Florian Guimond Wins PokerStars WCOOP Main Event for $603,000

French player Florian Guimond won the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event last night for a mammoth $603,142 after a three-way deal.

With stars such as Goran Mandic and Ryan Plant in attendance, the final table was a tough one, but the British-based player, who describes himself as a “Young French Grinder expert in coin flip”, took down the tournament for a record payday.

Reaching the Final Table

It took just three hours to find a winner on the final day, with the 4,696 total field having been whittled down to nine by the start of the fourth and final day. With a whopping $5 million guarantee, Guimond, who had also been chip leader at the conclusion of Day 2, and who has won $471,317 in live events during his fledgling career, had to overcome plenty with more chips than him on the final day.

The first elimination provided a platform for Guimond to begin his ascent up the leaderboard. Brazilian player ‘paoronaldo’ three-bet shoved with queen-nine but was called and busted by Guimond’s ace-king suited, no help coming to bail out the Brazilian, who headed to the virtual rail with $44,527.

In eighth place, the player who lost their seat and cashed for $62,970 was British player Alexios Zervos. The UK-based professional couldn’t overcome Goran Mandic’s overcards when holding middle pair on the flop and with no assistance from turn and river, Mandic got there and the Croat sent Zervos home.

Plant Uprooted by Champion-in-Waiting

After a fast start, seven players remained, hailing from five countries, with the UK, Brazil, Croatia, Austria and Ecuador all represented. It was one of two British players who busted next as ‘Royal Mind’ took the ‘L’ in seventh place for a score of $89,053. They were all-in with the best hand too, holding ace-nine against Mandic’s ace-five, but the Croatian prevailed after the board and rolled into the final half-dozen players with some genuine momentum.

Out in sixth was the British player Ryan Plant, playing from colorful Ecuador. Plant called Guimond’s four-bet shove pre-flop and while Plant’s ace-jack looked strong six-handed, it was a long way behind the Frenchman’s pocket aces. They survived easily across the board and Plant cashed for the first six-figure score of the event in $125,941.

Out next was one of the two Brazilian players still in contention. Bernardo Granato busted for $178,107 when his pocket eights needed to hold against his countryman Pedro Dib’s ace-queen to survive. That didn’t happen as Dib rivered a straight to skittle his compatriot’s chances in the most painful way possible, reducing the field to four players, each from a different country.

No Dub for Dib as Guimond Grabs Glory

Austrian player ‘rObetOblancO’ busted in fourth place when Guimond continued his uncanny ability to keep triumphing in all-in clashes. The Austrian player lost with the same top pair as the eventual winner, outkicked by Guimond and on the rail outside the podium places for a finish worth $251,882.

It was at that moment that the three remaining players agreed to a deal that considerably balanced up the remaining payments and levelled out the risk of losing too much by missing out on the heads-up battle. In third place, it was the Croatian player Mandic who failed to stick the landing. Mandic raised it up with ace-six three-handed and when Dib three-bet shoved with ace-seven, the Croat made the call. A six came on the flop and elevated Mandic into the lead, but a seven on the river snatched the pot for the Brazilian and sent Mandic home with $480,857.

Heads up, it was Dib who began as the chip leader and he was two cards away from victory when he got all-in with pocket nines against the ace-jack of Guimond. The French professional hit a jack on the turn, however, and that gave him the chip lead, one he would not lose. Dib limped with ace-three in the final hand, before Guimond’s raise with pocket jacks induced the shove. Guimond called and held, sending Dib out in second place for $488,407 and giving Guimond a landmark victory, and the top prize of $603,142.

* denotes the three-handed deal made by the players.