‘NORCALonica’ Seizes Victory in PokerStars Sunday Million
In a classic case of going from worst to first, online player NORCALonica began the final table as the short stack and ended as the champion of the PokerStars Sunday Million, earning a hefty payday of $163,430 for his poker efforts. To take the title, NORCALonica had to overcome an impressive field as this week’s Sunday Million drew 6,947 hopeful contenders. Notable finishes falling short of the final table included Florian “FA_Morgoth” Langmann in 10th ($8,400), nederen_dk in 15th ($6,300), Tom “luvgamble” Schneider in 16th($4,200), HitUR2outer in 22nd ($3,510), and Greg “DuckU” Hobson in 24th ($3,510). The chip counts at the start of the final table were as follows:
Jonesie03 - 12,194,927
benpatt - 11,818,772
In8desyr - 10,779,680
Javier “El_Cañonero” Dominguez - 9,333,776
cainearized - 8,043,904
MBNJR - 5,948,120
fishfinder22- 4,979,860
jkidd1084 - 3,238,585
NORCALonica - 3,132,376
The first player to bust from the final table was cainearized at the 200,000/400,000/40,000 level. From middle position, cainearized made it 1,000,255 to play. Jonesie03 called on the button and the two players saw the flop come Q♣2♣5♥. Cainearized bet 1,725,000 and Jonesie03 called, leading to the J♦ turn card. This time it was checked to Jonesie03, who bet 1,600,000. A call from cainearized led to the 9♠ landing on the river. After checking to Jonesie03 and being faced with an all-in bet, cainearized called all in for 3,018,649 with Q♥10♥. However, his top pair was second-best to Jonesie03’s set of jacks with J♣J♥. The ninth-place finish earned cainearized $11,625.
A few hands later, jkidd1084 was forced to hit the rail. Javier “El_Cañonero” Dominguez raised to 950,000 from the cutoff and jkidd1084 reraised to 2,400,000. Dominguez four-bet and jkidd1084 called all in with 9♣9♦, racing against Dominguez’s Q♥J♠. The board ran out J♥5♦Q♦J♦A♣ as Dominguez made a full house to kick jkidd1084 to the curb in eighth place for $18,000.
At the 250,000/500,000/50,000 level, MBNJR was the unfortunate victim of a bad beat that finished him off in seventh place. All in preflop with A♠A♣, MBNJR squared off against In8desyr’s K♦K♠. Everything looked good for MBNJR to double up until the river when the K♥ fell, cracking his aces and sending MBNJR home in seventh for $33,000. Fishfinder22 was sent to the rail next. NORCALonica went all in for nearly four million under the gun and fishfinder22 called all in for 1,659,860 with A♠6♠. NORCALonica tabled A♦8♣ and his superior kicker made trips as the board came 2♥9♥8♠8♦5♥. Fishfinder22 pocketed $48,000 for his sixth-place finish.
Later in the same level, benpatt met his end as well. On the button, benpatt raised to 1,300,000. In8desyr called out of the big blind and the flop fell 4♣9♥A♠. Both players checked as the 5♥ hit the turn. In8desyr bet 2,000,000 and benpatt responded by raising all in for 7,448,772. After a moment in the tank, In8desyr called and tabled A♣6♥, leading benpatt’s A♦2♣. The river was the J♥ and benpatt was out in fifth place for $63,000.
A deal between the final four was quickly reached with each guaranteed the following, with $30,000 left in the middle for the eventual winner:
Jonesie03: $152,036.55
Javier “El_Cañonero” Dominguez: $148,769.85
In8desyr: $135,163.04
NORCALonica: $133,430.56
After the eliminations of Javier “El_Cañonero” Dominguez in fourth place and In8desyr in third, it was down to the final two players. NORCALonica, the short stack at the start of the final table, began heads-up play with a 2.5-to-1 chip lead over Jonesie03. The duel lasted for three more levels, with the chip lead changing hands several times. But in the end, NORCALonica was the last player left standing. On the final hand at the 850,000/1,700,000/170,000 level, Jonesie03 shoved for 18,361,872 and NORCALonica called with 7♦7♣, leading Jonesie03’s 8♣2♣. The board ran out K♣Q♣5♥2♥5♦ and Jonesie03 was felted in second place for $152,036.55. The winner of The PokerStars Sunday Million was NORCALonica for $163,430.56.
Final Results:
*1. NORCALonica - $163,430.56
*2. Jonesie03 - $152,036.55
*3. In8desyr - $135,163.04
*4. Javier “El_Cañonero” Dominguez - $148,769.85
5. benpatt - $63,000
6. fishfinder22 - $48,000
7. MBNJR - $33,000
8. jkidd1084 - $18,000
9. cainearized - $11,625
* - four-way deal leaving $30,000 for the eventual winner.
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