Sunday Briefing: Mike Watson Wins the PokerStars Sunday 500
Mike "SirWatts" Watson may no longer be as active in the online poker world as he once was, but on Nov. 5 he showed he still has what it takes to rub shoulders with online's best players by triumphing in the PokerStars Sunday 500.
Watson's victory in the Sunday 500 was the 21st win of his online career and takes his lifetime winnings past the $3.6 million barrier, according to PocketFives.com. Add this to the almost $11 million in live tournament winnings and it is easy to see why Watson is respected and feared in equal measure.
Some 441 players bought into the Sunday 500 for $530 and only 62 of those received prize money. Malta's "despedespi33" burst the money bubble, paving the way for the likes of "€urop€an," Rocco "Sephirot88" Palumbo, Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo, and Sam "Str8$$$Homey" Greenwood to make it into the money.
There were some familiar faces at the final table, too. Chris "ImDaNuts" Oliver fell in fourth-place for $15,578, while Australia's Matthew "mjw006" Wakeman busted in third-place for $21,253. Watson then defeated Russia's "s3c3_1978" heads-up to scoop the $39,558 top prize, resigning his heads-up opponent to the $28,995 runner-up prize.
While Watson's score was impressive, it was blown out of the water by the $120,684 won by Romania's "G A W" in the Sunday Million. G A W topped a field of 5,738 in the $215 buy-in event, sending "beginner27" to the rail as the tournament's bridesmaid after an intense heads-up battle. Beginner27 of the United Kingdom collected $118,652, while "vaneslow" and "Ottodif" banked $69,651 and $84,660 as part of a four-way deal that left $20,000 for the eventual champion.
Some of the other notable victories at PokerStars on Nov. 5 included:
| Tournament | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| $530 Bounty Builder High Roller | OMGACEACEACE | $73,003* |
| $2,100 Sunday High Roller | PSCPRODIGY | $58,038 |
| $215 Sunday Warm-Up | cocojamb0 | $44,815 |
| $215 Bounty Builder | mahmuttt83 | $35,931* |
| $109 Bounty Builder | Pedro "gusmaa" Madeira | $31,594* |
| $215 Sunday Sonic NLHE | dupree_m | $30,526 |
| Bigger $109 | taikura | $25,257 |
| Bigger $215 | kdrAS | $20,201 |
| Hotter $215 | DaanOss | $18,755 |
| Hotter $109 | Pablo Brito "pabritz" Silva | $18,557 |
| $530 Omania High Roller | Robin "robinho" Ylitalo | $17,146 |
| $109 Sunday Cooldown | Regis "capotinha" Kogler | $17,143 |
| $109 Sunday Kickoff | Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt | $15,168 |
| $215 Sunday Supersonic NLO8 | SkyScraper93 | $8,253 |
| $109 Sunday KOmania | Foxy1029 | $7,875* |
| $215 Triple Threat | Jens "Fresh_oO_D" Lakemeier | $7,725 |
| $109 Omania | Maden2k | $7,628 |
| $109 Sunday Wrap-Up | n3xD | $6,833 |
| $109 Sunday Starter | rachelDrouge | $6,569 |
| Hotter $162 | psihodelik31 | $6,131 |
| $109 Bubble Rush | Oscar "xXROMmMEOXx" Barriga Cueva | $5,484 |
| $109 Sunday KOmania | Bernado "bedias" Dias | $5,390* |
| Bigger $162 | Cashloser | $4,180 |
*Includes bounty payments
Over at partypoker, Switzerland's "ZeKick" took down the $150K Gtd Super High Roller, partypoker's $2,600 weekly tournament. The Swiss grinder secured a $55,808 payout after defeating "TheTryangle" heads-up; the runner-up collected $41,314.
TheTryangle then went on to win the $150K Gtd High Roller Warm-Up for an additional $29,405, while partypoker ambassador Patrick "Patrick_Leonard" Leonard won the $50K Gtd Drago for a cool $10,102.
Shoutouts also to "OnLiNe_BaTM4N" who won the $100K Gtd Main Event Warm-Up for $23,786 and to "girafganger" who was crowned the $200K Gtd High Roller champion, an accolade that came with a $29,086 cash prize.
Finally, over to 888poker where the $100,000 Gtd Baby Whale ended in a three-way chop. "HateH4teHate" may have finished third but one the most money, namely $17,106 with "ribamech15" being the runner-up for $16,821. The eventual champion was "floatmasta" who walked away with $15,860.
It was Ukraine's "YoungPope" who triumphed in the $100,000 Gtd Mega Deep for $19,000 while "whymebe" won the $35,000 Turbo Mega Deep for $8,575. Rocco "sephiro0t" Palumbo claimed the $5,750 top prize of the $25,000 Sunday Crocodile with Giovanni "gioriz" Rizzo winning the $60,000 Sunday Challenge for $11,647.
