The Sunday Briefing: WCOOP Looms as September Nears

August 29, 2011

The final Sunday of August also happened to be the final Sunday before the start of the 2011 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). Three players pocketed $100K+ scores on Sunday, while Sam "Rekrapmas" Parker and Luiz-Filipe Ferreira "mestrefilipe" de Andrade claimed Sunday Major titles.

PokerStars Sunday Million ($1M Guaranteed)

After two straight weeks with 6,525 players, the Sunday Million was up in attendance this week with 6,624 players entering Sunday's biggest tournament. As has been the case recently, the top three were once again guaranteed a six-figure score. A deal between the final three ensured a payday of at least $121,000 for everybody, and it was short-stack "NhPokah" who fought back to win the $20,000 that was left to play for. After flopping a set with 8♥8♣ against "Bostero10's" A♣4♥, "NhPokah" was heads-up with "LEXER1986".

The key hand of the heads-up battle came at 400,000/800,000/80,000. With the chip stacks nearly even at about 40 big blinds each, "NhPokah" opened on the button and then called a three-bet to see the flop fall Q♦J♥6♠. "LEXER1986" made a continuation bet of nearly two-thirds the pot and "NhPokah" called, landing the Q♥ turn card. The chips made their way into the middle after a series of raises with "NhPokah" tabling A♣J♦, leading "LEXER1986's" J♣4♠. Only a queen or jack would help "LEXER1986" salvage a chop, but the 2♥ fell to give "NhPokah" a monster lead, and a victory shortly thereafter.

To read more about this week's Sunday Million head over to PokerStarsBlog.com

*denotes three-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Michael "tokyo09" Le (44th - $2,503.87), Jude "j.thaddeus" Ainsworth (61st - $2,106.43)

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up ($500K Guaranteed)

Making a deep run in the Sunday Warm-Up was Dutch Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis, finishing a tad shy of the final table in 11th place. With A♣10♣, Veldhuis called an all-in shove from "Doroshev G." Unfortunately for Veldhuis, he was facing A♥J♦ and was unable to improve when the board ran out 8♦4♣3♦4♦6♠.

A five-handed deal was made at the final table with "vasil1976197" earning the most. In the end, though, it was "WATnlos", notching the first-place finish. Trailing heads-up to "Doroshev G," "WATnlos" won a crucial race with A♦J♠ against 10♣10♥ when a jack hit the flop to take the lead and never look back.

If you want an even more in-depth recap of the action of the PokerStars Warm-Up, head on over to PokerStarsBlog.com.

*denotes five-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Lex Veldhuis (11th - $3,888.03), Andrei "extasyman" One (24th - $1,675.33)

PokerStars Sunday 500 ($250K Guaranteed)

The PokerStars Sunday 500 attracted a 755-player field, creating a prize pool worth $377,500. After a runner-up performance in the Sunday 500 last week, Mike "Pipedream17" Dietrich made the final table again this week, finishing in fourth place for $27,557.50. Meanwhile, "Milana Jones" outlasted Fabian "fabstinho" Quoss to take it down and pocketed $68,327.50.

Notable Finishes: Sebastian "p0cket00" Sikorski (11th - $4,077), Bolivar "Ramux" Palacios (16th - $2,567), Adam "Roothlus" Levy (19th - $1,812)

PokerStars Sunday 2nd Chance ($125K Guaranteed)

The 1,165 players who entered the PokerStars Sunday 2nd Chance created a prize pool of $233,000. Angel Guillen, Casey "bigdogpckt5s" Jarzabek, and Jorge "twin-caracas" Arias finished in 14th, 15th, and 16th respectively. It was "el canbass," and "SamSpade83" who dueled for the title, and after a lengthy heads-up duel, "SamSpade83" earned top dollar for $36,923.89.

*denotes heads-up deal

Notable Finishes: Gavin "gavonater" O'Rourke (12th - $2,213.50), Angel Guillen (14th - $1,747.50), Casey "bigdogpckt5s" Jarzabek (15th - $1,747.50), Jorge "twin-caracas" Arias (16th - $1,281.50)

PokerStars $109 Sunday Rebuy ($200K Guaranteed)

It was a battle of the Brits in the $109 Sunday Rebuy as Sam "Rekrapmas" Parker and Ashley "DYBYDX" Mason were the last two standing. Parker emerged victorious, besting 879 players and taking home $55,837.50.

Notable Finishes: Bolivar "Ramux" Palacios (16th - $2,084.60)

PokerStars Bigger $55 ($200K Guaranteed)

Although the attendance was down from the 5,733 entrants it had last week, the Bigger $55 still crushed its guarantee. The 5,600 players added $80,000 to the $200,000 guarantee. "Maethi" topped a field of 5,600 to win the $35,280 first-place prize.

PokerStars Bigger $162 ($100K Guaranteed)

The Bigger $162 attracted 1,404 entrants, doubling its guarantee. The lion's share of the $210,600 prize pool was up for grabs and was a battle for Austrian bragging rights. "Vienna Bundy" bested "4betUr3bet" to secure a win after a deal was reached three-handed. "Vienna Bundy" added $25,183 to his bankroll for the win.

*denotes three-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Eric "AceQuad" Brix (20th - $694.98)

PokerStars Bigger $109 ($100K Guaranteed)

The Bigger $109 more than doubled its prize pool this week with 2,565 players plunking down the $100+$9 buy-in. Mike "SirWatts" Watson bubbled the final table this week, collecting $2,180.25 for his 10th-place finish. Luiz-Filipe Ferreira "mestrefilipe" de Andrade outlasted the field this week, earning $42,322.50 for the victory.

Notable Finishes: Mike "SirWatts" Watson (10th - $2,180.25)

PokerStars Sunday Storm ($200K GTD)

Nearly 500 players more registered for the Sunday Storm this week, creating an incredible 31,179-player field. The prize pool smashed its $200,000 guarantee, topping out at $311,790. The massive tournament was won outright by "DODIK_01" for $29,180.97.

PokerStars Sunday Kickoff ($75K Guaranteed)

The PokerStars Sunday Kickoff was up 23 entrants from last week's affair, with 1,316 players creating a $131,600 prize pool. Australian "Veva_Heva" won the event outright and pocketed $22,372.

_{*PokerStars Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-Up data obtained from PokerStarsBlog.com}

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