The Sunday Briefing: Kevin "kevsteele" Steele Wins Second Sunday Million in Four Months

November 07, 2011

Mickey Doft Live Reporter

Brett Collson Chief Editor

To most online poker players, winning any tournament is quite the accomplishment. Winning the PokerStars Sunday Million is a dream. The weekly flagship event routinely draws between 6,000 and 7,000 players, giving each participant roughly a .13 percent chance of making the final table. Even some of the most celebrated online tournament players in the world are still in the hunt for their first Sunday Million title.

UK poker player Kevin "kevsteele" Steele defied the odds. In July, Steele bested a field of more than 6,000 players to win the PokerStars Sunday Million for $128,793. On Sunday, Nov. 6, Steele did it again, weaving his way through a field of nearly 7,000 players to win the tournament for the second time in less than four months.

PokerStars Sunday Million ($1M Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	6,967	$1,393,400

Steele's path to glory wasn't easy. Poker pros Grayson "gray31" Ramage and Cesar "CesarSPA" Garcia joined him at the final table, and "V1rtuozzzzzz" from Belarus led the way with 15.8 million chips when play began. Ramage's appearance didn't last long as he three-bet all-in with A♣8♠ and couldn't catch up to "ShipTheFliip's" A♥K♣, sending the former Texas native out in eighth place. Less than 10 hands and one bustout later, Garcia made his exit in sixth place after moving his short stack in with K♥2♦ and coming up short against "Sir_Ellwood's" A♣9♣.

After the elimination of Sweden's "gnetaren," the four remaining players agreed on a chop, with $20,000 set aside for the winner. Steele was second in chips when the deal was made, but he stormed to the lead after the cards went back in the air. Steele eliminated "Sir_Ellwood" in fourth place and then sent "ShipTheFliip" out in third, setting up a heads-up match against "V1rtuozzzzzz" for the title.

Steele held a sizable lead when play began and found a fortunate turn card on the final hand to finish off his opponent. "V1rtuozzzzzz" opened with a raise, and Steele moved all-in with 7♣2♥, having his opponent covered. "V1rtuozzzzzz" called with A♦10♦, but the 9♦5♠K♣2♦3♠ board gave Steele a winning pair of twos and his second Sunday Million victory.

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

Place	Player	Prize
*1	Kevin "kevsteele" Steele	$168,838.99
*2	V1rtuozzzzzz	$156,500
*3	ShipTheFliip	$121,467.70
*4	Sir_Ellwood	$110,000
5	Graftekkel	$58,522.80
6	Cesar "CesarSPA" Garcia	$44,588.80
7	gnetaren	$30,654.80
8	Grayson "gray31" Ramage	$16,720.80
9	$Big	Ger1.de

*denotes four-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Sam "aaajack" Chartier (34th - $2,912.20)

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up ($500K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	3,664	$732,800

Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose headlined the final table of the Sunday Warmup this week. The 2006 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure winner had a massive stack when the final table began and used it to earn a spot in the final two against UK player, "flexaccou." It was a great day for the Brits as "flexaccou" won a lengthy battle against the Canadian pro to collect more than $115,000 and his first Sunday Warm-Up title.

To read more about this week's Sunday Warm-Up, check out PokerStarsBlog.com

Place	Player	Prize
1	flexaccou	$115,050.77
2	Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose	$85,737.60
3	haldi80	$60,456
4	Daniel "Garnerus" Gómez	$42,136
5	ROÇADO	$31,144
6	nasukk	$23,816
7	Mrsgardener	$16,488
8	DanJog	$9,160
9	P0lak	$5,862.40

PokerStars Sunday 500 ($250K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$500+$30	782	$391,000

Feared online grinder "Zackattak13" won another tournament on Sunday, taking down the PokerStars Sunday 500. He bested the 782-player field to take home the lion's share of the $391,000 prize pool — $70,380. Rasmus "mrvogt" Vogt also made the final table but made his exit in seventh place.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Zackattak13	$70,380
2	pececada	$50,830
3	Str33tChaman	$37,927
4	KKremate	$28,347.50
5	tummen6	$19,706.40
6	boodeca	$15,796.40
7	Rasmus "mrvogt" Vogt	$11,886.40
8	fenster2009	$8,015.50
9	caipsa	$4,887.50

Notable Finishes: Joe "ender555" Ebanks (11th - $4,105.50), Alex "Allingomes" Gomes (19th - $1,798.60)

PokerStars Bigger $55 ($200K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$50+$5	5,687	$284,350

The Bigger $55 attracted 5,687 players, creating a prize pool worth $284,350. John "kleath" Leathart added another tournament win to his resume by winning the PokerStars Bigger $55. Leathart, who recently moved to Malta, is approaching $2 million in tournament earnings on PokerStars.

