It started in Brazil with a man who turned $27 into $110,000. Before we could blink, the phenomenon had moved to Hungary where $82 became more than $12,000. Next was Australia and $215 exploding to $58,000. Then it bounced back to Germany for an $82 into $47,000 score.

This is how the Turbo Championship of Online Poker works. At dinner, you have a little money. Before bed, you have a heck of a lot more. It's the fastest championship series in online poker, and it began yesterday afternoon with a historic three-phase kickoff that drew more than 53,000 players. The winner, Brazil's Helio "hneves182" Neves, made $110,000 in the span of just a few hours.

As always, the PokerStars Blog is reporting on every TCOOP final table, no matter how fast it goes.

Events are running now. See the TCOOP homepage for a full schedule.

For a complete catch-up on the first winners of the 2016 TCOOP series, see the results below. You can click on any of the headlines to read a full wrap-up of the final tables.

TCOOP-01 ($27 NL Hold'em, 6-Max, Turbo) results
Entrants: 53,311 
Total prize pool: $1,500,000.00

Places paid: 7,044

1. Helio "hneves182" Neves (Brazil) $111,000.00
2. acemaKerface (United Kingdom) $80,850.00
3. soso74sos (Romania) $53,760.00
4. topgold1 (Romania) $27,990.00
5. doungara (Greece) $16,050.00
6. stsnitro (Russia) $10,245.00

TCOOP-02 ($82 NL Omaha Hi-Lo, 6-Max, Turbo) results

Entrants: 1,649 
Total prize pool: $123,675.00

Places paid: 216

1. rekri (Hungary) $12,717.66*
2. Shtopol' (Ukraine) $10,017.82*
3. isDatLekker? (Netherlands) $11,439.90*

4. Nopaleva (Russia) $13,304.68*

5. ouchbadbeat (United Kingdom) $11,142.72*
6. homasapiens (Poland) $3,091.87
*Reflects the results of a five-way deal that left $1,000 in play for the winner

TCOOP-03 ($215 NL Hold'em, Turbo Progressive Ultra-Knockout) results
Entrants: 4,250
Regular prize pool: $212,500.00
Bounty prize pool: $637,500.00
Places paid: 540

1. ugritaly (Australia) $33,363.40 + $24,591.48
2. ToTall4Y (Germany) $24,862.50 + $23,458.01
3. Bigdaft (United Kingdom) $17,531.25 + $3,683.19
4. ViDss (Brazil) $12,218.75 + $3,893.09
5. Borjomi1970 (Russia) $9,031.25 + $9,387.52
6. actaml (Poland) $6,906.25 + $1,403.90
7. plokker292 (Netherlands) $4,781.25 + $7,302.80
8. drygo 1 (Norway) $2,656.25 + $8,136.88
9. bobix12 (Poland) $1,700.00 + $4,247.13

TCOOP-04 ($82 NL Hold'em, Turbo) results
Entrants: 4,026
Total prize pool: $301,950
Places paid: 540

1. makarios007 (Germany) $47,408.76
2. deepbluer (Canada) $35,238.15
3. VeromosAA (Israel) $23,910.87
4. B4NKR0LL3R (United Kingdom) $17,362.12
5. MonsieurRask (United Kingdom) $12,832.87
6. wrx2no (Australia) $9,813.37
7. reijomo (Finland) $6,793.87
8. kymatoz8814 (Russia) $3,774.37
9. Heintje8 (Netherlands) $2,415.60

Watching the electrifying accelerated action of TCOOP on the sidelines is akin to standing on a balcony overlooking a windy cobblestone street during the San Fermin festival's annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain...from your vantage point, you're destined to see a several serious wipeouts as a thunderous herd of jacked-up bulls try to trample thousands of thrill-seeking tourists.

It's not even the end of the first day of action, and we've seen four all-out sprints to the finish in the 2016 Turbo Championship of Online Poker a.k.a. TCOOP. The fourth and final TCOOP of the day saw its final table set in only 4 hours and 20 minutes, and the entire final table was wrapped up in twenty minutes... quite a feat considering the 4,000+ person field.

Germany's makarios007 rallied late to prevent MonsieurRask (United Kingdom) from running over the final table. Despite only starting the final table in the middle of the pack, makarios007 picked off six players at the final table including the final four en route to a turbo-charged victory in Event #4.

2016 TCOOP Event #04 $82 NL attracted 4,026 players. They created a prize pool worth $301,950, which surpassed the 200K guarantee. Only the top 540 places paid out with $47,408.76 set aside for the champion.

PokerStars Team Online mement_mori went the deepest out of anyone from PokerStars Team Pro or Team Online. mement_mori busted with [Ks][8c] against Slaminan's [Ac][Jh]. Neither player improved when the board finished up [Qs][9h][4c][Th][6d], but Slaminan won the pot with Ace-high. mement_mori went out in 221st place and took home $211.36.

With 2 tables to go MonsieurRask (UK) led with 2.5M. 1morepls bubbled off the final table when [Kd][Jh] got run down by MonsieurRask's [Td][8h]. A ten on the flop sent 1morepls out in tenth place.

TCOOP 2016 - Event #4 Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: reijomo (956,704)
Seat 2: makarios007 (2,302,182)
Seat 3: MonsieurRask (6,210,858)
Seat 4: B4NKR0LL3R (2,324,582)
Seat 5: Heintje8 (662,087)
Seat 6: wrx2no (1,235,768)
Seat 7: kymatoz8814 (975,602)
Seat 8: deepbluer (1,545,559)
Seat 9: VeromosAA (3,916,658)

The final table began during Level 47 with blinds at 125K/250K and a 32.5K ante. MonsieurRask held the lead with 6.2M, but three players held short stacks under 1M: Heintje8, reijomo and kymatoz8814.

STATION TO STATION: Heintje8 eliminated in 9th place

Second hand. That's how short it took before one of the shorties busted. Heintje8 shoved all-in for 599,587 with [Ad][6h] and was trying to double up against makarios007 [Ac][Qs]. The Queen on the flop sunk Heintje8 and the board finished up [Qh][Jd][6c][3h][3c]. makarios007 won the pot with Aces up. Holland's Heintje8 became the first player to bust at the final table. Ninth place paid out $2,415.60.

