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Archive for August, 2008


APPT Seoul satellites running on PokerStars

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

appt_thumb_promo[2].jpgThe second season of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is about to begin in Macau and now PokerStars has kicked off satellites for the second stop on the tour.

PokerStars is now running satellites for the APPT event in Seoul, Korea. The event runs September 26-28 at the Paradise Walker-hill Casino.

PokerStars players can win their seat in Seoul in cash and FPP qualifiers starting at $2.20 or 50 FPP credits. Seats are also available in Steps sit-and-go satellites starting at $7.50 or 500 FPP credits.

The APPT Macau prize package is worth $6,000, and includes tournament buy-in, hotel accommodation and money for expenses.

To register for an APPT satellite tournament, open the PokerStars lobby, click ‘Events’ and ‘APPT’.

For more information, visit the APPT Seoul homepage.


APPT Seoul satellites running on PokerStars

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

appt_thumb_promo[2].jpgThe second season of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is about to begin in Macau and now PokerStars has kicked off satellites for the second stop on the tour.

PokerStars is now running satellites for the APPT event in Seoul, Korea. The event runs September 26-28 at the Paradise Walker-hill Casino.

PokerStars players can win their seat in Seoul in cash and FPP qualifiers starting at $2.20 or 50 FPP credits. Seats are also available in Steps sit-and-go satellites starting at $7.50 or 500 FPP credits.

The APPT Macau prize package is worth $6,000, and includes tournament buy-in, hotel accommodation and money for expenses.

To register for an APPT satellite tournament, open the PokerStars lobby, click ‘Events’ and ‘APPT’.

For more information, visit the APPT Seoul homepage.


APPT Seoul satellites running on PokerStars

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

appt_thumb_promo[2].jpgThe second season of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is about to begin in Macau and now PokerStars has kicked off satellites for the second stop on the tour.

PokerStars is now running satellites for the APPT event in Seoul, Korea. The event runs September 26-28 at the Paradise Walker-hill Casino.

PokerStars players can win their seat in Seoul in cash and FPP qualifiers starting at $2.20 or 50 FPP credits. Seats are also available in Steps sit-and-go satellites starting at $7.50 or 500 FPP credits.

The APPT Macau prize package is worth $6,000, and includes tournament buy-in, hotel accommodation and money for expenses.

To register for an APPT satellite tournament, open the PokerStars lobby, click ‘Events’ and ‘APPT’.

For more information, visit the APPT Seoul homepage.


APPT Seoul satellites running on PokerStars

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

appt_thumb_promo[2].jpgThe second season of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is about to begin in Macau and now PokerStars has kicked off satellites for the second stop on the tour.

PokerStars is now running satellites for the APPT event in Seoul, Korea. The event runs September 26-28 at the Paradise Walker-hill Casino.

PokerStars players can win their seat in Seoul in cash and FPP qualifiers starting at $2.20 or 50 FPP credits. Seats are also available in Steps sit-and-go satellites starting at $7.50 or 500 FPP credits.

The APPT Macau prize package is worth $6,000, and includes tournament buy-in, hotel accommodation and money for expenses.

To register for an APPT satellite tournament, open the PokerStars lobby, click ‘Events’ and ‘APPT’.

For more information, visit the APPT Seoul homepage.


PokerStars Sunday Tournament Results (8-24-08)

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Well, we don't know about you, but we're exhausted. This was one big Sunday of tournament poker, and we watched a goodly portion of it.

If you missed it, we spent Sunday live-blogging the whole of both the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up</a< and PokerStars Sunday Million. Over the course of fourteen hours, we saw a ton of good poker, not to mention a fairly large chunk of prize money getting picked up by the players.

The upshot of all if it was Supa4real won the Sunday Warm-Up and NFrost_10 took down the Sunday Million. Meanwhile, Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari took third place in the $109 rebuy event for more than $36,000.

A special note before we get to the results. Next week's Sunday Warm-Up is going to be extra attractive this coming Sunday. The guarantee has been bumped up at $1 million for the week and all players will have a chance to rebuy once in the first two hours.

Final table results for this weekend's events are below. Congratulations to all of this week's winners.

PokerStars Sunday Million Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and two-way deal

1. NFrost_10 (United States) $170,900.91
2. es_dame (Denmark) $140,900.91
3. karelli (Poland) $84,638.40
4. Duffs#1fan (United States) $69,524.40
5. SonnyInMtl (Canada) $54,410.40
6. lecharentais (Poland) $39,296.40
7. kidkanada99 (Canada) $26,449.50
8. hidden1s (United States) $17,381.10
9. afiopeneyes2 (United States) $10,579.80

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Results

1. Supa4real (Netherlands) $101,250.00
2. goodvibe1 (Germany) $71,250.00
3. Dudelinio (Germany) $48,750.00
4. tallgeir (Norway) $38,625.00
5. vanky (Netherlands) $30,750.00
6. lordhuttyx (United States) $23,250.00
7. RuudGullit (Denmark) $15,750.00
8. EDWARDHOPPER (Denmark) $9,750.00
9. GB2005 (United States) $6,750.00

PokerStars Sunday Two Hundred Grand Final Table Results

1. Crisper (Argentina) $22,566.01
2. pete royal (Germany) $15,796.21
3. Jukeboksi (Finland) $11,283.01
4. le copeau (France) $9,026.41
5. jwvdbrenk (Netherlands) $6,769.81
6. Ragaboo (United States) $4,513.21
7. KingKaiserK (United Kingdom) $3,384.91
8. pioumatmou (France) $2,256.61
9. Racing CdeM (Uruguay) $1,692.46

PokerStars $215 Weekly PL Omaha Final Table Results

1. mozitas (Uruguay) $5,565.10
2. dj_ponytale (Norway) $3,737.00
3. Pokers uheld (Denmark) $2,828.00
4. Grande Joe (Italy) $1,919.00
5. AmazingErvin (United States) $1,414.00
6. Nylez-bluf (Netherlands) $1,060.50
7. AJKHoosier1 (United States) $858.50
8. zezao27 (Brazil) $757.50
9. SCAINS2 (Germany) $606.00

PokerStars $215 Weekly Stud Hi/Lo Final Table Results

1. The Omaholic (United States) $3,360.00
2. gaffel (Norway) $2,240.00
3. stefong (United States) $1,568.00
4. fabsoul (France) $1,120.00
5. wineguytx (United States) $896.00
6. ronpraha (United States) $784.00
7. HelloImNew (United States) $672.00
8. MickBt23 (United States) $560.00

PokerStars $215 FL Hold'em Final Table Results

1. stolz (United States) $6,000.00
2. monk-dogg (United States) $4,000.00
3. smoesmom (United States) $2,400.00
4. ButterflyE77 (United States) $2,000.00
5 bam013 (United States) $1,600.00
6. PokerEwok (United States) $1,300.00
7. PearlJammer (United States) $1,100.00
8. cltrn (United States) $900.00
9. maxteam (United States) $700.00

PokerStars $215 PL Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and three-way deal


1. tmt326 (United States) $3,973.66
2. buckethead21 (United States) $4,327.55
3. andkrav (Russian Federation) $3,825.09
4. thret (Australia) $2,312.50 $3,936.20
5. duggins_edge (United States) $1,625.00
6 poppet29 (United States) $1,312.50
7. ronpraha (United States) $1,062.50
8. The Omaholic (United States) $875.00
9. vcehorosho (United States) $687.50

PokerStars Sunday Second Chance Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and two-way deal

1. rusostreet (United States) $51,073.75
2. Ericb09 (United States) $43,006.25
3. Smooth Ice (United States) $30,000.00
4 sunshine7718 (Canada) $22,500.00
5. Grey fox 33 (Costa Rica) $15,750.00
6. hg18l7 (United States) $12,750.00
7. jackmeplz69 (United States) $9,750.00
8. shallowcal (United States) $6,750.00
9. Zuked (Canada) $4,200.00

PokerStars $215 HORSE Final Table Results

1. sagwise (United States) $12,500.00
2. thret (Australia) $7,950.00
3. bhnndt (United States) $5,625.00
4. jandave (United States) $4,000.00
5. tarcards (United States) $3,100.00
6 ZHOAG (United States) $2,250.00
7. Siren (United States) $1,725.00
8. djLongtime (United States) $1,250.00

PokerStars $215 FL Omaha Hi/Lo Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and two-way deal

1. My Brim Low (United States) $5,967.00
2. Mormak (United States) $5,967.00
3. shaundeeb (United States) $3,717.90
4 TurnRiva (Australia) $2,754.00
5. mmzzqq (United States) $1,836.00
6. emptyseat88 (United States) $1,530.00
7. MrCasino (United States) $1,224.00
8. joe_5741 (United States) $918.00
9. charder30 (United States) $765.00

PokerStars $215+R NLHE Final Table Results

1. Roothlus (United States) $51,250.00
2. exposabre (Canada) $37,500.00
3. Sooners (United States) $28,250.00
4. Believer82 (United States) $21,250.00
5. All_in_at420 (United States) $14,750.00
6. djk123 (United States) $11,250.00
7. sacker (United States) $8,750.00
8. chipitmyway (United States) $6,250.00
9. ComeOnPhish (United States) $4,375.00

PokerStars $530 NL Hold'em Final Table Results

1. Waters81 (United States) $91,250.00
2. C.K. (Brazil) $66,450.00
3. ale3560 (Brazil) $50,000.00
4. BOKPOWER (Netherlands) $37,500.00
5. djalminha (Spain) $26,250.00
6. CKOTUHA (Russian Federation) $21,250.00
7. respect82 (Netherlands) $16,250.00
8. THE__D__RY (United States) $11,250.00
9. xuongxx (United States) $7,000.00

PokerStars $55 Daily Eighty Grand Sunday Special Final Table Results

1. Horst Heftig (Germany) $24,421.50
2. TheBigRaiser (Italy) $17,185.50
3. p W î (United States) $11,758.50
4. sexymelva (United States) $9,316.35
5. deborahk (Spain) $7,416.90
6. boul_quake (France) $5,607.90
7. jeffbeesdat (United States) $3,798.90
8. JackAdi (France) $2,351.70
9. Ko-C (Netherlands) $1,628.10

PokerStars $109+R NL Hold'em Final Table Results

1. TheNew (United States) $67,617.50
2. DaPokerGun (Slovenia) $48,977.00
3. aakkari (Brazil) $36,550.00
4. tiger76 (United States) $27,412.50
5. tr0nni (Norway) $19,188.75
6. JaySick88 (United States) $15,533.75
7. bigboybunk (United States) $11,878.75
8. puffinmypurp (United States) $8,223.75
9. TrueblueStar (United States) $5,117.00

PokerStars Sunday $5,200 Freezeout Results
Based on finishing order and two-way deal

1. Andy McLEOD (Australia) $42,000.00
2. HouseeLover (Sweden) $38,000.00


PokerStars Sunday Million 8-24-08 – NFrost_10 grabs a cool victory!

Monday, August 25th, 2008

It’s one of those things you’ve just come to expect in life. Birds gonna fly, fish gonna swim, dogs gonna bark, and PokerStars gonna beat the guarantee in the Sunday Million. With a symmetrical 7,557 players in the field, the prize pool for the biggest weekly tournament in poker was an incredible $1,511,400.00. The top 1,080 players got a piece of the pie, but nobody’s slice was bigger than NFrost_10, who took down $170,900.91 for first place after a deal that left $30,000 to play for when the field thinned from thousands down to just two. With just a couple of weeks before the WCOOP, PokerStars unveiled the new live blogging feature for this week's Sunday Million.

If one person in a poker tournament is ecstatic, 7,556 are less so. One of the less happy was final table bubble boy Roolender, who put on a display of ruthless aggression on the final table bubble that was impressive to watch. His chip stack went up and down like a roller coaster, but he finally found himself all in with Kc-Qc to Duffs#1fan’s Ad-10d. Duffs#1fan hit an ace on the 4d-5h-Ah flop, and Roolender was drawing thin. No help on the turn or river, and Roolender finished in 10th place for $7,557.00. That hand gave Duffs#1fan the chip lead going into the final table, but es_dame and NFrost_10 were close behind.

Afiopeneyes2 started the final table on the shortest of short stacks, and wasted no time moving all in preflop with Kd-Qc. NFrost_10 made the call with Ad-3d, and sent afiopeneyes2 to the rail when the board ran out 4s-6d-5s-6h-5d. Afiopeneyes2 picked up $10,579.80 for 9th place. That hand put NFrost_10 solidly in third place on the leader board, within striking distance of the chip leaders.

Shortly after kidkanada99 was crippled, SonnyInMtl moved all in preflop with Ah-Kh. Hidden1s called with Ac-Js, and several bigger stacks went into the tank weighing the option of busting two players. Finally the big stacks got out of the way, and it was heads-up to the 9c-7h-5c flop. No help on the Ad turn or the 6d river for hidden1s, and SonnyInMtl dragged the pot as hidden1s picked up $17,381.10 for 8th place.

The micro-stacked kidkanada99 was all in after calling the big blind on the very next hand, and found two opponents as es_dame completed the small blind and Duffs#1fan checked the big blind. The two chip leaders checked it down to the river as the board ran out 10d-3c-4s-10h-2s. Es_dame showed Kd-Jc, and both opponents mucked as kidkanada99 was eliminated in 7th place for $26,449.50.

Lecharentais held on for a few minutes after kidkanada99 busted, but eventually headed to the rail in 6th place ($39,296.40). After moving in several times preflop and picking up the blinds and antes, lecharentais found a caller in karelli, who picked up Kc-10c in late position and made the call. Lecharentais tabled 8h-6h, and karelli’s king kicker was good on the board of Qs-3s-7d-5c-5d.

