Nickym998 cripples wsu79 early in the final table action.
PokerStars Sunday Million
"Hey people - welcome to the final table of the largest (by number of players) real-money tournament in history!" So said
PokerStars Poker Room Manager Lee Jones upon the forming of last night's
Sunday Million final table. To be clear, he wasn't referring to the largest online poker tournament, he was referring to the largest poker tournament of all time, online or otherwise.
Obviously, the PokerStars promotions for its
Sunday Million anniversary tournament paid off. The upped guarantee couldn't have hurt either, as the site had upgraded it to $1.5 million for the occasion. The sum of it all was that 10,508 poker players entered the fray for a $2,101,600 prize pool. The
Sunday Million tournament has been easily surpassing its $1 million guarantee for quite some time now; could this anniversary "special" be the first taste of a new guarantee on the horizon?
Gambforlife held the chip lead when the final table began, with $21.7 million in chips. His next-closest competitor was EZCash1 with $15.8 million. Pbdrunks was at the tail end of the pack with $5.3 million and he was, correspondingly, the first player eliminated - but not before a big hand took a considerable chunk out of one of his opponents.
Wsu79 was crippled in a battle of the blinds. The action was folded to nickym998 in the small blind. He raised to $2.4 million, with the big blind at $600,000, and wsu79 pushed all in over the top for $10.8 million total. Nickym998 called with pocket jacks and was dominating wsu79's A
J
. The board gave nickym998 an unnecessary spade flush with one of his jacks to double up and cut wsu79's stack down to $847,000.
After that hand, pbdrunks pushed all in preflop 13 minutes into the final table action and was called by nickym998. Pbdrunks showed pocket queens and was in a race against nickym998's suited big slick. The board ran out 10
3
2
K
5
, giving nickym998 a pair of kings on the turn to take the hand. Pbdrunks made $12,189 for ninth place.
Wsu79 survived until he was eventually forced all in in the big blind. He held 10-2 and failed to improve against xxallthenutz's A-Q. Wsu79 earned $17,864 for eighth place.
Six of the seven remaining players attempted to arrange for a break in the tournament to discuss a possible deal, but xxallthenutz never responded to the proposal and play continued. EZCash1's stack was shorn down to almost one-third of its previous count in less than 10 minutes after wsu79's elimination. Now with just $5.7 million, he called all in preflop against francky2011's all in raise. Francky2011 showed pocket queens versus EZCash1's pocket tens. The board completely missed both players and EZCash1 was out in seventh place ($25,219).
Xxallthenutz, the lone player against a chop, was the next player to go. With just $3.1 million in his stack, he min-raised to $1.6 million preflop. Zeddor reraised up to $4 million, folding the remaining players. Xxallthenutz called all in and showed pocket aces. Zeddor held A
K
and was well behind (just 6 percent to win the hand preflop). The flop defied the odds when it came K
K
6
, giving him trip kings to take the lead in the hand. The turn gave xxallthenutz some hope when it put out the J
for the nut flush draw with one of his aces, but the 6
came on the river to miss his draw and give Zeddor a full house to take down the pot. Xxallthenutz got a $36,778 payday for sixth place.
With the one dissenting player now gone, the remaining five players paused the tournament to discuss a deal. A slightly modified by-the-chips chop was agreed upon with three of the players each giving the chip leader nickym998 an extra $4,000, and $30,000 was left in the middle for the eventual winner of the tournament, per the PokerStars chop rules. As a result of the deal, the following payouts were guaranteed:
nickym998: $160,950
gambforlife: $119,209
Othimua: $103,142
francky2011: $102,177
Zeddor: $101,972
After the deal was struck, a big hand all but eliminated francky2011. He raised to $4 million preflop, with the big blind at $1 million. Zeddor pushed all in over the top for $17.2 million and francky2011 called, leaving himself with just $67,000 behind. Francky2011 held A
J
and Zeddor flipped over pocket kings for the lead. The board paired, but otherwise improved neither player, and Zeddor raked in the pot to double up. Francky2011 was forced all in in the big blind in the very next hand. Nickym998 raised preflop, folding the remaining players, and showed A
10
versus francky2011's A
7
. The board ran out 10
6
5
10
2
, giving nickym998 trip tens to eliminate francky2011 in fifth place.
