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The Main Event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker was played to completion last night and the player to finally emerge victorious was Thomas “Kallllle” Pedersen. Pedersen survived a field of 1,627 competitors that whittled itself down to 176 by Day 2, earning his first WCOOP bracelet and a stunning $1.26 million in the process.

Pedersen was a force to be reckoned with in later stages of the tournament, maintaining the chip lead throughout the final table and personally knocking out six of the final table players. The final five decided on a deal in which Pedersen received $1.1 million, with an additional $100k set aside for his win.

The completion of the event also solidified Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah’s position as one of the most successful overall players of the WCOOP. Leah ended in third place, winning $560k and adding to a number of other victories and deep runs booked earlier in the tournament series.

Other noteworthy online poker pros that made it deep into the money bubble included Niki “RealAndyBeal” Jedlicka, Dani “supernova9″ Stern, Tom Marchese, Terrence Chan, Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen and Luke Schwartz.

Second place belonged to Vojtech “Vojta_R” Ruzicka. Pedersen had an enormous chip advantage when heads up play began and the gap only widened from there. On the final hand, Ruzicka held 3-3, which wasn’t enough to hold up to Pedersen’s A-10 given a 10-9-2 flop. The turn and river provided no help to either player, solidifying Pedersen’s win. Ruzicka earned $710k for his impressive performance.

The biggest heartbreaker for fans had to be Eugene Katchalov. Widely considered one of the best players in the world in terms of pure skill, Katchalov was competing for bracelets in both the Main Event and the $10k 8-Game High Roller on the same day. Although Katchalov only made it to 66th in the Main Event, he did manage to take the runner-up spot in the 8-Game tournament.

As the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker continues to wrap up, high stakes cash games at the site continue in full force. Although the most famous nose-bleeds regulars such as Ilari Sahamies and Viktor Blom were largely absent this past week, a few slightly lesser-known players managed to gather significant boosts for their bankrolls.

The biggest winner of the week overall was Benny “toweliestar” Spindler, who earned just over half a million dollars playing an astoundingly prolific week of online poker: 25,601 hands spread across a staggering 256 sessions. Rafael Amit had an impressive week as well, earning nearly $272k playing 11,683 hands across 96 sessions. Rounding out the top three was the unidentified !P0krparty¡, who won $257k after playing 117 sessions comprising 15,814 hands.

!P0krparty¡ was a brand new addition to the high-stakes scene this past week, building his bankroll quickly in $10 / $20 PLO. Following a massive hot streak, he brought his profits up to the $50 / $100 stake level and engaged in 14,780 hands over the course of 36 hours, winning $247k of his weekly profits in a single lengthy sitting.

Although it is known that !P0krparty¡ hails from Canada, his actual identity remains unknown. Rail birds are speculating that he may be a former Full Tilt player named Harry Kaczka, otherwise known as ugotabanana. He apparently has the skills to back up his newfound fame, as he took down a $112k pot against socutiesf and a $102k against Davin “mTw-DaviN,” all within the same week.

The worst players of the week were also some of the most famous. Niki “RealAndyBeal” Jedlicka played 50 sessions and 2,089 hands to lose $229k, making him the biggest loser of the week. Rui Cao and Jens Kyllonen didn’t fair much better, losing $205k and $196k, respectively.

I guess when you’re hot you’re hot! On Saturday one of the players who will be in Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker Main Event final table in November, where the winner will receive nearly $9 million, walked away as the champion of the WPT Malta Main Event.

Matt Gianetti’s payday for his win in Malta was far less than he received simply for making the WSOP final table, but it should serve notice to the rest of the field that the US poker pro known mainly for his cash-game prowess, is definitely a force to reckon with come early November.

Gianetti was just one of a number of high-profile entrants in the WPT Malta Main Event, with the likes of Ike Haxton, Justin Bonomo, Tony G, and Phil Hellmuth all making the trek to the small island nation to partake in the WPT event. The final table lineup proved to be full of dangerous participants as well, as Gianetti was joined by long-time UK poker pro Simon Trumper, and up and coming stars like Tristan Clemencon and Cecelia Pescaglini, who dominated the action almost from the outset of the tournament before finally meeting her match in the form of Matt Gianetti who defeated her in heads-up play.

Here is a look at the final table payouts from the tournament:

1. Matt Giannetti — $273,200
2. Cecilia Pescaglini — $159,412
3. Filippo Bianchini — $104,936
4. Simon Trumper — $72,985
5. Tristan Clemencon — $54,381
6. Fabien Sartoris — $41,977
7. Christofer Williamson — $31,486
8. Mats Karlson — $22,894

After six total days of exciting action at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open has come to a close. Day 5 (there were two Day 1 starting flights) began with six players all vying for the title and a grand prize of $922k, spoils that would ultimately go to Bobby Oboodi after just 138 hands.

The first elimination went to Ricky Hale, who entered the day in 5th place. Hale pushed all-in against Oboodi with A-10 offsuit, and a 10 on the flop enhanced his chances of victory. Oboodi was holding A-K suited, however, and the turn brought a K and the win for Oboodi. Hale received $186k for his 6th place finish.

Oboodi was responsible for the second elimination as well. Oboodi held K-K on the 67th hand against Darren Elias’s J-J. The all-red board provided no help to either player and Elias left almost $231k richer.

The trend continued. Fred Goldberg pushed all-in with 10-9, hoping to capitalize on the 9-7-6 board. Oboodi called with A-9 suited, giving him the top pair and a better kicker. Both the turn and the river fell dead, sending Goldberg to the rail with $281k.

Dan Buzgon was at the receiving end of the third-place elimination. Jin Hwang went to showdown with A-K suited against Buzgon’s 7-7. Hwang managed to finish a Broadway straight on the flop and the turn, leaving Buzgon with $335k.

On the final hand, Oboodi held Q-2 suited while Hwang brought K-J offsuit. Oboodi was four to a flush after the flop, a hand that he completed on the river. Hwang left in second place with $554k.

Throughout the poker world the US Attorney Preet Bharara has come under quite a bit of fire for terming Full Tilt Poker a “Global Ponzi Scheme” in the amended complaint filed this week. While almost to a man the poker world feels Full Tilt Poker is guilty of negligence and in some cases fraud, the use of the term Ponzi scheme has been seen as a leaving major black eye on the entire poker industry.

On Thursday two attorneys were quoted in the Wall Street Journal, one representing Full Tilt Poker and the other representing Chris Ferguson, , both of whom dismissed the idea that Full Tilt Poker was run like a Ponzi scheme.

Here is a look at what Full Tilt Poker attorney Jeff Ifrah was quoted as saying in the WSJ:

“A Ponzi scheme requires an investment vehicle in order to receive a certain rate of high return,” Jeff Ifrah, one of Full Tilt Poker’s attorneys, said. “None of those things happened here.” Ifrah says Full Tilt Poker “should be likened to that of a problematic bank, rather than an illegal investment scheme.”

While Ian Imrich, who is representing Chris Ferguson, was quoted by the WSJ as saying:

“While the government has obviously taken issue with the underlying activities of FTP, under any reasonable interpretation, the world-wide operations of the online cardroom are not a so-called Ponzi scheme.”

While the exact definition has not been meant in this instance, it’s hard to argue Full Tilt Poker did not have the basic foundational traits of a Ponzi scheme during the lead-up and immediate aftermath of Black Friday.