Pokerstars Sets Sunday Million Record
Posted 3/8/11: Pokerstars reports that 59 128 players generates prizes of $11 825 600
Last Sunday’s fifth anniversary Pokerstars Sunday Millions was always going to be a big occasion in online poker, and it did not disappoint.
According to statistics released on the Pokerstars blog this week, the online event pulled in an impressive 59 128 players, who generated $11 825 600 in prize money.
The attendance easily broke the historic 40 billionth hand Sunday Million record of a year ago, when over 36 100 players generated more than $7 million in prize money on the gigantic online poker website, delivering a main prize of $1.1 million to the winner.
The Sunday Million 5th Anniversary carried a guaranteed $5 million prize pool that was easily met and expanded on its routine $200 + $15 buy-in. In addition, Pokerstars put up a further million dollars and a Lamborghini Gallardo for the winner (see previous InfoPowa reports).
In the event, the money bubble extended down to the last 7,450 pokerheads, breaking around four-and-a-half hours into the tournament when player xxLemmyxx became the unfortunate bubble boy.
Two-and-a-half hours later there were ‘only’ a thousand players still in action, many of them respected experts on the felt such as Liv Boree, Shane Schleger, Noah Boeken, Jason Mercier, Sandra Naujoks and Humberto Brenes – presumably complete with lucky shark!
It was not until almost the thirteen hour mark that a final table was reached at Level 45 with blinds at 1.25 million/2.5 million and a 250 000 ante. Player syndrome1977 held the chip lead on 107.743 million –well ahead of nearest rival Bdbeatslayer on 92.689 million. The rest of the table was made up by guccyka, Jan10004, sheppyshape, nhar818, wrzr123, Battmeister and zeurrr.
Within thirty minutes the game was paused for a lengthy hiatus as the players haggled over a nine-way chop, finally deciding that the winner would get the Gallardo, and the prize money would be distributed as follows:
Seat 1: guccyka (50,203,242 in chips) = $411,090.13
Seat 2: Syndrome1977 (102,993,561 in chips) = $799,842.09
Seat 3: Jan10004 (36,614,737 in chips) = $311,023.33
Seat 4: sheppyshape (57,611,760 in chips) = $465,647.02
Seat 5: nhar818 (54,338,307 in chips) = $441,541.06
Seat 6: Bdbeatslayer (86,189,244 in chips) = $671,093.81
Seat 7: wrzr123 (108,339,484 in chips) = $844,209.88
Seat 8: Battmeister (30,213,033 in chips) = $263,888.06
Seat 9: zeurrr (64,775,632 in chips) = $518,402.33
Play then resumed, and an hour-and-a-half into the final table the last two players standing were set up to begin their battle for the Gallardo with the following chip counts:
Seat 4: sheppyshape (175,109,253 in chips)
Seat 6: Bdbeatslayer (416,170,747 in chips)
After a further twenty minutes of play it was Bdbeatslayer who prevailed to claim the Lamborghini, leaving sheppyshape with a handsome runner-up prize of $465,647.02.
Bdbeatslayer (Luke Vrabel) now holds the record for winning the biggest Pokerstars Sunday Million yet, walking away with $671 093.81…and a very expensive automobile.
Ironically, due to the earlier nine-way chop, he was not the biggest cash earner in the tourney – wrzr123 on $844 209.88 and Syndrome1977 on $799 842.09 had bigger checks…but no Gallardo!
