history
WCOOP 2009
The 2009 World Championship of Online Poker was the biggest online tournament series ever staged. Players from 140 countries played 45 events over 18 days for a combined prize pool of $51,652,800, and there were an incredible three double bracelet winners. Ryan ‘g0lfa’ D’Angelo won Event 18: $320 8-Game and Event 29: $320 Mixed Event, and Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier took down Event 38: $530 No Limit Hold’em 1R1A and Event 43: $215 No Limit Hold’em. But it was Daniel ‘djk123’ Kelly who was awarded Player of Series, as he combined his two victories with a fourth place finish in the Main Event. It was an incredible performance that won him the Player of the Series trophy, as well as a 2010 PCA Premium Package.
WCOOP 2008
The 2008 World Championship of Online Poker rivalled the World Series, with 33 events and total prize money of $39,958,000 awarded. Two events were played each day, and 22,873 unique players representing 119 countries competed for the ultimate accolade of being a WCOOP champion. The Main Event buy-in was doubled to $5,200, meaning the total prize pool clicked up to a huge $10,925,000. ckingusc took down the big one, winning $1,265,432.23 and the gold bracelet, while Team PokerStars Pro had a strong series, with Chris Moneymaker making two final tables, and French phenom ElkY banking $407,285 across the series.
WCOOP 2007
In 2007 the PokerStars WCOOP consisted of 23 events, and short-handed tournaments appeared for the first time. The combined prize pool smashed the $20,000,000 barrier, coming in at $24,218,600. More than 40,000 players from over 100 countries took part and 2,998 sat down for the Main Event, creating a prize pool of $7,495,000. That tournament took more than 21 hours to complete, but that was time very well spent for ka$ino, who took home the bracelet and the first ever WCOOP million dollar prize - $1,378,330 to be precise – for the win. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso finished in second place, pocketing $700,782.
WCOOP 2006
The World Championship of Online Poker in 2006 staged 18 events and a combined prize pool of $18,674,300. Notable performances came from spawng, who was the first player to win two WCOOP bracelets, and kwob20, who became the first player to win two bracelets in the same year – a huge achievement. The mixed game HORSE appeared on the schedule for the first time in 2006 with a $5,200 buy-in, and Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown, playing under the name stelladora, took it down. Pro player JC Tran claimed the Main Event, beating a star-studded field to increase his bankroll by $670,194.
WCOOP 2005
The 2005 WCOOP was bigger than ever before, this time awarding $12,000,000 in prizes, doubling the previous year’s total. The schedule featured 15 events and attracted nearly 20,000 players. The series played out in September for the first time, and it has remained at that time of the year ever since. A grand total of 1,494 players contested the Main Event, which produced a prize pool of $3,735,000. Three players made a deal at that final table, each winning more than $500,000, and it was Panella86 from Pennsylvania in the USA who walked away with the bracelet and $577,342 in prize money.
WCOOP 2004
In 2004, the WCOOP schedule featured 12 events, and the No Limit Hold’em Main Event had an increased buy-in of $2,600. The total prize money for the series was over $6,000,000, and over 10,000 players took part, from all 50 US states and 40 countries around the world, making it a truly global event. The 2004 WCOOP was the largest online poker tournament ever held and the Main Event boasted a prize pool of $2,100,000! Six countries were represented at the final table, and it was Ragde, from Oslo in Norway that triumphed, claiming $424,945 and the gold winner’s bracelet.
WCOOP 2003
In 2003 the series consisted of 11 events, with a mixture of Hold’em, Omaha and Stud tournaments. This was the first WCOOP after Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker’s astonishing World Series win, and players flocked to PokerStars to play online poker. A total of 1,358 played Event 4, the $300 No Limit Hold’em, and the entire series awarded a total amount of $2,700,000 in combined prizes, with $891,000 up for grabs in the $1,050 No Limit Hold’em Main Event. That tournament was won by DeeOhGee, who topped the list of 81 names who cashed, taking home $222,750 in first place prize money.
WCOOP 2002
The first ever WCOOP took place in July of 2002 and featured a total of nine events with over $730,000 in combined prizes. The biggest field of 565 players contested the very first event, the $100+9 Limit Hold’em, and the $1,050 No Limit Hold’em Main Event attracted 238 players, creating a prize pool of $238,000. That tournament was won by MultiMarine, from Sweden, who pocketed $65,450 for his efforts. PokerStars also awarded $5,000 in cash to the Best All-Around Player - a title claimed by TheBeat, who cashed in three events across the series.