Es_dame reclaimed the chip lead with the next bustout, sending SonnyInMtl to the rail in 5th place. On a board of 10s-10h-6c, SonnyInMtl moved all in with Kh-Qc. Es_dame quickly called with Ks-6s for two pair, and SonnyInMtl was left looking for a king or a queen. None came as the final board read 10s-10h-6c-5s-7h, and SonnyInMtl picked up $54,410,40 for 5th place.

With chip lead in hand, es_dame next took out Duffs#1fan, who went to the rail in 4th place. On a flop of Js-3h-8s, Duffs#1fan led out. Es_dame raised with pocket threes for bottom set, and quickly called when Duffs#1fan moved all in over the top. Duffs#1fan tabled As-9s for the nut flush draw, but no spade came on the turn or river, and es_dame busted Duffs#1fan in 4th place for $69,524.40.

The final break saw es_dame in the chip lead, with karelli on a short stack -
es_dame - 39,207,518
NFrost_10 - 25,311,860
karelli - 11,050,622

It only took a few minutes after players returned from break for everything to sort out, as NFrost_10 quickly took karelli out in 3rd place. NFrost_10 raised preflop, and karelli moved all in with Ac-7s. NFrost_10 called with As-Jh. Nothing out of the ordinary happened as the board ran out 9s-5c-Jd-7h-10d, and karelli picked up $84,638.40 for 3rd place.

SM heads-up 8.25.08.JPG

The players paused briefly once heads-up play began to discuss a deal, and quickly agreed on an even chop of the remaining money. Karelli’s elimination had moved NFrost_10 almost dead even with es_dame in chips, so each player took home $140,900.91, with $30,000 left to play for.

Heads-up play only took a few hands, as NFrost_10 wasted no time taking a small chip lead and exploiting it. With the tournament nearing clock nearing 3AM, all the chips went in the middle on a flop of Js-9s-7s. Es_dame showed Jc-4s for top pair with a flush redraw, while NFrost_10 tabled 9d-8s for middle pair with a better redraw. The 2s on the turn sealed the deal for NFrost_10, and the 6h on the river was irrelevant as NFrost_10 picked up a total of $170,900.91 for his Sunday Million Victory.

Congratulations to NFrost_10 and all the players who cashed in this week's Sunday Million!
The Final Table finishers and payouts looked like this after a deal between the final two players –

1) NFrost_10 - $170,900.91
2) es_dame - $140,900.91
3) karelli - $84,638.40
4) Duffs#1fan - $69,524.40
5) SonnyInMtl - $54,410.40
6) lecharentais - $39,296.40
7) kidkanada99 - $26,449.50
8) hidden1s - $17,381.10
9) afiopeneyes2 - $10,579.80


PokerStars Sunday Million Live Blog (8-24-08)

Sunday, August 24th, 2008


For a little fun today, we're going to live blog the PokerStars Sunday Million. Over the next eleven hours or so, Carol Kline, Johnny Kampis, Jen Newell, and John Hartness will be on hand to bring you the latest information on the Sunday Million. Have a story for us? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. Here's the Sunday Warm-Up Live Blog.

2:43am - NFrost_10 takes down the Sunday Million!

After making a deal which left $30,000 on the table, NFrost_10 wasted no time in claiming the chip lead from es_dame. After jockeying for position for a few hands, all the chips went in the middle on a flop of Js-9s-7s. Es_dame showed Jc-4s for top pair with a flush redraw, while NFrost_10 tabled 9d-8s for middle pair with a better redraw. The 2s on the turn sealed the deal for NFrost_10, and the 6h on the river was irrelevant as NFrost_10 picked up a total of $170,900.91 for his Sunday Million Victory. Congratulations to NFrost_10 and all the players who cashed in this week's Sunday Million!

Check back here soon for the recap of all the final table action.

2:40 am - Let's Make a Deal!

With chip stacks nearly equal, the two remaining players agreed to an even chop of first and second-place money. With $30k left in the middle for the eventual winner, es_dame and NFrost_10 each claimed $140,900.91 for their tournament. $30,000 is not peanuts, so the players played on.

2:35am - karelli out in 3rd, discussions of a deal break out

NFrost_10 raised preflop, karelli reraised all-in with Ac-7s, and NFrost_10 called with As-Jh.
The board came out 9s-5c-Jd-7h-10d, and it was over for karelli in 3rd place for $84,638.40. Once play got down to heads-up, the tournament was paused while the players discussed a deal.

2:30am - Players on break - es_dame in chip lead with 3 to go

With only three players remaining, es_dame has a significant chip lead, with nearly 40 million in chips. The stacks for the remaining three players are -

es_dame - 39,207,518
NFrost_10 - 25,311,860
karelli - 11,050,622

2:26am - es_dame back in the lead, Duffs#1fan headed home in 4th place

After busting SonnyInMtl in 5th place, es_dame took back over the chip lead and set his sights firmly on first place. His next victim was Duffs#1fan, who got the last of his chips in the middle with the nut flush draw on a board of Js-3h-8s. Duffs#1fan led out at the flop, es_dame rasied, Duffs#1fan moved all in over the top with As-9s, and es_dame called with pocket threes for bottom set. No spade on the turn or river for Duffs#1fan, and he finished in 4th place for a $69,524.40 payday.

2:21am - SonnyInMtl heads home in 5th, es_dame reclaims the chip lead

SonnyInMtl shoved the last of his chips in the middle with Kh-Qc on a flop of 10s-10h-6c. Es_dame made the call with Ks-6s, a nightmare hand for SonnyInMtl. Looking for a king or a queen, SonnyInMtl found only the 5s-7h on the turn and river, and was eliminated in 5th place, good for $54,410.40.

2:17am - lecharentais busted in 6th place

On a short stack for much of the final table, lecharentais moved all-in preflop time with 8h-6h. Karelli called with Kc-10c, and the board came Qs-3s-7d-5c-5d. Karelli's king kicker was good, and lecharentais was out in 6th place, taking home $39,296.40.

2:14am - The chip lead, they are a'changing.

Duffs#1fan took the chip lead into the final table, but a big elimination by es_dame vaulted him into the chip lead for a few hands. Then NFrost_10 took over the chip lead by moving in over the top of Duffs#1fan's preflop raises. The top three spots on the leader board stayed close as the players all made their moves at the $185,902.20 first place money.

2:08am - And then there were six - kidkanada99 busted in 7th

On the short stack, kidkanada99 went to the rail in 7th when he tangled with es_dame and Duffs#1fan. Kidkanada99 was all in after calling the big blind, and es_dame completed the small blind with Kd-Jc. Duffs#1fan checked the big blind, and the two chip leaders checked down the board of 10d-3c-4s-10h-2s. Es_dame's K-J was good, and kidkanada99 was frozen out in 7th place for $26,449.50.

2:04am - hidden1s out in 8th

SonnyInMtl pushed all-in preflop, and hidden1s called. Several players went into their time bank before folding, but it was heads-up to the flop. SonnyInMtl had Ah-Kh, and hidden1s showed Ac-Js. The board came 9c-7h-5c-Ad-6d, and hidden1s was out in 8th for $17,381.10.

1:57am - afiopeneyes2 busted in 9th place

The short stack to start the final table, afiopeneyes2 wasted no time getting the last if his chips in the middle with Kd-Qc. NFrost_10 made the call with Ad-3d, and the board ran out 4s-6d-5s-6h-5d. NFrost_10's kicker played, and afiopeneyes2 was the first casualty of the final table, finishing in 9h place for $10,579.80. NFrost_10 moved solidly into third place with that hand, closing the gap between himself and the chip leaders.

1:54am - Roolender's tournament ends and the final table is set

On the final table bubble, es_dame held a slight lead over NFrost_10, but the bubble wasn't to last long. After just a couple of hands of hand-for-hand play, Roolender all-in with K-Q of clubs versus A-10 of diamonds of Duffs#1fan. The board came 4d-5h-Ah-3c-9c, and it was over for Roolender in 10th place for $7557.00. Duffs#1fan took over the chip lead as the final table began, holding a slim lead over es_dame and NFrost_10.

1:50am - The Final Table draws ever nearer

As the remaining players sniff the final table and the big paydays that await there, the play tightens up with lots of all-in moves preflop, but very few calls. In one hand that bucked the trend, SonnyInMtl doubled through lacharentis with pocket nines against lecharentis' 7-6. Then all heck broke loose and we went from 12 players down to 10 in the blink of an eye. Or two hands, but some people blink slowly.

First off, VegaNevada moved the last of his chips in the middle with Ac-Qh, running into Duffs#1fan holding pocket Jacks. The Jacks held up, and VegaNevada was done in 12th place, good for a $7,557.00 payday. Then FatHeadMF went all-in with Ks-Jc and met with Ad-Js. The virtual dealer gave them Ac-4s-Qc-6h-9d, and it was all over for FatHeadMF in 11th place.

1:42am - afiopeneyes doubles up

afiopeneyes2 finally pushed 1,871,300 into the middle with As-10c and was called by SonnyInMtl who had pocket queens. The board showed Ks-3s-Ah-Ac-3d, and afiopeneyes2 doubled up. Roolender, who had lost a significant number of chips since moving into second place, doubled through VegaNevada when Roolender's pocket sixes held up against VegaNevada's A-Q. No help on the board for VegaNevada, and Roolender moved back into second place behind es_dame.

1:35am - Roolender making a move up the leader board

afiopeneyes2 doubled through es_dame with A-10 versus pocket fives when a 10 came on the flop. The board of 3c-10h-3d-8h-6c didn't help, and es_dame lost some chips. in a pot of nearly 5 million. While that was happening, Roolender became the second player to cross the 10 million chip mark, moving into second place.


1:29am - fast action after the break

Just after the break, Outfielder71 moved all-in with Ah-Js against the pocket eights of karelli. The board gave nothing to the shorter stack when it came 10d-2s-Kh-Kc-7d. Outfielder71 was forced to accept 15th place and $5,289.90 for it.

Maggie32198 fell just seconds later when Roolender's pocket Queens held up against maggie32198's Ad-Qd on a board of Kh-4d-6d-7s-9s. Maggie32198 had to settle for close but no cigar on the final table, finishing in 15th. At almost the same moment, uchi14 headed to the rail in 14th for $5,289.90

1:25am - Slower play but accelerated attempts to catch chip leader

After taking out several players in the last hour, kidkanada99 has moved into second place in the chip counts, within striking distance of es_dame's big stack.

At the same time, a short-stacked waltby made a stand from early position with pocket fives, and FatHeadMF made the call from the big blind with Ac-9h. The flop of As-Jc-Kd left waltby drawing thin, but the Qh on the turn added a few additional outs to a chop. The 7c on the river wasn't one of them, and waltby was eliminated in 16th place for $3,778,50.

With the next money jump of just over $1,500 kicking in, play slowed a bit and players went on a 5-minute break.

1:15am - Commanding chip lead held by es_dame with over 10 million in chips

With two tables remaining, it was clearly es_dame in the lead, but NFrost_10 and VegaNevada were both making a serious attempt to catch up.

Speaking of chip leaders, the chip leader coming into this level is the first casualty of these final two tables. Moving all-in on a steal attempt with Ks-3s preflop. Kidkanada99 limped in with pocket sixes and called ahhhhhsht's raise. The board ran out Qh-4d-3c-7d-4s, and kidkanada99 moved one step closer to the final table, while ahhhhhsht took 18th place and a $3,778.50 cash.

es_dame was not to be outdone in the elimination game, taking out laafii just seconds later. laafii moved all-in from the big blind with pocket threes after es_dame raised from the button. es_dame quickly called with Ad-Js and hit an ace on the flop to send laafii home in 17th place with $3,778.50.

12:55am - Final 23 players trying to catch es_dame

One player who will no longer be in that hunt is panchita69, who moved all-in over the top of northerngent's preflop raise with Ac-Jd, only to find SonnyInMtl holding pocket aces in the small blind. Nothing unexpected happened, and panchita69 was done in 23rd for a $3,022.80 prize.

The next to fall in a flurry of bustouts was puffinmypurp when he moved all-in over the top of afiopeneyes2 with Qh-9h. afiopeneyes2 tabled pocket sevens, and the board ran out 8s-2h-Ks-6d-3c. puffinmypurp was done in 22nd place.

Nuscas left the party next when he and kidkanada99 tangled for a final time. Nuscas open-shoved preflop with pocket sixes, and kidkanada99 made the call with Ac-Qh. The ace on the flop made things tough on Nuscas, and the running broadway cards made a straight for kidkanada99 and left Nuscas out in 21st.

northerngent was next to get in on the action, moving all-in with Ah-Kh and finding himself in a classic race against VegaNevada who held pocket jacks. The flop of 5d-7s-9h was no help to either player, but the Jh on the turn not only gave VegaNevada a set but gave northerngent a flush draw. The 7h on the river was a heart northerngent did not want to see, as it gave him the flush but filled up VegaNevada. northerngent went to the rail in 20th place.

And all the while, chip leader es_dame stays out front, claiming more chips for his growing virtual stacks when his As-Kh held up against pokrjoker78's Ah-Jd on a board of 5d-Qd-Qs-8h-3h. pokerjoker78's elimination in 19th sent the remaining players to the final two tables, while pokrjoker78 picked up $3,022.80, just before the next pay jump.

12:40am - Down to 3 tables, final table inches closer

The chip leader of only a few minutes ago, ahhhhhsht took a hit in a pot with karelli when pocket deuces lost a coinflip to karelli's Kc-Js.

