Sunday Briefing: Justin Bonomo Wins $192K

Justin Bonomo wins again

Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo had a 2018 to remember, winning more than $25 million from live poker tournaments and soaring to the top of the worldwide online money listings.

Bonomo isn’t only a live grinder; he can cut it with online poker’s elite grinders, as is evident by his victory at PokerStars on Feb. 10 that netted him almost $200,000.

PokerStars Turbo Series 54: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max High Roller Turbo

DateFebruary 10th
Buy-in$5,200
Guarantee$750,000
Entrants194
Prize pool$970,000
ITM23

The PokerStars Turbo Series 54: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max High Roller Turbo drew in a field of 194 entrants who helped create a $970,000 prize pool that was shared among the top 23 finishers.

Each of the eight players who reached the final table locked up at least $32,571 for their troubles and this was the sum Orpen “OrpTheTurk” Kisacikoglu walked away with when he busted in eighth-place.

Kisacikoglu was joined on the sidelines by Chris “ImDaNuts” Oliver and the Netherlands-based Brit Conor “1_conor_b_1” Beresford who collected $41,979 and $54,105 respectively.

Canada’s “skitzo333” and Manuel “fellatiado” Ruivo were the next to bust, with their exits leaving only three players in the hunt for the title; all three guaranteed a six-figure score.

PokerStars regular “WATnlos” of Austria saw their tournament end in third-place, a finish worth $115,839, leaving Tomi “elmerixx” Brouk and Bonomo to play heads-up for the title. Brouk, like so many players before him in this position, couldn’t outmaneuver Bonomo and had to make do with the $149,300 consolation prize, which meant Bonomo got his hands on $192,427.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Justin “ZeeJustin” BonomoCanada$192,427
2Tomi “elmerixx” BroukFinland$149,300
3WATnlosAustria$115,839
4Manuel “fellatiado” RuivoPoland$89,877
5skitzo333Canada$69,734
6Conor “1_conor_b_1” BeresfordNetherlands$54,105
7Chris “ImDaNuts” OliverCosta Rica$41,979
8Orpen “OrpTheTurk” KisacikogluUnited Kingdom$32,571

PokerStars Sunday Million

DateFebruary 10th
Buy-in$109
Guarantee$1,000,000
Entrants12,371
Prize pool$1,237,100
ITM2,150

The attendance of the new $109 buy-in Sunday Million fell for the second consecutive week, but 12,371 players still bought in and smashed the $1 million guarantee by $237,100.

It was Germany’s “strongwill81” who was the last player standing, meaning they secured a cool $124,602 payout. The German’s final opponent was “AlexS1” of Canada who walked away with $90,415 for their runner-up finish.

All but the ninth-place finisher, “kostelo,” turned their initial buy-in into a five-figure haul.

“GuiTirandente” from Brazil busted in eighth-place and banked $13,206. “Readas_reada” and “eblumin”’s exits left five players contesting for the lion’s share of the prize pool before “Guillaume479” and “Biffinio” busted to leave strongwill81 and AlexS1 to battle for the title, and we know how that ended up.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1strongwill81Germany$124,602
2AlexS1Canada$90,415
3BiffinioGermany$65,614
4Guillaume479Belgium$47,616
5Thasos_18United Kingdom$34,555
6ebluminCanada$25,077
7readas_readaAustria$18,198
8GuiTiradenteBrazil$13,206
9kosteloRussia$9,584

partypoker KO Series #37-HR: $300K Gtd 8-Max

DateFebruary 11th
Buy-in$1,050
Guarantee$300,000
Entrants359
Prize pool$366,180
ITM48

There were some big results over at partypoker thanks to the KO Series having some $300,000 guaranteed tournaments scheduled on Feb.10.

The KO Series #37-HR: $300K Gtd 8-Max beat its guarantee by $66,180, and this meant there were some chunky bounties on offer in the PKO tournament. Bounties can boost players’ prizes significantly with eighth-place finisher “Mrakobes20” taking home more than seventh-place finisher, Team partypoker’s Roberto “WelshWizard” Romanello.

