France may have won the World Cup, and Serbia may have won Wimbledon through their superstar Novak Djokovic, but the biggest tournament of them all was still in contention up until a few minutes ago: the PokerStars Blog #PokerCup.
After weeks of intense Twitter polling, pitting 32 poker players and their home nations against each other, we now have a winner:
Japan’s Masa Kagawa is your #PokerCup champion, defeating Denmark’s Gus Hansen in the final with 52% of the Twitter vote.
Masa Kagawa and Japan win #PokerCup
Let’s take a look at Kagawa’s road to victory.
Kagawa found himself in a group with Farid Jattin (Colombia), Muhyedine Fares (Senegal), and Dzimitry Urbanovich (Poland). In his first match, Kagawa took down Jattin with 62% of the vote.
He then defeated Fares with 66% of the vote, securing his place in the last 16, before taking down Urbanovich for good measure with 62% of the vote. Both Kagawa and Urbanovich advanced to the next round.
Into the knockout stages, Kagawa was drawn a tough match against Belgium’s Davidi Kitai. He’d advance to the quarter finals after winning 55% of the vote.
Last match in the #PokerCup before the quarter finals:
Masa Kagawa (Japan) vs Davidi Kitai (Belgium)
Who advances? Vote now! https://t.co/hsxbI7MLtz
— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) July 5, 2018
Into the quarter finals, Kagawa found himself facing England’s Stephen Chidwick. After 24 hours of voting, Kagawa had taken it down with 60% of the vote.
AND here's the fourth and final quarter final match in the #PokerCup:
Stephen Chidwick (England) vs Masa Kagawa (Japan)
Who wins? Vote now! https://t.co/cA7zdNE6kr
— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) July 10, 2018
As we moved into the semi-finals, just four players remained: Kagawa, Fedor Holz (Germany), Igor Kurganov (Russia), and Gus Hansen (Denmark). Japan had stiff competition.
That didn’t stop Kagawa from eliminating Holz though in an epic match. Kagawa took it down with just 51% of the vote – the equivalent of a last-minute extra-time winner.
Semi final #2 in the #PokerCup:
Fedor Holz (Germany) vs Masa Kagawa (Japan)
Who do you want to see in the final? Get voting to decide! https://t.co/cA7zdNE6kr
— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) July 12, 2018
Meanwhile, Hansen defeated Kurganov with 59% of the vote, meaning our final was set.
The World Cup has come to an end, but it's now final time in the #PokerCup.
Japan's Masa Kagawa defeated Germany's Fedor Holz in an epic semi-final, winning 51% of the vote. Meanwhile, Denmark's Gus Hansen beat Igor Kurganov to advance.
So, who wins it all? Get voting!
— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) July 17, 2018
Congratulations to Masa Kagawa and everyone in Japan who voted! There’s no actual prize, of course, except to simply reinforce the pride of a nation.
The Japan Open Poker Tour, sponsored by PokerStars.net, will be running across Japan throughout 2018.
You can win your seat to one of countless PokerStars live events around the world. Click here to open an account and get started.
Kagawa vs Hansen
All the results from the 2018 PokerStars Blog #PokerCup:
THE RESULTS – The Final
Masa Kagawa (Japan) vs Gus Hansen (Denmark) – Kagawa wins
The World Cup has come to an end, but it's now final time in the #PokerCup.
Japan's Masa Kagawa defeated Germany's Fedor Holz in an epic semi-final, winning 51% of the vote. Meanwhile, Denmark's Gus Hansen beat Igor Kurganov to advance.
So, who wins it all? Get voting!
— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) July 17, 2018
THE RESULTS – Semi Finals
Igor Kurganov (Russia) vs Gus Hansen (Denmark) – Hansen wins
Fedor Holz (Germany) vs Masa Kagawa (Japan) – Kagawa wins
THE RESULTS – Quarter Finals
Igor Kurganov (Russia) vs Carlos Mortensen (Spain) – Kurganov wins
Betrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) vs Gus Hansen (Denmark) – Hansen wins
Viktor Blom (Sweden) vs Fedor Holz (Germany) – Holz wins
Stephen Chidwick (England) vs Masa Kagawa (Japan) – Kagawa wins
THE RESULTS – Final 16 Phase
Igor Kurganov (Russia) vs Joao Barbosa
 (Portugal) – Kurganov wins
Fabrizio Cataldi (Uruguay) vs Carlos Mortensen (Spain) – Mortensen wins
Betrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (France) vs Goran Mandic (Croatia) – ElkY wins
Maria Lampropulos (Argentina) vs Gus Hansen (Denmark) – Hansen wins
Andre Akkari (Brazil) vs Viktor Blom (Sweden) – Blom wins
Stefan Huber (Switzerland) vs Fedor Holz (Germany) – Holz wins
Stephen Chidwick (England) vs Dzmitry Urbanovich (Poland) – Chidwick wins
Masa Kagawa (Japan) vs Davidi Kitai (Belgium) – Kagawa wins
THE RESULTS – Group Stages
GROUP A
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | RUSSIA | 3 | 9 |
2 | URUGUAY | 3 | 6 |
3 | EGYPT | 3 | 3 |
4 | SAUDI ARABIA | 3 | 0 |
GROUP B
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | SPAIN | 3 | 9 |
2 | PORTUGAL | 3 | 6 |
3 | IRAN | 3 | 3 |
4 | MOROCCO | 3 | 0 |
GROUP C
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | FRANCE | 3 | 9 |
2 | DENMARK | 3 | 6 |
3 | AUSTRALIA | 3 | 3 |
4 | PERU | 3 | 0 |
GROUP D
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ARGENTINA | 3 | 6 |
2 | CROATIA | 3 | 6 |
3 | ICELAND | 3 | 3 |
4 | NIGERIA | 3 | 0 |
GROUP E
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | BRAZIL | 3 | 9 |
2 | SWITZERLAND | 3 | 6 |
3 | SERBIA | 3 | 3 |
4 | COSTA RICA | 3 | 0 |
GROUP F
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GERMANY | 3 | 7 |
2 | SWEDEN | 3 | 6 |
3 | MEXICO | 3 | 3 |
4 | SOUTH KOREA | 3 | 1 |
GROUP G
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ENGLAND | 3 | 9 |
2 | BELGIUM | 3 | 6 |
3 | PANAMA | 3 | 3 |
4 | TUNISIA | 3 | 0 |
GROUP H
POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | JAPAN | 3 | 9 |
2 | POLAND | 3 | 6 |
3 | COLUMBIA | 3 | 3 |
4 | SENEGAL | 3 | 0 |