WCOOP 2013: The parade of heroes

 The World Championship of Online Poker is over for another year having paid out a guarantee-busting $62,362,757. It's been a hell of a series lasting 66 tournaments and three weeks of play. Some players have confirmed their class while others have emerged from the masses as possible stars of the future. Where better to start than with the $10,665,000 Main Event.

PlayinWasted, online World champ 
WCOOP-66: $5,200 Main Event

The first (very expensive) hat tip has to go to WCOOP Main Event champ PlayinWasted. The German low stakes grinder's previous largest PokerStars win had been $17,000. The $1,493,499 they collected for their World Champion title has boosted their bankroll considerably, to put it lightly, so keep an eye out for PlainWasted in bigger buy-in comps going forward.

If you want to see how PlayinWasted took down that enormous first prize then watch the WCOOP Main Event final table below with commentary from Nick Wealthall and reigning EPT Grand Final Champion Steve O'Dwyer.

Ankush "Pistons87" Mandavia proves his mettle again 
WCOOP-58: $530 NLHE (1R/1A)

Ankush "Pistons87" Mandavia has increasingly been one of those players that you really, really, really want to fade in a heads-up or short-handed tournaments. He won his first WCOOP in 2011 in the $10,300 Heads-Up High Roller for $119,000 having beaten Daniel Negreanu in the semi-finals. He's since won a four-max SCOOP title for more than $100,000 and won two heads-up tournaments on the EPT last season sealing his claim on the EPT9 Heads-Up Player of the Year title. This time round he went for regular full-ring glory.