It was almost 20 minutes before the next elimination hand. Preflop action was folded to Othimua ($16.4 million) in the small blind. He raised to $3 million and Zeddor ($57.8 million) called in the big blind. The flop came 9
9
5
and Othimua bet $4 million. Zeddor again called and the turn was the 7
. Othimua pushed all in for $9.4 million and Zeddor called and showed 9
4
for trip nines and a flush draw. Othimua revealed A
K
and was drawing dead. Othimua finished in fourth place.
Zeddor now had a massive lead with $74.5 million compared to gambforlife in second with $19.2 million and nickym998 in third with $11.4 million. Both gambforlife and nickym998 managed to siphon chips off of Zeddor over the six-minute period before the next elimination hand. Gambforlife had almost doubled up and sat with $36.1 million. He raised to $4 million preflop from the small blind and Zeddor called in the big blind. The flop came A
J
J
and gambforlife checked. Zeddor bet $2 million and gambforlife check-raised to $4 million. Zeddor called and the turn was the K
. Gambforlife bet $6 million and Zeddor called. The river brought the 5
and gambforlife checked. Zeddor bet $34 million, more than enough to put gambforlife all in. Gambforlife called all in and showed A
Q
for two pair, aces and jacks. Zeddor trumped him when he revealed 8
3
for a rivered flush. Gambforlife was eliminated in third place.
Zeddor now had $87.8 million versus nickym998's $17.2 million. The heads-up match lasted just one more minute. Zeddor limped preflop from the small blind and nickym998 raised to $4 million. Zeddor called and the flop came 8
5
4
. Nickym998 bet $3 million and Zeddor again called. The turn was the 3
and nickym998 bet $3 million. Zeddor raised to $13 million, enough to put nickym998 all in, and nickym998 called and showed A
3
for a pair of threes with an overcard and a gutshot draw. Zeddor revealed 5
4
for two pair, fives and fours, and the lead. The river was a brick, the 9
, and Zeddor took down the pot to eliminate nickym998 and earn the extra $30,000.
Zeddor's total prize for winning the historic event came to $131,972. Nickym998 was the actual leading money-winner for the event; he cashed out for $160,950.
The final results were:
*1) Zeddor: $131,972
*2) nickym998: $160,950
*3) gambforlife: $119,209
*4) Othimua: $103,142
*5) francky2011: $102,177
6) xxallthenutz: $36,778
7) EZCash1: $25,219.20
8) wsu79: $17,863.60
9) pbdrunks: $12,189.28
* Payout reflects a slightly modified five-way by-the-chips chop with $30,000 remaining in the middle for the eventual winner, per the PokerStars rules.
Full Tilt $400,000 Guarantee
DOOLfan eliminates two of his opponents at once.
The
Full Tilt $400,000-guaranteed tournament had 2,118 entrants last night, generating a prize pool of $423,600. While this was lower than the $460,000 prize pool of two weeks ago, last night's prize pool was a step up from the almost $30,000 overlay the big Full Tilt Sunday tournament had last week due to technical difficulties.
DOOLfan came into the final table as the chip leader with $1.3 million in chips versus baitor in second with $882,000 and chuckb in third with $854,000. By the time there were six players remaining, parisla had chipped up and taken a slight lead over DOOLfan, and baitor had dropped down to last place in the low $400,000s.
Baitor was eventually eliminated in fifth ($19,062) when his A-8 ran into DOOLfan's A-10 on a flop of 10-10-8. DOOLfan's trip tens were enough to take down the pot. Six minutes later, FRUCKOFF hit the rail when he pushed all in preflop with A
9
and was called by DOOLfan with A
10
. An unnecessary 10 came on the flop to further DOOLfan's lead and FRUCKOFF was out in fourth place, earning $24,992.
