Most WSOP events take place at a prestigious Las Vegas casino and poker rooms allowing players to have the perfect summer vacation while competing for the gold. But not everyone can afford to take time off and travel to Sin City, and they must look for alternative playing options.
Luckily, the WSOP hosts multiple virtual tournaments, allowing players to play poker online with minimal hassle! This year, 13 online WSOP events were scheduled to take place, five of which are already behind us. Who won those online tournaments? And what does the future hold for poker enthusiasts?
TOP Online WSOP Winners 2022
So far, five lucky poker pros have won the coveted gold bracelet during the online tournaments. Let's take a look at all of them!
- Online Event #1: $5,300 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller Freezout took place on June 5. The event attracted 218 players, creating a prize pool of $1,090,000, which resulted in rather lucrative cash prizes for everyone left after the bubble burst. After an intense day, Norbert Szecsi - aka "Balkan500" – left the table with a bracelet and $288,850 in his pocket. That is Szecsi's third WSOP first-place win, as he got bracelets at the 2013 and 2018 tournaments as well. The poker pro has been a part of the poker circuit for over a decade, and over the years, he also made 4 million dollars in live earnings.
- The second online event of the season also took place on June 5, attracting a bigger crowd of players with a much more affordable buy-in of $500. 1,213 entries created a prize pool of $799,200, split between 289 players who survived past the bubble. But while most players won a relatively modest prize (ranging between $719 and $78,641), Manig Loeser won first place, leaving the table with $127,153. The German poker pro, who goes by the nickname "Ohio77", made $11,475,861 in live earnings. That landed him in 10th place on the Germany All-Time Hendon Mob Money List, and it seems like he is striving to keep climbing the profitability ladder!
- Online event #3: $400 No-Limit Hold'em Ultra Deepstack had 1,641 entries, with a prize pool of $757,440. Hundreds of people won a small amount of cash during this event, but only Brian "JackBogle" Altman received the gold bracelet, accompanied by a $110,662 prize. Throughout his career, Altman had more than 30 money finishes in WSOP events, but this is the first bracelet he won.
- The 4th online WSOP event, a $1,000 PLO 6-Max, took place on June 19 and attracted the attention of 470 players. Matt Szymaszek, an American poker pro, won first place, summing up to $141,705. Also known as "PmpknHead" online, Szymaszek's first recorded live game took place in 2003. But while he is considered an old-timer in the poker industry, his poker career never really took off. Over the years, he made a bit over $400,000 in live earnings, which is modest compared to his competition.
- The fifth, and last event (so far), took place on June 26. The $600 Online Deepstack Championship has 1,248 entries, generating a prize pool of $938,520. Leaving the table with a $149,319 prize, Willian "swaggyb" Corvino is the poker pro who dominated the event. That is the first bracelet Corvino has ever won, as he is a rather new addition to the poker community. The American pro mostly plays online, and the past two years – as COVID was raging – were his most profitable years. Overall, he made about $385,000 in live earnings.
Future Online WSOP Events
You don't always have to go to Vegas to enjoy the best poker rooms. You can access the top events and tournaments without even leaving your own house!
There are seven more online WSOP events players can join this year [access the full schedule here]. Some of these events target high-rollers with high buy-in rates, while others are more suitable for recreational players. Which of the future online tournaments are you looking forward to?