O’Dwyer Wins High Roller as WPT500 Knockout Heads Towards Day 2

Steve O’Dwyer added the WPT500 Online Series High Roller title to his ever-growing list of poker accomplishments on March 21. O’Dwyer was one of 83 entrants in the $5,200 buy-in tournament and was the last man standing, meaning he raked in the lion’s share of the $415,000 prize pool.

WPT #21 High Roller Final Table Results

Place | Player | Country | Prize
1 | Steve O’Dwyer | Netherlands | $115,641
2 | Christoph Vogelsang | United Kingdom | $73,213
3 | David Peters | Canada | $50,023
4 | Dario Sammertino | Austria | $35,381
5 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | $26,010
6 | Jans Arends | Netherlands | $20,329
7 | Bujtas Laszlo | Hungary | $16,765

Thirteen of the 83 starters received a slice of the $415,000 prize pool. Swedish online poker legend Niklas Astedt was the 14th place finisher, which earned him the unwanted title of bubble boy.

Astedt’s exit meant anyone with chips in front of them would now win at least $11,369. This is the sum that headed to the partypoker accounts of Pascal Lefrancois and Conor Beresford, while Paresh Doshi and Joakim Andersson saw a $12,907 payout hit their bankrolls.

The next two players received $14,539. Yuri Dzivielevski and Thomas Muehloecker being that pair of grinders; Muehloecker burst the final table bubble.

Final Table Set

Hungarian pro Bujtas Laszlo has a habit of reaching major final tables. Unfortunately, for him at least, his time at this final table was short-lived because he busted in seventh-place for $16,765.

Dutch duo Jans Arends ($20,329) and Teun Mulder (26,010) followed Laszlo to the rail before 2019 WSOP Main Event runner-up Dario Sammartino busted in fourth, a finish worth $35,381 to the Austria-based Italian.

Heads-up was set when David Peters ($50,23) bit the dust in third. O’Dwyer and Christoph Vogelsang, two Goliaths of the high stakes poker tournament world, fought it out for the event’s six-figure top prize. O’Dwyer was the last man standing when the dust settled, meaning his $5,200 buy-in was now worth a cool $115,641. Vogelsang will be disappointed not to have won, but the $73,213 he collected will go some way to numbing the pain of defeat.

Boris Kolev Leads the WPT500 Knockout Event

Boris Kolev finds himself in the envious position of chip leader in the WPT500 Knockout event where glory and a six-figure sum awaits the eventual champion.

Kolev shone brightly on Day 1G and finished his flight with a tournament-leading stack of 10,253,232 chips. Diego Ventura is the only other player to surpass 10 million chips from the 324 hopefuls who have made it through to Day 2 so far.

Damien Wain (9,598,738), Canadian Foad Larki (9,376,839), Abdullah Gonulcan (9,375,163), Jorge Abreu (9,258,930), Paulius Vaitiekunas (9,083,206), and Conor Beresford (8,933,173) are the other stars who now occupy the top 10 chip counts and that are different from our previous update.

Day 2 kicks off at 20:05 GMT on March 22 and continues until the 324 returning players (plus anyone who progresses from Day 1H) have been whittled down to a more manageable final table of nine.

Before Day 2 can start, the final Day 1 shuffles up and deals at 17:05 GMT on March 22. It is a turbo-structred flight to ensure those who make it through to Day 2 can take their seats and battle it out for a slice of the seven-figure prize pool.

WPT500 Knockout Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts

Place | Player | Country | Chips | Bounties
1 | Boris Kolev | Austria | 10,253,232 | $968
2 | Diego Ventura | Peru | 10,137,148 | $1,312
3 | Aleksandr Shepel | Russia | 9,973,191 | $1,132
4 | Andre Marques | Netherlands | 9,884,986 | $1,109
5 | Damien Wain | United Kingdom | 9,598,738 | $1,593
6 | Foad Larki | Canada | 9,376,839 | $1,203
7 | Abdullah Gonulcan | United Kingdom | 9,375,163 | $1,046
8 | Jorge Abreu | Netherlands | 9,258,930 | $1,375
9 | Paulius Vaitiekunas | Lithuania | 9,083,206 | $1,499
10 | Conor Beresford | United Kingdom | 8,933,173 | $1,250