Pot-Limit Omaha specialist Gavin Cochrane proved he’s no slouch at Hold’em after winning Event #3 of the WPT World Online Championships.
The Englishman may not be a big name on the live tournament circuit, but he’s a force to be reckoned with online under the moniker gavz101.
He’s earned his stripes in high-stakes PLO games over the last decade, and that experience paid off during the finale of Event #3.
Strong Start for Cochrane
The Londoner started the final table of the $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em event with almost 33% of the chips in play. He wasted little time putting those chips to work on Tuesday in a hand against fellow Englishman, Sam Grafton.
Cochrane opened from middle position for 700,000, a move that prompted an all-in from Grafton ( 281,000 chips). Before Cochrane could get to a showdown with his countryman, Dmitry Yurasov re-raised to 3.2 million.
That bet forced Cochrane to fold and took the action to the flop. Graton held pocket kings and stayed ahead of Yurasov’s A♥ T♠ as the flop ran out 5♥ 6♣ Q♣. The J♦ on the turn didn’t tip the balance, but the K♥ on the river did. A straight for Yurasov was enough to scoop the pot and send Grafton to the rail in 9th place.
Next to fall was Bulgaria’s Ognyan Dimov. With both WSOP and EPT titles to his name, Dimov was on the hunt for a Triple Crown (WSOP, EPT and WPT titles), but he couldn’t find his way into the match. Eventually, he jammed from under-the-gun and found a caller in Thomas Boivin.
Dimov tabled Q♦ J♦ and almost got past Boivin’s A♠ Q♥ when the flop ran out T♠ Q♠ J♠. The 2♠ on the turn swung the hand back in Boivin’s favor before the A♦ on the river closed the action.
Dimov’s exit took the finale down to seven and the point where Cochrane started to impose his will. Jiachen Gong eliminated Daniel Colpoys in sixth before Cochrane hit a flush to take out Shyngis Satubayev.
A Dramatic End
Yurasov was next on Cochrane’s hit list, but a late surge for Boivin flipped the script. In a hand against Lars Kamphues, brother of recent WPT Shooting Stars for Charity winner Timo, Boivin snatched the chip lead.
The change in dynamics didn’t dampen Cochrane’s spirit. He matched Boivin bet-for-bet until he regained the lead. Within 20 minutes, he’d completed an impressive comeback and won his first WPT title.
Boivin limped-raised all-in on the button with A♥ 4♦ in the final hand. Cochrane called with A♠ J♣ and swerved any upsets as the community cards fell. The 7♦ T♠ 8♥ T♦ J♥ board brought Event #3 of the WPT World Online Championships to an end, and gave Cochrane a $540,664 payday.
Event #3 WPT World Online Championships Result – $3,200 8-Max No Limit Hold’em
- 1. Gavin Cochrane – $540,664
- 2. Thomas Boivin – $388,118
- 3. Lars Kamphues – $256,727
- 4. Dmitry Yurasov – $173,995
- 5. Shyngis Satubayev – $123,298
- 6. Daniel Colpoys – $87,296
- 7. Jiachen Gong – $61,171
- 8. Ognyan Dimov – $48,427
- 9. Sam Grafton – $40,143
