2008 WCOOP breaks online prize-pool record

ISLE OF MAN, U.K. -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- With a prize pool exceeding $10 million, PokerStars broke the online poker prize pool record on Sunday with the 2008 WCOOP Main Event. The $5,200 NLHE tournament made online poker history as the largest ever online poker tournament with more than 2,000 players competing for 36 hours over two days. Carter "ckingusc" King, a 22-year-old student from Columbia, S.C., cut through the Main Event taking home $1.26 million first prize.

PokerStars continued to dominate the world of online poker tournaments at this year's WCOOP with total prize pool of $39,958,000 – more than $3 million more than the last year's event. Players from 118 different countries participated in 33 events for more than $55,000 in buy-ins. Players "PearlyJammer" and "thedonator" cashed 10 times in the tournament with "Dorinvandv" leading as the top earner before the main event.

Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand 'ElKy' Grospellier continued his 2008 tournament success in the WCOOP, cashing seven times and earning more than $400,000 over the two week period. He finished 21st in the main event cashing $22,942.50.

"The WCOOP is a great tournament to play, in preparation for upcoming tournaments like EPT London and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January" said ElKy, 2008 PCA Champion. "The prize pool is enormous and there is such an incredible variety of players and styles. No other online tournament compares to the WCOOP."

Final Table/Payouts:

        Name            City, Country              Winnings
 
1      ckingusc         Columbia, USA             $1,265,432
 
2      liberace         London, UK                $1,375,249
 
3      AJKHoosier1      Round Lake, USA           $782,542
 
4      Markush13        Minsk, Russia             $961,718
 
5      ShoesRDurrty     Oakton, USA               $801,153
 
6      Sumpas           Linkoping, Sweden         $415,150
 
7      klslcz           Denver, USA               $305,900
 
8      BOLLPOKER        Versailles, France        $196,650
 
9      kovi99           Vienna, Austria           $121,267
 

For further details on the WCOOP and other PokerStars online tournaments, players should visit http://www.pokerstars.net