Hundreds of Players Qualified for the WSOP Main Event SundayMore Than $4 Million in Prize Packages Given Away |
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Sunday was a huge day for online poker as 10,427 players played in two different World Series of Poker main event qualifiers on two different sites, generating a pool of $4,106,950 that is sending another 361 people to Las Vegas in 11 days to try for poker glory.
That's more people than played in the 1999 WSOP main event (350 players), and more than half the people who competed in the 2002 WSOP main event (631 players).
Yesterday, FullTiltPoker.com held its WSOP 100 Seat guaranteed qualifier, a $535 buy-in event that starry-eyed players have been trying to get themselves into for the last several months by playing in a wide selection of feeder satellites.
When the tournament started Sunday afternoon, 3,050 players from all around the world sat at the virtual tables to try to win one of 127 $12,000 WSOP prize packages that were up for grabs. FullTiltPoker.com team members John Juanda and Erick Lindgren were among those fighting for seats yesterday. Not surprisingly, they locked up their seats by finishing in the top 127.
Like all the players who qualified through FullTiltPoker.com, they'll be eligible for the bonus the online site is offering its qualifiers. If a FullTiltPoker.com qualifier goes on to win the WSOP's main event, FullTiltPoker.com will give the player a $10 million bonus. If the player just makes the final table, the player will receive an extra $50,000, and if in the top three, an extra $100,000.
Over at PokerStars.com, where the last three WSOP champions qualified for the main event, 7,377 players entered its Sunday qualifier. According to PokerStars.com, it was the largest WSOP qualifier ever to take place. It cost $370 to enter and players either bought in directly or won their way in through a number of rebuy qualifiers that took place the entire week before the event.
After almost eight-and-a-half hours of play, the chat boxes at the PokerStars.com tables erupted with congratulations from PokerStars.com's staff and cheers from the players who made it in.
Players also offered their condolences to a player from Omaha called tdw9750, who was the final player eliminated before the WSOP prize packages were awarded. Altogether, 234 players won $12,000 WSOP packages through this tournament.
PokerStars.com is offering its own WSOP final table bonus. A final table appearance is worth an extra $100,000, a second- or third-place finish is worth $250,000, and a WSOP main event win is worth an extra $1 million.
Last year, PokerStars.com sent 1,116 players to the main event. So far, 1,295 players have already qualified for the 2006 main event at PokerStars.com, and qualifiers are still going on.
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