WSOP Online 2020: India’s “M26GreenWood” Finishes Runner-up in Mini Main Event (₹4.38 Crores); Croatia’s Ivan Zufic Claims 1st Bracelet 

August 17 will go down as a red-letter day in Indian poker history! Not only did our desi’ pros win India its first gold bracelet of 2020 but two other players final tabled bracelet events, accruing approximately ₹6.14 Crores in winnings between them!

Wrapping up what was a landmark day in style for Team India, was “M26GreenWood” who finished runner-up in Event #63: $500 Mini Main Event of the 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online series for a jaw-dropping $586,157 (~₹4.38 Crores). Croatia’s Ivan “zufo16” Zufic clinched his career-first WSOP bracelet for a colossal $843,460!

It’s been less than 10 hours since the news came in that “Mandovi” had brought India her sixth prestigious gold bracelet by taking down Event #64: $840 Turbo Bounty NLHE for a mind-boggling $234,433 (~₹1.76 Crore).

Even Event #62: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha had an Indian player, “pokermafiaa” within inches of claiming the bracelet, but he ultimately fell three places short, finishing fourth for $88,727 (~₹66.42 Lakhs). With “M26GreenWood” incredible run in the Mini Main Event, all in all, it has indeed been an inspiring day for Indian poker!

“M26GreenWood” had started the final table with an average stack of 82.60 Million. They immediately began building their stack, and following the elimination of Fedor Kruse, they were sitting with the chip lead holding 145 Million. They went on to eliminate Oleksii “Cold_play” Kravchuk, Daniel “GiveUp1905” Saugspier and Daniel “BaccaratKing” Neilson, before facing Zufic in the heads-up showdown.

The duo had started off with almost even stacks, with Zufic slightly edging past the Indian player. The heads-up lasted for about 10 minutes, and in the end, the Croatian pro captured the title, along with a WSOP Europe package!

A relatively lesser-known player, Zufic, had just one cash to their name before this win, a 22nd place finish in Event #35 $ 400 No Limit Hold’em – Bounty at the 2019 DeepStack Championship Poker Series, Las Vegas for $571. He had scored once before this series, placing 60th in Event #4: $500 No-Limit Hold ’em Super Turbo for $1,432.

Another Indian player, “Stoked_elf,” ran deep in the event, finishing 40th for $11,915 (~₹8.91 Lakhs).

The multi-flight Mini Main Event, boasted of a $5 Million guarantee. Attracting a ginormous field of 15,205 entries, the $500 buy-in tourney created a massive $7.22 Million prize pool. More than 2,000 runners made it through to Day 2.

With only the top 1,600 slated to finish in the money, many poker superstars were seen vying to board the money bus.

The notables who were able to breach the money bubble included James “mugzb” Morgan (13th for $24,774), Guillaume Nolet (22nd for $16,770), and Maxi Lehmanski (37th for $11,915).

Following the elimination of Peng “FxxXp” Yang in 10th place for $27,650, the nine-handed final table was formed.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Ivan “zufo16” Zufic – 148,852,794

2. Daniel “GiveUp1905” Saugspier – 116,222,698

3. Daniel “BaccaratKing” Neilson – 91,326,502

4. Troy “iLOVEfantaxo” Mclean – 87,151,386

5. Derek “XrayEyes” Miller – 84,036,812

6. M26GreenWood – 82,605,428

7. Fedor Kruse – 57,228,761

8. Royal “BlackPapayaa” Pek – 50,047,776

9. Oleksii “Cold_play” Kravchuk – 41,109,111

Final Table Recap

Fedor Kruse was the first player to be eliminated from the final table. “M26GreenWood” raised to 7 Million from the hijack, and Kruse ripped it from the button for 29.19 Million. The players in the blinds got out of the way, and “M26GreenWood” called with the bigger stack. Kruse turned over and “M26GreenWood” tabled . The board gave both players trip aces. “M26GreenWood” took down the pot with their ten-high kicker, eliminating Kruse in ninth place. Following this hand, “M26GreenWood” claimed the pole position with 145 Million in chips.