Aceupmyslv7 went to the rail in 27th place when VegaNevada had not only an Ace but a six up his sleeve. All the money went in on the 2h-3s-6s flop and Aceupmyslv7's 5c-7d couldn't catch the four for the straight as VegaNevada had top pair, top kicker and improved to two pair on the river. Aceupmyslv7 picked up $3,022.80 for his finish.

Next to fall was highfloor33, who was the micro-stack as the hand began and whose 10s-6s was no good against NFrost_10's Ac-3s. After picking up a pair of sixes on the turn, it was NFrost_10 who made top pair and kept it to win the hand. highfloor33 finished in 26th place.

On table 430, es_dame continued the run and broke the 10 million chip mark, a 6 million chip lead over the nearest competitor.

Raynee headed to the rail in 25th place when his QhQs was cracked by NFrost_10's pocket eights on a board of 8c-3s-10h-2d-7s. The two-outer sent Raynee to the rail in 25th place.

Shortly thereafter, waltby won a coin flip in decisive fashion when he called IveGotToejam's all in preflop with pocket tens to IveGotToejam's Ah-Jh. A ten on the flop and another on the river made for a decisive exit for IveGotToejam, who got $3,022.80 for 24th place. (He can now attend to that toejam problem.)

12:25am - ahhhhhsht returns from break with chip lead

Coming back from break, there has been no shortage of action. A new table for ashhhhhsht, but the chip lead remains his to defend.

TeamSwindler was the first player to go after the break when his As-Qd went all in preflop against Duffs#1fan, who had pocket 9's. The board came 2c-3s-10s-7s-Jd, and TeamSwindler was eliminated in 35th place.

As play is fast and furious at the last four tables, es_dame moved up the chip ladder when a set of Aces flopped to bust Jesper_H. es_dame now sits in second place behind ahhhhhsht.

12:11am--Roolender ruling Table 2

Roolender eliminated another player at Table 2 after flopping trips with As-6s against the Ah-7h of Bjolle. After collecting 1.38 million from the pot, Roolender climbed to second on the leaderboard.

12:05am--His game is not in the crapper

Ahhhhhsht has flushed away several opponents at his table and is now our chipleader with 4.88 million. Forty-five players remain.

11:55pm--Roolender eliminates one player and cripples another

Action at Table 2 seems to have been fast and furious of late. The following three players were all-in pre-flop in this hand (chip counts are after blinds and antes): Sumpas (738,289 in chips), Roolender (1,039,722 in chips) and HitUR2outer (1,400,597 in chips). Roolender's Ah-Qd was behind HitUR2outer's Ad-Kh pre-flop, but both Roolender and Sumpas flopped a queen. Roolener's ace kicker was better than Sumpas' 9 kicker, and Roolender took down the 2.3 million chip pot. Sumpas was eliminated on the hand, and HitUR2outer dropped to 361K.

11:51pm--Who will we make jokes about now?

G Depardieu’s run has sadly ended. Grinded down to 367K, G Depardieu pushed all in with A-7, but ran into A-J. He finished in 59th place.

11:48pm--900K three-way pot won with nut no pair

SnowwwMan, who was sitting toward the top of the leaderboard with 2.4 million in chips, raised to 158K. Otto Doctor re-raised to 343K all-in, drifto88 called the all-in for less and SnowwwMan called as well. It was Ad-Qh for Otto Doctor, As-Jh for SnowwwMan and Ac-8c for drifto88. The board ran out 7h-9s-5c-7c-Kd, and Otto Doctor's nut no pair was best.

11:34pm--Manine in top three

Manine moved up the charts by winning a more than 2 million pot against former top ten chipholder CONI2AD. Manine’s jacks held up against the A-K of his opponent and Manine now has 2.35 million in chips.

11:32pm--HitUR2outer hits two big pots in a row; misses third

In the first hand, HitUR2outer's Ks-Qs was up against the Ad-Qc of crazy_teeth after HitUR2outer open shoved pre-flop. The flop was Kd-4s-As, giving HitUR2outer second pair and the nut flush draw. The 3h on the turn was no help, but the 3s on the river gave HitUR2outer the winning hand and the million chip pot.

Then, HitUR2outer raised to 100,771 pre-flop. GARFIELD25 raised to 921,034 all-in and HitUR2outer called. GARFIELD25 needed significant help, as his Ad-Jc was against HitUR2outer's As-Qh. Neither player improved, and HitUR2outer skyrocketed to 2.6 million in chips.

A few hands later, HitUR2outer got it all-in pre-flop against Roolender. HitUR2outer's 7h-7c was behind the Td-Tc of Roolender. The board ran out 6c-4s-4h-4d-5s, and HitUR2outer dropped back down to 834K.

11:24pm--Roolender finds another snowman

After getting it all-in pre-flop against WufflerL, Roolender found himself behind with Ac-8s against Kd-Kh. The flop was 7h-6d-8d, putting WufflerL in good position to double up, but the river 8c sent WufflerL to the rail. Roolender moved into the top ten on the leaderboard with 1.4 million in chips.

11:21pm--Pokrjokr78 takes chip lead

Pokrjokr78 is now up to 2.1 million after his pocket jacks held up against Skintz’s pocket tens.

11:20pm--Another pay jump

With only 88 players remaining, each is guaranteed at least $2,115.96 for his or her efforts.

11:10pm--Top ten chip leaders after the sixth hour; 98 players remain

Level 25
Blinds 20,000/40,000, antes 4,000
Average chip count: 771,122
Players remaining: 98
First Prize: $185,902.20

1. G Depardieu 2,079,393
2. Sumpas 1,929,720
3. puffinmypurp 1,867,042
4. CONI2AD 1,768,249
5. Songuku 1,740,844
6. oscartotti 1,734,434
7. mesc4u 1,645,016
8. uchi14 1,560,710
9. pokrjokr78 1,534,466
10. juliotexas1 1,497,480

11:04pm--Kevin “BeLOWaBOVe” Saul eliminated

Saul couldn’t win a coin flip and is gone from the Sunday Million. Rasmus73 raised to 75,000 and Saul pushed the rest of his 237,500 into the pot. Rasmus73 called and it was his Ad-Ks versus Saul’s Jh-Jd. The board came 7d-4h-Kh-Ac-8s and Saul finished in 123rd place.

10:58pm--And the Academy Award goes to…

We have a new chipleader and his screename is G Depardieu. In a key hand several players limped. After a flop of 2h-Jc-Qd, G Depardieu bet 55K and bukithepro raised to 461K after others got out of the way. G Depardieu called and showed Tc-9s for the open-ended straight draw while bukithepro showed 2s-2d for a set of deuces. Luck was on G Depardieu’s side when he hit the Ks on the turn. The river did not pair the board and G Depardieu was up to 2 million in chips.

10:45pm--Don’t count out Cyrano

After being on life support recently, G Depardieu is back in the top 10 in chips with 1.16 million.

10:41pm—SonnyInMtl rides tens to chip lead

In a pivotal hand, SonnyInMtl raised to 40K and former chipleader Frytki re-raised to 111K. SonnyInMtl called. The flop came 6h-6s-8s and SonnyInMtl led out for 140K. Frytki raised to 460K and SonnyInMtl pushed all in for 193K more. After Frytki called his hand was revealed to be Kh-As while SonnyInMtl was ahead with Td-Th. The turn was the 7h and the river wasTs making a full house for SonnyInMtl, who was up to 1.8 million after the hand. Frytki dropped to 494K.

10:40pm--Bigpulp pummeling the table

Bigpulp has crept into second place on the leaderboard after winning two big pots in short succession. In the first hand, Bigpulp rivered Broadway against the flopped top pair top kicker of GRINDER-HFX for an 852K pot. Three hands later, Bigpulp took down a 387K pot when he re-raised patricklaw after a flop of Ah-2c-8d.

10:23pm--Songuku and asher tangle in two pots

After calling Songuku's pre-flop raise to 45K, asher check-called another 45K after the flop brought 6h-Tc-8c. After the Th on the turn, asher check-raised Songuku's 75K bet to 150K. Songuku made the call. Both players checked after the Qc fell on the river. Asher showed 2c-2h, and Songuku mucked. After starting the level with 1.1 million in chips, Songuku dropped to 725K.

Two hands later, Songuku took down a 464K pot against asher. Both asher and mass.mike called the 45K pre-flop raise from Songuku. The flop was 6c-6d-2h. Songuku bet 60K, asher called and mass.mike folded. Both players checked the turn (8d). Songuku fired another 90K on the river (4s) and asher called again. Songuku showed Qh-Qs and asher mucked. Songuku got back to 990K after the hand.

10:19pm--Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul moving up the leaderboard

Saul is making nice progress as the tournament winds down below 215 players. In one hand, bapvegas raised to 30K and Saul called on the button. After a flop of Ts-8h-2h bapvegas checked and Saul bet 32,461. Bapvegas check-raised to 90K and Saul pushed. Bapvegas folded and Saul is up to 743K.

10:11pm--Top ten chip leaders after the fifth hour; 245 players remain

1. Frytki 1,488,020
2. Songuku 1,129,381
3. poquer1 1,055,001
4. tassen1 847,095
5. uchi14 846,877
6. chekdstak 778,874
7. superbeuk 736,157
8. Duffs#1fan 724,624
9. kipa58 698,780
10. waltby 674,288

10:08pm--Frytki takes big chip lead

Two chipleaders just tangled and Frytki came out the beneficiary of the exchange. In the hand Frytki raised to 28K and Don Laeso re-raised to 48K. Frytki called. After a flop of 9d-Jc-3s, Frytki bet 60K and Don Laeso raised the minimum. Frytki then re-raised to 288K and Don Laeso called. The turn was the 5h and Frytki led for 215K, which caused Don Laeso to tank and fold. After the hand Frytki was up to 1.43 million in chips and Don Laeso dropped to 485K.

10:02pm--Duffs#1fan is not oscartotti

After flirting with the million chip mark, oscartotti suffered a minor set-back when his 9c-9d was bested by the Jc-8d of Duffs#1fan. Oscartotti raised pre-flop to 36K, Duffs#1fan re-raised to 90K and oscartotti called. Duffs#1fan pushed all-in on a flop of 3c-5c-8c. Oscartotti's pair of 9s was best, but Duffs#1fan had a better flush draw. The 2c came on the turn, giving Duffs#1fan the J-high flush and the 725K pot. Oscartotti dropped to 633K in chips after the hand.

9:51pm--First to reach a million

Frykti and poquer1 are the first players to hit the million chip mark. Frykti currently has 1,066,421, and poquer1 has 1,048,401.

9:46pm--Noted online pro on the rise

Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul is moving up on the field. He just won a nice pot to get to 484K in chips, putting him in the top 30.

9:45pm--Over the four figure mark

We’re now under 325 players, meaning all remaining participants will receive at least $1,057.98.

9:35pm--G Depardieu takes a big loss

G Depardieu lost about a third of his stack to superbeuk when the latter showed Ac-Kh after a board of Qd-Kd-9h-7d-4h and the former mucked. G Depardieu is now down to 600K and superbuek is up to 790K.

9:30pm--Poquer1 makes a stab at Nuscas

At the start of the hand, Nuscas had a top-five chip-stack of 630,227. Poquer1 raised to 16,000 and called Nuscas' re-raise to 56,000. After the 2s-9d-2h flop, Nuscas bet 144,000 which was enough to put poquer1 all-in. Poquer1 made the call and showed As-9s for top pair top kicker. Nuscas showed Ah-Kh. The turn was the Qh, giving Nuscas a flush draw, but the river bricked out. Nuscas dropped to 483,540 in chips after the hand.

9:19pm--G Depardieu doesn’t need green card to capture chip lead

Our favorite Frenchman just won two big pots to take over the leaderboard. First, he slowplayed a full house to perfection. In that hand, G Depardieu called a raise to double his big blind from compris after powerscr also called. After a flop of 2c-2h-Kc all three players checked. G Depardieu led out for 6K after the 9d hit the turn and both opponents called. The river brought the Ah and G Depardieu led out for 6K again. Compris folded and powerscr raised to 30K. G Depardieu re-raised to 54K, enough to put powerscr all-in. The hands shown were 2d-Ks for G Depardieu and Qs-As for powerscr.

On the second hand, G Depardieu called a re-raise all-in from compris, who held Kc-6c. G Depardieu tabled Ad-9s and the board did not help compris. G Depardieu is now up to 936K.

9:09pm--Kipa58 takes a 100K hit

Just back from the break, kipa58 lost a race with 8-8 when BrandonPL hit an ace on the flop. BrandonPL started the hand with 99,819 in chips and re-raised all-in after kipa58 raised to 18,000 pre-flop. Kipa58 has now dropped out of the top ten on the leaderboard.

9:00pm--Top ten chip leaders after four hours; 579 remain

1. greenrizla 578,641
2. kipa58 571,554
3. G Depardieu 528,117
4. drifto88 500,591
5. _PAVO BARIC_ 491,056
6. toetagU 483,112
7. callmejimmy 473,532
8. Nuscas 433,588
9. Frytki 431,646
10. eatyourstac 423,748

8:59pm--Greenrizla joins the 500K club

Greenrizla raised pre-flop to 13,500 from the hijack position, Cryp2Nite re-raised all in to 35,886 from the small blind and greenrizla made the call. Cryp2Nite’s 5d-5h could not stay ahead of Greenrizla's Kd-Jh when the flop came 2c-9h-Js. Greenrizla scooped an 81K pot and moved into the chip lead with 578,641.

8:53pm--My hero, the poker player

Could we have a famous actor in our midst? G Depardieu is now second in chips with 538K.