It was a similar story later at the final table, with “sergewiceq” securing more than $1,000 more than “GewoonBoef” despite busting one place before.

It was the final two players who saw some giant-sized bounty payments come their way. Runner-up “NinjasHype” of the United Kingdom won $27,464 from the main prize pool plus an impressive $20,036 from the bounty prize pool. This was surpassed by the $27,500 first-place prize “dartazz” won, which was increased by $24,391 worth of bounties.

PlacePlayerCountryPrizeBounty PrizeTotal Prize
1dartazzLithuania$27,500$24,391$51,891
2NinjasHyperUnited Kingdom$27,464$20,036$47,500
3GewoonBoefNetherlands$19,041$6,012$25,053
4sergewiceqRussia$13,643$12,804$26,447
5TigerVSyouSweden$9,717$3,445$13,162
6BigPescado69United Kingdom$7,204$5,850$13,054
7Roberto “WelshWizard” RomanelloUnited Kingdom$5,005$975$5,980
8Mrakobes20Latvia$3,651$2,892$6,543

partypoker KO Series #38-HR: $300K Gtd 8-Max

DateFebruary 10th
Buy-in$530
Guarantee$300,000
Entrants739
Prize pool$378,737
ITM104

Lithuania’s “dartazz” won the KO Series event highlighted above and managed to reach the final table of the KO Series #38-HR: $300K Gtd 8-Max event too. This time they couldn’t go all the way. Instead, they had to make do with a seventh-place finish that was worth a combined $5,940.

Dartazz was the last player not to walk away with more than $11,000 for their effort. “Onehundredeyes” of Austria netted a combined $11,230 after finishing in sixth-place, only slightly less than the $11,340 locked up by Canada’s “Uhtredsan”, the fifth-place finisher.

Norway’s Eirik “digvalley” Boen Gravdal boosted his partypoker bankroll by $19,036 with “The1n0nlyJonG” of Canada turning their $530 into a total prize worth $23,164.

Heads-up saw Croatia’s “Juste1Canard” and “JimyTransaction” from Costa Rica play for a huge gulf in bounty payments. Their prizes for finishing first and second only differed by $37, but there was a massive gap in the bounties. Juste1Canard fell in second-place and won $10,609 worth of bounties, but the champion saw their prize boosted by $32,825 from the bounty prize pool.

PlacePlayerCountryPrizeBounty PrizeTotal Prize
1JimyTransactionCosta Rica$25,884$32,825$58,709
2Juste1CanardCroatia$25,847$10,609$36,456
3The1n0nlyJonGCanada$17,373$5,791$23,164
4Eirik “digvalley” Boen GravdalNorway$11,772$7,264$19,036
5UhtredsanCanada$8,309$3,031$11,340
6onehundredeyesAustria$5,987$5,243$11,230
7dartazzLithuania$4,277$1,663$5,940
8ucantrybutUkraine$2,973$2,444$5,417

888poker $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep

DateFebruary 10th
Buy-in$215
Guarantee$100,000
Entrants482
Prize pool$100,000
ITM45

Over to 888poker now where Norway’s “ShipGold” found themselves heads-up against one of the best in the business in the $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep.

The Norwegian fought tooth and nail with the United Kingdom’s Christopher “NigDawG” Brammer, formerly ranked number one in the world, and managed to get the job done, securing the $19,350 top prize. Brammer won $14,500 for his second-place finish.