DOOLfan had a large chip lead at the start of three-way play, with $4.5 million compared to chuckb in second with $1.2 million and parisla in third with $617,000. Despite there being three players remaining, the tournament was over just one minute later.
In the next elimination hand, parisla pushed all in preflop for his stack of $530,000, with the big blind at $50,000. DOOLfan pushed all in over the top, having both remaining players covered. Chuckb called all in and showed A
K
. Parisla revealed 5
3
and DOOLfan turned over pocket sixes for the lead. The board ran out 9
7
2
8
5
to give DOOLfan an unneeded nine-high straight to win the pot and eliminate both of his opponents at once.
Parisla, who had the least amount of chips at the beginning of the hand, finished in third place ($31,346) while chuckb came in second place ($47,867). DOOLfan pocketed $77,942 for his first-place finish in the event.
The final results were:
1) DOOLfan: $77,942.40
2) chuckb: $47,866.80
3) parisla: $31,346.40
4) FRUCKOFF: $24,992.40
5) baitor: $19,062
6) ep1: $13,639.92
7) trueR0und3r: $9,954.60
8) swd805: $7,836.60
9) AceLove007: $5,930.40
UltimateBet $200,000 Guarantee
Just one week after its second-most successful run of all time, the
UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed tournament's entry numbers took a sharp fall. The tournament had just 879 entrants last night compared to 1,001 last Sunday. UltimateBet put up a $24,200 overlay for the shortfall in entrants.
Despite the lower-than-expected attendance, the final table was big news with its fair share of Internet notables. The final 10 players included Chris "brsavage" Savage (entering the table in fifth with $172,000) and Xuan "x2then" Nguyen (ninth with $110,000). Minbec was in first place with $584,000, compared to taknapotin's second-place stack of $310,000.
True to his place, x2then was eliminated in ninth when he got all in preflop with pocket sevens against Trent55's K-Q. A queen came on the flop to put Trent55 in the lead and the turn and river were no help for x2then. He earned $3,500 for his finish.
Brsavage left the table relatively early, as well. With the blinds at almost a tenth of his stack, he pushed all in from early position with A
3
and was called by Trent55 with a dominating A
K
. The flop intensified the situation when it came K
10
4
, pairing Trent55 but also giving brsavage the nut flush draw. The turn and river, however, were the 8
and the J
and brsavage was out in seventh ($7,000).
At that point, taknapotin was in first place with $514,000 and Trent55 now had a second-place-worthy stack of $478,000. Meanwhile, minbec's chip count had slipped to $285,000, despite holding the early chip lead. In minbec's final hand, his A-Q ran into taknapotin's pocket kings. The board completely missed minbec and he was sent home in sixth place ($9,000).
Taknapotin and Trent55 carried their stacks into three-way play along with Broden4. Trent55 and taknapotin's stacks were very close at the start of the three-way match at $940,000 and $922,000, respectively. Broden4 was well behind with $335,000, but he still offered his two opponents a straight three-way chop (despite the fact that UltimateBet doesn't officially support deal-making). His justification for the proposal was that he was the No. 2 ranked player for the year. (He never specified where he held the ranking or what it was based upon.) Both players quickly refused.
As if it were all part of some diabolical "I warned you!" plan, Broden4 proceeded to chip away at both players' stacks until he sat in the chip lead. Just before the next elimination hand, Broden4 sat with $1.1 million compared to taknapotin's $555,000 and Trent55's $512,000. Trent55 raised to $42,000 preflop, with the big blind at $16,000, and taknapotin reraised to $118,000. Trent55 called and the flop came J
7
5
. Taknapotin bet $150,000 and Trent55 pushed all in over the top for $393,000. Taknapotin called and showed pocket kings, for an overpair, while Trent55 held A
7
, for mid-pair, and needed help. The turn was the 4
and the river the J
and Trent55 was eliminated in third place, earning $18,500.
