Let’s Party Because the First Grand Prix KO Summer Edition Champions Are Crowned!

The PartyPoker Grand Prix KO Summer Edition has exploded into action and we have now crowned our first pair of champions. On August 15, the $33 buy-in $75,000 guaranteed Opener and the $3.30 buy-in $15,000 guaranteed Mini Opener concluded; here is how they went down.

Thomsen Takes Down the Opener

Grand Prix KO Summer #01 Opener saw 2,435 players fight it out of a share of a $75,000 prize pool, with 358 of those navigating their way through the various starting flights and taking their seats on Day 2. Each of the Day 2 players locked in a min-cash in addition to any bounties they’d picked up along the way.

All but two of our fantastic finalists walked away with four-figure sums to show for their efforts. Eduardo Franke ($749) and Andras Frederiksberg ($946) can still be happy with their hauls and, indeed, their poker performances.

Partying all the way from Bulgaria was Georgi Mitev, who ran out of steam in seventh, a finish good for $1,142. The Bulgarian was joined on the rail, possibly with a beer in hand, by Yue Wang ($1,458), Rui Goncalves ($1,435), Vedat Cekic ($2,828), and Romain Champy ($3,329). The latter’s elimination send the Opener into the heads-up stage.

Magnus Thomsen and Piotr Drgas were the last two players standing and they bought fought valiantly. Having locked up more than $4,500 from the main prize pool, the heads-up duo were now butting heads for the sizeable bounties. Remember, the last player standing in a PKO event also scoops the bounty prize that was on their head.

After much tussling, Thomsen came out on top and received a total prize weighing in at $8,313, leaving Drgas to become the tournament’s bridesmaid; he consoled himself with a $6,474 consolation prize.

The final two players showed they have the skills to rub shoulders with anyone in these events. They now have the bankrolls to enter all the other Grand Prix KO Summer Edition events and cause some real problems for anyone they face.

Grand Prix KO Summer #01 Opener Final Table Results

Place | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize
1 | Magnus Thomsen | Denmark | $3,741 | $4,572 | $8,313
2 | Piotr Drgas | United Kingdom | $1,912 | $4,562 | $6,474
3 | Romain Champy | United Kingdom | $392 | $2,937 | $3,329
4 | Vedat Cekic | Germany | $898 | $1,930 | $2,828
5 | Rui Goncalves | Malta | $130 | $1,305 | $1,435
6 | Yue Wang | Ireland | $467 | $991 | $1,458
7 | Georgi Mitev | Bulgaria | $426 | $716 | $1,142
8 | Andras Frederiksberg | Faroe Islands | $379 | $567 | $946
9 | Eduardo Franke | Brazil | $307 | $442 | $749

Kolitar Collects the Top Mini Opener Prize for Ukraine

Oleksii Kotliar can call himself a Grand Prix KO Summer Edition champion after the Ukrainian showcased his silky skills and navigated his way past 3,572 opponents in the Mini Opener event.

This event may have had mini in its name yet it still awarded $15,000 to those players lucky and skilful enough to claim an opponent’s scalp and/or make it through to Day 2. Some 512 players returned to the PartyPoker tables for Day 2; Kotliar shone the brightest of them all.

The final two players turned their affordable $3.30 investment into a four-figure haul. Guillermo Chena of Argentina was the player who fell at the final hurdle. While disappointed not to become a poker champion, the fact Chena received $1,164 for his second-place finish will give him plenty of reasons to be happy.

The night belonged to Kotliar who can now party like a rockstar armed with his $1,551 haul.

Grand Prix KO Summer #02 Mini Opener Final Table Results

Place | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize
1 | Oleksii Kotliar | Ukraine | $430 | $1,121 | $1,551
2 | Guillermo Chena | Argentina | $48 | $1,116 | $1,164
3 | Bruno Pombo | Ireland | $125 | $715 | $840
4 | Indy Maes | Belgium | $44 | $469 | $513
5 | Premysl Spacil | Czech Republic | $96 | $316 | $412
6 | Khachatur Chnavayan | Georgia | $179 | $234 | $413
7 | Georgios Balasis | Greece | $26 | $170 | $196
8 | Tohir Denikaev | Uzbekistan | $15 | $136 | $151
9 | Dmitry Semiryak | Ukraine | $29 | $105 | $134

Grand Prix KO Summer Edition Schedule

Do not miss your chance to call yourself a Grand Prix KO Summer Edition champion because the Day 1s of several other value-packed events are in play right now. Will you be joining Thomsen and Kotliar on the PartyPoker Blog, your name in lights for everyone to adore? Here’s hoping.

Event | Buy-in | Guarantee | Dates
#03 6-Max Championship | $215 | $200,000 | Aug 11-18
#04 Mini 6-Max Championship | $22 | $75,000 | Aug 11-18
#05 Main Event | $109 | $500,000 | Aug 11-29
#06 Mini Main Event | $11 | $100,000 | Aug 11-29
#07 7-Max High Roller | $320 | $250,000 | Aug 13-22
#08 Super 50 | $55 | $150,000 | Aug 15-22
#09 Super 5 | $5.50 | $30,000 | Aug 15-22
#10 7-Max Championship | $215 | $200,000 | Aug 18-25
#11 Mini 7-Max Championship | $22 | $75,000 | Aug 19-25
#12 6-Max High Roller | $320 | $200,000 | Aug 22-29
#13 Closer | $33 | $100,000 | Aug 22-29
#14 Mini Opener | $3.30 | $20,000 | Aug 23-29