button in SafariBelgian Takes Down PokerStars Anniversary Series Sunday Million For $107K
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Belgian player "metalidsnake" bought into the PokerStars Anniversary Series edition of the Sunday Million for $215 and, unfortunately, was one of the first players sent packing. However, they dusted themselves down, re-entered for another $215, and turned that second bullet into a $107,801 score and the title of champion.
The Anniversary Series edition of the Sunday Million saw the buy-in increase from $109 to $215, the format switch to a progressive knockout, and the guarantee remained at $1 million. Including re-entries, a field of 4,648 descended on PokerStars, which left a $70,000 overlay on the guaranteed prize pool.
Team PokerStars' Benjamin "Spraggy" Spragg, Marle "MarlzTV" Spragg, and Sebastian "peace&loove" Huber fired multiple bullets, but none of them could navigate their way deeper than 1,282nd place.
Some of those who did go deep in this event included Andrey "ThePateychuk" Pateychuk, Austria's "Sxmon," Casimir "Ceis25" Seire, Andreas "mrAndreeew" Berggren, Dmitry "yurasov1990" Yurasov, and Swedish star Alfred "Kzzon" Karlsson.
With bounties included, eight of the nine finalists turned their investments into five-figure sums. By the time heads-up was reached, which saw "metalidsnake" go head-to-head with "billionaaire" of Brazil, both players had locked in $65,330 from the regular prize pool, leaving the now-huge final bounties to play for.
"Billionaaire" bowed out in second place and added $9,328 worth of bounties to their prize. However, "metalidsnake"'s bounty haul weighed in at $42,467, which wasn't far off the total payout the third-place finisher scooped! Altogether, the champion secured $107,801. They must be delighted with their decision to buy back in after busting so early.
$215 NLHE PKO Sunday Million Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | metalidsnake | Belgium | $42,467 | $65,334 | $107,801 |
| 2 | billionaaire | Brazil | $9,328 | $65,330 | $74,658 |
| 3 | makichinho | Belarus | $8,593 | $38,762 | $47,355 |
| 4 | Obafemi9 | United Kingdom | $2,890 | $27,630 | $30,520 |
| 5 | Mikel Unanue | Mexico | $4,901 | $19,696 | $24,597 |
| 6 | radostin1913vn | Bulgaria | $3,904 | $14,040 | $17,944 |
| 7 | roddsafc | Brazil | $4,126 | $10,008 | $14,134 |
| 8 | ogggeee | Ukraine | $4,539 | $7,134 | $11,673 |
| 9 | fantomvmk | Argentina | $2,963 | $5,085 | $8,048 |
Alessio La Francesca Takes Down Sunday High Roller For $61,951
As the Sunday Million was marching toward a conclusion, the $1,050 No-Limit Hold'em PKO Sunday High Roller was busy whittling its talented field down to a more manageable number. A field of 303 entrants created a $303,000 prize pool that dozens of top-tier grinders competed for a slice of.
There were plenty of familiar aliases at the nine-handed final table, including Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson, who bowed out in eighth. Surprisingly, Mattsson didn't eliminate a single opponent before he himself busted.
Patrick "pads1161" Leonard joined the list of eliminated players in seventh as a steady stream of Day 2 bustouts continued.
Belarusian "|gammi|€120" fell in fourth for $22,364 before "dujo123" of Canada saw their tournament end in third place, a finish worth $21,360 with bounties included.
Heads-up pitted "On3MoreT1m3_" against Alessio "LAFAL1O" La Francesca for the title and a pair of final bounties worth more than $37,000, more than the regular prize pool prize they were now guaranteed. La Francesca, an Italian living in Albania, came out on top and took home a total prize of $61,951, leaving the Maltese runner-up licking their wounds with $30,740 to show for their efforts.
$1,050 NLHE PKO Sunday High Roller Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alessio "LAFAL1O" La Francesca | Albania | $37,203 | $24,928 | $61,951 |
| 2 | On3MoreT1m3_ | Malta | $5,812 | $24,928 | $30,740 |
| 3 | dujo123 | Canada | $5,359 | $16,001 | $21,360 |
| 4 | IgammiI€120 | Belarus | $10,375 | $11,989 | $22,364 |
| 5 | altian690 | Kyrgyzstan | $6,906 | $8,983 | $15,889 |
| 6 | paybah18 | Switzerland | $3,156 | $6,731 | $9,887 |
| 7 | Patrick "pads1161" Leonard | United Kingdom | $2,625 | $5,043 | $7,668 |
| 8 | Simon "C. Darwin2" Mattsson | Sweden | $0 | $3,779 | $3,779 |
| 9 | jason13-2008 | Brazil | $3,437 | $3,168 | $6,605 |
Three No-Limit Hold'em Main Events Begin May 24
$6 million worth of guarantees are up for grabs across the trio of Anniversary Series No-Limit Hold'em Main Events that shuffle up and deal for the first time on May 24. All three begin at 5:30 p.m. BST, and it will take four days until a champion emerges from the battlefield.
The $109 edition comes with a $1.5 million guarantee, while the $1,050 buy-in version guarantees $2.5 million. Anyone entering the $5,200 Main Event is guaranteed to compete for a share of a guaranteed $2 million.
Dozens of satellites are available for these Main Events. They start as low as $1.10 for the $109 Main Event, $55 for the $1,050 Main Event, and $215 for the $5,200 buy-in edition.
Anniversary Series No-Limit Hold'em Main Events Schedule
| $109 | $1,050 | $5,200 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 24 | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 24 | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 24 |
| Day 1 ends | After Lvl 17 (20 min levels) | After Lvl 16 (25 min levels) | After Lvl 15 (30 min levels) |
| Day 2 starts | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 25 | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 25 | |
| Day 2 ends | When 160 players remain | When 80 players remain | When 40 players remain |
| Day 3 starts | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 26 | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 26 | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 26 |
| Day 3 ends | When 9 players remain | When 9 players remain | When 9 players remain |
| Day 4 starts | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 27 | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 27 | 5:30 p.m. BST on May 27 |