About 12 minutes later, “M26GreenWood” lost the chip lead to Ivan “zufo16” Zufic. The latter raised to 7.35 Million from the hijack, and “M26GreenWood” defended their big blind. The flop came and “M26GreenWood” check-called a 10.50 Million bet from Zufic. The turn brought and “M26GreenWood” checked again. Zufic fired a bet of 30.78 Million, prompting “M26GreenWood” to fold. The latter’s stack came down to 125 Million, while Zufic’s chip count reached 180 Million.

After coming back from a six-minute break, two quick eliminations took place. The first player to depart was Royal “BlackPapayaa” Pek when his was bested by Daniel “GiveUp1905” Saugspier’s . The board bricked, dismissing Pek in eighth place.

A minute later, Troy “iLOVEfantaxo” Mclean joined Pek on the rail when his ran into Daniel “BaccaratKing” Neilson’s which bettered to a set on the runout . Mclean walked out in seventh place.

The play continued for another 40 minutes before the next elimination took place. Zufic raised to 8 Million from the hijack and Derek “XrayEyes” Miller jammed from the big blind for 49.21 Million. Zufic called, tabling . Miller held . The runout missed both players. Zufic’s better kicker won him the pot, eliminating Miller in sixth place.

Alongside the stream of eliminations, the fight for dominance continued between Zufic and “M26GreenWood”. During level 38, the latter once again claimed the chip lead from Zufic. The Croatian player called a raise from “M26GreenWood”. The flop opened , and “M26GreenWood” led out for 21.2 Million, forcing Zufic to muck his hand. “M26GreenWood’s” stack reached 212 Million as Zufic came down to 208 Million.

A level later, “M26GreenWood” raised to 10 Million from the cutoff and Oleksii “Cold_play” Kravchuk 3-bet to 85 Million from the button. The blinds folded and “M26GreenWood” 4-bet to 340 Million. Kravchuk moved all-in for his last 16.77 Million, holding . “M26GreenWood” turned over . The runout blanked, ousting Kravchuk in fifth place.

Down to four-handed play, “M26GreenWood” claimed their next victim in Daniel “GiveUp1905” Saugspier. The latter’s was pitted against “M26GreenWood’s” . While both players flopped top pair on the board , “M26GreenWood’s” queen kicker won them the pot, relegating Saugspier to the rail in fourth place.

Less than five minutes later, Daniel “BaccaratKing” Neilson moved all-in from the small blind for 58.50 Million. “M26GreenWood” called from the big blind with . The community cards ran and “M26GreenWood” rivered a one-card straight to eliminate Neilson in third place.

The heads-up between Ivan “zufo16” Zufic (390,885,578) and “M26GreenWood” (367,695,690) commenced with the former holding a slight edge over his Indian rival. Within minutes, Zufic’s stack crossed the 400 Million-mark, and there on out, he rode his chip lead till the very end.

On the final hand, “M26GreenWood” shoved from the button for 50.61 Million. Zufic called.

“M26GreenWood”

Ivan “zufo16” Zufic

The board ran out , and Zufic’s flopped pair of aces got him his career-first WSOP title and a personal-best $843,460.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Ivan “zufo16” Zufic – $843,460*

2. M26GreenWood – $586,157

3. Daniel “BaccaratKing” Neilson – $401,635

4. Daniel “GiveUp1905” Saugspier – $275,200

5. Oleksii “Cold_play” Kravchuk – $188,567

6. Derek “XrayEyes” Miller – $129,206

7. Troy “iLOVEfantaxo” Mclean – $88,532

8. Royal “BlackPapayaa” Pek – $60,662

9. Fedor Kruse – $41,566

*winner also gets a package worth $12,000 to the WSOPE

Content & Images Courtesy: WSOP.com and PokerNews.com

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