Argentina claimed its first PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker(WCOOP) bracelet this week, as Ezequiel ezepoker90Vazquez brought home the gold in Event #1, a $215 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament. The contest brought out well over 7,000 players and blew away its $1 million guarantee by nearly 50%. Argentineans on PocketFives can celebrate Vazquez’s $184,000 payday by posting in our all-new Argentina poker community.

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Miraculously, Vazquez only had a measly $50 in his poker bank account a few weeks ago and had nearly zilch to his name a month ago. He told the PokerStars Blog in an article posted on Wednesday, “It’s the most important thing that happened in my life up to date and it will change my life forever.”

A four-way chop ended matters in the kickoff 2012 WCOOP event. No members of PocketFives finished in the top six, but those who made the short-handed final table were in for quite a financial treat. Here’s how the top finishers cashed out in the $215 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event:

1. ezepoker90 $184,388.82
2. EspBju $132,213.12
3. moyerboide $120,415.59
4. TEENageTuRtL $112,135.95
5. Phantom4444 $36,610.00
6. flysohigh87 $21,966.00

Let’s talk a little bit more about Vazquez. He’s 22 years old and hails from the coastal city of Miramar, Argentina. He left school to pursue poker, a decision that, according to his interview that appeared on the PokerStars Blog, was not very popular with his parental units: “I thought that poker could be my livelihood, although it would be hard for my family to accept it. This win is really life-changing and I think after this, my family will accept it. I can… make a living.”

Event #2 of the WCOOP saw 99% of its massive 10,608-entrant field sent packing on Day 1 on Sunday. The $215 No Limit Hold’em tournament dished out a prize pool of over $2.1 million and, at the end of the day, ASIAANearned $231,000 after a six-way deal. All six players involved in the chop brought home six-figure paydays and the top 1,350 finishers made the money.

Here’s how the final table cashed out in Event #2 of the 2012 PokerStars WCOOP:

1. ASIAAN – $231,221.20
2. Kotovi – $129,526.66
3. SLUMMDOGG51 – $160,291.24
4. KevBoyStar – $135,322.91
5. pablotavi – $127,894.56
6. gorogheee – $154,025.89
7. jollyholl914 – $42,432.00
8. tommytight – $23,337.60 (tommytight)
9. daveyt86 – $14,851.20 (daveyt86)

Three WCOOP events are on deck for Thursday and offer a combined $700,000 in guaranteed prize money across three different disciplines of poker:

Event #12: Thursday, September 6 at 06:00 ET
$215 Pot Limit Omaha High/Low Six-Max Cubed
$150,000 Guaranteed

Event #13: Thursday, September 6 at 11:00 ET
$530 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max Knockout
$500,000 Guaranteed

Event #14: Thursday, September 6 at 14:00 ET
$215 Seven-Card Stud High/Low
$50,000 Guaranteed

Visit PokerStars for more details. If you don’t already have a PokerStars account, sign up through PocketFives and support our online poker community. Plus, new players can get a 100% up to $600 deposit bonus!