Luiz Orrico Crowned WPT #01 Opener Champion
The 2021 WPT World Online Championships has crowned its first champion, and Brazil’s Luiz Orrico is that man. Orrico came out on top of a 4,777-strong field in the $215 buy-in $1 million guaranteed PKO event, and walked away with the title of champion and $93,751 in prize money.
Victory not only came with a huge payout, but it awarded Orrico precious WPTWOC Player of the Championship leaderboard points, giving him the chance to get his hands on a share of $50,000 cash when the series concludes.
WPT #01 Opener Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luiz Orrico | Brazil | $34,815 | $58,936 | $93,751 |
| 2 | Luiz Zattar Martins Jr | Brazil | $9,898 | $58,828 | $68,726 |
| 3 | Shawn Walbridge | United Kingdom | $2,429 | $36,617 | $39,046 |
| 4 | Ilija Savevski | Malta | $4,317 | $24,465 | $28,782 |
| 5 | Jeniffer Ritter Da Silva | Brazil | $2,556 | $16,710 | $19,266 |
| 6 | Joel Nystedt | Sweden | $9,841 | $11,866 | $21,707 |
| 7 | Jordan Warrilow | United Kingdom | $2,374 | $8,242 | $10,616 |
Some 704 players made it through to Day 2 from more than three dozen flights, each of them guaranteed a slice of the main prize pool, plus any bounty payments they picked up along the way.
Several members of Team partypoker were present and correct on Day 2, but none of them managed to navigate their way to the seven-handed final table.
Patrick Leonard (647th - $346), Day Kotoviezy (323rd - $551), Matt Staples (85th - $1,331), Jaime Staples (38th - $3,880), and Joao Simao (11th - $8,247) were the orange diamonds in the Day 2 field.
Each of the seven finalists locked in more than $10,000 for their initial investment when bounty payments were added to their main prize pool payout. British grinder Jordan Warrilow was the first finalist out of the door, his seventh-place finish coming with a $10,616 prize.
Joel Nystedt was the most experienced player at the final table, but he could not quite put that experience to full use, and he had to make do with a $21,707 payout. Thanks to the bounty element of The Opener, Nystedt collected slightly more than the $19,266 haul enjoyed by fifth-place finisher Jeniffer Ritter Da Silva.
Fourth place and $28,782 went to Malta-based star Ilija Savevski before Shawn Walbridge of the United Kingdom ran out of steam in third, a finish worth $39,046.
Walbridge’s exit guaranteed The Opener would be won by a Brazilian because it left Luiz Orrico heads-up against Luiz Zattar Martins Jr. Both heads-up players secured almost $59,000 from the main prize pool, but the final bounty payment was nothing short of massive, so there was everything to play for.
Orrico managed to defeated his fellow countryman, resulting in a $34,815 bounty payment being added to his $58,936 first-place prize, for a combined score of $93,751. Martins Jr walked away with $68,726 reasons to be delighted with his runner-up finish.