WORD ON A WING: kymatoz8814 eliminated in 8th place

Another short stack bowed out in the first orbit at the final table. kymatoz8814 opened to 1,650,000, makarios007 shoved for 2,339,269, and kymatoz8814 called all-in for 438,250. kymatoz8814 led with [Kh][Kc] against makarios007's [Ah][Qd]. However, makarios007 flopped a pair of Queens and turned Aces up to win the pot. The board ran out [Qs][4h][3c][Ac][6c] and kymatoz8814's pocket Kings were snapped off. Russia's kymatoz8814 was dunzo in 8th place, which paid out $3,774.37.

CAN YOU HEAR ME: reijomo eliminated in 7th place

Short-stacked reijomo was all-in for 393K with [Ah][8d] but got picked off by B4NKR0LL3R's [Ac][Js]. The board finished up [Jh][8h][2s][5h][9c] and B4NKR0LL3R won the pot with a pair of Jacks. For a seventh-place payday, reijomo won $6,793.87.

SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME: wrx2no eliminated in 6th place

MonsieurRask open-shoved for 2,286,276 and short wrx2no called all-in for 884,036. MonsieurRask trailed with [Qc][Td] against wrx2no's [Kd][7d]. However, the board ran out [As][5s][4c][Qs][3s]. MonsieurRask turned a pair of Queens to win the pot. Australia's wrx2no busted in sixth place, which paid out $9,813.37.

With five left in the hunt... makarios007 led with 5.4M and VeromosAA was last with 2.9M.

WILD IS THE WIND: MonsieurRask eliminated in 5th place

MonsieurRask got crippled in 8.6M pot when [As][2s] lost B4NKR0LL3R's [Ah][Kc].

MonsieurRask busted a couple hands later with against makarios007's [9s][8d]. makarios007 flopped two pair and rivered a full house when the board finished up [Kd][9c][8h][Jc][8c]. MonsieurRask failed to improve and makarios007 dragged the pot. For a fifth-place finish, MonsieurRask won $12,832.87.

With four to go... B4NKR0LL3R led with 8.5M followed by makarios007 (5.6M), deepbluer (3.2M), and VeromosAA (2.7M).

FASCINATION: B4NKR0LL3R eliminated in 4th place

Big shot vs. small shot. Big-stacked makarios007 min-raised to 1M, B4NKR0LL3R shoved for 1.2M with [Ts][7h], and makarios007 called with [Ks][9s]. The baord ran out [Ad][Kh][2s][6s][4d] and makarios007 won the pot with a pair of Kings. B4NKR0LL3R never improved and busted in fourth place, which paid out $17,362.12.

With three remaining... makarios007 held an impressive lead with 13.6M, while VeromosAA was second with 4.7M and deepbluer trailed with 1.7M.

GOLDEN YEARS: VeromosAA eliminated in 3rd place

Short-stacked VeromosAA was all in for last 651,108. VeromosAA failed to triple up with [Td][9s] against makarios007's [Kd][9d] (and deepbluer folded at showdown). VeromosAA flopped an open-ended straight draw, but whiffed on the turn and the river. The board finished up [8d][Jc][2h][5d][Ks] and makarios007 won the pot with a pair of Kings. VeromosAA was knocked out in third place, which paid out $24,910.87.

HEADS-UP: makarios007 (Germany) vs. deepbluer (Canada)
Seat 2: makarios007 (14,265,528)
Seat 8: deepbluer (5,864,472)

With two remaining... deepbluer trailed nearly 3-1. Heads up only lasted 12 hands and makarios007 won 9 out of the last 10 en route to a quick victory in this turbo-charged atmosphere.

FAME: deepbluer eliminated in second place; Germany's makarios007 wins Event #4

Going into the final hand, makarios007 held almost 19M in chips and deepbluer was down to 1.1M. makarios007 min-raised, deepbluer shoved for 1.1M, and makarios007 called. makarios007 led with [Qh][6s] versus deepbluer's [6h][5s]. The board finished up [Js][8h][2h][Ts][Jd]. Neither player improved but makarios007 won the pot with a pair of Jacks and a Queen-high kicker. Alas, deepbluer busted in second place.

Canada's deepbluer won $35,328.15 for a runner-up performance.

Germany's makarios007 won Event #4 on the opening day of TCOOP. First place paid out $47,408.76.

TCOOP-04 ($82 NL Hold'em, Turbo) results
Entrants: 4,026
Total prize pool: $301,950
Places paid: 540

1. makarios007 (Germany) $47,408.76
2. deepbluer (Canada) $35,238.15
3. VeromosAA (Israel) $23,910.87
4. B4NKR0LL3R (United Kingdom) $17,362.12
5. MonsieurRask (United Kingdom) $12,832.87
6. wrx2no (Australia) $9,813.37
7. reijomo (Finland) $6,793.87
8. kymatoz8814 (Russia) $3,774.37
9. Heintje8 (Netherlands) $2,415.60

Pauly McGuire is a freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

Finishing first may get you the prestige of winning a TCOOP event but for those with money on their minds, going for the bounties raked in the win. The $600,000.00 guarantee was demolished 11 minutes into play as a final tally of 4,250 would play for a total of $850,000.00. Due to the nature of Event #3's Progressive Ultra-Knockout payout, only one-fourth of that went to the regular prize pool ($212,500.00) as the rest ($637,500.00) was place on the top of everyone's heads. The top dog, ugritaly, would collect $33,363.40 and the largest amount of bounties ($24,591.48) while claiming the TCOOP 2015 Event #3 victory.

The regular money bubble burst one minute after the second hourly break as noctraen (Denmark) would settle for the $431.25 in collected bounties. The remaining 540 players would play for the side pot containing a not-so-little $33,363.40 sitting up top for the champ.

