WCOOP 2014: As Holz wins Main Event "Mr Negreanu" named Player of the Series

After three weeks, 66 events, and a few $61,934,886 in prize money, the 2014 running of the arena Championship of Online Poker is now at an end. Not more morning reports to read, not more scanning the tournament schedule every day, not more juicy contests between the very best players within the business.

It was all delivered to an in depth within the early hours of this morning with the herculean efforts of Fedor "CrownUpGuy" Holz, winner of the $5,200 buy-in Main event and recipient of the title, the winner's bracelet and a primary prize of $1.3 million. You can only imagine how that sort of feat must feel.

Main Event winner Fedor "CrownUpGuy" Holz

As Martin Harris explained in his report at the PokerStars Blog, it proved to be an all-star finale. On the final table alone there have been some formidable players, not least Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka, who would go away in fifth place (only after a six-way deal that netted him $945,000, second only to the winner), but additionally that almost all feared of usernames Isildur1, that of Viktor Blom, who could be first to leave the general table in ninths place.

Out in ninth place: Viktor "Isildur1" Blom

Holz defeated all of them. He arrived on the final table in first place, and left it in first place. Three handed he found himself massively out-chipped, and will well have thought his possibilities of success were all but finished. But he rallied to win essentially the most wanted title within the video game. It is a story which will never really get old.

"It is probably the most prestigious tournament in Online Poker - so yes, it means just about everything to me poker-wise," said Holz in an interview with the PokerStars Blog. "I've always been an overly competitive person when it's about poker, so there's nothing similar to winning this bracelet for me."

Here's the whole result from the primary Event final table.

WCOOP 2014: Event #66 ($5,200 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event)Entries: 2,142
Prize pool: $10,710,000.00Places paid: 270

1. CrownUpGuy (Austria) -- $1,300,000.00*2. Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins (Brazil) -- $708,251.21*3. neckbr4ke (Germany) -- $651,430.61*4. Elior "Crazy Elior" Sion (UK) -- $780,227.66*5. Faraz "The-Toilet 0" Jaka (Poland) -- $945,000.00*6. 19Dan86 (UK) -- $769,813.52*7. Dylan "Pokerl)eviL" Hortin (Canada) -- $214,200.008. MaltLiquor40 (Canada) -- $160,650.009. Viktor "Isildur1" Blom (UK) -- $107,100.00* denotes six-way deal

While he now basks on this moment (he certainly didn't seem sleepy, even after 13 hours on the table), there has been another contest still ongoing, concluding a little while before the principle Event came to an end.

Going into the principle Event the Player of the Series competition was still wide open. As we detailed last week, the Player of the Year is additionally the primary to succeed in about 400 points. Going into the last day Alan "Mr Negreanu" Gold, a former UKIPT winner, had 320 of them, and had led the leader board after what appeared like an endless string of results, which included a second place in Event #15 and a second final table per week or so ago.

WCOOP 2014 Player of the Series: Alan "Mr Negreanu" Gold

And so, as he was eliminated from the primary Event, all Gold could do was watch the leader board for one last agonising day, reckoning on because the only man in a position to snatching the title away played on into the last hours of the primary Event.

That man was Assad91. Whereas Mr Negreanu was topping the charts with no title to his name, Assad91 had two of them from WCOOP 2014 alone. He would have to go deep though, very deep, and when he finally exited the principle Event in 145th place, it became clear it might not be enough. The highest spot, and the package to the PCA and EPT Grand Final Main Events, in conjunction with a TCOOP Main Event ticket, was within the hands of Mr Negreanu.

Here are the highest Player of the Series standings.

WCOOP 2014 Player of the Series final standings

1. Alan "Mr Negreanu" Gold (UK) 350 points2. psyhoagromor (Ukraine) 3403. Assad91 (Norway) 3354. brianm15 (Costa Rica) 3104. mikal12345 (Norway) 3104. RolldUpTrips (Mexico) 3014. WhatIfGod (Sweden) 301

(Second place psyhoagromer also receives a 2015 PCA package and a TCOOP Main Event ticket. The remainder players within the top five all receive TCOOP Main Event tickets).

It should not be a surprise that the finale to WCOOP proved as dramatic because it was. Nevertheless it seemed that at every stage there has been a cliff hanger to maintain you at the fringe of your seat, every moment just like the last episode of a box set.

The first came on the end of Day 1, when the action paused on the hand-for-hand stage at the stone cold bubble. Had it been a TV drama it will has been scripted as such--some 271 players remaining with only 270 sure to finish within the money.

Laying in 271st at that time was Olga "alfaromea" Ermolcheva with 6,300 (the massive blind at the moment was 5,000). She was notable for diverse reasons.

Olga Ermolcheva

First of all she would likely be all in from the start, almost denied the chance to really click a button as play restarted. But more importantly she was one of the vital four Protégés, winners of a unique competition to receive mentoring from a Team PokerStars Pro prior to playing three of the bigger WCOOP tournaments--including the primary Event. For the cost of entry into that competition - a trifling $5.50 - she was now getting ready to a min-cash worth greater than $12,000. Or at least, as play paused overnight, she was on the point of losing it.

Ermolcheva though was not the one one. Three of the four Protégés remained throughout the last 271 players, proof it seemed that their Team Pro mentors knew what they were talking in regards to the. best finishing Protégé can be headed to the PCA Main Event.

But first they'd other business on their minds.

So when play restarted all eyes were on Ermolcheva. Miraculously she survived. Because the bubble burst she was still in her seat, reaching 258th spot before crashing out, surely delighted with a pay day of $12,316.50.

As for the Protégé competition itself that might be won by Arseny "asfin88" Shurapchikov (trained by ElkY), who finished best in 139th place, collecting not only that PCA package but $15,529.50. Allan "Justino" Justino (trained by Andre Akkari) earned 14458.50 for his 171st place finish.

There were other notable runs from players we'd get to grips with over the process WCOOP 2014.

Matt "Plattsburgh" Vengrin, who we featured earlier within the Series finished 263rd.

PokerStars Team Online's Alex "Kanu7" Millar finished in 262nd.

PokerStars Team Online's Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara finished in 245th

Former EPT Grand Final winner Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo finished in 234th

Assad91, who won two WCOOP titles this year, finished in 145th

Team PokerStars Pro Mathias De Meulder finished in 91st

Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody finished in 59th

Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari, who mentored the most productive placed Protégé, finished in 16th

Andre Akkari finished in 16th position

Chip leader after Day 1 Viking8844 finished in tenth place

Now though it is all over. A month or so ago we told you all there has been to appear forward. It was some schedule; one who we felt back then would go on for ever. Now it's over. What exactly are all of us speculated to do now?

Take heart within the incontrovertible fact that the poker world goes on, and there is always MicroMillions to return a bit later within the year. For now though we will only think about what has proved a memorable WCOOP, with the assistance of the WCOOP webpage, which details all of the results, the reports, the overall standings and all of the statistics from the 66 events played.

Congratulations to Fedor "CrownUpGuy" Holz, to Alan "Mr Negreanu" Gold and all of the WCOOP 2014 winners.

Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog.

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