Kristen Bicknell and Sam Greenwood both earned double WPT honors last week thanks to high roller wins and beautiful bounty performances.
Partypoker pro Bicknell was the first to grab two titles after winning the WPT Seven-Max High Roller and WPT Knockout Turbo events.
The two-time female player of the year faced her toughest test in the $5,200 high roller. However, with a number of top pros making it deep in the knockout event, her second win of the week was just as sweet.
Bicknell Bests Poker’s Best
42 players anted up in the one-day High Roller, including a host of familiar faces. Among those making it deep were Sami Kelopuro, Mikita Badziakouski, and Elio Fox. All three made it to the final table but none could dethrone Bicknell.
David Peters came closest to denying the Canadian, but even he fell short in the end. With a domineering performance complete, Bicknell scooped the $79,275 top prize and went into the $1,050 Knockout Turbo event full of confidence.
148 players entered that one and, although the finale was by no means easy, the line-up wasn’t quite as tough as the high roller. However, Bicknell still had to defeat Patrick Leonard, one of the best MTT players in the world, to claim the title.
She did it in style and not only picked up $13,835 for winning the event but an additional $19,375 in bounty payments. With her wining week complete, Bicknell banked $112,485 efforts and now stands as one the WPT World Online Championships’ top performers.
Greenwood Gets Two As WPT Finale Looms
Sam Greenwood may have had to overcome fewer players on route to his two titles, but the task was far from easy. The $10,300 high roller attracted 25 of the world’s finest, while 26 equally skilled players joined the $5,200 WPT High Roller Turbo.
As he’s done many times on Partypoker, Greenwood proved he’s an elite-level pro. His two victories earned him $150,513 in prize money and, like Bicknell, a ton of confidence heading into the second half of the WPT World Online Championships.
There are still seven events to go until the $10,300 main event but, already, players will be sizing up the $10 million guarantee. In fact, with all but one of the WPT World Online Championships main events missing its guarantee so far, that prizepool could surpass all expectations.
To help generate as much interest as possible, the WPT and Partypoker recently extended the time in between starting flights. Day 1A will take place on September 6 and there will be a week’s wait until Day 1B.
That break will give more players a chance to buy in directly or qualify via satellites. The hope is that the WPT World Online Championships main event will break its guarantee and pay out at least one seven-figure top prize.