8:45pm--Three players over 500K; 134198 not one of them

The top three in chips now are kipa58 at 541K, drifto88 at 531K and callmejimmy at 508K. 134198 had a rough stretch, including calling an all in with A-8 versus A-A and is down to 290K.

8:32pm--134198 has 546,918

134198 won another big pot when he called a 69K all-in bet from Ut Prosim. Ut Prosim held 8c-Tc and 134198 had Ac-5s. The board ran off Jh-6s-2s-9h-6c and our chipleader now has almost 550K.

8:21pm--The bubble has burst

The bubble recently burst. All remaining players are guaranteed $302.28.

8:20pm--Superbeuk moves into the top three

Superbeuk has joined 134198 and pimplar as the only three players with over 300k in chips. Superbeuk called a 15,000 pre-flop raise from jopieono, and the two players saw a flop of 7c-Kd-Ts. Superbeuk check-raised jopieono to 78,000, which would have put jopieono all in after his initial bet of 15,000. Jopieono folded and superbeuk scooped a 67k pot.

8:18pm--134198 at it again

Perhaps seeking early parole, 134198 has taken a big chip lead after sniffing out a big bluff. On this hand, 134198 raised to 7K and JERRY called. After a flop of Th-Qh-Kh, JERRY check called 12K. Both players checked the turn of Ks, and after the river came Qs JERRY bet all in for 74K. 134198 called and JERRY showed 7d-9h for a stone-cold bluff. 134198 held 6d-Qd for queens full and took down the 190K pot. He now has 484K in chips for a 160K chiplead over pimplar.

8:12pm--134198 wins a big one

Perhaps playing from prison, 134198 wins a big pot with cowboys versus A-10 and A-8 and is now up to 386K.

8:09pm--Eliminations should start slowing down

We are down to 1,150 players, 70 from the money bubble.

8:06pm--134198 moves on up

He hasn't won many big pots recently, but 134198 has chipped up considerably by aggressive play and has increased his stack from 227,589 at the break to 340,123 now, giving him a nearly 40K chip lead at the moment.

7:57pm-- Hols_think sniffs out bluff

Murdoc.73 limped in middle position and called Hols_think’s raise to 7,500. On a flop of 6h-Ad-5s, Hols_think led out for 7,500 after Murdoc.73’s check and called Murdoc.73’s check-raise to 17,500. Both players checked the turn and the river. Hols_think flopped top pair with As-Jc, which bested Murdoc.73’s Qd-Jd. Hols_think finished the hand with 240,979 in chips, which solidifies this player’s position in the top ten.

7:52pm--Top ten chip counts at end of hour number three; 1,338 remain

1. callmejimmy 282,511
2. 134198 227,589
3. Denis1180 225,380
4. afiopeneyes2 224,833
5. HooBangin 218,954
6. kipa58 210,879
7. Hols_think 210,497
8. annekechillo 199,274
9. Mr_BigQueso 195,998
10. Bayesian 194,989

7:46pm-- Larry Bird can’t beat King Kong

At least not in poker. Pe-T raised in middle position to 4,999, Isabelle Mercier re-raised all in to 28,050 and Pe-T made the call. It was Ks-Kc for Pe-T against Mercier’s 3h-3d. The board of Tc-Kd-Ac-7s-Jc was of no help for Mercier, and she was eliminated in 1,363th place.

7:44pm--Pimplar down, kipa58 up

Two of the chipleaders just tangled in a big pot. Kipa58 raised it to 6K, BrandonPL called and pimplar re-raised it to 18K. Kipa58 then made it 40K, BrandonPL folded and pimplar called. After a flop of Ts-3s-7d, pimplar checked and kipa58 bet 76K. Pimplar tanked and folded. Pimplay was down to 123K while kips58 moved up to 201K.

7:33pm--1,580 players left

500 more until the money

7:22pm--Annekechillo flops boat and brings opponent along for the ride

SirGutShot raised to 3,125 on the button and annekechillo called from the small blind. Both players checked the 8h-9d-9h flop. After the 7d hit on the turn, annekechillo bet 2,400 and SirGutShot called. The river was the 5d. SirGutShot led out for 6,650 after annekechillo checked, but annekechillo responded by raising to 14,400. SirGutShot called the additional 7,750 and mucked after annekechillo showed 9c-8c for a flopped full house. Annekechillo currently sits atop the leaderboard with 170,640 in chips.

7:19pm--Lee Nelson eliminated

Nelson pushed all in at the wrong time. He posted his big blind of 1,200 and only originator54 called. Nelson put the rest of his 12K in chips in the middle and originator54 called instantly with 8s-8d. Nelson showed Ks-8h. A flop and turn of Qh-7h-Ad-2h made it interesting by giving Nelson a flush draw, but the 5d hit the river and Nelson was eliminated in 1,933rd place.

7:15pm--Now under 2,000 players

7:02pm--William Thorson eliminated

The Team PokerStars Pro was put out in 2,498th place after his A-K ran into K-K all-in preflop and he could not improve.

6:55pm--Steve Paul-Ambrose eliminated

Steve Paul-Ambrose was eliminated in 2,521st place after his A-2 failed to improve against the A-Q of his opponent. Ambrose is still in the hunt in the Sunday Warm-Up with 298,261 in chips. Live blogging coverage of the Sunday Warm-Up can be found here.

6:47pm--Top ten chip counts at end of hour number two; 2,781 remain

1. PiKappRaider 123,296
2. CARP_DIEMM 110,182
3. vikkyG85 109,338
4. Nino773 108,155
5. annekechillo 103,355
6. G-millman 100,378
7. king muscles 100,347
8. IRENE666 99,815
9. strahhh25 97,572
10. soad_live 95,829

6:41pm-- William Thorson doubles up twice

Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson has doubled up twice in the last three hands. Sitting on a short stack of 2,136, Thorson pushed all in after a raise to 1,600 from JABRONI-17. Thorson’s Ac-Ad was ahead of the 8c-9c of JABRONI-17, but a flop of 8h-Kh-3s gave JABRONI-17 a bit of help; however, the turn and the river bricked out and Thorson was back to 5k in chips. Two hands later, Thorson called an all-in raise from wheels0271. It was the As-Jc of wheels0271 against Thorson’s Kd-Tc. Thorson hit a ten on the flop and the turn and the river were no help for wheels0271. Thorson had 10,694 in chips after the hand.

6:38pm--Two more Team PokerStars Pros out

Humberto Brenes and Andre Akkari have been eliminated, one right after the other. Akkari finished in 3317th place while Brenes was one spot better in 3316th place.

6:35pm--Less than 3,000 players remain

6:24pm--casa2674 surges toward the top of the leaderboard

Casa2674 has won four of the last six pots at Table 885. The first was a split 62,020 pot where casa2674 flopped the second nut flush draw on a board with two clubs, turned a Broadway draw and rivered Broadway. BrahCheeChoo rivered the same straight. In the next hand, casa2674 raised to 2,400 pre-flop and was called by mr erics21. Casa2674 bet all in on a flop of 9d-8h-7s and mr erics21 folded.

Two hands later, casa2674 defended the big blind after a button raise to 2,400 from ROONEY_DIVES. Again, casa2674 bet all in on a flop of Kh-Qs-2s. ROONEY_DIVES made the call and showed Kc-Js. Casa2674 showed Qd-2c for two pair and eliminated ROONEY_DIVES. Immediately after that elimination, casa2674 was back in action again, holding Kc-Kh against the Qs-Qc of mr erics21. The board did not help mr erics21 and he was eliminated. After this flurry of activity, casa2674 was at 78,574 in chips.

6:20pm--The 100K barrier has been broken

As the field has dwindled to nearly 3,500 players, pokerdream08 became our first player to crack 100K in chips. Pokerdream08 now has 104,409 in chips.

6:16pm--Under 4,000 players

The final table is only minutes away...

5:59pm--No mercy for GS4fun

After doubling through GS4fun a few hands earlier, Isabelle Mercier tangled with GS4fun again. Mercier called GS4fun’s pre-flop raise to 1,200, and the players saw a board of 8d-4h-Qd. GS4fun bet another 1,200, Mercier raised to 4,000 and GS4fun re-raised all in to 17,325. Mercier made the call with Ah-Qc. GS4fun’s Kh-Ks was ahead on the flop, but the Ac on the turn gave Mercier two pair. GS4fun could not hit a king on the river to survive. Mercier now sits at 39,375.

5:58pm--Lee Nelson takes a hit

Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson just lost about 40 percent of his chips. After sneekwater raised to 1,800, Nelson re-raised to 4,200. Sneekwater called and the two saw a flop of Ad-9s-6s. Nelson pushed and sneekwater called all in for 6,500 with Ah-Qh while Nelson showed Jc-Jh. The turn and river were bricks and Nelson was down to 17K.

5:54pm--Third of field gone

We're now under 5,000 players. Just a few more hours until the final table...

5:45pm--Mercier outraces GS4fun to double up

After a raise to 1,200 from GS4fun, Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier re-raised to 4,000. GS4fun re-raised all in to 20,250, which had Mercier covered. Mercier made the call with As-Kd and was racing against GS4fun’s Qc-Qd. On a board of 8d-Ad-7c-Js-7d, Mercier survived elimination and chipped up to 18,800.

5:41pm--Top ten chip counts at end of hour number one; 5,688 remain

1. Lystig 57,350
2. deboneman 56,587
3. quote123 56,500
4. bfrusina 52,975
5. packpower04 52,105
6. strahhh25 50,300
7. ADDENDA 46,600
8. VARICO 46,165
9. pokerdream08 46,000
10. krazy28 44,712

5:34pm--Queens hold for Akkari again

Pocket queens have netted Andre Akkari another large pot. Pre-flop, porzerjr raised to 1,200 and Akkari re-raised to 3,300. Porzerjr made the call. On a flop of 7c-8c-5c, porzerjr bet all in for 3,775 and Akkari called. Porzerjr showed Ks-Qs to Akkari's Qc-Qh. The turn and the river were no help for porzerjr, and Akkari chipped up to 21,275.

5:28pm--Victor Ramdin eliminated

Victor Ramdin was felled by an inferior flush. He raised to 900 preflop and was called by rtrtrtr. After a flop of 6d-4c-5c, Ramdin bet another 900. Rtrtrtr raised to 3,000 and Ramdin re-raised all in to 7,000. Ramdin held 3c-6c for a pair, straight draw and a straight flush draw and rtrtrtr held Ac-8c for a better flush draw. The Kc hit the turn, leaving Ramdin with two outs to the straight flush but the Kh hit the river and Ramdin was eliinated in 6,000th place.

5:24pm--Team PokerStars represented

Of the 7,557 players participating today in the Sunday Million, seven of them are Team PokerStars pros. They include Andre Akkari, Humberto Brenes, Isabelle Mercier, Lee Nelson, Steve Paul-Ambrose, Victor Ramdin and William Thorson.

5:21pm--Ramdin's rollercoaster ride

Short-stacked Victor Ramdin doubled up to 9,350 when he got it all in preflop with Ad-Jc versus Ts-Th and the board ran out Kd-2c-Qh-5c-Ah, but lost most of those chips on the next hand. In the second hand, he held 7d-8d and called two bets on the flop and turn with a board of 5d-4h-7c-Js. When the Tc hit the river, both Ramdin and his opponent, S4ILBO4T, checked. S4ILBO4T showed 7s-Ks and won with his kicker. Ramdin is down to 5,300.

5:08pm--Andre Akkari doubles up

Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari started the hand as a short stack with 3,925. Akkari raised to 600, niclas237 re-raised to 1,500 and Akkari pushed all in. Niclas237 made the call and tabled A-K. Akkari showed Q-Q. Niclas237 did not improve on a board of J-T-9-5-J. Akkari currently has 8,050.


5:04pm--Steve Paul-Ambrose doing double duty

When Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose started his afternoon, he was playing six single-table tournaments and the Sunday Warm-Up. He's playing in the Sunday Million right now, but likely more focused on the tournament he started earlier. At this hour, Paul-Ambrose is in the Top 20 in chips of the Warm-Up. To follow his exploits, check out the Sunday Warm-Up Live Blog

4:57pm--Pokrjoker78 is chip leader

Player Pokrjoker78 leads the Sunday Million in the early going with 39,225 chips. He just won a big pot when he made a call of an all-in holding only pocket twos on a rainbow board of T-9-9-5-4. His opponent Jim Bee was bluffing with A-K and Pokrjoker78 took down a nearly 20K chip pot.

4:49pm--More than $185,000 for first

Registration is now closed and there are 7,557 players in today's Sunday Million, which creates a total prize pool of $1,511,400. Of those players, 1,080 will get paid and first place will receive $185,902.20.

4:42pm--Victor Ramdin takes a big hit

After chipping up to 15K early, Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin took a big hit when his pocket aces were cracked by the flopped set of nines of KM-6. He is down to 5K after the hand.

4:30pm--PokerStars Sunday Million off and running

The PokerStars Sunday Million has just begun with 7,200 players and counting. Registration is still open.

4:25pm--PokerStars Sunday Million about to begin

The PokerStars Sunday Million will begin in just a few minutes. With thousands in the field, the final table money is once again going to be huge. Late registration will be open, so get your seat while you still can.


PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Final Table Report (08/24/08)

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

There's no justice in tournament poker; there's only survival. At the end of a grueling tournament, the winner isn't the player who knocked out the greatest number of other players, or the player who was dealt the best starting hands most frequently, or even the "best" player (if such a thing can even be determined). The winner is simply the player who survived longer than any other player. Surviving in and of itself is a skill, to be sure. When you outlast a field of almost 3,600 players, survival takes on a whole new dimension.

