There's a lot that's hidden in draw poker.

Unlike flop games (with community cards) or stud games (with up cards), in draw games -- such as Event #8 of this year's WCOOP, the $700 No-Limit Single Draw 2-7 Championship -- everyone's entire hand is kept private. Only choices made regarding discards and betting provide clues regarding the relative strength of a player's holding.

There are other factors, too, including the player's image and style, that might provide hand reading clues. A lot of times when playing online, it's hard to know who you're up against -- unless, of course, you reach the final table of a tournament like this one, where many of poker's best known and top-ranked talent tend to congregate.

Such was the case again, and after outlasting top players like Mohsin "sms9231" Charania, Ami "UhhMee" Barer, and Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins -- plus a number of other 'COOP stars who just missed the final table -- it was Kashmir_uzi of the U.K. taking away the WCOOP bracelet and a $20,718.11 first prize.

The event drew 134 runners, creating a $89,110 prize pool that easily exceeded the $50K guarantee. The top 21 finishers split the winnings, and on the first day of play on Tuesday the 134 who started played all of the way down to just 12, with Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb -- he of the two WCOOP titles and five SCOOP wins -- being the last player eliminated on Day 1, going out in 13th for a $1,782.20 cash.

Among others eliminated just before Deeb who also made the cash were two-time 'COOP winner Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick (16th), one-time SCOOP winner Dylan "ImaLucSac" Lynde (17th), Martin "nizmo jiz" Kozlov (18th), six-time 'COOP winner Dan "djk123" Kelly (19th), and Niklas "Lena900" Astedt (20th), each of whom made $1,559.42.

Here's how the counts looked overnight for the final dozen:

1. bolivianSWAG (Malta) -- 195,157
2. raconteur (United Kingdom) -- 178,539
3. Ami "UhhMee" Barer (Canada) -- 149,938
4. Mohsin "sms9231" Charania (Canada) -- 131,255
5. Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins (Brazil) -- 128,939
6. EvnomiYa (Russia) -- 119,212
7. Kashmir_uzi (United Kingdom) -- 114,428
8. Demonic16 (Hungary) -- 82,006
9. Puurle (Switzerland) -- 68,510
10. Aftret (Norway) -- 67,504
11. doriansolo (Canada) -- 62,830
12. RunGodlike (United Kingdom) -- 41,682

Short stacks RunGodlike (12th) and doriansolo (11th) were both eliminated within the first 15 minutes of play on Day 2, earning $1,782.20 apiece. Aftret (10th) was the next to go, and after slipping in the counts start-of-day leader bolivianSWAG fell as well (ninth). Demonic16 then followed (eighth), with the latter three each earning $2,227.75.

With seven left the final table was set. The Brazilian Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins had the lead at that point, but with the blinds still small there was much poker left to be played.

Seat 1: EvnomiYa (Russia) -- 139,624
Seat 2: Kashmir_uzi (United Kingdom) -- 227,472
Seat 3: raconteur (United Kingdom) -- 187,189
Seat 4: Puurle (Switzerland) -- 250,943
Seat 5: Ami "UhhMee" Barer (Canada) -- 174,566
Seat 6: Mohsin "sms9231" Charania (Canada) -- 80,010
Seat 7: Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins (Brazil) -- 280,196

They'd nearly reached the one-hour mark for the day, and it was long after the first break that the first final table elimination took place.

With the blinds 1,600/3,200, Ami "UhhMee" Barer (who has two SCOOP titles on PokerStars) opened with a button raise to 10,014, then Mohsin "sms9231" Charania (who also has won two SCOOPs) three-bet all in from the small blind for 52,340. Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins called the shove from the big blind, and Barer called as well. All three players discarded a single card, and Barer and Martins each checked.

The at-risk Charania showed [8h][7c][4c][4s][3s], having paired up. Meanwhile Martins had made a 10-low with [Td][8d][4h][3d][2s], and after Barer mucked the pot was pushed to Martins as Charania was sent railward in seventh.

