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The price of poker went up in GSOP #6, which was a $200 PLO freezeout tournament that saw 397 hardcore Omaha fans turn out to take their shot. A prizepool of just over $75,000 would await the players skilled and lucky enough to make the money, with over $22,000 (plus a $5,000 entry to the Grand Slam Finals) awaiting the winner.

In the end it'd be GaySvensson who'd prevail, claiming the top prize of $22,608 and getting his entry into the $5,000 Grand Slam Finals. plzbquiet had to settle for 2nd place and $11,269, with souvlaqui taking third and $7,043. Below are the top ten finishers and their winnings:

1. GaySvensson - $22,608
2. plzbquiet - $11,269
3. souvlaqui - $7,043
4. matric13 - $4,508
5. dinos_kol - $3,099
6. clarkgable1 - $2,395
7. mafiadu42 - $1,831
8. ZombieCake - $1,479
9. pelleheikk - $1,197
10. lyngbyboys - $986

GSOP #5 catered to the action junkies in the crowd, featuring a shorthanded $54 NLHE format with unlimited rebuys, so the pace was fast and furious from the outset. 1,231 runners turned out to show off their shorthanded skills, generating a prizepool of $149,500 when all the buy-ins, rebuys, and add-ons were tabulated.

With many of the familiar names from the bwin Team occupied with a little tournament in Melbourne, there weren't as many former Team members in action in GSOP #5. One very familiar name -- ChipLieder85 -- was not only in action in GSOP #5, but managed yet another cash in a big bwin online event, finishing 34th for $723.

As far as the top finishers, it'd be O_ASIMOS taking down the top prize of $35,490 (plus a $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals entry). -vieto- would finish runner up, pocketing $18,785, with xEnergiex collecting $11,849 for third.

Below are the top ten finishers in the lastest GSOP event, along with their winnings:

1. O_ASIMOS - $35,490
2. -vieto- - $18,785
3. xEnergiex - $11,849
4. bathus12 - $8,670
5. RockogRu1 - $5,780
6. justnuts27s - $4,335
7. xResolvex - $2,890
8. UPAY4MYHORSE - $2,601
9. lapko - $2,023
10. Gk0_ - $1,590

As the bwin Team was thick in the action at the Aussie Millions, things continued to heat up online yesterday with the GSOP. GSOP #3 featured a $162 NLHE freezeout format, which proved to be an attractive enough offering to draw 1,070 runners, with a prizepool of $160,000 up for grabs.

That meant the winner would take home over $37,000 (plus a $5,000 entry to the GSOP Grand Slam Finals), which is actually more than some players will collect who'll battle for days at the Aussie Millions before even getting a sniff of the money. Granted, most players would rather be living it up with th bwin Team in Melbourne, but if you can't be there, why not take a shot at a huge score in the GSOP?

A former bwin Team member made a deep run in GSOP #3, with x crash154 playing his way to a 15th place finish worth $1,166 (and this would be the second consecutive GSOP event he's cashed in). As far as the top prize, it'd be arviserd1 who would prevail, defeating -PPL- in heads-up play. Below are the top ten finishers in GSOP #3, along with their winnings:

1. arviserd1 - $37,811 + $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals entry
2. -PPL- - $20,215
3. Khimbo_1 - $12,751
4. rimsuKKAA - $9,330
5. KingKingy - $6,220
6. GrossesBaer4 - $4,665
7. _-apoG-_ - $3,110
8. _AfaxxafA_ - $2,799
9. LocoShensen - $2,177
10. _gabiche60_ - $1,711

After a huge turnout for GSOP #1, that momentum spilled over to GSOP #2, which was a $108 NLHE affair with unlimited rebuys. 778 runners turned out to take their shot at GSOP glory, and when all the re-buys and add-ons were tallied, the prize pool sat at $178,000. Not a bad chunk of change to play for, especially for an online tourney held on a Monday.

When the dust settled and a winner was declared, it was thranda24 who'd take home the victory, claiming $41,909 in cash plus a $5,000 entry to the GSOP Grand Slam Finals. UBolt969 would sprint to a runner-up finish worth $24,364, with defrey_w83 finishing 3rd for $15,303. bwin Team veteran x crash154 was the highest finisher among the former Team members in the field, finishing 62nd.

