WCOOP update: Tonkaaaa and Leknes win titles for Team BBZ

The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) 2023 is running right now on PokerStars and less than a week in, two members of Team BBZ have won titles.

In case you’re brand new to online poker, let us fill you in. WCOOP is among the most prestigious online poker series and has been around for 22 years, awarding hundreds of millions in prizes to those fortunate enough to be crowned a WCOOP champion.

In a nutshell, it’s a title that every poker player wants.

So let’s find out who has been crushing so far.

TONKAAAA WINS SUPER TUESDAY

Our very own Parker “Tonkaaaa” Talbot won his third WCOOP title in the opening week, and boy, was it a big one.

Talbot, a longtime BBZ student, took down the $10K Super Tuesday for $213,299, the largest prize of the series so far and the second-biggest cash of his career.

And there it is. We gave away a chair for the first time in years and won potentially the toughest tournament of the series for $213,000 and change. Not the worst way to start the series🤠https://t.co/b1Mqqb9ofo

— Parker Talbot (@tonkaaaap) September 13, 2023

To do it, he had to battle through 79 entries from the toughest players in the game. The final table alone included the likes of Thomas “WushTM” Muehloecker, Yuri “theNERDguy” Dzivielevski, and Samuel “€urop€an” Vousden.

Here’s a look at Talbot’s WCOOP wins so far:

2020 – 58-H: $530 NLHE 8-Max, PKO – $51,168
2021 – 75-H: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max, Midweek Freeze – $108,730
2023 – 15-H: 10,300 Super Tuesday High Roller – $213,299

Does anyone know if @spraggy has won a WCOOP yet?? pic.twitter.com/AESfG8ACUJ

— Parker Talbot (@tonkaaaap) September 13, 2023

LEKNES TAKES DOWN 10TH TITLE

What an absolute beast this guy is.

Tobias “Senkel92” Leknes – co-creator of the Mixed Games Beginners Bundle on BBZ Poker – won his 10th WCOOP title this week, putting him just one title behind the all-time leader, Denis “aDrENalin710” Strebkov.

Leknes was victorious in the $109 PLO 6-Max for $14,477 after defeating the 865-entry field.

He now has an astonishing 17 COOP titles, including seven SCOOP wins.

Here’s a look through his extensive WCOOP CV:

2017 – 60-L $109 2-7 TD – $10,286
2018 – 10-M: NLHE [8-Max Win the Button] – $44,064
2018 – 20-H: NL 5-Card Draw – $17,100
2020 – 09-L: $11 NL 2-7 Single Draw – $2,448
2020 – 45-L: $11 FL Badugi 6-Max – $2,015
2020 – 49-M: $215 NLO8 6-Max, PKO – $23,963
2022 – 05-M: $215 PLO – $26,022
2022 – 70-H: $530 PLO8 – $20,155
2022 – 81-H: $2,100 8-Game [8-Max] – $28,085
2023 – 20-M: $109 PLO 6-Max – $14,477

CLOSE CALL FOR ROBIN POKER

BBZ student Lukas “RobinPoker” Robinson came very close to winning his first title, finishing third in the very first event of the series.

Robinson enjoyed a deep run in the $55 Kickoff but fell just short of heads-up play. Still, he banked $16,700 for his biggest score of the year.

Not a bad way to start the series!

Stay tuned to the BBZ Blog as we’ll bring you more updates and the WCOOP 2023 series unfolds.