3,599 players registered for the Sunday Warm-Up today to vie for a prize pool of $750,000. Eight and a half hours later, 3,590 had been eliminated, leaving nine players vying for a first prize of over $100,000. Here's how those players measured up at the start of the final table:

warmup-final table.jpg (Click image for full version)

Seat 1: goodvibe1 (3125226 in chips)
Seat 2: vanky (3620984 in chips)
Seat 3: Supa4real (6992395 in chips)
Seat 4: Dudelinio (3842824 in chips)
Seat 5: tallgeir (8572505 in chips)
Seat 6: GB2005 (1103480 in chips)
Seat 7: lordhuttyx (2034545 in chips)
Seat 8: EDWARDHOPPER (2634407 in chips)
Seat 9: RuudGullit (4063634 in chips)

For a tournament that played more quickly than many expected, it was perhaps no surprise that only four minutes passed before the first elimination of the final table. GB2005, who came to the final table with the shortest stack, made a stand with Big Slick. He found himself up against the opponent with the biggest stack, tallgeir. tallgeir, holding the queen of spades and the eight of spades, had two very live cards against GB2005's ace-king. GB2005 was in great position to survive the hand when neither player picked up a pair on the flop or the turn, but an unlucky river queen made top pair for tallgeir. The rich got richer at GB2005's expense, but it wasn't all lemons for GB2005. He walked away with $6,750.

The big stacks continued to exert pressure on their smaller brethren for several hands until two of the shorties decided to tango on their own. EDWARDHOPPER, in 7th place at the start of the final table, opened with a raise to 398,000. Perhaps his raise looked fishy to Vanky, who moved all-in holding Ah-2s. EDWARDHOPPER made a snap call with pocket kings, but like GB2005 before him, his leading hand did not hold up. Vanky made a five-high straight when the board ran out 5-3-9-9-4. EDWARDHOPPER's tournament life expired with that river card. He finished in 8th place and earned $9,750.

Meanwhile, the other of the shortest stacks at the table, lordhuttyx, inched up the payout ladder. With tallgeir wielding one of the biggest stacks on his immediate right, lordhuttyx couldn't find many spots to pick up pots. He finally found one when action folded to tallgeir in the small blind and tallgeir open-shoved. With Ah-3c in his hand, lordhuttyx may have believed that he was ahead of a good portion of tallgeir's range. This time, he was correct; tallgeir opened Qh-6c after lordhuttyx called. For the third time, it looked like the best hand would lose after the flop came 5-Q-5, but lordhuttyx survived when an ace hit the turn.

That survival bought lordhuttyx some chips and most importantly some time. It put him more on par with the medium stacks, who with the elimination of the shortest stacks had themselves become the new short stacks. RuudGullit found himself with just fifteen big blinds remaining and elected to open-shove Ad-6h from the button. goodvibe1 made a quick call with Ah-Js. The hand went suck-resuck when the flop came 6-K-9 and a miracle jack then appeared on the turn. For the second time in a row, the best hand held up. RuudGullit hit the rail in seventh place, earning $15,750 along the way.

goodvibe1 followed up that elimination by sending lordhuttyx to the rail a few hands later. All the money went in preflop. goodvibe1 again had the best hand, with his pocket jacks leading lordhuttyx's pocket sevens. There was no survival miracle for lordhuttyx this time. By doubling up against tallgeir ten minutes prior, and with the elimination of RuudGullit in the interim, lordhuttyx won $23,250 for finishing in sixth place.

Only five players had survived to this point in the tournament. The shortest among them, Vanky, perhaps concerned for his own tournament survival, suggested chopping the tournament based on chip equity. Supa4real was willing to look into the numbers, but goodvibe1 typed out a very curt "no chop sry". Play continued. Vanky busted in fifth place just four minutes later when his ace-queen couldn't out-race goodvibe1's pocket jacks. He won $30,750.

It was the third elimination in a row for goodvibe1, who had amassed the biggest stack. He added to it by eliminating tallgeir in fourth place just a few hands later. In a raised pot, tallgeir made a half-pot bet on a 3c-Ks-9c flop. goodvibe1 raised to 1.5 million and tallgeir called. When the turn blanked, the two players kept raising until tallgeir was all in. He had middle pair with Qh-9s, but goodvibe1 had top pair with Kh-8d. tallgeir failed to survive the hand when the river didn't bring him a miracle card. It must have been a disappointing end to tallgeir's tournament, but the $38,625 probably took away some of the sting.

With tallgeir's elimination, only three players remained: Dudelinio, Supa4real and goodvibe1. goodvibe1 had done most of the heavy lifting to that point of the final table, with Dudelinio and Supa4real winning small pots along the way and otherwise staying out of the line of fire. That changed in a hurry.

goodvibe1 came in for a raise which Supa4real re-raised to about 1.8 million. Imagine what his reaction must have been when Dudelinio put in the third raise, all-in for just over 3.8 million. With over 6 million chips up for grabs, Supa4real had to call about 2 million more and did so after goodvibe1 obligingly got out of the way. Supa4real's Ah-9h was dominated by Dudelinio's Ac-Qc, but Supa4real had one very large advantage: he wasn't the one at risk of elimination. Dudelinio couldn't survive the hand after the board ran out 6c-2s-9s-5h-Ad. Dudelinio won $48,750 for third place. Just like that, 3,599 players had been whittled down to the final two.

Going into heads-up play, goodvibe1 had the chip lead, courtesy of all of the player he eliminated from the final table. For the first ten to fifteen minutes of heads-up play, the players traded pots. Supa4real would make a little headway against goodvibe1's chip lead, only to lose a few pots and wind up right back at square one. Each player was doing an excellent job of hanging onto his chips and surviving.

Finally, two hands occurred almost back-to-back that decided the tournament. For the first time in heads-up play, goodvibe1 elected to reraise after Supa4real had raised. When Supa4real called, almost 5.7 million chips wound up in the middle. goodvibe1 made a stab at the flop with a bet of 2.8 million, but didn't take long to fold after Supa4real moved all in.

That pot pushed Supa4real into the chip lead for the first time. Just a few hands later, he eliminated the tenacious goodvibe1. Both players limped into the pot for the first time and took a J-4-J flop. goodvibe1 checked, then raised to 1.6 million after Supa4real bet 500,000. With plenty of ammunition, Supa4real called and went to the turn.

When the turn came down the nine of spades, goodvibe1 again checked. Perhaps sensing weakness, Supa4real took another stab with a bet of 1.6 million. goodvibe1 instantly check-raised all-in for a total of 7 million, putting Supa4real to the test. He made an incredible call. His Qc-4d for two pair, jacks and fours, was in the lead against goodvibe1's huge draw with Kc-9c. The river blanked out, allowing Supa4real to win the pot and the whole tournament. He was the ultimate survivor, winning a cool $101,250. goodvibe1 took down $71,250 for his second-place finish.

The final table results were as follows:

1. Supa4real$101,250
2. goodvibe1 $71,250
3. Dudelinio $48,750
4. tallgeir $38,625
5. vanky $30,750.
6. lordhuttyx $23,250.
7. RuudGullit $15,750.
8. EDWARDHOPPER $9,750.
9. GB2005 $6,750.

For more detail on the tournament, be sure to check out the complete live blog of this event.


PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up Live Blog (8/24/08)

Sunday, August 24th, 2008


sunday-warmup-promo.jpgFor a little fun today, we're going to live blog the PokerStars Sunday Warm-up. Over the next eleven hours or so, Brad Willis, Martin Harris, David Aydt, and Dave Behr will be on hand to bring you the latest information on the Sunday Warm-Up. Have a story for us? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com.

10:14pm-- Incredible call nets Supa4real the win!

On the heels of the unusual pre-flop re-raise from goodvibe1, both players limped into the pot and took a J-4-J flop. goodvibe1 checked, then raised to 1.6 million after Supa4real bet 500,000. With plenty of ammunition, Supa4real called and went to the turn.

When the turn came down the nine of spades, goodvibe1 again checked. Perhaps sensing weakness, Supa4real took another stab with a bet of 1.6 million. goodvibe1 instantly check-raised all-in for a total of 7 million, putting Supa4real to the test. He made the call and opened Qc-4d for two pair, jacks and fours(!). goodvibe1 was on a draw, albeit a very large draw with Kc-9c. The river blanked out, allowing Supa4real to win the pot and the whole tournament.

A full recap of the final table can be found HERE.

10:13pm-- Times-a-changin'; Supa4real takes over chip lead

A rare preflop reraise just backfired for goodvibe1. After Supa4real opened for 1 million, goodvibe1 re-raised to 2.8 million. Supa4real called, then moved in on the Td-Qh-6d flop after goodvibe1 made a half-pot bet. We could only imagine the sigh of frustration as goodvibe1 folded his hand.

10:12pm--Wanna play heads up for $30,000?

Just in case you're not paying close enough attention, what we're witnessing here is essentially a $30,000 heads-up sit-and-go. Not that there is anything wrong with that. First place is $101,250. Second place is $71,250.

10:08pm-- Not much movement

After ten minutes of heads-up play, little has changed. Supa4real briefly threatened to take over the chip lead by winning a series of small pots, but goodvibe1 sniffed out a bluff and made a great river call with top pair to reset the chip counts to what they were ten minutes ago.

9:58pm--Heads-up chip counts

Here's how the two remaining players stack up at the start of heads-up play.

Seat 1: goodvibe1 (22882846 in chips)
Seat 3: Supa4real (13107154 in chips)

9:54pm--And suddenly, it's heads up

Supa4real must have been tired of watching goodvibe1 take all the chips. After goodvibe1 came in for a raise, Supa4real re-raised. He couldn't have liked it when Dudelinio came over the top all-in for 3,850,648. Supa4real had to call 2,040,648 more and did so after goodvibe1 folded. Dudelinio showed Ac-Qc to Supa4real's Ah9h. Say goodnight, Dudelinio. The board showed 6c-2s-9s-5h-Ad. Dudelinio won $48,750 for third place.

9:51pm-- goodvibe1 barrelling towards the finish line

Just five minutes after turning down a chop, goodvibe1 eliminated another of his opponents. Sitting in the big blind, he called a raise from the small blind, tallgeir. The flop was 3c-Ks-9c. tallgeir led out with a half-pot bet of 750,000, but goodvibe1, with a commanding chip lead (and, we would soon discover, the best hand), raised to 1.5 million. tallgeir called, then led out for 750,000 again on a blank turn. A raising war ensued, with tallgeir eventually all in. He showed Qh-9s for middle pair and was in rough shape against goodvibe1's top pair with Kh-8d. tallgeir missed the river and was bounced in fourth place, earning $38,625.

9:50pm--No curse yet for goodvibe1

Goodvibe1 has silenced any silly talk about the no-chop curse. He just busted vanky. Goodvibe1 came in for a standard raise with JcJs and vannky came over the top all-in with Qs-Ad. When you're running good, you're running good. Goodvibe1's race was a winner on a ten-high board. Vanky finished in fifth place for $30,750.

9:46pm--goodvibe1 must be feelin' it

Five-handed is often the place you see a talk of a chop. The story is no different tonight. Goodvibe1 wanted none of it.

Supa4real: we could look at the numbers
goodvibe1: no chop sry
vanky: ok

And that's that. And so the players commenced with re-raising the chip leader.

9:40pm-- Dudelinio finds gold with suited connectors

With five players remaining and 2.5 million in his stack, Dudelinio opened for 750,000 holding 8h-9h. The big stack, tallgeir, threw his weight around holding A-T and raised enough to put Dudelinio all in. Dudelinio called and promptly flopped top two pair, which held up through the river.

9:38pm-- Chip counts at break
Level 33
Blinds 125,000/250,000, antes 25,000
Average chip count: 7,198,000
Players remaining: 5
First Prize: $101,250.00

Seat 1: goodvibe1 (9716470 in chips)
Seat 2: vanky (6464280 in chips)
Seat 3: Supa4real (9176506 in chips)
Seat 4: Dudelinio (2602824 in chips)
Seat 5: tallgeir (8029920 in chips)

9:30pm-- goodvibe1 takes out lordhuttyx

The good times kept on rolling for goodvibe1. lordhuttyx open-shoved with pocket sevens, only to discover that goodvibe1 was sitting on pocket jacks, an easy call. The jacks held up, bouncing lordhuttyx from the tournament in 6th place with an extra $23,250.

9:28pm-- RuudGullit can't overcome domination

With fifteen big bets left in his stack, RuudGullit open-shoved Ad-6h from the button. goodvibe1, sitting in the small blind with 4.5 million, elected to call with Ah-Js. He was in a dominating position that was quickly reversed on a 6-K-9 flop. Perhaps channeling his screenname, goodvibe1 found a good vibe when the turn came Jd. There was no re-suck on the river for RuudGullit. He was eliminated and earned $15,750.

9:20pm-- lordhuttyx's ace almost isn't enough

With just 1.5 million chips, lordhuttyx has been tight, choosing not to tangle with most of his opponents. When chip leader tallgeir open-shoved from the small blind, lordhuttyx took a chance with Ah-3c. He was ahead of tallgeir's Qh-6c, but it looked like disaster when the flop came 5-Q-5. An ace on the turn bailed out lordhuttyx and allowed him to double up to 3 million.

9:14pm-- EDWARDHOPPER goes broke in 8th place, and not in a pretty way

EDWARDHOPPER, the man of all caps, had 1,721,407 to start and open-raised to 398,000. Vanky pushed all-in and got the fast call from EDWARDHOPPER's KdKc. Vanky held Ah-2s. Wanna guess what the board looked like at the end? We'll just tell you...5c-3d-9h-9s-4h. Not pretty, not funny, but decidedly the end for EDWARDHOPPER. He picked up $9,750.