Below are the top ten finishers in GSOP #2:

1. thranda24 - $41,909 + $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals entry
2. UBolt969 - $24,364
3. defrey_w83 - $15,303
4. men at work - $10,781
5. IwinTheFlip - $7,303
6. eppileppi - $5,564
7. spazzolino - $3,999
8. mega_EST - $3,304
9. ch1l1dog - $2,608
10. taruli2 - $2,086

The latest edition of the GSOP series kicked off with a huge bang on Sunday, as 2,398 runners turned out for GSOP #1 (a $200 NLHE event). That meant the guaranteed prize pool of $350,000 was crushed, with a total of $455,000 up for grabs as the players took their seats and tucked in for a long, tough day of poker.

While many of the familiar names were busy with a tiny little poker tournament in Australia called the Aussie Millions, there were more than a few Team veterans and other bwin tourney regulars making some noise in GSOP #1. CorpseGR was solidly sitting in the top 20 leader for much of the day, finally bowing out in 105th place ($675), and attilaattila (who cashed with the Team at the 2008 WPT Niagara Falls event) finished 80th ($991).

With the serious money going to the top few finishers (including over $70,000+ for 1st), the real action started when the final table was set. All the final table players were guaranteed at least $5,632 for their efforts, but it was the top prize (which also awards a $5,000 entry to the GSOP Grand Slam Finals) that everyone was shooting for, not wanting to come up just short after navigating a huge field of nearly 2,400 players.

In the end it was a familiar (and memorable) name who grabbed the top spot, with Rate my poo defeating greg_bluf in heads--up play to take down the top prize. Amazingly enough, the top prize of $72,099 + a $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals entry wasn't even Rate my poo's biggest cash at bwin, as he won the Grand tournament in October 2007 for a massive cash of $156,750! greg_bluf couldn't have been happy to settle for second, but winning $49,568 for finishing runner-up wasn't a bad way to spend his Sunday.

Below are the top ten finishers in GSOP #1:

1st: Rate my poo - $72,099 + a $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals entry
2nd: greg_bluf - $49,568
3rd: GUEST_STAR_ - $36,049
4th: Ateori1 - $27,037
5th: bombaclowwn - $18,024
6th: Don_Victorio - $13,518
7th: defrey_w83 - $9,012
8th: lavraki19 - $6,984
9th: kingkong66x - $5,632
10th: kiksi - $4,506

With all of the Aussie Millions action featured on the blog at the moment it's easy to forget that the GSOP is set to kick off with a bang tomorrow. Running from January 24th to February 7th, this GSOP edition features 17 different formats with a wide range of buy-in levels and formats, and a guaranteed prize pool of $3,155,000.

All the action culminates with the GSOP Grand Slam Finals, which is a $5,000 buy-in event with a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000. Daily qualifiers run throughout the GSOP for the Grand Slam Finals, so for as little as $22 you can take a shot at the daily qualifiers to try to win your $5,000 entry into the Grand Slam Finals. The GSOP will also feature the unique Sidebet competition again, which lets players pony up $1,000 to take a shot at accumulating the most leaderboard points throughout all of the GSOP events.

New to the GSOP schedule this year are 5 Card Draw and 7 Card Stud events, so their truly is something for every tournament player at the GSOP, no matter which game is your favorite. If you can't be with the bwin Team in Melbourne at the Aussie Millions, at least you'll have the GSOP to keep yourself occupied!

1:54 PM CST

It's another big Sunday at bwin poker and we're rolling out the live blogging format again for this one, as we've got the ChampionChip running, as we do every Sunday, but also the culmination of the GSOP series. And a big finish it is for the GSOP, as the $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals got underway about an hour ago and it drew a huge, huge field of 116 runners!

At first glance that doesn't sound impressive, but with a $5,000 price tag to enter, that means those 116 runners are playing for a prize pool in excess of half a million dollars, with first place taking down more than $150,000! As you'd expect, it's a pretty tough field to wade through, including the likes of efroni1, RipCheader, and raysondk (all just a day removed from representing the Team at the Rigged in Riga event, which bwinner Wieringen took down), as well as Puggy82, NeilMc, -Rex Cramer-, LocStaonCG, .hades., Ovoman, and many more.

