The 2022 editions of the World Championship Of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event shuffles up and deals at PokerStars at 5:30 p.m. BST on September 25 and crowns its champion four days later on September 28. The last player standing will become the 21st winner of online poker’s most prestigious annual tournament, and will join a long list of PokerStars players in the online poker giant’s history books.
You have to go back to 2002 to find the inaugural WCOOP Main Event, which is the same year PokerNews launched. At this time, the European Poker Tour was still two years away, and only a single World Poker Tour event had taken place.
The first-ever WCOOP Main Event was a $1,050 buy-in tournament, which was a buy-in unheard of at the time. It attracted 238 entrants, Sweden’s “MultiMarine” came out on top and collected $65,450. The WCOOP and its Main Event captured the imagination of the poker community, and its popularity exploded.
Some 891 players turned out for the 2003 edition, resulting in a first-place prize of $222,750 for Joseph “DeOhGee” Cordi. PokerStars increased the buy-in to $2,600 between 2004-2007, and the champions secured massive payouts. Edgar “Radge” Skjervold ($424,945), Jordan “Panella86” Berkowitz ($577,342), and the legendary JC “area23JC” Tran ($670,194) benefited from the larger prize pool, but it was Kyle “ka$ino1” Schroeder that bagged the first seven-figure WCOOP Main Event first place prize, a cool $1,378,330.
Schroder’s win was shrouded in controversy. “TheV0id” appeared to have won the 2007 WCOOP Main Event. However, PokerStars determined it was not Natalie Teltscher in control of the account, and awarded the victory and $1,378,330 to Kyle “ka$ino1” Schroeder. Teltscher launched legal proceedings against PokerStars, but later dropped her case.
It was a similar story in 2018, when Dutch player “wann2play” was disqualified and Ezequiel “eze88888” Waigel promoted from second-place to champion, an accolade that came with $1,529,502.
Those two controversial tournaments aside, the WCOOP Main Event is seen as the piece de resistance of the online poker world. “CrazyLissy” is the reigning champion, having topped a 1,965-strong field in 2021 to take home the $1,449,942 top prize.
Past WCOOP Main Event Champions
| Year | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $5,200 | 1,965 | $10,000,000 | CrazyLissy | $1,499,942 |
| 2020 | $5,200 | 1,977 | $10,000,000 | Andre “PTFisherman23” Marques | $1,147,270 |
| 2019 | $5,200 | 2,236 | $11,180,000 | Fraser “BigBlindBets” Russell | $1,665,962 |
| 2018 | $5,200 | 2,044 | $10,220,000 | Ezequiel “eze88888” Waigel | $1,529,000* |
| 2017 | $5,200 | 2,183 | $10,915,000 | Steven “SvZff” Van Zadelhoff | $1,624,502 |
| 2016 | $5,200 | 2,091 | $10,052,879 | Jonas “llJaYJaYll” Lauck | $1,517,541 |
| 2015 | $5,200 | 1,995 | $10,000,000 | Kristof “Coenaldinho7” Coenen | $1,300,000 |
| 2014 | $5,200 | 2,142 | $10,710,000 | Fedor “CrownUpGuy” Holz | $1,300,000 |
| 2013 | $5,200 | 2,133 | $10,665,000 | David “PlayinWasted” Kaufmann | $1,493,499 |
| 2012 | $5,200 | 1,825 | $9,125,000 | Marat “maratik” Sharafutdinov | $1,000,907 |
| 2011 | $5,200 | 1,627 | $8,135,000 | Thomas “Kallllle” Pedersen | $1,260,018 |
| 2010 | $5,200 | 2,443 | $12,215,000 | Tyson “POTTERPOKER” Marks | $2,278,097 |
| 2009 | $5,200 | 2,144 | $10,720,000 | Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko | $1,715,200 |
| 2008 | $5,200 | 2,185 | $10,925,000 | Carter “ckingusc” King | $1,265,432 |
| 2007 | $2,600 | 2,998 | $7,495,000 | Kyle “ka$ino1” Schroeder | $1,378,330* |
| 2006 | $2,600 | 2,510 | $6,275,000 | JC “area23JC” Tran | $670,194 |
| 2005 | $2,600 | 1,494 | $3,735,000 | Jordan “Panella86” Berkowitz | $577,342 |
| 2004 | $2,600 | 843 | $2,104,500 | Edgar “Radge” Skjervold | $424,945 |
| 2003 | $1,050 | 891 | $891,000 | Joseph “DeOhGee” Cordi | $222,750 |
| 2002 | $1,050 | 238 | $238,000 | MultiMarine | $65,450 |
*promoted to champion after original champion disqualified
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$6 Million Guaranteed To Be Won in 2022
The 2022 WCOOP Main Event High, with its colossal $10,300 buy-in, has a whopping $6 million guaranteed. Day 1 shuffles up and deals at 5:30 p.m. BST on September 25, and will see hundreds of stars hit the PokerStars virtual felt.
Each entrant sits down with 250,000 chips and plays to a 30-minute clock where blinds start at 500/1,000/125a. The curtain comes down on Day 1 after the conclusion of the 15th level, with play resuming at 5:35 p.m. BST on September 26.
Day 2 concludes when only 40 players remain, before Day 3 sees the field whittled down to the final table of nine. Those nine players will battle it out for glory and a seven-figure haul under the watchful eyes of the PokerStars Twitch channel at 5:30 p.m. BST on September 28.
| Date | Time | WCOOP Main Event | Day Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 25 Sep | 5:30 p.m. | Day 1 | End of Level 15 |
| Mon 26 Sep | 5:35 p.m. | Day 2 | When 40 players remain |
| Tue 27 Sep | 5:30 p.m. | Day 3 | When nine players remain |
| Wed 28 Sep | 5:30 p.m. | Day 4 | When the champion is crowned |
It is possible to win your way into this epic WCOOP Main Event from only $55. That $55 investment could see you fighting it out for a share of at least $6 million!
Brilliant Badziakouski Binks the WCOOP $25K Super High Roller ($426,748)
Other WCOOP Main Events
It is not only the $10,300 buy-in high WCOOP Main Event starting on September 25 because two other No-Limit Hold’em Main Events kick off, in addition to a trio of Pot-Limit Omaha Main Events.
The $109 buy-in $2.5 million guaranteed No-Limit Hold’em Main Event and the $1,050 buy-in $4 million guaranteed No-Limit Hold’em Main Events get underway at 5:30 p.m. BST on September 25. The $109 buy-in $250,000 guaranteed, $1,050 buy-in $600,000 guaranteed, and the $10,300 buy-in $1 million guaranteed WCOOP PLO Main Events start at precisely 8:05 p.m. BST on September 25.
You can follow all of the action from the $1,050 and $10,300 WCOOP No-Limit Hold’em Main Events right here at PokerNews because our live reporting team is providing exclusive updates throughout!