9:07pm-- GB2005 unlucky in 2008

We have the first elimination of the final table. With blinds at 80,000 and 160,000, tallgeir opened from the button for 640,000. GB2005 quickly reraised all in with the hand that many players dread -- ace-king. tallgeir, with chips to burn, made the call and showed two live suited cards: Qs-8s. Neither player improved by the turn, but on the river GB2005's tournament ended when tallgeir paired his queen. With that pot, tallgeir moved to over 10 million in chips and GB2005 was eliminated in 9th place. His payday was $6,750.

9:03pm--Final table set

The final nine are in place. Here are the chip counts.

Seat 1: goodvibe1 (3125226 in chips)
Seat 2: vanky (3620984 in chips)
Seat 3: Supa4real (6992395 in chips)
Seat 4: Dudelinio (3842824 in chips)
Seat 5: tallgeir (8572505 in chips)
Seat 6: GB2005 (1103480 in chips)
Seat 7: lordhuttyx (2034545 in chips)
Seat 8: EDWARDHOPPER (2634407 in chips)
Seat 9: RuudGullit (4063634 in chips)

9:01pm--tjechw bubbles final table

It was a good call with a bad result. It was an all-in raise to tjechw's big blind. He made the call with two black fives and was up against AsJs. Needless to say, he lost the race and went out in 10th place for $4,500.

8:55pm-- Connolly the latest casualty

Short on chips, Connolly moved in for 1.5 million with a small ace. He was called by tallgeir who had a bigger ace and finished with a flush. Connolly never improved and was bounced from the tournament in 11th place, $3,150 richer.

8:53pm--p0ck3tp3ar goes to war without pocket pair...or pear

With only 808,000 in chips left, p0ck3tp3ar open-raised for nearly all his chips and got re-raised by vanky. He called for the few thousand more with Ah-7d. Vanky held 9c-Ac. Neither hand paired and vanky's kicker played. p0ck3tp3ar finished in 12th place for $4,500.

8:52pm-- CASINOICE iced

lordhuttyx was behind when all the chips went in the middle, but his cards were suited and live. Both players hit the flop in a big way, with CASINOICE flopping two pair. Unfortunately for him, his two pair made the nut flush for lordhuttyx. CASINOICE ha d two chances to fill up, and missed them both. He was eliminated in 13th place and earned $3,150 for his efforts.

8:49pm--RUS_FISH hooked and fileted

With only 724,024 chips in his stack, RUS_FISH cast his last lure with Ad-4d. RuudGullit took the bait and call with Jh-Kd. RUS_FISH was cooked by the turn on a board of 8s-Ts-Qd-9h-2c. He finished in 15th place, picking up $3,150.

8:42pm-- sebmenk find no love with the ladies

sebmenk found exactly what he was looking for: Qc-Qh. He came in for a raise to 300,000 and Supa4real came back at him for 800,000. The rest of sebmenk's 1,638,288 chips went in and it was the pocket queens vs Ah-Jc. The board was not as pretty as sebmenk's hand. It rann out 2d-Jd-Ks-4d-Ad to eliminate sebmenk in 16th place for $1,875.

8:40pm-- nafudoma loses battle of the blinds

nafudoma must have felt good when he moved in his whole stack of 1.7 million from the big blind after tallgeir opened the action from the small blind with a raise. Things went south for nafudoma from there. tallgeir called with Ad-Tc, which dominated nafudoma's Ac-9s. He took the lead on an 8-9-K flop, but the turn and river were a queen and a jack to make a straight for tallgeir. He eliminated nafudoma in 17th place and cracked the 5-million chip mark at the same time.

8:37pm-- tdomeski crippled, then eliminated

Two tough hands in rapid succession resulted in the elimination of tdomeski from the tournament in 18th place. First, he called the all-in bet of lordhuttyx, who had pushed from the button with pocket eights. tdomeski's Kd-Jd took the lead when the flop came K-J-T, but an 8 on the turn made a set for lordhuttyx. Neither player filled up on the river.

That left tdomeski with just over 100,000 chips, which went in on the next hand after a raise by Dudelinio from late position. Dudelinio's pocket nines were well ahead of tdomeski's 6c-4d, and even moreso when the flop came down nine-high. Although tdomeski ended the hand with trip 4s, he couldn't top Dudelinio's full house, nines full of fours.

8:33pm-- webster426 86'd

With fewer than one million chips, webster426 shove with K9 offsuit and got called by AhJh. A flop with one ace and two hearts was all he needed to see. He was eliminated in 19th place for $1,575.

8:32pm-- Top ten chip counts at end of hour number seven; 19 remain

Level XXIX
Blinds 50,000/100,000, antes 10,000
Average chip count: 1,890,000
Players remaining: 19
First Prize: $101,250.00

1. Supa4real 4,136,113
2. Dudelinio 3,774,969
3. goodvibe1 2,865,876
4. tallgeir 2,859,641
5. Ruudgullit 2,613,185
6. tjechw 2,418.940
7. GB2005 2,337,175
8. EDWARDHOPPER 2,234,316
9. Conno!!y 2,052,436
10. sebmenk 1,628,288

8:31pm-- oknergard out in 20th

tallgeir raised to 240,000 from the hijack seat, and oknergard, sitting to his left, reraised all in with his remaining 720,000-plus chip stack. It folded back around and tallgeir called, showing Kd-Jd. oknergard showed Ad-8d.

The flop was Qs-10h-3c, and oknergard was still ahead, but tallgeir had a lot of outs. One came on the turn -- the Ks. And the Ac on the river sealed it, bouncing oknergard in 20th place. tallgeir is up to 3 million.

8:29pm-- Cruel river sends Se7enTr3y home in 21st place

GB2005 raised to 180,000 from the cutoff, and Se7enTr3y reraised all in for a total of about 543,192 from the big blind. GB 2005, having about 1.4 million behind, made the call.

Se7enTr3y showed 8d-8c, and GB2005 turned over Ac-4h. The flop and turn -- 9d-2s-9h-10h -- were fine for Se7enTr3y. But the Ah on the river stole it away, knocking him out in 21st place.

GB2005 is up to 2.2 million.

8:26pm-- PyroWalter flames out in 22nd place

A bit of a cooler for the flame thrower PyroWalter. After nafudoma had raised to 240,000 from middle position, PyroWalter reraised all-in for his remaining 1,396,996 chips with Jd-Jc. But an instacall from Supa4real from the big blind -- who had him covered -- spelled trouble.

nafudoma folded, and Supa4real turned over Ad-Ah, well ahead of PyroWalter's jacks. Neither player improved on the 3h-3c-7h-Qh-6d board, and PyroWalter’s flame was extinguished in 22nd place.

8:19pm-- Sticky situation for stiCKypiFF14

stiCKypiFF14 open-shoved a stack of just over 400,000 from middle position, and Supa4real, having about 1.38 million when the hand began, made the call from the small blind.

Supa4real turned over 4d-4c, and probably didn't mind one bit seeing stiCKypiFF14 show 5d-3c. The board came Ks-8d-6s-2s-7d, and stiCKypiFF14 was bounced in 23rd place. Supa4real now has 1.88 million.

8:12pm-- Pocket pairs continue to be good for p0ck3tp3ar; iapetus out in 24th

With just 313,747 in chips and the blinds & antes climbing fast (currently 30,000/60,000 plus 6,000), iapetus made a move for the blinds from middle position, shoving all his chips in with Kc-8s. p0ck3tp3ar gladly called from the small blind with Td-Th.

A board of 7c-2s-Jd-9c-Ad sent iapetus home with $1,575.00 in 24th place.

8:09pm-- taktloss overrun by tjechw's pocket rockets

taktloss47 was eliminated in 25th place after getting it all in with Ac-Qd only to be up against tjechw's As-Ah. The aces held, and tjechw is now up over 3 million.

8:06pm-- blokwillem eliminated in 26th place

vanky pushed opened by pushing all in for 311,000-plus from late position, and blokwillem responded by reraising all in for just over a million from the button. Supa4real thought about it for a moment, then called the reraise from the small blind, leaving only 16,000 or so behind.

supa4real: Kc-Ad
vanky: 9s-Ks
blokwillem: As-Qc

The board came 2h-9c-5c-4h-4c, giving vanky the main pot of just over one million and Supa4real the side pot, pushing his stack to 1.48 million. blokwillem is out in 26th place.

8:01pm-- Louise6 finds no flush, and no more chips

Louise6 fought the good fight after being crippled on a rivered set of eights previously by webster426. But, blind steals only work if no one calls, and with 404,212 chips left Louise6 shoved with Ad-5d UTG only to have RuudGullit waiting on the button with As-Ah.

The pocket aces held up on the board of Tc-9c-Js-Jh-5s sending Louise home in 27th place.

7:55pm-- 27 remain

There are currently 27 players on three tables. The next nine players to be eliminated will each receive $1,575.00. WiLDmAn75 is our current chip leader with 3.09 million. The average stack size is just over 1.33 million.

7:51pm-- There exactly four aces in the standard deck of cards

Se7enTr3y checked his hole cards to find black aces -- As-Ac -- leaving two more in the deck. So when p0ck3tp3ar re-raised his UTG bet, the sounds of fireworks may have gone off in his head.

Unfortunately, the boom of the explosives was reduced to whistling in the air as p0ck3tp3ar turned over the red aces -- Ah-Ad. A little excitement on the flop of 6d-3s-2s, giving Se7enTr3y outs to a four-flush, but the turn of 6c meant they chopped up the two-million chip pot and went back to work. Se7enTr3y has about 1.5 million, while p0ck3tp3ar has about one million.

7:48pm-- WiLDmAn75 goes wild, man

WiLDmAn75 just took a 2 million-plus chip pot when his pocket jacks held up against both Duka333's 7c-7h and Preußenhusar's Kd-Ah.

WiLDmAn75 had both covered, so Duka333 is out in 31st, Preußenhusar is out in 30th, and WiLDmAn75 is near the top of the leaderboard with just over 2.8 million.

7:44pm-- End of the road for engels23

engels23 open-raised to 111,111 from the cutoff, and tallgeir reraised all in from the big blind with his stack of 1.1 million-plus. engels23 had about 475,000 behind, and made the call.

tallgeir showed Js-10d, and engels23 turned over Ad-9s. The board came 8d-10c-8s-9d-7h, and engels23 was out in 32nd place. tallgeir is up to 1.7 million.

7:37pm-- Million is now the norm

With 33 players left, the average chip stack is now at one million chips which will buy you about 11 orbits. Or, if you happen to bust suddenly, places 28th to 36th are scheduled to receive $1,425.00 for their six hours of work today.

7:26pm-- Top ten chip counts at end of hour number six; 37 remain

Level XXV
Blinds at 20,000/40,000 ante 4,000
Players remaining: 37
Average chip stack: 972,702
First Prize: $101,250.00

1. oknergard 2,461,473
2. Dudelinio 2,307,519
3. sebmenk 2,144,134
4. nafudoma 2,136,370
5. letontondu64 1,630,754
6. tjechw 1,463,015
7. p0ck3tp3ar 1,434,952
8. WiLDmAn75 1,331,013
9. RUS_FISH 1,320,008
10. RuudGullit 1,193,308

Team PokerStars Pro: Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose eliminated in 43rd place ($1,350.00)

7:21pm-- Paul-Ambrose out in 43rd

Team PokerStars Pro Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose open-raised all in with his last 243,761 from the cutoff. Then sebmenk reraised all in with his stack of nearly 450,000 from the button. Both might have been surprised to see Se7enTr3y make the call from the big blind, leaving 344,330 behind.

Se7enTr3y: Ah-Kh
stevejpa: 10d-8d
sebmenk: Ad-As

Not the best spot for Paul-Ambrose. The board ran out 3s-2d-5s-7d-Qh, and sebmenk's aces held up. Paul-Ambrose is out in 43rd, while sebmenk moved up to 1.15 million.

7:15pm-- Make that a THREE million-chip man

With the blinds at 15,000/30,000 with a 3,000 ante here in Level XXIV, Oknergard does it again.

This time Oknergard took two red bullets -- Ad-Ah -- up against the former chip leader toweliestar’s red ladies -- Qh-Qd. The board came 4h-Jc-3s-Js-5h and Oknergard took the massive 2,133,122-chip pot, moving him up past the three million-chip mark.

7:12pm-- 45 players remain

We're down to just five tables. The average chip stack is approaching 800,000. At the moment, everyone is guaranteed at least $1,350.

7:04pm-- Oknergard first to two million chips

We're still in Level XXIII. The table folded around to big-stacked oknergard who minimum-raised from the button, prompting lordhuttyx to fold from the small blind fearing strength. But Turob thought otherwise and pushed over the top from the big blind with his remaining 488,758 chips. Oknergard could not call the push quickly enough as he turned over Ac-Ad, well ahead of Turob's Kh-Qd.

The board of 2h-3c-Ah-8d-9c meant Turob's day was done, and gave oknergard the chip lead, making him the tournament’s first two million chip man.

6:59pm-- Six players at the million chip mark to start Level XXIII

60 players remain as we begin Level XXIII. The pre-flop pot now holds 57,500 chips as we start the blinds at 12,500/25,000 with a 2,500 ante. nafudoma, oknergard, EDWARDHOPPER, letontondu64, tallgeir, and Pyrowalter are all sitting on a cool million to start the new blind level. Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose is treading water around the 300,000-chip mark, roughly half of the 600,000 average chip stack.