Just five players have dropped out after the first hour of play, and calculer_ is currently the chipleader, with kenisfish in 2nd and trucking11 in 3rd.

Over at the ChampionChip, they're about 3 hours into play with lesybarite currently holding the chip lead. The ChampionChip drew just over 1,600 entrants today, for a prizepool of $304,000, with the winner collecting $53,756.

Wieringen and the bwin Team celebrating yesterday as he won the Rigged in Riga main event.

4:09 PM CST

We're a little over 3 hours into action in the GSOP Grand Slam Finals, and redspeeder is currently the chipleader, sitting on a stack of about 36,000. mcnugget95 and trucking11 are hot on his tail, though, both with around 35,000. 68 of the original 116 players are still alive and kicking, including most of the bwin Team veterans in the field. efroni1 is pacing the veterans at the moment, sitting in 25th place.

Over at the ChampionChip the field is down to just 145 players, as they're at the 5 hour mark of play. andrea1965 is leading the ChampionChip at the moment, with 13beat trailing in 2nd. PLWashy and .hades. are the only familiar names we see still in action int he ChampionChip, but they've got some chipping up to do as they're currently in 97th place and 115th, respectively.

.hades. is still alive in both the GSOP Grand Slam Finals and in the ChampionChip: win both and he'll have to get a much larger wallet.

6:29 PM CST

They're getting closer to the money bubble of 15th place in the GSOP Grand Slam Finals, as 2 players currently remain in the field. And unlike most bubbles that players encounter when playing online poker, it's a doozy of a bubble for the poor unfortunate soul who finishes in 16th and collects exactly $0, with the 15th place finisher taking home $11,600.

Sompas is currently leading the way in the Grand Slam Finals, sitting on 159K chips. Ldinka1 is 2nd with 130K, while RandomDonk99 is 3rd with 115K. .hades. made a big move in the last few hours to sit solidly in 7th at the moment (plus he cashed in the ChampionChip for $913). The other bwin Team veteran still alive in the Grand Slam Finals is weniotto, who's in 12th place.

They also happen to be down to 22 players in the ChampionChip as well, with 5_6_off in the chip lead with 400K, trailed very closely by iuzi with 398K and MstrSplntr on 344K. PLWashy was the last standing member of the bwin Team, bowing out in 39th for $1,522.

weniotto's GSOP Grand Slam Finals dreams are still very much alive.

8:09 CST

The money bubble has burst in the GSOP GRand Slam Finals, and they're down to just 9 players left at the final table. a_baekke was the unfortunate bubble boy in 16th, with former Team member weniotto finishing just shy of the money in 17th place.

.hades. made it to the final table as the shortest of short stacks, but he picked a great time to go on a heater, chipping up all the way from about 13,000 chips and 10th of 10 to now sit at a very healthy 149,000, which is good enough for 4th place at the moment! It's looking like we;ll have two former bwin Team members take down big cashes in back to back days, with Wieringen winning €29,000 at the Rigged in Riga live event yesterday, and .hades. is guaranteed at least $20,300 in the Grand Slam Finals (and quite possibly much more).

y_godzilla deserves a special mention for quite the rampage he's been on today, as he finished 10th in the Grand Slam Finals ($13,920) and is currently sitting in 7th place in the ChampionChip! The ChampionChip is down to 11 players, with iuzi the chip leader with 846K, trailed by MstrSplintr with 624K.

10:38 PM CST

And that's a wrap, for both the GSOP Grand Slam Finals and the ChampionChip. OVOVIVIPAROS prevailed in the Grand Slam Finals, collecting a huge payday of $156,000 when he got the better of Sompas in heads-up action (who took home a not-too-shabby $104,000 himself for finishing 2nd). .hades. finished the day in 6th, good for $30,160, so chalk up another big score for a former bwin team member.

Over in the ChampionChip it was loureedfan who Sweet Jane-d his way to the victory, pocketing a tidy $53,756 for 1st place, with zulugr finishing runner-up for $36,548.

The GSOP series definitely saved the best for last, with the final event of the regular series -- GSOP #15 -- getting underway on Sunday. The $525 buy-in NLHE event featured a monstrous $750,000 prizepool, which meant that the winner would take home just over $150,000 for their efforts, plus a $5,000 entry to the GSOP Grand Slam Finals; not a bad payday at all for playing poker all day on a Sunday!

