The action heats up beginning Sunday in the World Series of Poker Online at GGPoker. Plenty of poker sharks will be out in force hoping to secure one of the 33 gold bracelets up for grabs.
Some of the game’s best and most recognized pros will be mixing it up online. The international version of the series promises some big prize pools and hefty payouts.
In the spirit of the series, the Catena Media poker team took a look at some players to watch and will update their progress throughout the series. Here are a few players to keep an eye out for.
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Anthony Cicali, contributing writer
Daniel Negreanu (Las Vegas)
- $100,000 PokerGO Cup #8 – 4th, $250,000 (July 13)
- $50,000 PokerGO Cup #7 – winner, $700,000 (July 12)
- $600 WSOP Online KO – 3rd, $19,851
Negreanu has been in the zone all July. He was awarded player of the series in the PokerGO Cup and has been grinding online bracelet events each night. Fans can expect to see some deep runs in the GGPoker bracelet series.
Ivan Luca (Punta Alta, Argentina)
- $1,000 GGPoker WSOP Online 6-Max – 4th, $115,791 (August 2020)
- $1,000 WSOP NLHE – winner, $353,391 (June 2015)
- $25,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure NLHE – 5th, $140,460 (January 2019)
With over $6.5 million in live tournament earnings, be on the lookout for Argentina’s number one player. He could rack up some serious scores this August. Luca is a former bracelet winner and knows what it takes to get the hardware back.
Alex Foxen (Cold Spring Harbor, New York)
- $600 WSOP Online PLO 6-Max – 3rd, $27,909 (July 2021)
- $50,000 PokerGO Cup #7 – 3rd, $280,000 (July 2021)
- $10,000 PokerGO Cup #1 – winner, $178,200 (July 2021)
Foxen is currently chasing the GPI Player of the Year spot for a third straight year. He’s had a successful summer so far and looks to grind GGPoker events all August. Foxen is currently one of the best players in the game without a bracelet.
Ali Imsirovic (Vancouver, Washington)
- $50,000 PokerGO Cup #7 – 5th, $122,500 (July 2021)
- $15,000 PokerGO Cup #4 – winner, $240,000 (July 2021)
- $10,000 PokerGO Cup #2 – winner, $183,000 (July 2021)
Imsirovic is currently ranked number one in the world after a successful run in the PokerGO Cup. He’ll most likely try to stay on top of the mountain by playing as many WSOP Online events as possible.
Yuri Martins (Curitiba, Brazil)
- $2,500 WSOP Mixed PLO Hi/Lo & 7-Card Hi/Lo – 1st, $213,750 (June 2019)
- $400 WSOP GGPoker PLOSSUS – 1st, $221,557 (July 2021)
- $3,500 WPT Tampa – 10th, $61,325 (June 2021)
As one of the top online players in the world, Martins is expected to have another big run this summer. He captured bracelets in 2019 and 2020 and dominate mixed games alongside No Limit Hold’em as well.
Valerie Cross, content manager
Kristen Bicknell (Ontario, Canada)
- Tournament earnings over $5.25 million, according to Hendon Mob
- WSOP Online $2,500 6-Max – 1st, $356,000 (July 2020)
No sleeper here. Bicknell is a powerful force both live and online. She’s also had massive success in WSOP events, and this series should be no different.
A year ago in this very series, Bicknell binked her third bracelet in the $2,500 Six-Max event, outlasting a field of 892 for a $356,000 score. Look out for No. 4.
Niklas Astedt (Sweden)
- Tournament earnings over $1.15 million
- $1,050 WPT partypoker, 1st, $175,000 (May 2020)
This Swedish crusher is dedicated to the grind, cashing in dozens of GGPoker and partypoker events in recent months. In last year’s WSOP Online bracelet series, he finished second to Roberto Romanello in a 922-entry field in the $1,500 NLHE for $157,000. His close call will surely be a driving force of motivation for gold.
Ranno Sootla (Tallinn, Estonia)
- Hendon Mob earnings over $630,000
- WSOP NLHE Colossus – 1st, $597,000 (July 2020)
This young Estonian got his first taste of gold a year ago. The win came after finishing runner-up to Ryan Leng in the 2018 WSOP $1,500 Bounty for his first live six-figure score ($168,000).
It takes grit and perseverance to win an online event with a whopping 12,757 runners. That’s what Sootla did in last year’s series, so he should be up for the battle in the 2021 edition.
AJ Chabra (New Jersey, United States)
- Hendon mob earnings over $1.35 million
- WSOP $1,500 Limit Hold’em Championship – 1st, $77,000 (August 2020)
In December 2017, Chabra scored his first live WPT Main Event final table. He finished fifth in the $10,400 Five Diamond for $350,000.
His play and poise impressed, and he’s gone on to put up impressive results since, both live and online. His last win was in this very series in 2020, and I expect more strong results and maybe even another bracelet in 2021.
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Sean Chaffin, PokerScout editor/site runner
David Peters (Ohio, United States)
- WSOP Online $7,777 High Roller – 1st, $283,940 (July 2021)
- PokerGO Cup (June 2021) – three wins, one runner-up, and the overall series champion
This American seems unstoppable lately and crushed the fields at the PokerGO Studio in June. He seems likely to be active at GGPoker in August as well.
Last year, he scored numerous cashes including taking down the $10,000 Heads-up Championship for $360,480. A fourth bracelet definitely seems a possibility soon.
Mikita Badziakouski (Belarus)
- $28 million in tournament winnings
- Runner-up finishes in Super High Roller Bowl Online and WSOP Online in 2020
This live poker crusher has found some nice runs online in recent months. He’s scored on some of the biggest poker stages in the world including: Triton, WSOP Europe, EPT, and more.
Badziakouski has come close to a bracelet several times, but just came up short (three runner-ups, one third, two fourths). Look for another big effort in August at GG.
Ole Schemion (Germany)
- $16.3 million in tournament winnings
- partypoker WPT Montreal Online –1st, $35,631(January 2021)
Schemion has posted some nice scores online in recent months. With numerous final tables over the last two years, more success seems likely in the WSOP Online. He should be battling for a bracelet this summer.
Michael Addamo (Australia)
- WSOP Online $10,000 Heads-up – runner-up, $223,488 (August 2020)
- $10,300 Super High Roller Bowl Online – 1st, $228,800
Addamo has had a huge couple of years online, which included a runner-up finish in 2020 in the $102,000 Super High Roller Bowl event for $1.2 million. He’s been consistent in major online events and that should continue.
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