Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies Becomes PokerStars' Biggest Winner of 2011

January 03, 2012

Chad Holloway PR & Media Manager

While 2011 was perhaps the worst year for online poker, there were still a couple of notable online stories. One story was the resettlement of high-stakes cash games to PokerStars; another was the subsequent race by Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies and Rafi "refaelamit" Amit to become the year’s biggest winner. Things were hotly contested in December, with Viktor “Isildur1” Blom making a push for the title, but in the end, Sahamies won $2.18 million to become PokerStars' biggest winner of 2011.

According to HighStakesDB, Sahamies won $2,183,832 in 2011, only $78,235 more than Amit's $2,105,597.

Both Sahamies and Amit are high-stakes regulars who’ve been featured in the weekly Online Railbird Report more often than not, so it wasn't surprising to see both finish atop the year's leaderboard. It should be noted that Gus Hansen is listed as the overall big winner of 2011, having won $3,941,703 in the first 14 weeks of the year; however, he did so on Full Tilt Poker.

Surprisingly, both Sahamies and Amit took two very different routes to the top of the PokerStars leaderboard. For instance, Sahamies was in the red for the first two-thirds of the year while Amit built up a series of smaller wins on a monthly basis — with the exception of the summer.

Here is a month-by-month look for each player for 2011:

Ilari "Ilari FIN" Sahamies Rafi "refaelamit" Amit

Month	Winnings	Running Total	Month	Winnings	Running Total
January	$0	$0	January	$262,480	$262,480
February	-$132,430	-$132,430	February	-$57,210	$205,270
March	-$145,990	-$278,420	March	$562,200	$767,470
April	-$94,670	-$373,090	April	$33,520	$800,990
May	$147,200	-$225,890	May	$0	$800,990
June	-$384,870	-$610,760	June	$0	$800,990
July	-$262,600	-$873,360	July	$0	$800,990
August	$510,700	-$362,660	August	-$44,060	$756,930
September	$899,000	$536,340	September	$1,073,070	$1,830,000
October	$763,660	$1,300,000	October	-$20,000	$1,810,000
November	$770,000	$2,070,000	November	$110,000	$1,920,000
December	$113,832	$2,183,832	December	$185,597	$2,105,597

The year was shaping up to be a disaster for Sahamies, who is listed as having dropped $623,000 on Full Tilt, but he turned things around beginning in August. In fact, it took just two months for him to recoup his losses of $873,360 and move a half million into the black. From there, he won an average of $810,866 per month between September and November.

A good portion of those winnings came on Sept. 7, 2011, when Sahamies won the largest pot ever played on PokerStars. It happened at a six-handed $200/$400 PLO table and began when Sahamies ($247,909) opened for $1,400 from the cutoff. Andreas "Skjervøy" Torbergsen ($30,208) and "bernard-bb" ($195,609) both made the call, creating three-way action to the K♠2♥3♠ flop. When it was his turn, Sahamies bet $4,595, Torbergsen raised to $18,380, and both bernard-bb and Sahamies made the call. Action checked to Torbergsen on the 9♥ turn, prompting him to move all-in for $10,428. Bernard-bb then check-raised to $91,019, Sahamies called, and the 3♥ was put out on the river. Bernard-bb bet $84,810 and Sahamies called, showing A♥K♥6♥4♣ for a flush, which was better than bernard-bb’s A♦A♠2♦7♠. Torbergsen mucked and Sahamies took down the $421,826 pot, the largest in PokerStars' history.

Amit was actually seated at the table during the aforementioned hand, though he had folded preflop. Perhaps Amit's most memorable hand of the year came on Aug. 25 when he scooped pot worth $168,336, his biggest of 2011. In that hand, Amit ($155,605) was playing three-handed $100/$200 PLO when Ronny "1-ronnyr3" Kaiser ($29,296) folded on the button. Amit raised to $600 from the small blind while Viktor "Isildur1" Blom ($98,241) three-bet to $1,800 from the big. Amit then made it $5,400 to go, Blom called, and the flop came down 2♠6♥Q♣. Amit bet $5,600, Blom called, and the K♠ appeared on the turn. This time Amit checked, Blom bet $17,400, and Amit called. Again, Amit check-called a bet on the 2♣ river, this time $56,768, and watched as Blom turned over 5♠3♣9♣4♥ for a missed straight. Amit proudly rolled over A♥A♦J♣Q♦ to take down the pot.

Speaking of Blom, he made a late push on Thursday, Dec. 30 to become the biggest winner of 2011, collecting $492,000 while Sahamies dropped $454,000. In one hand at $50/$100 PLO, Blom ($53,885) opened for $300 while Sahamies ($67,746) exercised his option in the big blind with a three-bet to $900. Ever the aggressor, Blom four-bet to $2,700, Sahamies called, and the flop came down 5♣A♠2♣.

Sahamies checked, Blom fired out $3,800, and Sahamies woke up with a check-raise to $16,799.50. Blom responded by moving all-in for $51,185, and Sahamies made the call.

Showdown
Sahamies: A♦6♦3♦2♥
Blom: A♣Q♣7♠5♠

Both players had flopped two pair, but Blom’s was superior. Neither the J♥ turn nor 10♠ river changed a thing, and Blom raked in the $107,770 pot.

Sahamies' bad day put the 2011 title in jeopardy, putting him just $50,000 ahead of Amit, but he managed to hold on for the win. Meanwhile, Blom’s late-December rush made him the third biggest winner on PokerStars, banking $1,472,695.

Here is a look at the Top 10 Winner and Losers on PokerStars for 2011:

Top 10 2011 Winners on PokerStars

Player	Sessions	Hands	Winnings
Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies	1,200	99,695	$2,183,832
Rafi "refaelamit" Amit	1,077	101,527	$2,105,597
Viktor “Isildur1” Blom	3,519	384,654	$1,472,695
Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen	2,417	151,034	$1,377,019
Gavin “gavz101” Cochrane	2,079	233,728	$1,197,672
Ronny “1-ronnyr3” Kaiser	1,226	78,543	$1,191,110
1Ill1Ill1ill	926	79,772	$1,160,769
Andreas “skjervoy” Torbergsen	1,328	99,428	$1,132,635
L0ve2playU	3,537	178,852	$1,092,399
Benny "Toweliestar" Spindler	2,205	201,708	$1,070,907

Top 10 2011 Losers on PokerStars

Player	Sessions	Hands	Losses
Zypherin	250	62,564	$1,054,638
Richard “nutsinho” Lyndaker	1,620	160,159	$1,025,356
nasud 11	1,347	65,069	$877,151
Nikolaus “RealAndyBeal” Jedlicka	742	43,419	$735,094
VietRussian	889	91,223	$724,272
MamaOsa55	173	8,670	$720,385
Anton “antonionel” Ionel	133	15,264	$703,103
Fake Love888	214	15,082	$696,030
venced0r	821	97,904	$599,958
seghei007	159	15,154	$575,170