Both remaining players now sat with close to $1.1 million, although Broden4 had a slight chip lead. Taknapotin had taken a chip lead of over $200,000 by the 11th hand of the heads-up match. In what would be the final hand of the tournament, taknapotin limped preflop and Broden4 raised to $110,000 (with the big blind at $20,000). Taknapotin reraised to $200,000 and Broden4 pushed all in for $977,000 total. Taknapotin called and showed pocket queens and was dominating Broden4's pocket tens. The board ran out 9
5
2
J
2
and taknapotin's queens held up to win the tournament.
Broden4 finished in second (appropriately enough, considering his self-proclaimed No. 2 standing), earning $27,000. Taknapotin raked in a $45,000 first-place prize for his win in the tournament.
The final results were:
1) taknapotin: $45,000
2) Broden4: $27,000
3) Trent55: $18,500
4) Big Jew: $13,000
5) D_M16: $11,000
6) minbec: $9,000
7) Chris "brsavage" Savage: $7,000
8) dmmikkel: $5,000
9) Xuan "x2then" Nguyen: $3,500
10) z23fanatic: $2,000
Bodog $100,000 Guarantee
It was another disappointing week, attendance-wise, for the
Bodog $100,000-guaranteed tournament. The tournament had just 756 entrants. As a comparison, that's just nine more entrants than it had on
Super Bowl Sunday.
The reason for the dramatic drop in attendance was unknown. (It could have been due to the PokerStars
Sunday Million anniversary event, but that is unlikely.) Regardless, Bodog shelled out a $24,400 overlay to match the guarantee. These attendance number were, however, a boon for those who did play in the event, as most of the payouts were higher than normal and players had to compete against a smaller field.
When it was down to the final nine players, dawsey was the chip leader with $415,000 in chips. Jonesy459 was close behind with $410,000 in second place. Jonesy459 took over the chip lead early at the final table, but he didn't hold it for long. GeneralTT won a huge pot when his A-2 drew out on an opponent's A-K and he jumped up to $553,000 and the chip lead. Jonesy459 regained the chip lead when he eliminated convictplayer in fourth place.
At the beginning of three-way play, Jonesy459 had $811,000 in chips. GeneralTT held $606,000 in second place and illuminati85 was in third with $473,000. The very first hand of the three-way match changed the course of the action. Jonesy459 raised to $99,000 preflop from the small blind, with the big blind at $30,000, and GeneralTT reraised all in over the top. Jonesy459 called and showed A
K
and was dominating GeneralTT's A
9
. The flop came A
7
7
, giving both players two pair, but leaving Jonesy459 with a better kicker. The turn was the Q
, leaving GeneralTT with even fewer outs (the 9
would now complete a flush for Jonesy459) and just a 5 percent chance to stay alive. The 9
came on the river to give GeneralTT a better two pair to take down the pot, double up, and cripple Jonesy459, who was left with just $205,000.
Jonesy459 managed to double up through illuminati85 and both players now had dangerously low stacks. In the next elimination hand, GeneralTT pushed all in from the button against the two short stacks and illuminati85 called. Jonesy459 folded and GeneralTT showed A
2
. Illuminati85 turned over J
10
and needed help. The board ran out 9
9
5
3
8
, completely missing both players, and Jonesy459 was out in third place ($9,200).
GeneralTT now had $1.6 million compared to Jonesy459 with $269,000. The final hand was just a minute later. GeneralTT limped preflop and Jonesy459 checked his option in the big blind. The flop came A
K
Q
and Jonesy459 checked. GeneralTT bet $88,000 and Jonesy459 called. The turn brought the K
and both players checked. The river was the 3
and Jonesy459 pushed all in for his remaining $249,000. GeneralTT called and showed A
8
for top two pair. Jonesy459 held just 10
8
for a missed flush draw and was eliminated in second place ($14,300). GeneralTT earned $25,000 for his first-place finish in the tournament.
The final results were:
1) GeneralTT: $25,000
2) Jonesy459: $14,300
3) illuminati85: $9,200
4) convictplayer: $6,900
5) dawsey: $5,500
6) Poker Man3: $4,500
7) countryfried: $3,500
8) coachgolf: $2,500
9) Leslie007: $1,600
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