After a tough and grueling day with the inevitable twists and turns, it was Anthon.D who scratched and clawed his way to the victory, grabbing a $5,000 entry to the GSOP Grand Slam Finals but, much more importantly, collecting $150,275 for his big win. sak31 would finish in the runner-up position, something that's always slightly disappointing but a lot less so when you win $92,380 for finishing 2nd. Below are the top ten finishers, along with the big paydays for everyone who made the final table:

1. Anthon.D - $150,275
2. sak31 - $92,380
3. Mr. Schneid - $59,600
4. sebokoo - $44,700
5. WooooTe - $29,800
6. luckylukeKK - $22,350
7. dacocor x - $14,900
8. Free.Choice - $12,665
9. Michellle88 - $10,430
10. kehmkz - $8,195

With just a few GSOP events remaining, GSOP #14 on Saturday gave LHE fans a chance to make some noise, as GSOP #14 was a $320 LHE tourney that saw 245 runners sign up, generating a prize pool of $73,500. Like most LHE tournies, action was slow to get going but once the blinds and antes started to eat into players' stacks the pace was fast and furious, as even average-stacked players had to basically pick a hand and go with it.

The final table featured two very familiar faces from the bwin Team, with billybillard and MickeMusxxx both making the final table. They'd finish 9th and 10th, respectively, but a nice showing from each, especially considering that billybillard was still recovering from festivities the night before and sat out the first hour of the tournament!

x_Brennan would emerge victorious when the final chip was stacked, taking down $22,125 + a $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals entry for his win, with miikkuel settling for 2nd place and $10,960. Below are the top ten finishers in GSOP #14, along with their winnings:

1. x_Brennan - $22,125
2. miikkuel - $10,960
3. Nase66 x - $6,850
4. muggi221 - $4,658
5. -Angelok- - $3,288
6. stanovitch - $2,877
7. king.k1 - $2,329
8. funplayer85 - $1,918
9. billybillard - $1,507
10. MickeMusxxx - $1,233

billybillard has had a few tastes of the the high life with the bwin Team. Isn't it time to take YOUR shot and win a trip to the upcoming Aussie Millions event?

With just a few events remaining on the GSOP schedule, players hoping for a big score are running out of time. GSOP #12 and GSOP #13 saw two new players notch victories (and claim entries to the $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals), with big finishes in both events for some other familiar faces.

GSOP #12 featured one last shot for Omaha fans to make their mark, with 522 players battling it out in the PLO rebuy event. With $76,200 in the prize pool, they had plenty to play for. Former Team member indrich played his way to a very respectable 12th place finish, and Sidebet leader Jukka S. (who has notched his own win during this GSOP series to also play his way into the $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals) had another deep run, finishing in 25th.

In the end it was hellchek who prevailed, collecting nearly $18,000 + a $5,000 GSO Grand Slam Finals ticket for his efforts.

1. hellchek - $17,800 + $ 5.000 GSOP Grand Slam Ticket
2. Gamboola - $10,680
3. Marriann1 - $6,408
4. _manfred_ - $4,557
5. bialy3 x - $3,133
6. domiN06 - $2,350

The next day was GSOP #13, which was a $200 NLHE format, with one rebuy and add-on allowed. 1196 players turned out for this one, fighting for a hopefully big piece of the $400,000 prize pool that was up for grabs.

Several former Team members were deep in the hunt in this one, wit naztyclown finishing 26th ($ 2,000) and efroni1 battling his way to the final table, where he'd finally bow out in 6th ($11,850). It was _Saapasmono who'd prove to be no sap at the final table, besting the field to take down 1st place and a huge payday of $83,345 + a $5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Finals entry.

1. _Saapasmono - $83,345 + $ 5,000 GSOP Grand Slam Ticket
2. grudathorn - $51,350
3. Jimmyli - $32,390
4. FlaXmarZ - $23,700
5. Stingerben - $15,800
6. efroni1 - $ 11,850
7. MarieTeVole - $7,900
8. tycrenn - $7,110
9. kopp92 - $5,530
10. husseinAA - $4,345

efroni1 danced his way to a $11,850 payday in GSOP #13