Place	Player	Prize
1	John "kleath" Leathart	$44,476.19
2	Jaymillio	$33,126.77
3	68ioweyou1	$23,416.22
4	PokerSickNr1	$16,065.77
5	jegindoe	$12,084.87
6	SHExpress	$9,241.37
7	Freakstah	$6,397.87
8	g.karolis	$3,554.37
9	SteveB85	$2,274.80

Notable Finishes: Ana Marquez (36th - $611.35)

PokerStars Bigger $109 ($100K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	2,893	$289,300

Lithuania's "samirua" collected a payday of $38,311 after topping a field of nearly 3,000 players. A four-way deal at the final table saw all four players earn a payday of at least $25,000.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	samirua	$38,311.69
*2	OhRaisyDaisy	$28,456.99
*3	mmoreno9	$30,866.83
*4	XxKaprelxX	$25,808.80
5	seeeeeeee	$13,886.40
6	Chipleader56	$10,993.40
7	iconoclast	$8,100.40
8	jaybeastie	$5,207.40
9	newada	$3,211.23

*denotes four-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Nico "PKaiser" Fierro (18th - $1,157.20)

PokerStars Bigger $162 ($100K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$150+$12	1,463	$219,450

Sweden's "Mojje87" won the PokerStars Bigger $162 outright to find nearly $40,000 added to his account. Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee missed out on the final table, finishing in 12th place, good for $2,084.77.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Mojje87	$39,589.21
2	Yattago	$28,638.22
3	TheMakaron	$21,945
4	kwstas_1980	$16,458.75
5	treezer	$11,521.12
6	JamsLaNoche	$9,326.62
7	TheKhopMan	$7,132.12
8	Gord0nGeck0	$4,937.62
9	THEFLYINGKID	$3,072.30

Notable Finishes: Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee (12th - $2,084.77)

PokerStars Sunday 2nd Chance ($125K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	1,181	$236,200

The Sunday 2nd Chance's 1,181 players almost doubled its $125,000 guarantee. The impressive final table included Stavros "IDOLLS" Kalfas, Jeff "jeff710" Hakim, Veronica "Princesa" Dabul, Ana Marquez, and Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen, among others. A deal was struck during three-handed play, and "Prugi" topped a notable-filled final nine players for $35,244.67.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	Prugi	$35,244.67
*2	Stavros "IDOLLS" Kalfas	$31,333.07
*3	Jeff "jeff710" Hakim	$28,917.92
4	Nty9Problems	$17,006.40
5	Sam "Rekrapmas" Parker	$11,810
6	Veronica "Princesa" Dabul	$9,448
7	Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen	$7,086
8	Ana Marquez	$4,724
9	Kris "ibluffheaps Cunz	$2,834

*denotes three-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Brian "$tinger 88" Hastings (11th - $2,243.90), Sergey "gipsy74" Rybachenko (17th - $1,299.10)

PokerStars $109 Sunday Rebuy ($200K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	1,013	$329,200

Before he final tabled the Sunday Million, Grayson "gray31" Ramage was one of two left standing in the $109 Sunday Rebuy. He took second place for $51,000, while "Muka82" took it down for $54,014.80.

Place	Player	Prize
*1	Muka82	$54,014.80
*2	Grayson "gray31" Ramage	$51,000
3	cooltwister	$32,920
4	luetch1	$24,690
5	DimaDima13	$17,283
6	Xereles	$13,991
7	3max	$10,699
8	Us_Alex	$7,407
9	I_M_ICM	$4,608.80

*denotes heads-up deal

Notable Finishes: Dan "dan82mur" Murariu (30th - $1,152.20)

PokerStars Sunday Storm ($200K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$10+$1	33,009	$330,090

The Sunday Storm also saw an increase in attendance this week, drawing 1,030 more entrants than last week. A six-handed deal went down at the final table, and earning the biggest piece of the prize pool was eventual winner "Iia007."

Place	Player	Prize
*1	Iia007	$20,500
*2	MrJocker78	$17,300
*3	koran2008	$10,000
*4	Game123King	$10,000
*5	ChaseTh3Ace	$17,665.19
*6	spegasus	$10,000
7	madhattersho	$3,053.55
8	banchee35094	$2,145.58
9	const17	$1,501.90

*denotes six-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Vincent "Vingtcent" Van Der Fluit (33rd - $396.10)

PokerStars Sunday Kickoff ($75K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	1,530	$153,000

Sunday began off with a bang with the first event on the Sunday Majors lineup. The Sunday Kickoff drew 253 more players than last week. After a deal was struck between the final two players, "santos22" pocketed a first-place prize of $22,935.