Espen Jorstad has captured his third WCOOP title in the $1,050 PKO Warm-Up on PokerStars, rallying from a major heads up deficit and adding another online trophy to his record
Espen Jorstad flipped the script at the final table of the WCOOP 02-H: $1,050 PKO Warm-Up, storming back from a four-to-one chip disadvantage to seize his third World Championship of Online Poker title and a combined payout of $33,250. The Norwegian pro, now based in the United Kingdom, outmaneuvered 154 entrants and delivered a clinical finish that left his heads up opponent, realsuhisjii of Finland, with no path to recovery.
Final Table Breakdown
Jorstad, playing under the alias "SamSolverel," pocketed $14,359 for first place and an additional $18,891 in bounties, underscoring the high-stakes volatility of progressive knockout formats. The final table featured a mix of established online regulars and emerging talent, with Ukraine’s drew.derzh and Sweden’s mamamama70 rounding out the top four. Notably, Leonard "Grozzorg" Maue of Austria finished sixth, collecting $5,759 in total, while Brazilian hopeful Joao "Jbiancolini" Biancolini exited in eighth, unable to add to Brazil’s already impressive WCOOP tally for the year.
Jorstad’s victory was not a foregone conclusion. Heads up, he faced a daunting chip deficit but managed a pivotal double-up when his king-queen outkicked realsuhisjii’s king-jack. The momentum shifted decisively after Jorstad rivered a straight with ace-four, and he closed out the match by value-betting ace-king on all streets, ultimately outdrawing his opponent’s turned two pair. The final hand left no doubt about the outcome or the skill gap at play.
GTO Wizard and the Online Edge
Since becoming the first GTO Wizard Pro in 2023, Jorstad has leveraged the solver brand’s tools to sharpen his online game, a fact reflected in his consistent results across major series. GTO Wizard, now joined by ambassadors like Dan "Jungleman" Cates, Samuel Mullur, Shiina Okamoto, and Joey Ingram, has positioned itself as a leading resource for players seeking to apply Game Theory Optimal strategy in both live and online settings. The platform’s rapid ascent mirrors Jorstad’s own trajectory, with both the player and the product now synonymous with high-level poker preparation.
Jorstad’s WCOOP record is now spread across three years and two screen names. His first two titles came under the username "Hymn2Ninkasi" in 2023 and 2024, with the latest win marking his first major score as "SamSolverel." The $1,050 PKO Warm-Up is one of the early events in the 2026 WCOOP schedule, which runs through September 30, giving Jorstad ample opportunity to further extend his lead among GTO Wizard ambassadors and the broader online poker elite.
Numbers and Context
The $1,050 PKO Warm-Up drew 154 entries, generating a $154,000 prize pool. Jorstad’s $33,250 haul included both the main prize and accumulated bounties, a structure that rewards aggressive play and deep runs. For comparison, his previous WCOOP victories netted $122,371 in 2023’s $3,150 PKO Sunday Warm-Up and $32,459 in 2024’s $1,050 NLHE Turbo. The WCOOP series remains a proving ground for online specialists, with each event offering a distinct mix of field size, buy-in, and payout structure. As seen in recent coverage of live tournament results, the online circuit continues to attract top-tier talent and deliver unpredictable outcomes.
What This Win Means
Jorstad’s comeback and third WCOOP title reinforce the reality that online poker’s elite are defined not just by technical skill, but by adaptability under pressure and the ability to exploit shifting dynamics at the table. The presence of solver-backed preparation is now a baseline expectation at the highest levels, and Jorstad’s results validate the investment in advanced study tools. For the broader player pool, the message is clear: the online landscape is more competitive than ever, and the margin for error continues to shrink as top players push the boundaries of optimal play. Jorstad’s performance is a direct challenge to anyone still relying on outdated strategies or hoping for variance to carry them through. In today’s online poker environment, preparation and execution are inseparable from success.
Progressive knockout (PKO) tournaments like the WCOOP 02-H structure payouts so that a portion of each buy-in funds bounties on every player’s head. When a player eliminates an opponent, they claim a share of that bounty, with the remainder added to their own bounty value. This format incentivizes aggressive play and can lead to significant variance in final payouts, as seen in Jorstad’s $18,891 bounty haul. Understanding PKO dynamics is essential for anyone aiming to compete at the highest levels of online tournament poker, as both risk management and bounty accumulation directly impact a player’s bottom line.
