The opening days of the 19th annual PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker put some familiar faces at final tables but also produced smaller than expected fields as overlays ruled the day at the High level.

Dimitar Danchev was the biggest winner from the opening events after taking down Event #2-High ($10,300 8-Max PKO Sunday Slam) for a tad more than $400,000. Danchev earned $152,682.09 from the prize pool and then an additional $247,812.50 in bounties, including the final bounty of fellow PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event champion Mike Watson, who finished runner-up. Watson walked away with $152,681.86 and $45,781.25 in bounties. The final table also included Joao Vieira, Javier Fernandez, and Pieter Aerts.

Brazil’s Dante ‘dantegoyaF’ Goya also picked up a six-figure score after outlasting the 127 runners in Event #3-H ($5,200 PLO Six Max High Roller) for $168,607.68. Not only did Goya pick up one of the largest paydays of the opening events, but he also was the biggest beneficiary of added value as this event offered players a $115,000 overlay, falling 23 runners short of hitting the $750,000 guarantee. Alexey ‘LuckyGump’ Makarov from Russia finished as the runner-up collecting $129,313.65 while former #1-ranked PocketFiver Joao ‘IneedMassari’ Simao took home $99,177.07 for third place.

‘DingeBrinker’ took home the title in Event #4-H ($2,100 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout) locking up the $96,143.50 first-place prize in the first major freezeout of the series. Canada’s ‘4rebmun’ finished in second place, walking away with $73,318.70. Pascal ‘Päffchen’ Hartmann joined them on the podium, adding $55,912.60 to his bankroll. There was another small overlay for players to enjoy in this event as well as PokerStars needed to take $18,000 from the rake to meet the $500,000 guarantee.

There was no problem meeting the guarantee of Event #5-H ($530 8 Max Turbo PKO Sunday Cooldown SE) as 1,091 entries piled into the lobby and pushed the prize pool to $545,000. ‘Erictsai7153’ walked away as the winner, earning $38,345.22 for first plus an additional $38,027.19 in bounties for a total score of just over $76,000. ‘.COM??LOL’ settled for second place which brought them $38,344.34 and another $13,296.84 in bounties. Finally, ‘lw3151wwy’ finished in third place for a total score just shy of $30,000.

Among the early winners of WCOOP is PokerStars ambassador Benjamin ’Spraggy’ Spragg who made a brief appearance at the final table of Event #5-H where he finished in ninth place for a $5,222.98 score. But at the same time, he was grinding his way through the Low version of the event which had a massive turnout of 12,192 runners. Eventually, Spragg made the final table of that tournament as well only instead of being the first of the final table to fall, he didn’t fall at all. Spragg walked away with the WCOOP title and $3,236.02 for first. plus another $1,113.39 in bounties.

WCOOP #2-H: $10,300 8-Max PKO Sunday Slam
Entries: 136
Prize pool: $1,500,000 ($14,000 overlay)

1. Dimitar ‘KuuL’ Danchev – $152,682.09 + $247,812.50 in bounties
2. Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson – $152,681.86 + $45,781.25 in bounties
3. Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira – $103,148.86 + $32,031.25 in bounties

WCOOP #3-H: $5,200 PLO Six Max High Roller
Entries: $127
Prize pool: $750,000 ($115,000 overlay)

1. Dante ‘dantegoya’ Goya – $168,607.68
2. Alexey ‘LuckyGump’ Makarov – $129,313.65
3. Joao ‘IneedMassari’ Simao – $99,177.07

WCOOP #4-H: $2,100 No Limit Hold’em Freezeout
Entries: 241
Prize pool: $500,000 ($18,000 overlay)

1. DingeBrinker – $96,143.50
2. 4rebmun – $73,318.70
3. Pascal ‘Päffchen’ Hartmann – $55,912.60

WCOOP #5-H: $530 8 Max Turbo PKO Sunday Cooldown SE
Entries: 1,091
Prize pool: $545,500

1. Erictsai7153 – $38,345.22 + $38,027.19 in bounties
2. .COM??LOL – $38,344.34 + $13,296.84 in bounties
3. lw3151wwy – $23,203.87 + $6,437.50 in bounties

WCOOP #3-L: $55 PLO Six Max
Entries: 3,013
Prize pool: $150,650

1. icandodge22 – $19,358.63*
2. Zapahzamazki – $17,512.24*
3. leolokN – $10,548.92

WCOOP: #3-M: $530 PLO Six Max
Entries: 544
Prize pool: $272,000

1. URMYLeNoR – $48,124.48
2. takechip – $34,414.55
3. chininhaltg – $24,610.53

WCOOP #4-L: $22 No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 10,153
Prize pool: $203,060

1. LosJ&B – $15,803.33*
2. rsehnem77 – $21,627.17*
3. detovisk – $17,181.69*

WCOOP #4-M: $215 No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 2,269
Prize pool: $453,800

1. juanbonber – $40,220.30*
2. DRUNK&UGLY – $53,609.17*
3. MarkusG91 – $43,190.63*

WCOOP #5-L: $5.50 No Limit Hold’em (8-Max, Turbo, PKO, Freezeout
– Mini Sunday Cooldown SE)
Entries: 12,192
Prize pool: $59,741

1. Benjamin ‘Spraggy’ Spragg – $3,236.02 + $1,113.39 in bounties
2. weh_chris -$3,225.22 + $750.44 in bounties
3. ViKKingBR – $1,913.60 + $117.44 in bounties

WCOOP #5-M: $55 No Limit Hold’em (8-Max, Turbo, PKO, Freezeout
– Sunday Cooldown SE)
Entries: 6,906
Prize pool: $345,300

1. Marksman M – $20,872.25 + $8,507.71 in bounties
2. felipe52 – $20,868.24 + $3,747.71 in bounties
3. NikAlexandr56 – $12,078.24 + $3,408.87 in bounties

*Denotes a deal was made