Out of the four players striving for the PokerStars Grand Slam, only Andrey "Kroko-dill" Zaichenko dared to try his luck. Unfortunately, the WCOOP, SCOOP, EPT Prague High Roller, and Sunday Million champ would need to wait an hour or so for the next TCOOP event to start up after collecting a single bounty before retiring.

Laurynas "LaurisL91" Levinskas with a SCOOP final table to his credit (2014 Event #6-H) would come one table short from adding a TCOOP final after finishing in 17th place ($637.50 and $5,624.98 in bounties).

A furious run of eliminations brought hand-for-hand play right before the fourth hourly break. On the third to last hand before the break with the blinds up to 60K/120K ante 15K CHIQUIDEALER tried to snag the blinds away from the table chip leader Borjomi1970 with a shove from the small blind. Borjomi1970 was up to the task, calling with [Ac][Th] and dominating CHIQUIDEALER's [Td][Jh]. The jack-less board [Qs] [2c] [4h] [Ts] [Qd] sent Borjomi1970 to the final table with the largest bounty:

Seat 1: ToTall4Y (3187448 in chips)
Seat 2: Bigdaft (1123662 in chips)
Seat 3: plokker292 (2255721 in chips)
Seat 4: actaml (1454316 in chips)
Seat 5: Borjomi1970 (4929207 in chips)
Seat 6: bobix12 (1610954 in chips)
Seat 7: ViDss (1498357 in chips)
Seat 8: drygo 1 (2577176 in chips)
Seat 9: ugritaly (2613159 in chips)

Eight hands in, as there is no time to waste in the TCOOP, bobix12, drygo 1, and ToTall4Y, covering all bets, would shove preflop creating a 4.8 million chip pot. If the name sounds familiar ToTall4Y was at the Super Tuesday final table two days ago earning $22K in sixth place. Might be a larger payday at the TCOOP as ToTall4Y's [Qd][As] managed to side-step drygo 1's big slick [Ad][Kc] and bobix12's [7s][9s] on the [Qh] [6c] [7c] [Td] [6d] board to eliminate bobix12 in ninth ($1,700.00 and $4,247.13 in bounties) and drygo 1 in eighth ($2,625.25 and $8,136.88).

Four minutes later with the blinds up to 80K/160K ante 20K ToTall4Y would go three for three in collecting bounties. Plokker292, who held the chip lead for most of hours two and three, shoved for a meager 206,562. Borjomi1970 would three-bet to 320,000 as ToTall4Y shut down Borjoni1970 with a shove for 6.7 million. Pocket nines [9c][9s] for the chip leader would safely cross the [Jd] [2h] [4s] [6h] [Kd] board as plokker292's [Ts][Ah] was forced to leave in seventh place ($4,781.25 and $7,302.80 in bounties).

Three hands later Bigdaft would get in on the action.

Bigdaft nearly claimed a Sunday Warm-Up win in 2014 as the runner-up winning $68K. This hand may boost Bigdaft to a Major win. Going into the [8h][Td][7d] flop with actaml, Bigdaft flopped top pair and a straight draw holding [9d][Th]. But, actaml's top pair, better kicker was ahead after the shortstack shoved. The [8c] did not help but a timely [Jd] on the river connected the straight and disconnected actaml from the table in sixth place ($6,906.25 and $1,403.90 in bounties).

Six hands later ToTall4Y was back and ready to claim bounty number four. With the blinds up to 100K/200K ante 25K Borjomi1970 would toss in 1.67 million over a raise by ToTall4Y. Good cards for Borjomi1970 holding [Qc][Ah] but bad timing as the chip leader turned up big slick [Ks][Ad]. No role reversals on the [6h] [Js] [3c] [8h] [4h] board sent Borjomi1970 home in fifth place ($9,031.25 and $9,387.52 in bounties).

Ten minutes later ugritaly would wrestle the chip lead from ToTall4Y's hands after doubling through Bigdaft then knocking out ViDss two hands later in fourth place ($12,218.75 and $3,893.09 in bounties).

Bigdaft's depleted stack would not allow for much more play. Bigdaft was only two players away from that Major win but came up short. With the blinds up to 150K/300K ante 37.5K Bigdaft would shove from the small blind for 1.85 million as ugritaly made the call with [7h][Qh]. One pip more than Bigdaft's [Jd][Th] as the [6s] [Ac] [3c] [3d] [5c] board crushed Bigdaft's dreams in third place ($17,531.25 and $3,683.19 in bounties).

Ugritaly would start off with a 12.1 million to nine million chip lead but five hands in, ToTall4Y would bring the match nearly all-square after getting called down to the river with a pair of jacks. Three hands after that ToTall4Y would increase the lead after claiming an 8.2 million chip pot with a river shove that ugritaly had no answer for.

But ugritaly was just laying low.

Five hands later ugritaly earned a double-up and four hands later with the lead extended to 14.8 million to 6.4 million, ugritaly was a freshly minted TCOOP champion. Using the weight of the chip lead, ugritaly shoved from the button as ToTall4Y called all-in holding [Ah][Th]. Ugritaly's [5s][6s] was live and alive after a five in the door [5d] [3c] [2c] [3s] [Kh] shipped the TCOOP 2015 Event #3 title earning $33,363.40 plus the whopping $24,591.48 in bounties!

TCOOP-03 ($215 NL Hold'em, Turbo Progressive Ultra-Knockout) results

Entrants: 4,250
Regular prize pool: $212,500.00
Bounty prize pool: $637,500.00
Places paid: 540

1. ugritaly (Australia) $33,363.40 + $24,591.48
2. ToTall4Y (Germany) $24,862.50 + $23,458.01
3. Bigdaft (United Kingdom) $17,531.25 + $3,683.19
4. ViDss (Brazil) $12,218.75 + $3,893.09
5. Borjomi1970 (Russia) $9,031.25 + $9,387.52
6. actaml (Poland) $6,906.25 + $1,403.90
7. plokker292 (Netherlands) $4,781.25 + $7,302.80
8. drygo 1 (Norway) $2,656.25 + $8,136.88
9. bobix12 (Poland) $1,700.00 + $4,247.13

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One of my personal favorite things about TCOOP is how great the series is for helping me put time into perspective. For instance, on a normal day, I'd say that four hours and six minutes isn't really time enough to accomplish anything significant. But today, the first day of TCOOP, I learned me that four hours and six minutes is exactly enough time to win a turbo no-limit Omaha hi-lo tournament. The education was indirect, of course - I'm just the reporter here. It's rekri from Hungary who learned it all firsthand by becoming the champion of TCOOP 2016's second event.

