Brazil's Joao Simao earned his first bracelet in style by coming from behind to beat Norway's Espen "_sennj_" Sandvik in the 2021 WSOP Online Event #2: $1,111 Caesars Cares at GGPoker for $206,075.
The second event of the 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online was a massive success as not only did 1,584 entries generate a $1,759,824 prize pool but also raised a whopping $175,824 for Caesars Cares, a Nevada-based COVID-19 charity.
Simao entered Day 2 as the chip leader with 20 players remaining, but it wasn't all smooth sailing, especially at the final table for the Brazilian poker pro. Simao, who was once ranked as the best online player in the world according to PocketFives, has amassed more than $1.1 million at the GGPoker Network according to GGPoker's proprietary PokerCraft.
Read More: GGPoker Announces Full 33-Bracelet WSOP Online 2021 Schedule
WSOP Online Event #2: $1,111 Caesars Cares Charity Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joao Simao | Brazil | $206,075 |
| 2 | Espen "_sennj_" Sandvik | Norway | $154,533 |
| 3 | Tom "Jabochi" Shaham | Israel | $115,884 |
| 4 | Roman Hrabec | Czech Reupblic | $86,900 |
| 5 | Ilya "Dezauzer" Yakunin | Russia | $65,166 |
| 6 | Andras Nemeth | Hungary | $48,868 |
| 7 | Jinlong "yiliuqi" Hu | China | $36,646 |
| 8 | Le "Hugo777" Fang | China | $27,480 |
| 9 | Peter "BigFishEight" Raimondi | Canada | $20,607 |
Final Day Action
From a starting field of 20 on the final day, action was down to a final table of nine after less than an hour of play.
Roman Hrabec entered the final table with the chip lead, but was overtaken by Andras Nemeth after the Hungarian won a big pot off Simao.
Peter "BigFishEight" Raimondi was the first player out at the final table in ninth place and he was followed by Le "Hugo777" Fang and Jinlong "yiliuqi" Hu from China, in seventh and eighth place respectively.
Nemeth appeared to be cruising with the chip lead before things abruptly fell apart for the Hungarian. He first doubled Sandvik to hand the Norwegian the chip lead before hitting the rail in sixth place when his queens didn't hold against Simao's sixes.
Sandvik then sent Ilya "Dezauzer" Yakunin to the rail before Simao took care of Hrabec.
Investors Win Big on Shaham
Shaham found himself short three-handed but lost a flip three-handed to bust in third. Thanks to GGPoker's innovative staking feature, Shaham wasn't the only one that won big thanks to his podium finish as the Israeli sold 50 percent of his action at 1.1 mark-up, meaning that 11 stakers paid a total of $611 to win a whopping $57,942 straight into their GGPoker accounts.
Read More: GGPoker Turns Online Poker into a Business with Innovative Staking Feature
Back and Forth Heads-Up Battle
Sandvik was in the driver's seat to win his second WSOP bracelet as he entered heads-up play with more than double the stack of Simao. Two years ago, Sandvik shipped the 2019 WSOP Europe Event #5: €2,500 8-Game Mix for €75,246 ($84,058) and was already guaranteed to win more regardless of how things turned out during heads-up play.
Simao immediately grabbed the lead on the first hand of heads-up play but it wasn't a smooth ride as Sandvik soon regained the lead.
However, things fell apart after an ill-timed bluff left Sandvik short on chips and he was eliminated in second place for $154,533 after his ace-queen didn't hold against Simao's queen-ten suited.
Congrats to Joao Simao for winning his first WSOP gold bracelet and the $206,075 top prize. Stay tuned at PokerNews as the 2021 GGPoker WSOP Online will continue on Tuesday, Aug. 3 with the two-day Event #3: $2,500 Limit Hold'em Championship with cards in the air at 7 p.m. CEST (1 p.m. ET).
Tuesday's WSOP Online Action
PokerNews live reporting coverage continues on August 3 with the Event #3: $2,500 Limit Hold'em Championship. The two-day event is sure to attract some of the biggest names in the poker world, and you can follow the action from start to finish right here at PokerNews.
In the meantime, don't miss out on your chance to win a WSOP Main Event seat on ClubGG. Stage 1s are running in the client every hour, with players just three stages away from securing a $10,000 seat. Check it out!
