Espen Jorstad wins third WCOOP title on PokerStars

GTO Wizard ambassador Espen Jorstad claimed victory in the WCOOP 02-H: $1,050 PKO Warm-Up 2024 tournament and secured his third WCOOP title.

Espen Jorstad, GTO Wizard ambassador, wins his third WCOOP title Espen Jorstad’s victory in WCOOP 02-H: $1,050 PKO Warm-Up Norwegian pro Espen Jorstad, playing under the nickname "SamSolverel", once again proved his top-level skills by winning one of the first events of the 2024 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) series on PokerStars. In the WCOOP 02-H: $1,050 PKO Warm-Up tournament, Jorstad outlasted 154 opponents to claim his third career WCOOP title. For first place, Jorstad received $14,359 in prize money, plus $18,891 in bounties — bringing his total winnings to $33,250. This success marks a great start to the series, which runs until September 30, and gives him the chance to add even more WCOOP titles to his collection in the coming weeks. Final table showdown: comeback against realsuhisjii In heads-up play, Espen Jorstad faced off against the Finnish player "realsuhisjii". At the start of the duel, Jorstad was down four to one in chips, but managed to turn things around. The key hand came when his opponent held king-jack, while Jorstad had king-queen. Thanks to his stronger kicker, Jorstad doubled up, and then, holding ace-four, made a straight on the river to take the lead. After Jorstad took the lead, he played a hand with ace-king, three-betting preflop and continuing his aggression on every street. On the river, having made two pair, he went all-in. His opponent called with two pair (king-seven), but Jorstad’s hand was stronger, securing him the tournament victory. Finalists and prize payouts The final table featured players from various countries. Austrian poker player Leonard "Grozzorg" Maue finished sixth, earning a total of $5,759 including bounties. Brazilian Joao "Jbiancoloni" Biancolini, despite the strong performance of his countrymen this year (Brazil already has five wins in the series), finished in eighth place for $4,727. WCOOP 02-H: $1,050 PKO Warm-Up final table results 1st place: Espen "SamSolverel" Jorstad — $14,359 + $18,891 (bounties) = $33,250 2nd place: realsuhisjii — (amount not specified in the original) 6th place: Leonard "Grozzorg" Maue — $5,759 (including bounties) 8th place: Joao "Jbiancoloni" Biancolini — $4,727 Full prize information for the other finalists is not provided in the original article. Espen Jorstad’s career and achievements Espen Jorstad is well known in the poker community for his success in both online and live tournaments. His biggest claim to fame came with his victory in the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event, with a $10,000 buy-in, where he outlasted 8,663 players to become world champion. Jorstad also consistently demonstrates a high level of play online. In 2023, he became the first professional ambassador for the training platform GTO Wizard, which specializes in game theory optimal (GTO) strategy. Since then, the ambassador team has grown to include such well-known players as Dan "Jungleman" Cates (signed in 2025), Samuel Mullur, Shiina Okamoto, and popular poker content creator Joey Ingram. GTO Wizard quickly became a leader among poker training services, providing tools for hand analysis and skill improvement for players of all levels. Espen Jorstad’s WCOOP titles Currently, Jorstad is a three-time WCOOP champion. His first two victories came under the nickname "Hymn2Ninkasi". 1st WCOOP title — as "Hymn2Ninkasi" 2nd WCOOP title — as "Hymn2Ninkasi" 3rd WCOOP title — as "SamSolverel" (WCOOP 02-H: $1,050 PKO Warm-Up, 2024) What this means for PPPoker club players Espen Jorstad’s victory in a progressive knockout (PKO) event at WCOOP is a great example of how modern analysis and training tools like GTO Wizard help players succeed at all levels. For PPPoker club members, it’s proof that ongoing study and work on your game can deliver real results, even in the most competitive tournaments. The PKO format, where part of the prize pool is distributed as bounties for knocking out opponents, is becoming increasingly popular on PPPoker as well. By studying hands and strategies of top players like Jorstad, club members can improve their decision-making in bounty tournaments and boost their own results. Moreover, the success of professionals in major online series serves as great motivation for players of all levels: even a relatively small field, as in this tournament (154 players), gives you the chance to showcase your strengths and compete for substantial prizes. The key is to keep improving and make use of modern training resources.