Event #2 kicked off at 2:00 p.m. ET and attracted a field of 1,649 players by the time late registration closed one hour and 15 minutes in. Each was given 5,000 starting chips and the blinds rose every five minutes. Less than an hour after that there were just 216 players left, all guaranteed a payout of at least $129.85. Where moments before the short stacks had clung to their chips, now they started to put them into action. And before the tournament could reach a third break, the field had been reduced to just these six players:

Seat 1: homasapiens (1,208,136 in chips)
Seat 2: rekri (1,153,394 in chips)
Seat 3: Nopaleva (1,822,898 in chips)
Seat 4: ouchbadbeat (801,878 in chips)
Seat 5: Shtopol' (1,625,242 in chips)
Seat 6: isDatLekker? (1,633,452 in chips)

With even the biggest stacks worth just 20 big blinds, nobody had a significant advantage. That could've made things tense, especially since it was a first TCOOP final table for everyone involved, but ouchbadbeat kept things light from the start. The short stack, runner-up in a SCOOP event back in 2013, rattled off a list of shout-outs in the chat box like an Oscar winner and then raised all but 1 chip and typed, "folding to reraise."

Nobody took up the offer, but the action wasn't too long coming. rekri climbed out of the cellar with a scoop after moving in with [Ac] [Kc] [Jh] [2c], falling behind homasapiens's [As] [Kd] [Ts] [5d] on the [Kh] [6c] [5h] flop, and moving back ahead with kings and jacks thanks to the [Jd] on the turn and the harmless [Tc] on the river.

rekri and Shtopol' split a pot two hands later with the nut flush and nut low, respectively. Then homasapiens open-shoved for 524K three hands after that, holding [6d] [4h] [3c] [3d] and looking for a board with some low cards. ouchbadbeat isolated all-in from the small blind and showed down [As] [Ad] [9d] [4d], which held up when the [9s] [Jc] [Qc] [8d] [Kd] kept the pair of aces ahead of the pair of treys. With that, homasapiens was out in 6th place ($3,091.87).

Discussions for a deal followed two hands later, no big surprise given the biggest stack being worth just 19 big blinds. 2015 WCOOP Super High Roller finalist Nopaleva held out for a little more than ICM, asking for $60 more from each player, and even there ouchbadbeat was still entertaining. While the others figured out whether to agree, he typed, "i pay my donation of $60 tribute to putin" (in reference to Nopaleva's Vladimir Putin avatar). Eventually Nopaleva got the extra $60 from everyone, leaving $1,000 and the champion's watch on the table for the winner.

From there it took just eight minutes to bring the tournament to a close. Shtopol' took on Nopaleva immediately when play resumed, moving all-in from the cutoff with [Ac] [Kc] [Qs] [5s]. Nopaleva called in the big blind with [As] [Tc] [9h] [5h] and the board came [8d] '[Jc] [3c] [8s] [3s], leaving no low and making both players' top two cards the kickers to a pair of treys.

Following two split pots, first between rekri and Nopaleva and then isDatLekker? and Shtopol', ouchbadbeat got the chance to take out the player that had exacted "tribute" during the deal. Nopaleva open-shoved for 1.15M with [Ad] [Js] [Jc] [8h] and ouchbadbeat successfully isolated by re-shoving for 1.24M with [Ac] [8c] [6c] [2d], leaving ouchbadbeat with just 86K after the [4s] [Th] [Jd] [5c] [5s] board made no low possible and gave Nopaleva jacks full of fives.

ouchbadbeat survived twice and typed, "expart chip and chair comeback coming. i warn u now." But the first hand the player from the U.K. was dealt after that, [Qc] [6s] [5d] [2d], couldn't pull off the trick. ouchbadbeat shoved with it, Shtopol' called with [7c] [5c] [5s] [3h], and tens and sevens scooped the pot when the board came [Ts] [Tc] [Ad] [Kh] [2s]. That sent ouchbadbeat to the rail in 5th place ($11,142.72).

isDatLekker? doubled up two hands later, shoving with [Ah] [Qs] [Th] [5c] and scooping the 2.59M-chip pot when Nopaleva called with [9d] [7s] [5s] [4d] but couldn't make a hand on the [8h] [3d] [Kc] [8s] [Jd] board. Five hands later Nopaleva called all-in from the big blind with [Ad] [Kh] [Js] [Ts] after rekri shoved in the small blind with [Ah] [7d] [5h] [4d]. Broadway cards and spades could have kept Nopaleva in the game, but the board came [8h] [3d] [6s] [2d] [Qh], rekri scooped the pot with a six-high straight, and Nopaleva departed in 4th place ($13,304.68).

rekri climbed to 3.38M with that pot, providing crucial momentum for the final stretch. The Hungarian player called in the small blind with [Ad] [9d] [7h] [7s] and 1.37M left behind when past WCOOP finalist isDatLekker? shoved from the button with [Ah] [6c] [5c] [3h], but the cushion ended up being unnecessary. The [Qs] [Ac] [Ks] [Js] [Qc] board made both players aces and queens, and rekri's nine kicker was good for the whole 4.35M-chip pot. That knocked isDatLekker? out in 3rd place ($11,439.90).

The heads-up showdown for the last $1,000 and the title lasted a single hand. rekri opened all-in on the button with [As] [9h] [8h] [7d] and was called by Shtopol', who was a slim favorite before the flop with [Ac] [Ks] [9d] [2h]. The [Qs] [7c] [2c] [Ts] [Qc] made two pair for both players, but rekri's queens and sevens took the pot and brought the tournament to a close.