About 40 minutes later, Kashmir_uzi opened from UTG with a just-over-2x raise to 8,800. By then Ami "UhhMee" Barer had become short-stacked, and three-bet all in for almost 26,000 from the button. At that Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins put in a four-bet from the blinds, chasing Kashmir_uzi.

Martins then stood pat while Barer drew one card, and Martins turned over [Jd][7h][6c][5c][3d] for a jack-low. Barer had been drawing live, but turned over [Td][Tc][6d][4h][2c] for a pair of tens and had to settle for a sixth-place finish.

The remaining five would battle on for more than an hour-and-a-half more, then with the blinds up to 4,000/8,000 it was raconteur opening with a raise to 18,000 from the cutoff, Puurle reraising to 58,888 from the button, then Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins shoving from the small blind for 231,930 total. It folded back around to Puurle who called and then stood pat while Martins drew one.

Martins turned over [Qh][9c][8d][7h][3d] for a Q-low, but Puurle had been dealt a pat-nine with [9s][8c][6d][5h][2s], and Martins was done in fifth.

They'd nearly reached the day's four-hour mark when a hand arose that saw raconteur raise to 22,500 from the button, then EvnomiYa shoved from the big blind for 282,526 (just over 28 BBs) and raconteur called. Both stood pat, and EvnomiYa tabled [Js][8s][7s][3h][2c] hoping the J-8 would be enough. Alas for the Russian, raconteur had that beat with [Tc][9h][8c][5c][3c], and EvnomiYa's run ended in fourth.

The final trio battled onward, with Puurle edging in front with over 630,000, Kashmir_uzi next with about 468,000, and raconteur third with just under 240,000.

Then after Kashmir_uzi opened for the minimum from the button to 24,000, raconteur jammed from the small blind (for about 20 BBs) and Kashmir_uzi called. Both drew a single card, then raconteur turned over [Td][8s][7s][4h][4s], having paired up the four. Kashmir_uzi's draw went better, though, resulting in a hand of [Tc][8h][7c][5c][2h], and raconteur was done in third.

Heads-up started with Kashmir_uzi in front with 719,954 versus Puurle's 620,046. The British player immediately began to widen the gap, pushing up over 1 million as the Swiss player fell back under 250,000. Purrle managed to chip back right away, though, edging back up close to half a million before the final hand suddenly took place.

With the blinds at 6,000/12,000, Kashmir_uzi raised from the button to 28,800, and Puurle responded with a three-bet to 77,777 which Kashmir_uzi called.

Both players stood pat, each giving the other something to consider as the final betting round began.

Puurle acted first, and took the option to shove all in with the 409,177 sitting behind. Kashmir_uzi called the push.

Puurle turned over [Qh][Th][7h][6d][5s] for a Q-low, but Kashmir_uzi had drawn better with [9h][7d][5d][3d][2d] for a nine and it was all over -- Kashmir_uzi had won.

Congratulations to Kashmir_uzi, whose Shangri-La beneath the summer moon now includes a WCOOP bracelet to go along with the SCOOP watch won this past May in a $2,100 NL 2-7 Single Draw event.

WCOOP-08: $700 NL Single Draw 2-7 Championship

Entries: 134

Prize pool: $89,110

Places paid: 21

1. Kashmir_uzi (United Kingdom) $20,718.11
2. Puurle (Switzerland) $14,57.60
3. raconteur (United Kingdom) $9,802.10
4. EvnomiYa (Russia) $7,128.80
5. Yuri "theNERDguy" Martins (Brazil) $5,346.60
6. Ami "UhhMee" Barer (Canada) $4,009.95
7. Mohsin "sms9231" Charania (Canada) $3,118.85


We're still only a few days into the 2015 World Championship of Online Poker, with the majority of the 70-event schedule still to come. Check out the WCOOP page for the full schedule of remaining tournaments.

Haven't gotten a PokerStars account yet? Join the world's biggest site now.