6:52pm-- Gambolllll

Chips are flying back and forth as we find ourselves down to just 65 players. Another eyebrow-raising hand just took place over on Table 367.

Dsavo, sitting with over 900,000, open-raised to 51,500 from the cutoff. blokwillem then reraised to 160,000 from the small blind. The BB folded, then Dsavo pushed all-in and blokwillem called with his remaining 300,000.

blokwillem: As-Kd
Dsavo: 5d-7s

The board ran out 6c-8h-6h-3c-Qc, and blokwillem claimed the nearly one-million chip pot.

After the hand, swishes2000 typed "gambolllll" from across the table. Dsavo is back down to 457,901.

6:48pm-- Chip leader toweliestar aces cracked, still looking for 6th street

His avatar shows “6th Street,” but unfortunately for toweliestar hold'em only has five community cards.

After having recently taken over the chip lead, toweliestar called p86ba’s 30,101 raise from middle position, and oknergard did the same from the small blind. After a flop of 9c-8c-2h, p86ba checked and toweliestar bet 111,111. Then oknergard shoved his remaining 590,602 into the pot, getting p86ba to duck for cover.

toweliestar instacalled the push, turning over a slowplayed Ac-Ah, but oknergard was well ahead with a flopped top set of nines. The turn Qd and river 5s shipped the hefty 1,320,210 pot to oknergard and left toweliestar with 717,478.

6:36pm-- Tdomeski does double duty with aces

A three-way all-in on table 126 had short stacks tdomeski, plasticard, and LUFCBas all shoving their below par stacks into the middle pre-flop:

Tdomeski: As-Ac
LUFCBas: Kc-Kd
Plasticard: Ah-5h

A cooler for LUFCBas and no flush or trips for plasticard as the board came Qh-7c-8d-Ts-8c. tdomeski rises above the average stack of 400,000, now having 450,674 after the hand.

6:27pm-- New chip leader nafudoma applying pressure

New chip leader nafudoma has been demonstrating his willingness to use his big stack to apply maximum pressure. A recent sequence of five hands went thusly:

1. caalling raised to 43,000 from middle position, nafudoma reraised to 115,000 from the big blind, and caalling folded.

2. nafudoma folded his small blind to a button raise.

3. nafudoma open-raised to 46,000 from the button, taking the blinds.

4. Crowdog49 raised to 45,000 from UTG, nafudoma reraised to 150,000 from the cutoff, and Crowdog49 called with his last 100,000-plus chips. Crowdog showed As-9c, and nafudoma Ah-Js. A nine flopped, and Crowdog49 survived.

5. nafudoma open-raised to 45,000 from the hijack, traveller469 pushed all in for just over 90,000 from the small blind, and nafudoma called. nafudoma's Ac-10c outlasted traveller469's Kd-10h, and he'd knocked out another opponent.

nafudoma currently has over 1.3 million in chips.

6:18pm-- Top ten chip counts at end of hour number five; 112 remain

Level XXI
Blinds at 7,500/15,000 ante 1,500
Players remaining: 112
Average chip stack: 321,339

1. nafudoma 1,025,497
2. vidal14 1,017,829
3. EDWARDHOPPER 948,493
4. Dsavo 923,668
5. BB_dont_cry 812,173
6. kipa58 756,883
7. engels23 756,823
8. dappadan777 710,564
9. lordhuttyx 688,365
10. Stullenjack 622,987

Team PokerStars Pros:
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 409,761 (28th place)

6:08pm-- 132 remain

We're now down to 132 players as we begin Level XX. Blinds are now 6,000/12,000 with a 1,200 ante. The average chip stack is just under 280,000.

EDWARDHOPPER and vidal14 continue to trade the chip lead. Both are nearing the one million-chip mark. And with his recent double-up, Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose has climbed back into the top 20 with a little over 430,000.

Those lasting into the top 117 will all guarantee themselves a payday of at least $1,050. Not a bad return on their $200+$15 investment, though many still have that $101,250 first prize in their sights.

5:58pm-- Steve Paul-Ambrose eliminates Da_FoRcE16, doubles up

A fairly quiet Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose over the past 30 minutes has suddenly come alive. After Da_FoRcE16 raised pre-flop to 26,000, Paul-Ambrose three-bet to 80,000. Da_FoRcE16 wasted no time to get his remaining 185,462 chips into the pot, but wasn’t as excited when the Team PokerStars Pro called with 34,037 chips behind and flipped up Kc-Kh to his 5c-5d.

No presto magic for Da_FoRcE16, as the board came 3c-Th-6c-9c-8d. Ambrose is up to 480,000 in chips while Da_FoRcE16 has been eliminated in 159th place.

5:45pm-- vidal14 gives up chip lead, but his hair still looks good

We are in Level XVIII, with 22 tables and 196 players left standing. With blinds at 4,000/8,000 with an 800 ante, several players are taking their chances pre-flop given the sizable 26,400-chip pot sitting in the middle for a blinds thief to take.

The chip leader is now EDWARDHOPPER after vidal14 lost a pre-flop battle versus dappadan777. vidal14 held Jd-Jh, and dappadan777 Qs-Qh. The board came 6s-3d-Tc-8s-Ks, and both players are now hovering around the 400,000-chip mark with the blinds changing to 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante in two minutes.

5:33pm-- The old suck-resuck

sebmenk, flirting with the top 20 with nearly 300,000 chips, raised to 18,000 from early position, and it folded around to ben81000 who shoved all in for nearly 100,000 from the small blind. sebmenk made the call.

sebmenk: Jd-Jc
ben81000: Qs-Qc

The flop came 8c-9c-Kd, and ben81000's queens were still ahead. But the Js on the turn gave the lead to sebmenk.

However, the 10c on the river saved ben81000, giving him a king-high straight. ben81000 has 213,908, while sebmenk has slipped to 198,143.

5:29pm-- More winners lining up on the leaderboard

Another big PokerStars MTT winner has slowly crept into to the top ten in chip counts. Halfrek has taken down the Tuesday weekly $1,050 buy-in MTT -- good for $66,600 -- and also has several cashes in the Sunday Million and Sunday Million Warm-up. He currently stands in sixth place with 320,860 in chips.

5:18pm-- Play for more next week in the Warm-Up

This just in to the PokerStars Blog: Next week's Sunday Warm-Up will have a $1 million guarantee. It will also be a Second Chance tournament. So, all players will have an opportunity to rebuy once in the first two hours.

5:15pm-- Top ten chip counts at end of hour number four; 282 remain

Level XVII
Blinds at 3,000/6,000 ante 600
Players remaining: 282

1. vidal14 593,599
2. krabben 471,644
3. T.P.S. 349,996
4. AA_Legend 346,838
5. Dsavo 335,737
6. Halfrek 329,260
7. BB_dont_cry 323,651
8. rock23 323,202
9. Maisteri 316,494
10. Team PokerStar Pro Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 311,299

5:09pm-- Definitely not one-hit wonders at the top of the leaderboard

The top of the leaderboard is currently riddled with past Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-up final tablers. AA_Legend (currently 3rd) took sixth in the Sunday Warm-up last month, Dsavo (currently 4th) walked away with third in the Sunday Million on July 1st, and current chip leader vidal14 won a $215 rebuy and add-on tourney just two weeks ago.

5:06pm-- Set over set helps vidal14 cross half-million mark

vidal14 minimum-raised to 10,000 from under the gun, and A6540 called from the cutoff. The flop came 2h-Jc-5c, and vidal14 bet 35,000 into the 32,000 pot. A6540 raised to 70,000, and vidal14 quickly pushed all in. A6540, having just 33,680 left, made the call.

A6540 had 5h-5d for a set of fives, but vidal14 had Jd-Js for the better set. The turn was the 3c and the river the 6d, and A6540 hit the rail. Meanwhile, vidal14 is our new chip leader with 582,599.

4:48pm-- Steve Paul-Ambrose, still not showing his cards, moves into top ten

Despite the presence of the second-highest stack of Da_FoRcE16 at the table, Team PokerStars Pro Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose is racking up the most chips whether its pre-flop or on the river.

Without even showing his cards, the applied pressure to his tablemates has grown Paul-Ambrose’s stack to second overall. With blinds now at 2,500/5,000 with a 500 ante, Paul-Ambrose took down yet another pot, this time from Da_FoRcE16. With a board showing 7h-9h-Js-8d-2c, Paul-Ambrose bet 38,000 into a pot of 77,600, and Da_FoRcE16 folded.

4:43pm-- Grinder out

With blinds of 1,500/3,000, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi shoved his remaining 16,000-plus in the middle and was called by misterkoen3. The Grinder showed Ah-Qd, not a good hand to have against misterkoen3's Ad-Kd.

The board ran out 3d-8s-9d-5d-3d, and The Grinder is out in 451st.

4:39pm-- The bubble bursts

Midway through Level XIV, the money bubble has burst with uncledrkmeat being eliminated in 541st. As expected, the eliminations came fast and furious afterwards, with nearly a hundred players going out within the next ten minutes.

4:29pm-- Hand for hand

541 players remain, which means play is now hand for hand until the money bubble bursts. After that, expect an avalanche of eliminations, as the next 117 players to go out will all be receiving $375.00 for their efforts today.

4:26pm-- The Grinder, many others, sitting tight

Just ten spots off of the money bubble, and it appears Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi is sitting tight.

The Grinder had taken a hit earlier when his pocket sevens failed to improve against alonso88's pocket queens. That hand knocked him down to just over 30,000. Then, in the last hand before the most recent break, he lost a race with Ac-Qc vs. a short-stacked iecavniex who held pocket eights, leaving him with just over 13,000.

After the break, a fortunate hand from the big blind in which he flopped trip tens got him back to 24,000, and he's been quiet since then, apparently looking to make the money.

4:21pm-- YEBOBOZ rushes his way into the chip lead

On back-to-back hands, YEBOBOZ eliminated three players. The first came against j.thaddeus and BrandanZ as the three players shoved pre-flop for a massive 250,000 chip pot.

j.thaddeus: Kc-Ks
BrandanZ: As-Ah
YEBOBOZ: 7d-7h

YEBOBOZ still had over 45,000 in chips behind after all the chips went into the middle pre-flop, but he would be getting a whole truckload back as he flopped his set of sevens as the board ran out 7c-4h-Qd-Tc-8c.

Just to make sure he was the new chip leader, on the very next hand YEBOBOZ battled with tylen after a flop of 7d-4d-6c came out with all the chips going to the middle for a total pot of 149,194.

YEBOBOZ: Ac-Qd
Tylen: Kd-Td

Tylen could not connect with his flush or pair draws, and YEBOBOZ now has a 100,000-chip lead over Da_FoRcE16.

4:02pm-- Top ten chip count during hour number three, 87 players to the money

Level XIII
Blinds at 1250/2500 ante 250
Players remaining: 627

1. Da_FoRcE16 238,581
2. Dsavo 228,635
3. kbad81 220,194
4. vidal14 204,251
5. r3491 192,035
6. OLEGMERGES 188,781
7. supermario70 188,144
8. kiehndk 182,052
9. parksy1066 180,469
10. schokonugget 179,399

Team PokerStars Pros

Steve-Paul "stevejpa" Ambrose 90,799
Katja Thater eliminated

3:57pm-- Thater out, TuneEmUp movin' up

Down to just over 20,000, Katja Thater pushed all in from the button with Ad-5s, and was called by TuneEmUp who held Ah-9h in the big blind. The board ran out Kh-9s-8h-5c-Qh, and Thater is out in 673rd place.

TuneEmUp is now up over 145,000.

3:54pm-- Can’t keep up with Steve-Paul Ambrose

Wow, my head gets turned for two seconds and the Team PokerStars Pro doubles up yet again. With blinds at 1000/2000 ante 200 and facing a 6,000 chip UTG raise from Erdnase, Steve-Paul Ambrose re-raised all-in to 38,425 total. Everyone else got out of the way and Erdnase made the call with the last of his 29,224 in chips.

Erdnase: As-Qh
Ambrose: Ad-Kd

The board ran out 6c-3h-Ah-Th-7c giving Ambrose nearly 80,000 in chips and in fine shape to make a run deep in the money today.

3:47pm -- Money bubble on the horizon

As we approach the three-hour mark, we're down to 770 players. The money bubble will be coming into view before too long, as the top 540 finishers get paid.

3:45pm-- Steve-Paul Ambrose rolling along by not showing

Team PokerStars Pro Steve-Paul Ambrose is doing just fine while picking up the 3,600 in chips in the pot preflop during Level XI’s 750/1500 blinds with 150 antes. He has nearly double up to 30,175 in the last orbit without even showing his cards.

3:40pm-- New chip leader has track record

If you're following the chip movement in the Sunday Warm-Up, you'll see a familiar name atop the leaderboard. Current leader usourcek has a Sunday Million win to his credit. In February, usourcek won $155,000 in the Sunday Million.

3:38pm-- Huge pot for usourcek, new chip leader

usourcek raised to 2,920 from UTG, and Eeedz reraised to 5,900 from middle position. A short-stacked MisterTBH pushed all in with his remaining 3,899 and the table folded back around to usourcek who then repopped it to 26,995. Eeedz four-bet all in -- a total of 115,617 -- and usourcek pushed his remaining 67,577 in the middle, making the call.

The total pot was 195,743 -- possibly the largest of the tourney thus far.

usourcek showed Ad-Kh, well behind Eeedz' Ac-Ah. MisterTBH meanwhile was hoping his 9h-9d would get him the small main pot.

The flop was Qd-10s-2d, and Eeedz remained ahead. The 6d on the turn gave usourcek a few more outs.