Just four hours and six minutes after putting down $82 for a stack of chips, Shtopol' took $10,017.82 from the deal as the runner-up. And rekri earned $12,717.66, the champion's watch, and a first career TCOOP title to go along with a MicroMillions 7 win in 2014. Congratulations to both players for hanging on until the end!

TCOOP-02 ($82 NL Omaha Hi-Lo, 6-Max, Turbo) results

Entrants: 1,649 
Total prize pool: $123,675.00

Places paid: 216

1. rekri (Hungary) $12,717.66*

2. Shtopol' (Ukraine) $10,017.82*

3. isDatLekker? (Netherlands) $11,439.90*

4. Nopaleva (Russia) $13,304.68*

5. ouchbadbeat (United Kingdom) $11,142.72*

6. homasapiens (Poland) $3,091.87

*Reflects the results of a five-way deal that left $1,000 in play for the winner

The green flag fell on this year's Turbo Championship of Online Poker today, and just a few hours later the checkered flag was being waved to signal the end of the first of 50 fast-paced events on the TCOOP schedule. Event #1, a $27 buy-in, three-phase, six-handed no-limit hold'em tournament, played out in lightning-fast fashion Thursday afternoon, and by the finish it was Brazil's Helio "hneves182" Neves alone in the winner's circle, having claimed a $110,000 first prize.

Hailing from Salvador in Bahia, Brazil, Neves is a familar face on the Latin American Poker Tour, having just final-tabled the LAPT8 Peru Main Event in Lima last July where he finished sixth. Here's the story of how Neves managed to outlast tens of thousands -- including knocking out all five of his final table opponents -- on his way to claiming the first title of this year's TCOOP series.

For this kickoff event, PokerStars added a hefty $1.5 million guarantee to the prize pool, and the whopping 53,311 total entries actually came just a few thousand shy of reaching that amount on their own. Players played their way through two preliminary phases during the days and hours leading up to today's event, with 9,241 of them making it through to today's cinematically titled "Phase 3: The Final Phase."

Most who made it to the final phase would cash, as the $1.5 million prize pool was due to be split between the top 7,044 finishers. Ukraine's Krek2012Karp started the day with the chip lead as the only player to accumulate more than 200,000 chips during Phases 1 and 2.

It only took a half-hour for the money bubble to burst, and less than an hour more for Krek2012Karp to tumble down the counts to finish in 1,762nd for a $165 cash. Shortly after that they were already down to 1,000 players, with Dmaster681 -- winner of a Super Tuesday just last September -- out in front and nearing the 1 million-chip mark.

The field continued to evaporate quickly as many players rushed past Dmaster681 who eventually fell in 141st ($585.00). By the day's three-hour mark there were just 98 players left, with stsnitro the new leader at more than 7.3 million. A little less than an hour after that they were down to 12, gathered around the final two tables, with doungara sitting in first with more than 52 million.

skillstar1 (12th), Paladin_MMM (11th), and skill@work (10th) were the next players out, each earning $5,565 for their finishes. Then Moneystork (ninth), Reiz88 (eighth), and PeroQmaloSoy (seventh) were successively ousted, picking up $7,320 apiece.

With acemaKerface the new frontrunner with more than 68 million and Neves in second position, the final six-handed table was underway.

Seat 1: acemaKerface (United Kingdom) -- 68,638,693
Seat 2: doungara (Greece) -- 35,516,472
Seat 3: stsnitro (Russia) -- 22,467,954
Seat 4: Helio "hneves182" Neves (Brazil) -- 57,044,686
Seat 5: topgold1 (Romania) -- 43,035,631
Seat 6: soso74sos (Romania) -- 43,409,868

It had only taken four hours and 15 minutes to play down from 9,241 players to six. Less than 15 minutes later the last five eliminations would come, all five at the hands of Neves.

The blinds were up to 1.5M/3M, and on just the second hand of the final table the short stack stsnitro raised big to 18 million from the button, Helio "hneves182" Neves reraised all in from the small blind, and stsnitro called all in with the just over 2.5 million left behind. stsnitro had [Ks][7s] and a couple of live cards versus Neves's [Ad][Qc]. But the board came [6c][5s][Tc][Jh][3d] to miss both players, and stsnitro was out in sixth.

Just over an orbit later, doungara open-raised all in for 23,556,217 from the cutoff, Neves reraise-pushed from the button, and the blinds stepped aside. doungara had [Ah][6s] but Neves once again had picked up [As][Qc]. The community cards came [2c][5d][8s][Tc][Ks], and doungara was out in fifth as Neves pushed his now-leading stack up close to 110 million.

The final four would battle on for a short while, long enough for the blinds to increase again to 2M/4M. That's when Neves open-raised all in from under the gun, topgold1 called from a seat over, and the others got out of the way. topgold1 was the one with [Ah][Qh] this time, while Neves had [8d][8c]. The [2d][3d][6d] flop hit neither player, then the [Ad] came on the turn to give topgold1 aces but Neves an unbeatable diamond flush. The [8s] river was no matter, and suddenly they were down to three.

At that soso74sos asked about a deal, but as Neves had over 171 million and close to two-thirds of the chips in play, he said he wasn't interested.

A half-dozen hands later Neves shoved from the button and soso74sos called, and after Neves showed [Tc][7h] and soso74sos [As][Ah], it looked very much like the Neves train was about to be derailed if only for a moment.

But then came the flop -- [9h][6d][3d] -- and turn -- [8s], and just like that Neves had a straight and again his opponent was drawing dead before the river had even been dealt. soso74sos was done in third, while Neves had 237,412,111 versus acemaKerface's 32,701,193 to start heads-up play.

They played four hands, then on the fifth acemaKerface open-pushed all in for about 72 million from the button with [Js][Th] and Neves called in a flash with [Ad][8h]. The flop came [Ah][3d][Jc] to pair both players, then the [Kh] turn provided some extra outs for acemaKerface. But the river was the [3h] and after just under four-and-a-half hours, Phase 3 and the tournament was over with Neves the champion. Like all winners of TCOOP events, Neves gets a gold card capper to go along with his first prize.

Congratulations to Helio "hneves182" Neves, the first winner of this year's TCOOP who takes away a huge $110,000 first prize.

