PokerStars WCOOP Update: Noah Boeken and Spraggy Start Strong

September 4th, 2020 | by Kaycee James

PokerStars’ 2020 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is underway and, as expected, the cream of the community has risen to the top.

Noah Boeken picked up his second WCOOP title after winning Event #11 of this year’s series. (Image: Team 770)

With 75 events, 225 total MTTs and a guaranteed prizepool of $82 million, the festival is as big as it’s ever been.

However, with the WSOP and WPT World Online Championships stealing some of the limelight, piquing the interests of players isn’t as easy as it has been in the past. Be that as it may, many of poker’s finest have taken the felt and, for some, it’s been a profitable few days.

Event #2 Gets WCOOP 2020 Underway

The first batch of events got underway on August 30. Event #1 is a Phased MTT, which means it won’t conclude until the final day. Therefore, it was Event #2 that brought out the masses on the opening day.

WCOOP Event #2, $109 No Limit Hold’em Progressive KO Low – $1.5 million guarantee (19,397 entries and $1.93 million collected).

WCOOP Event #2, $1,050 No Limit Hold’em Progressive Medium – $2 million guarantee (1,971 entries and $1.97 million collected).

WCOOP Event #2, $10,300 No Limit Hold’em Progressive High – $1.5 million guarantee (136 entries and $1.36 million collected).

Although just one of the three MTTs under Event #2’s banner broke its guarantee, the level of interest was still high. Indeed, the medium and high tournaments only incurred a small overlay.

SoEzForMe banked the smallest of the three prizes from Event #2, but it was the best overall return. From a buy-in of $109, they banked $86,167.

Russia’s Ryan Lyapin also enjoyed a healthy return on his investment after winning the medium version of Event #2 for $107.070.

Rounding out the first batch of winners was Dimitar Danchev. The Bulgarian beat Canada’s Mike Watts, aka SirWatts, to pick up a WCOOP title and $152,682.

Poker Stars Spragg and Boeken Shine

Also running hot during the early stages of PokerStars’ WCOOP were Benjamin Spragg and Noah Boeken. The former, who streams his runs on Twitch as part of Team PokerStars, picked up a win in the low version Event #5.

12,192 entries were collected in the $5.50 Progressive KO tournament, which meant Spraggy picked up $4,349 for his efforts.

The Brit almost made it two for two in Event #5 by making the final table of the $530 high version. However, on that occasion, he fell just short in ninth place as Erictsai7153 took the win for $76,372.

Another famous face that’s made his presence known is Noah Boeken. The veteran pro has been around since the dawn of online poker but that doesn’t mean he’s a spent force.

With the latest crop of talent anteing up in Event #11, the $1,050 Fixed Limit Hold’em 6-Max, Boeken showed his skill and got the win for $20,312.

WCOOP 2020 has already produced some exciting action but things are just heating up. With more than 50 events left to play, there will be plenty of drama between now and September 21.