Then the river brought the Js, giving usourcek the Broadway straight and a boost all of the way to the top of the leaderboard. MisterTBH is out, and Eeedz has fallen all of the way down to 21,045.

3:26pm-- Tall stacks don't faze The Grinder

2Much$4U_08 opened with a raise to 3,299 -- a bit above the size of the pot -- from under the gun. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi called the raise from UTG+1, as did carolusXX from the big blind.

The flop came 8h-2s-Ah. carolusxx checked, and 2Much$4U_08 bet the unusual amount of 5,999. The Grinder thought a moment, then put his own tall stack out to make the call. carolusxx folded.

The turn was the Jd, and both players quickly checked. The river brought the 6s. After some thought, 2Much$4U_08 bet out 10,999, and The Grinder quickly called.

2Much$4U_08 showed 10h-Jc for a pair of jacks, and The Grinder Ad-Qd for aces. The Grinder is up to 94,233, while 2Much$4U_08 falls to 29,991

3:21pm-- Sunday two hundred grand is starting in ten minutes
For the low, low price of $11 you can join over 18,000 players in the Sunday two hundred grand with a shot of at least $20,000 first place prize

edit at 3:32pm... make that over 21,500 players

3:04pm-- Top ten chip counts at second break

1. taktloss47 154,499
2. parksy1066 112,120
3. Eeedz 104,789
4. annikipp 97,140
5. Fidoo 96,508
6. angmarkram 96,001
7. John FR 93,077
8. thewolvesuk 90,189
9. TheSent 88,385
10. xoxol73 86,613

Team PokerStars Pros

Katja Thater 41,794
Steve Paul-Ambrose "stevepja" 16,275.
Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso and Andre "aakkari" Akkari have both been eliminated.

3:00pm--taktloss47 no stranger to chip lead
Sebastian "taktloss47" Ruthenberg, a top German pro, currently holds the chip lead and it's a familiar place for him. He's placed third in an EPT event in Germany. Last year, Ruthenberg placed second in WCOOP Event #5 for $260,184.82. As of the last break, Ruthenberg sat with 154,449 chips in today's Sunday Warm-Up.

2:59pm-- Lady Maverick runs into rough waters and is out

With the antes starting on level VII and blinds at 400/800/50, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso used a little pressure and got squeezed on back-to-back hands. Rousso re-raised all in pre flop for 29,862 chips after posting the big blind and facing a three times the big blind button raise from Veg101 and a call by Klanfear in the small blind. Veg101 got out of the way, but Klanfear made the call all-in with Kc-Qc leaving Rousso with 7,825 behind.

Reluctantly, she turned over Qh-3d, the board ran out 6c-Qs-9s-4h-Kd giving Klanfear 48,474 in chips.

After a blind steal on the next hand, Rousso found herself outkicked with Ad-3s against the table chip leader, Veg101’s Ac-6c. With no help on the board Lady Maverick is out.


2:58pm-- River saves Thater in three-way all-in

The antes have kicked in here in Level VIII, so at nine-handed tables there's 1,750 in the middle when each hand begins. In this one, FranckZ shoved all in for 14,019 from UTG, and P0lak called from middle position, leaving 10,481 behind. It folded around to Katja Thater in the big blind who pushed all in for a total of 14,375. FranckZ called the few extra chips, making the pot 43,619.

The players' hands...

Katja Thater: Kc-Ks
FranckZ: Qd-Jh
P0lak: Ad-Kh

The flop came a tantalizing Ac-10c-Jc, giving P0lak the advantage. The Qs gave POlak Broadway, but FranckZ still had outs to a full house, and Thater her flush draw.

The river was the 2c, giving Thater the flush and the pot. FranckZ is out, and P0lak has slipped to just over 10,000.

2:40pm-- 1,600 remain

We just finished Level VII, and already over half of the starting field of 3,599 has been eliminated. Exactly 1,600 players currently remain. The average stack is just over 22,000, with NicStic sitting atop the leaderboard at the moment with 90,822.

2:31pm-- Lights out for two more, courtesy the Sunset King

Action began with a short-stacked wizard123abc pushing all in with his last 3,341 from early position. david0603, who had nearly 30,000 when the hand began, called from the hijack seat, and Sunset King, who had just over 60,000, also called from the big blind.

The flop came 5c-3d-5h. Sunset King checked, david0603 bet 7,000, and Sunset King called. The turn was the Jc. Sunset King again checked, and david0603 shoved his remaining 19,000-plus in the middle. Sunset King instacalled, showing Ad-5s for flopped trips. david0603 had 9h-9d for two pair, and wizard123abc was drawing dead with Qs-Tc.

The river was the 10h, and the Sunset King had knocked out two opponents. With that hand, he overtakes the chip lead from Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, moving up to 95,079.

2:17pm-- No Repeat for GrtWhtHype

Last week's Sunday Warm-Up champ GrtWhtHype has been eliminated. Down to just 4,420 in Level V (blinds 200/400), GrtWhtHype pushed all in from the button after rnoord had raised to 1,200 from middle position. The blinds stepped aside, and rnoord made the call.

GrtWhtHype held 10d-9d, and was thus far behind rnoord's Kh-9h. The board ran out 6d-2c-Ad-Jh-7c, and GrtWhtHype is out. rnoord currently has 11,480.

2:13pm-- The Grinder chews up another

Chip leader Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi limped in from early position, wolf1864 called from the button, Rockiesbiker completed from the small blind, and a short-stacked Lokern, down to 6,250, probably didn't mind seeing the flop for free.

The flop came 7c-5d-3s, and lokern bet 800 into the 1,600 pot. The Grinder called, and the others folded. The turn was the 7s. This time lokern bet 2,000, leaving himself just 3,450 behind. The Grinder again called.

The river brought the 4c. lokern pushed his remaining chips in, and The Grinder didn't hesitate before calling. lokern showed 9s-4s for a pair of fours (and busted flush draw), while The Grinder showed 6h-4h for the flopped straight. lokern is out, and The Grinder continues to move up. He now has over 76,000.

2:11pm-- Set versus the flush draw, Ambrose nearly doubles up

Steve-Paul Ambrose just found the double-up he needed. With 5,000 in the middle before the flop, Ambrose set out a 2,800 chip bet on a flop of Qc-7s-Js against RACE18. RACE18 met the bet with an all-in push of 5,800, Ambrose called leaving 4,275 behind.
RACE18 flipped up As-6s for the nut flush draw and Ambrose flopped a middle set of jacks. The seven on the turn filled up Ambrose and left RACE18 drawing dead. Ambrose now has 20,875 in chips.


1:48pm-- First break top ten chip counts

1. The Grinder (68,825),
2. viennacoup (56,820)
3. Mrdawwe (55,875),
4. franck223 (55,125)
5. BrandanZ (54,775)
6. Alpha 5.20 (52,367)
7. Hash78 (50,375)
8. ciaomama (49,130)
9. Maisteri (49,043)
10. Gohan03 (47,482)

Team PokerStars Pros

Vaneesa Rousso "Lady Maverick" (31,925)
Katja Thater (22,325)
Steve-Paul Ambrose "stevejpa" (13,075)
Andre Akkari "aakkari" (6,150)

1:45pm-- The Grinder Looking to Add A PokerStars Title to His Trophy Case

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi dropped by to take some chips as we approach the first break. The noted pro is standing tall with nearly 70,000 chips, good enough for the present chip lead.

1:36pm-- Three is a Magic Number

In Level II (blinds 50/100), GrtWhtHype raised to 255 from UTG. wojna987 called from the cutoff, as did sevenspades from the SB. The flop came 3h-8h-Qc. GrtWhtHype bet 555, wojna987 called, and sevenspades folded. The 7h came on the turn, putting a possible flush on board. Both checked. The river brought the 2c, and GrtWhtHype bet 725, and wojna987 called.

GrtWhtHype showed 3c-3d for the flopped set, and wojna987 mucked.

GrtWhtHype sits with about 11,000 at the moment, just a bit above the starting stack, while wojna987 has slipped to 7,000.

1:32pm-- Aces cracked

ChipLieder00 raised to 200 from UTG, then tmoneyy reraised to 564 from middle position. Four others called, including geirto from the button, making a pot of 2,870.

The flop came 6h-8s-Jc, and tmoneyy led out for 2,200. geirto called, and the others got out of the way. Both checked the 3d on the turn. The river brought the 6c, pairing the board. tmoneyy bet 3,900, leaving himself just 1,779 behind, and geirto, who had tmoneyy covered, promptly raised all in. tmoneyy made the call, showing Ad-Ac. But geirto had Jd-Js for jacks full, knocking out tmoneyy and claiming the 18,000-plus pot.

At the time, that pot put geirto over 20,000 and near the early chip lead.


1:15pm--Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso hits early

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso has started the day nicely. Just one hour into the tourney she has already chipped up to 32,925 chips after a quick double up and taking out sambr when the money went into the middle on a 2s-6c-2d flop, she pushed sambr all-in holding 3s-4s and sambr leading with Ac-7c, but a 4h on the turn and 8c on the river send the chip to LadyMaverick good for a top ten spot on the earlly leaderboard.

1:00pm-- Big hand meets bigger hand

At Team PokerStars Pro Steve-Paul Ambrose's table number 437, Agiletto was value betting cglinn with top set on a flop of 6d 4s Jd, the turn saw the Ac fall and cglinn put out a 400 chip bet which was quickly called by agiletto. A river six of clubs started the fireworks as the two players raised back and forth until all their chips were in the middle and agiletto seeing the bad news as cglinn found quads on the river to take down 20,225 chip pot. Agiletto is not out however still alive with 2,050 in chips. Watch the hand play out below.


12:58pm-- Last week's champ sniffs out a monster

Play has started out tentatively at Table 245, where last week's winner GrtWhtHype is seated. Just now GrtWhtHype was in the big blind when upjump made a minimum raise to 100 from UTG+1. The table folded around to GrtWhtHype, who paused a moment before folding as well.

The table's instincts were correct -- upjump showed Ad-As as he took the small pot.

12:30pm-- Sunday Warm-Up set to begin

Today's PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up will begin in about 15 minutes. Last week's winner, GrtWhtHype of the United States won $105,000 and is back to defend his title. Already signed up to play are such notable players as 55lucky55, CASINOICE, Kongsgaard, mrrain, PearlJammer, Mr. Wrong, THE__D__RY, BKiCE, brainwash, charder30, Daut44, and zangzeban24. They will no doubt be just a few of the people we watch over the next several hours.


APPT: Johnny Chan to hit Macau

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

appt_thumb_promo[2].jpgPokerStars has just announced an unprecedented line-up of champion poker players who will be bringing world-class poker action to Macau in the People’s Republic of China on September 1st for the launch of Season 2 of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

Joining the field of 20 world class champions in a tournament that is destined to become the largest-ever in Asia with 500+ participants, is poker legend Johnny ‘The Orient Express’ Chan. There are few players on the planet who can rival his poker record, with ten World Series of Poker bracelets to his name and more than $6.7 million in tournament earnings during his career.

“It’s great for Poker in Asia that there’s a major tournament like this here in Macau,” says Chan. “It’s bringing in top players like myself, and letting the world know that there is real poker here, and real poker players here, and that anybody can win millions of dollars.”

Joining the Chan will be a host of players from across Asia Pacific, and the world, who have won their way to the event via free online tournaments on PokerStars, in addition to those who will win their entries through live mega satellites still to take place throughout next week at the PokerStars Macau poker room at Grand Waldo Casino. Players can also buy-in directly on-site.

The PokerStars.net APPT Season 2 in Macau from September 1-9, will include the $25,000 HKD buy-in Main Event (approximately $3,200 USD) September 1-6 and the return of the prestigious “high roller” event with a buy-in of $150,000 HKD (approximately $19,250 USD) September 7-9. Both televised events guarantee a minimum prize pool of $10M HKD and with more than 500 players expected to start in the Main Event it is likely to set a new record for poker tournaments in Asia, both in player numbers and prize pool.

The Champions from around the world that will be hosted at PokerStars APPT Macau event include:

  • Joe Hachem, Australia (2005 WSOP Main Event Champion)
  • Johnny Chan, Hong Kong (1987 & 1988 WSOP Main Event Champion)
  • Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, France (2008 PCA Champion)
  • Scotty Nguyen, Vietnam (2008 WSOP HORSE Champion)
  • Lee Nelson, New Zealand (2006 Aussie Millions Champion)
  • Isabelle Mercier, Canada (2004 WPT Ladies Event Champion)
  • Van Tuyet Nguyen, Vietnam (2008 WPT Celebrity Invitational Champion)
  • Barry Greenstein, USA (2008 WSOP Razz Champion)
  • Dinh Le, Vietnam (2007 APPT Macau Main Event Champion)
  • Eric Assadourian, Australia (2007 APPT Macau High Roller Event Champion)
  • Neil Arce, Philippines (2008 FPT Manila Champion)
  • Mike "Timex" McDonald, Canada (2008 EPT German Open Champion)
  • Ziv Bachar, Israel (2007 APPT Seoul Champion)
  • Grant Levy, Australia (2007 APPT Sydney Champion)
  • Mel Judah, England (2003 WPT Legends of Poker Champion)
  • Daniel "Rekrul" Schrieber, USA (2007 WSOP Heads Up Champion)
  • Men "The Master" Nguyen (2005 Player of the Year)
  • Harry "Wise Owl" Demetriou, England (2004 Victor Poker Cup Champion)
  • Anthony Rivera, USA (2008 WSOP Mixed Events Champion)
  • Isaac Galazan, USA (2005 WSOP Short-Handed Champion)

    For more information on the PokerStars.net APPT and how to qualify for the tournaments, go to: http://www.appt.com.