TCOOP-01 ($27 NL Hold'em, 6-Max, Turbo) results

Entrants: 53,311 
Total prize pool: $1,500,000.00

Places paid: 7,044

1. Helio "hneves182" Neves (Brazil) $111,000.00
2. acemaKerface (United Kingdom) $80,850.00
3. soso74sos (Romania) $53,760.00
4. topgold1 (Romania) $27,990.00
5. doungara (Greece) $16,050.00
6. stsnitro (Russia) $10,245.00

Things are just getting started, TCOOP-wise. Check the Turbo Championship of Online Poker site for full details of the remaining events.

Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

We're lucky enough to be able to watch a lot of poker, and more so to see it first hand and close up while reporting from live events like the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which finished last week.

Watching from just a few feet away you see everything: the good plays, the questionable plays, the unforgettable plays, and from everyone from experts to amateurs. I'd like to say it's easy to learn something, but that's not always the case. But you tend to come away with something - resolutions you might call them - particularly at the PCA which comes in the middle of resolution season. It might be to study more, play more, or simply to play better. Whatever it is there's a will to improve.

On that point Team PokerStars Pros have been in similar mood, looking ahead to 2016, but also thinking over what steps you can take to become a better player. There's no trick, and no one piece of advice that will suit all. But we think what follows will help every player, regardless of ability.

We've already featured the thoughts of players like Mickey Petersen, Caio Pessagno and Lex Veldhuis, now is the turn of five more. We asked the same questions that we asked last time around. They were:

1) What goals would you suggest for a beginning player?
2) What goals to set yourself in order to grind a long tournament or poker session?
3) Thinking back to when you started playing poker, what goals do you think led you to becoming pro?
4) What percentage do you feel a beginning player should be playing poker compared to studying poker?
5) What should we avoid when setting our goals so that we have a realistic chance of achieving them?

From such a broad range of players we got a great mix of answers, so there's something to take from each player's perspective, whether you use it at the PCA or in your local home game. Here's what they had to say.

Tyler "frosty012" Frost

Tyler "frosty012" Frost

1. What goals would you suggest for a beginning player?

I would suggest that a beginning player sets a goal of winning at the smallest stakes available in their preferred format and then moving up stakes once they are winning on a regular basis. It's important to start at the bottom and get a feel for how the games are played and hone your skills with similar competition...moving up so that players "respect your raises" may not actually yield the best results for you!

2. What goals to set yourself in order to grind a long tournament or poker session?

My main goal while playing a cash game session is usually to simply play a certain amount of hands. In order to accomplish this, I'll do things like not checking my results while I play so that I don't get too frustrated or complacent with the short term variance. I think that it's important to focus on the things you can control, rather than set a profit goal for example...I wouldn't recommend the latter because great play does not always guarantee great results. I also like to eat before I play a session so that I'm not interrupted by hunger!

3. Thinking back to when you started playing poker, what goals do you think led you to becoming pro?

I think that the main goal of mine that led to me becoming a pro was the goal of being able to play a specific number of hands per month. I think that treating poker like a job and setting a working schedule for yourself can play an important role in finding success as a pro. Also, once I was able to routinely play a certain number of hours or hands per day and tried to take the focus off of the results, I became more comfortable with the variance that accompanies the profession.

4. What percentage do you feel a beginning player should be playing poker compared to studying poker?

I think that I would recommend somewhere around 70% playing and 30% studying. I did most of my learning at the tables, where you can really start to get a sense for what works and what doesn't. That said, there are a lot of resources out there that can range from simply helping you build solid poker fundamentals to taking your game to the next level and I do think it's also important to put in the time away from the tables to improve.

5. What should we avoid when setting our goals so that we have a realistic chance of achieving them?

When setting our main goals, it's important to also set smaller goals that can ultimately help us accomplish our main goal. For example, if what we really want is to move up in stakes, we could set a goal of studying poker for two hours a day to help us get better and indeed make it possible to move up stakes successfully. We want to avoid setting one giant unrealistic goal with no tangible plan of how to reach it.

Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara

Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara

1. What goals would you suggest for a beginning player?

First of all, enjoy the game! Second, enjoy the game! Third, enjoy the game! If you still think poker is fun, then you automatically have interest in learning poker also.

2. What goals to set yourself in order to grind a long tournament or poker session?

When playing tournaments always feel happy. If I win first place, I want to feel it again and again.

3. Thinking back to when you started playing poker, what goals do you think led you to becoming pro?

I just felt so much fun and excitement playing poker. I just wanted to keep playing.

4. What percentage do you feel a beginning player should be playing poker compared to studying poker?

100% playing, 0% studying.

5. What should we avoid when setting our goals so that we have a realistic chance of achieving them?

You should avoid making the goal of making money. We can win money as a result, but you should think money is just the result of the game. Enjoying the game is the most important thing!

Grzegorz "DaWarsaw" Mikielewicz

Grzegorz "DaWarsaw" Mikielewicz

1. What goals would you suggest for a beginning player?

For beginning players I would suggest the goal of accepting the specifics of poker, and not giving in to potential tilt. Only when you take care of that can you fully employ a good poker strategy, and become a winning player.

2. What goals to set yourself in order to grind a long tournament or poker session?

I don't set short term goals. My goal for any given session or tournament is to undertake correct (in terms of my strategy) decisions in every hand i play.

3. Thinking back to when you started playing poker, what goals do you think led you to becoming pro?

I wanted to understand game enough to be aware of what and why I am doing at the tables.

4. What percentage do you feel a beginning player should be playing poker compared to studying poker?

I think anywhere between 25% and 50% of studying will be good.

5. What should we avoid when setting our goals so that we have a realistic chance of achieving them?

Don't set goals that are way over your current achievements/scores. You should actually downgrade them a little bit to make sure they are realistic. For example if you play 10,000 hands a month and want to make yearlong goal, assume you will play 9,000 each month.
If you have ROI of 15% over one month, assume you want 10% over year. If you will get it done, then you can go a bit higher.