Earlier at the final table, “Pik00rs” and Germany’s “allesrigged” fell in sixth and fifth-place for $4,400 and $5,700 score, with “Metelista” and “Al_Robbya” seeing their tournaments end in fourth and third-place respectively for cash injections of $8,250 and $11,000.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1ShipGoldNorway$19,350
2Christopher “NigDawG” BrammerUnited Kingdom$14,500
3Al_RobbyaMexico$11,000
4MetelitsaProRussia$8,250
5allesriggedGermany$5,700
6Pik00rs $4,400
7rickpereira7United Kingdom$3,400
8NoMamesWeyyyMexico$2,400

888poker $50,000 Whale

DateFebruary 10th
Buy-in$1,050
Guarantee$50,000
Entrants62
Prize pool$62,000
ITM6

Only six players made it into the money in the $50,000 Whale thanks to a compact field of 62 players taking part.

“MisterN411”, a regular in high stakes tournaments, was the first player to get their hands on some prize money, namely $3,410, and they were followed to the sidelines by “Juanfran1973” of the UK and “YSoSerious7” of Ukraine.

Third-place and $9,300 went to the Swiss grinder known as “J.DIFOOL,” and they were the last player in the tournament not to bank a five-figure prize.

“f0rmEiTseGaL” of the UK and Tim “REALTTWIST” Kelly were the last two players standing, but no deal was discussed despite a $7,440 difference in prize money, more than what fourth-place paid. This meant when f0rmEiTseGaL won all of the chip in play, they netted $22,940, and Kelly padded his bankroll with the $15,500 consolation prize.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1f0rmEiTseGaLUnited Kingdom$22,940
2Tim “REALTTWIST” KellyCanada$15,500
3J.DIFOOLSwitzerland$9,300
4YSoSerious7Ukraine$6,200
5Juanfran1973United Kingdom$4,650
6MisterN411 $3,410

Natural8 Sunday High Roller $1K

DateFebruary 10th
Buy-in$1,000
Guarantee$40,000
Entrants48
Prize pool$45,600
ITM6

Natural8 continued to run some big buy-in events on Feb. 10, and it looks to be a great site for those wanting compact fields and high buy-ins.

The Sunday High Roller $1K saw 48 players take to the felt with six of those winning prize money. Canada’s “chapdelaine” was the first player to cash, getting their hands on $2,180 with two other Canadians falling in fourth and fifth-place, namely “SasukeUchicha” and “Lexandru” who turned their $1,000 into $4,834 and $3,426.

Third-place and $7,197 went to “oldzet” from Mexico, which left “TexasPete” and Bart “escobarry” Lybaert as the last two players standing. The latter, a Belgian, was the man to emerge victoriously. His prize? $17,426. TexasPete collected $10,715 for second-place.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Bart “escobarry” LybaertBelgium$17,426
2TexasPeteCosta Rica$10,715
3oldzetMexico$7,197
4SasukeUchihaCanada$4,834
5LexandruCanada$3,426
6chapdelaineCanada$2,180
Bart Lybaert
Bart “escobarry” Lybaert

Natural8 Sunday Blade $1K

DateFebruary 10th
Buy-in$1,000
Guarantee$30,000
Entrants48
Prize pool$45,600
ITM6

Another $1,000 buy-in tournament at Natural8 was the Sunday Blade $1K that also saw a field of 48 players.

Three British players, two Mexico-based grinders and a Canadian, made it to the final table. Canadian Kristen “Krissyb24” Bicknell busted in fifth-place for a $3,246 haul.

Two of the Brits, “0milly” and “chan593” exited in fourth and third-place for $4,834 and $7,197, leaving the two Mexico flag bearers to play for the title.

“2gbenz” and “nbvcxz” decided to strike a deal for the remaining prize pool, which meant 2gbenz won $13,668 when they busted in second-place and nbvcxz took home $14,472 for their victory.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1nbvcxzMexico$14,472*
22gbenzMexico$13,668*
3chan593United Kingdom$7,197
40millyUnited Kingdom$4,834
5Kristen “Krissyb24” BicknellCanada$3,246
6joga_pr_corUnited Kingdom$2,180

*reflects a heads-up deal


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  • Justin Bonomo continued his winning ways, winning a PokerStars Turbo Series event for $192,427.

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