The PokerStars Sunday Million is closing in on two solid decades as the most famous tournament in online poker, and the celebration of the 19th anniversary of the first Sunday Million tournament played out on Tuesday by making four players an incredible return on their money.
A tournament that started on Sunday with $6 million guaranteed and reached 28,444 entries ended with Brazilian player 'gutAoAllin' ultimately coming out on top.
The champion walked away with $391,436 — technically the third-largest payout of the tournament — after a heads-up battle with Vietnamese player 'KkkEndriK' that dragged on for a considerable amount of time despite the entirety of the prize pool having been divvied up four-handed.
Heads-up battle flips top prize
The pair traded the chip lead back and forth repeatedly until the pivotal hand played out. 'KkkEndriK' fired every street on a board of with a missed flush draw —
— and 'gutAoAllin' was happy to oblige him by calling down. 'KkkEndriK' settled for second but walked away with the biggest payout at $436,013.
The top four players shared the lion's share of the prize pool after three unsuccessful deal conversations and a fourth that finally led to a consensus. Brazilian Arthur 'AT_prodotico' Torres, who began Tuesday's action with the chip lead, cashed for $395,760. UK-based 'desbone13,' who started the day in second place, took fourth for $331,509.
PokerStars gives extra value with 'overlay'
The 19th anniversary of the PokerStars Sunday Million technically overlayed its $6 million guaranteed prize pool. The 28,444 total entries — 18,284 individual players and 10,160 re-entries — generated $6,115,460 in total entry fees, covering the guarantee but producing about one-third of the expected rake.
Over 19 years of tournaments, the PokerStars Sunday Million has awarded over $1.4 billion in total prizes.
PokerStars Sunday Million 19th Anniversary final table payouts
Place | Player | Prize | Country |
---|---|---|---|
1 | gutAoAllin | $391,436* | Brazil |
2 | KkkEndriK | $436,013* | Vietnam |
3 | Arthur 'AT_prodotico' Torres | $395,760* | Brazil |
4 | desbone13 | $331,509* | United Kingdom |
5 | brizionz13 | $155,400 | New Zealand |
6 | Ayronn | $110,774.40 | Austria |
7 | Kepalas89 | $78,963.60 | Lithuania |
8 | RhoNin9 | $56,287.80 | Austria |
9 | Rsaxo66 | $40,123.80 | Lithuania |
* - indicates a four-way deal