Mikhail "innerpsy" Shalamov

Mikhail "innerspy" Shalamov

1. What goals would you suggest for a beginning player?

I think it's important to set an exact goal in terms of effort spent, not results. It's also important to figure out a point where you re-evaluate how things are going and maybe have your plans changed.

2. What goals to set yourself in order to grind a long tournament or poker session?

The only goal you can have when you sit down to play is play you're A game, and be able to quit when you feel like you are not.

3. Thinking back to when you started playing poker, what goals do you think led you to becoming pro?

I always wanted to reach outside my comfort zone. My whole plan was to reach the level where I'm not a winner, then move down a bit and grind. And on the way to accomplishing that I set myself some short term goals, like "become better at big blind defence," etc.

4. What percentage do you feel a beginning player should be playing poker compared to studying poker?

I think first it should be at least equal time, if not even 2:1 ratio. Theory is really important all the way, especially at the start.

5. What should we avoid when setting our goals so that we have a realistic chance of achieving them?

I wouldn't set result oriented goals. That way it doesn't lead you to frustration when you actually play good. Goals should be something that you definitely able to achieve if you try hard.

Adrienne "talonchick" Rowsome

Adrienne "talonchick" Rowsome

1. What goals would you suggest for a beginning player?

To be able to identify at least three mistakes you made while playing and consider what other play you could have made. These mistakes can even be in hands where you won a pot - look for mistakes without considering the result first.

2. What goals to set yourself in order to grind a long tournament or poker session?

My goals are to be mindful - to be self-aware and realize if I have over extended myself or am not playing as well as I could. I want to be as attentive in hand one as in hand 600

3. Thinking back to when you started playing poker, what goals do you think led you to becoming pro?

Lifestyle goals - while I enjoy my career as an Occupational Therapist, I loved the freedom of being my own boss - even though sometimes that means I will put in an 80 hour work week. Flexibility and comfort are both very important to me.

4. What percentage do you feel a beginning player should be playing poker compared to studying poker?

This depends on your goal - if you're there to have fun, win a hand or two and not really worried about the outcomes/playing their best, I don't want to suggest you should spend any amount of time studying. For some people, winning overall doesn't matter.

If financial returns are the reason you are playing poker, I would suggest that you spend near equal time playing/studying. You can spend time reviewing hands in your sessions and also then spend time finding tools online to help you improve your game.

5. What should we avoid when setting our goals so that we have a realistic chance of achieving them?

Be certain that your goals are in your realm of control. Don't set a goal like "I want to win with aces every time" - it would be nice, but it just doesn't happen.

Be aware of your own abilities and start small - the littlest goals snowball into some extreme successes.

Set poker goals about playing, but also about different things you want to do away from the tables, be it meditation, reading, days off, etc.

You can set your own poker goals for 2016, and receive expert tuition to help achieve them at PokerSchoolOnline. You'll find all sorts of resources, from videos, tips, and general advice that will help you improve your game whatever level you play. Go to the PokerSchoolOnline homepage for all the details.

This is the second of three articles about setting your own poker goals for 2016. The final part will be on the PokerStars Blog next week. You can read the first part here.

There was another big turnout this week for the Super Tuesday, the weekly $1,050 no-limit hold'em tournament on PokerStars that regularly draws many of poker's best tournament players. And from this week's 524-player field there were a number of recognizable names going deep. Chris "Moorman1" Moorman and David "EzPaTuLa" Cabrera were among those just missing the final table, while Bruno "bruno chato" Nunes, Paul "paulgees81" Volpe, Marvin "Ron Jovi 7" Rettenmaier, and Willy "wilmy_x" Arandazi were among those who were part of the final nine.

From that challenging field, it was the Czech Republic's Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez who emerged as this week's Super Tuesday champion, earning $90,303.63 following a heads-up deal. Here's the story of how Gonzalez managed to overcome everyone to collect every chip and the biggest share of this week's $524,000 prize pool.

They were well into the sixth hour of play when the bubble burst, and with 63 players left yargen enjoyed the chip lead by a healthy margin. By the time they'd crossed the seven-hour mark just 18 were left, with yargen still in the mix with an average stack and 3P3NIPA the new leader edging close to 400,000 in chips.

prusakowski (18th), romanooo64 (17th), and Bocamaster0 (16th) were next eliminated, earning $4,192 each. norfair18 (15th), yargen (14th), and PhilRoyal888 (13th) then were successively sent railward, picking up $5,240 apiece. After that neuville25fr went out in 12th, then Chris "Moorman1" Moorman battled for a while with a short stack before going out in 11th.

A while later David "EzPaTuLa" Cabrera went out in 10th, like the last two eliminated players earning $6,288 for not quite making the final table. With 3P3NIPA still on top and three players from the Czech Republic occupying the top three spots in the counts, the final table was underway.

Seat 1: 3P3NIPA (Czech Republic) -- 574,035
Seat 2: TanTanSWE (Sweden) -- 242,568
Seat 3: Bruno "bruno chato" Nunes (Brazil) -- 113,724
Seat 4: Paul "paulgees81" Volpe (Canada) -- 142,684
Seat 5: Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez (Czech Republic) -- 418,642
Seat 6: lehout (Netherlands) -- 101,439
Seat 7: Marvin "Ron Jovi 7" Rettenmaier (Germany) -- 388,667
Seat 8: Willy "wilmy_x" Arandazi (Czech Republic) -- 484,398
Seat 9: ToTall4Y (Germany) -- 153,843

On just the second hand of the final table, the blinds were 3,600/7,200 when Paul "paulgees81" Volpe called from the small blind, Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez shoved from a seat over, and Volpe called all in for 127,384.

Volpe had sneakily limped with [Ad][Ah] while Gonzalez had [Ks][3c]. Alas for Volpe, the flop fell [9c][Kc][3s] to give Gonzalez two pair and leave Volpe needing to improve. The turn was the [4c] and river the [Ts], and Volpe was suddenly out in ninth.

A little while after that they'd crossed the tournament's nine-hour mark, then Bruno "bruno chato" Nunes open-pushed from under the gun for 86,224 (a little under 11 big blinds) and got one caller in Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez sitting one seat over. Nunes had [Ah][Qh] and Gonzalez [Ad][Kc], and after a [Ts][6h][9s][5c][Ks] runout, Nunes was eliminated in eighth.

