impressive performance.
Burneikis has just over $200,000 in lifetime tournament earnings. He nearly doubled that figure in just one event this week. Plus, he joined the exclusive club of World Series of Poker champions.