About 20 minutes later Willy "wilmy_x" Arandazi had just lost a big all-in to 3P3NIPA to be knocked down to less than a big blind, and after putting it all in from under the gun with [9c][7s] was up against Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez's [Ac][Jc]. Five cards later -- [3s][5s][Qc][5c][Jh] -- Gonzalez had scored a third straight knockout and Arandazi was out in seventh.

The blinds increased to 5,000/10,000, and a hand arose that saw 3P2NIPA open for 20,000 from UTG, Gonzalez call from middle position, then ToTall4Y three-bet all in for 191,688 from the big blind. 3P3NIPA stepped aside, but Gonzalez was ready to battle again and made the call, turning over [8d][8s] while ToTall4Y showed [Ad][3c]. The [5d][4s][Ac] flop was favorable for ToTall4Y, but the [8c] fell on the turn to give Gonzalez a set. The river was the [6c], and ToTall4Y was done in sixth.

Shortly before the break that came at the tourney's 10-hour mark, two knockouts followed in two successive hands.

First it was TanTanSWE open-raising all in from the button for 113,418 with [Ah][2h], lehout calling from the big blind with [Ac][6c], then a [Qc][8c][Jc] flop giving the latter an unbeatable flush and ending TanTanSWE's night in fifth.

On the next hand, 3P3NIPA min-raised to 24,000 from UTG, lehout called from the small blind, then Marvin "Ron Jovi 7" Rettenmaier reraised all in to 79,781 from the big blind. 3P3NIPA responded with an all-in shove that forced lehout to fold, but Rettenmaier called with the 248,759 he had behind. Rettenmaier had [Kc][Kh] and 3P3NIPA [Ac][Qc], and after the [8s][Js][7c] flop the German was still good. But the [As] fell on fourth street, and after the [6c] river Rettenmaier was out in fourth.

Some time later it was 3P3NIPA open-raising all in from the small blind for 264,728 (not quite 15 BBs) and Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez calling from the big blind. Each had been dealt an ace, but with [As][Th] Gonzalez had the better kicker over 3P3NIPA's [Ad][3h]. The [2h][2c][Qc][2s][Tc] board meant Gonzalez had the better hand and 3P3NIPA was eliminated in third.

Soon Gonzalez typed "wanna deal?" and lehout said "sure," and the tourney was paused with lehout slightly ahead with 1,332,511 to Gonzalez's 1,287,489. "Chip chop" numbers (identical to "ICM"-based figures heads-up) were produced, leaving $8,000 for which to play, the players quickly agreed to the deal, and play resumed.

Before long Gonzalez had assumed the upper hand, pushing up over 1.6 million while lehout fell back to just over 1 million. Then with the blinds 10,000/20,000, lehout button-raised to 43,800, Gonzalez three-bet to 140,000, lehout pushed all in for 1,015,719 total, and Gonzalez called.

Palomobuchón: [Ac][Ks]
lehout: [As][Tc]

Again it was a battle of kickers as each player had an ace. The [Js][Jd][2c] flop changed nothing, but the [Kc] turn did, giving Gonzalez two pair and leaving lehout needing a queen on the river to survive. But fifth street was the [8s] and it was all over -- Gonzalez had won.

Congratulations to Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez for topping this week's Super Tuesday for a better than $90K prize, and kudos to lehout for making it to the heads-up deal and picking up a big cash as well.

1/19/16 Super Tuesday ($1,050 No-Limit Hold'em) results
Entrants: 524
Prize pool: $524,000.00
Places paid: 63

1. Breixo "Palomobuchón" Gonzalez (Czech Republic) $90,303.63*
2. lehout (Netherlands) $82,816.37*
3. 3P3NIPA (Czech Republic) $53,710.00
4. Marvin "Ron Jovi 7" Rettenmaier (Germany) $40,872.00
5. TanTanSWE (Sweden) $28,820.00
6. ToTall4Y (Germany) $22,270.00
7. Willy "wilmy_x" Arandazi (Czech Republic) $17,030.00
8. Bruno "bruno chato" Nunes (Brazil) $11,790.00
9. Paul "paulgees81" Volpe (Canada) $8,698.40
*Reflects the results of a two-way deal that left $8,000 in play for the winner

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There are stories each week on PokerStars telling of grand achievements, and life changing wins. But none capture the essence of what it means to be a successful poker player more than the Yearly Tournament Leader Board.

Put simply the TLB is a barometer for the talent and consistency that in our view demonstrates the degree of skill required to be a winning poker player. This is not a game determined by one hand or even one session. The measure of a truly great player is shown over longer periods, maybe even a lifetime.

None prove this fact more than this year's TLB winner ismo.

It's not just that ismo

For his remarkable efforts ismo

Here's a look at the top five finishers for 2015:

Looking closer at the table above and ismo

British player Marcin "MARCIN123" Milde won the Sunday Million on April 3, the same event in which Allan "Sifosis" Baekke - a former EPT winner who ranks second on the TLB - finished third. It proved a pivotal TLB story, and one you can read about on the PokerStars Blog.

But it's that figure of 109 tournament wins out of 567 top 10 finishes for ismo

Previous winners of the yearly TLB:

2004 - teecoy
2005 - JohnnyBax
2006 - tnetter
2007 - shaundeeb
2008 - shaundeeb
2009 - aprilsfool
2010 - AltyAA
2011 - wizowizo
2012 - dhilton12
2013 - ismo 2014 - ismo 2015 - ismo

Now the focus of the annual Tournament Leader Board is on what will be a star-studded freeroll on Sunday, January 24 at 13:30 ET, with $75,000 in prizes available. The top 100 players from the 2015 Yearly Leader Board will compete in a contest that promises something more than most tournaments, pitching the best tournament poker players on PokerStars together, in one heck of a grudge match.

It's a fitting way to sign-off on 2015. For now, the hat tips, the congrats and the ggs go to ismo

For now it's on to 2016.