What a Sunday! First of all, it was the last Sunday of the month, which presented players with an extra opportunity. The Battle of the Planets $50,000 Triple Shootout offers the top sit-n-go players of the month a chance at an astounding end-of-month freeroll, and there were 602 players who took advantage, 81 of whom walked away with free cashola.

And then came the Sunday Million, which in itself is a weekly must-see and must-play event, but the August 30th edition brought nearly 9,000 players to the tables! The prize pool of nearly $1.8 million was the largest in quite a few months, and the players knew that more than $250K was at stake for the winner, barring any deals that would lessen that amount. It was bound to be an exciting tournament from the start.

That it was. With 8,993 players in the field and a $1,798,600.00 prize pool, the tournament got underway and raced toward the money after only a few hours. After the bubble burst and 1,350 competitors were in the money, lifang was the first to cash for $305.76, and on the tournament went toward the final table.

The last table was determined by the elimination of one unlucky player in tenth place. And there was an all-in situation at each of the two tables to follow. On one, BigBradley was given the chance to stick around when his pocket sevens allowed him to double through angiebug4. But on the other table, BodogMaven had just become the short stack after suckabig1 doubled through him. BodogMaven pushed all-in on the next hand with only [7h] [4h], and suckabig1 was there to do battle again, this time with pocket tens. It played out without drama:

That left BodogMaven out in tenth place with $9,352.73 to heal the pain, and the final nine were seated at one table to proceed as follows:

Seat 1: CesarSPA (25,965,082 in chips)
Seat 2: Whitfield74 (11,059,972 in chips)
Seat 3: siggen001 (6,636,233 in chips)
Seat 4: suckabig1 (10,878,506 in chips)
Seat 5: angiebug4 (12,135,863 in chips)
Seat 6: gboro780 (6,947,850 in chips)
Seat 7: Spoli4tor (5,149,512 in chips)
Seat 8: BigBradley (6,437,316 in chips)
Seat 9: SebiXXXX (4,719,666 in chips)

Play started out at a reasonable pace, though players knew that they would have to make some serious moves to keep up any hope of catching CesarSPA, who seemed unstoppable.

It only took a little more than a round for one of the shortest stacks to take a chance, and Spoli4tor made the attempt holding [Kc] [Qs]. CesarSPA was in the big blind with [Ad] [6h] and didn't hesitate to call. The board came [2d] [9c] [5d] [2s] [9s], and Spoli4tor was gone just that quickly, with $12,590.21 for the effort.

Before most could get their bearings, it happened again. After a raise from CesarSPA and a reraise from Whitfield74, CesarSPA pushed all-in for more than 35 million chips, and Whitfield74 called all-in holding pocket kings. CesarSPA showed his [As] [Jc], and the board just cozied right up to it with [Kh] [Td] [4h] [6h] [Qh] to give him the straight. Whitfield74 had to accept $19,784.61 for the eighth place finish.

Everyone was gunning for CesarSPA, and siggen001 was able to double through the chip leader when jacks held up against A-K, though it hardly put a dent in CesarSPA's lead.

The next to try it wasn't so lucky. SebiXXXX was by far the shortest stack and pushed preflop with [Ks] [6s] from the small blind, but CesarSPA was in the big blind with [Ac] [4d] and made the call. The board came down [9h] [4h] [Qd] [8s] [8h], and SebiXXXX was gone in seventh place with $35,972.01.

After BigBradley doubled through CesarSPA, BigBradley took another opportunity to chip up. When gboro780 made a preflop raise, BigBradley put him to the test and pushed all-in. gboro780 called all-in for his tournament life with [Ad] [Kh], and Big Bradley showed [Ah] [Qs]. But that queen hit on the [3h] [Qd] [As] flop, and the [6h] turn and [Tc] river finished it up, eliminating gboro780 in sixth place with $53,958,01.

The final five decided to pause the tournament for some deal talks, and when the chip-chop numbers were given, discussions began. Though short-stacked angiebug4 attempted to get a few more bucks from her tablemates in order to guarantee a $100K payout, they failed to agree to that. angiebug4 finally agreed to her original number, as did the others, and the payouts, with $30,000 set aside for the ultimate winner, were as follows:

Seat 1: CesarSPA (35,000,683 in chips) = $208,845.93
Seat 3: siggen001 (15,282,466 in chips) = $131,719.96
Seat 4: suckabig1 (7,308,506 in chips) = $100,530.55
Seat 5: angiebug4 (6,385,863 in chips) = $96,921.72
Seat 8: BigBradley (25,952,482 in chips) = $173,454.74

Immediately upon the return to play, angiebug4 got aggressive and pushed all-in with [Ac] [Tc] against the [Kh] [Qs] of siggen001, and she doubled up to climb back into contention.

The next to try that move was suckabig1, who pushed preflop with pocket nines, and he soon discovered he was in a race with the [Ac] [Ks] of CesarSPA. The board came down [Ah] [3c] [3d] [Qs] [5d], and suckabig1 was ousted in fifth place with his agreed-upon amount of $100,530.55.

Again, angiebug4 moved, and with this hand, she took over second place on the chip count board and moved into serious contention for the title:

On a roll was angiebug4. When siggen001 pushed all-in on the next hand, angiebug4 reraised to isolate with pocket aces, which worked. siggen001's tournament was on the line with [Kc] [Tc], and the board blanked with [5c] [Js] [4d] [8s] [9h]. That left siggen001 out in fourth place with $131,719.96.

Finally, short-stacked BigBradley decided to make his move with pocket threes, and angiebug4 called with [Kc] [5c]. The flop was an innocent [8d] [Ad] [6h], but the [5h] hit on the turn to give angiebug4 the advantage. The [9c] on the river ended the game for BigBradley, who took home a substantial $173,454.74 for his efforts.

The last two players launched into heads-up play with chip counts as follows:

Seat 1: CesarSPA (49,619,189 in chips)
Seat 5: angiebug4 (40,310,811 in chips)

Though angiebug4 came on strong in the first few hands, CesarSPA got aggressive and began seriously chipping away at his opponent. That was until angiebug4's luck kicked in again. Pushing all-in with [As] [3h] against the [Ah] [Qd] of CesarSPA, angiebug4 pulled out a flush with the [8s] [6s] [9d] [Qs] [Ts] cards that fell. Only a few million chips separated the two after that hand. Even tournament host and Friend of PokerStars Bill Chen chimed in, "Wow nice hand this is a real battle."

Said battle continued with CesarSPA winning multiple small pots, but eventually angiebug4 got more aggressive and took down several key hands to take over the chip lead. At that point, angiebug4's bluffs were working and calls were on point.

Finally, the duo got involved in a pot that started with a [2h] [Ac] [7d] flop. CesarSPA bet and angiebug4 called to see the [6c] on the turn, which prompted an all-in bet from CesarSPA for his last 20 million chips. angiebug4 called with [8h] [6h], but CesarSPA had the better hand with [Ks] [7h]. But angiebug4 ran well during the latter portion of the final table, and the [6d] came down on the river to give her the win. CesarSPA accepted second place and $208,845.93, and angiebug4 took the Sunday Million title with $126,921.72 for the victory. Congratulations to all of tonight's finishers!

Sunday Million Results for 08/30/09:

1st place: angiebug4 ($126,921.72)*
2nd place: CesarSPA ($208,845.93)*
3rd place: BigBradley ($173,454.74)*
4th place: siggen001 ($131,719.96)*
5th place: suckabig1 ($100,530.55)*
6th place: gboro780 ($53,958.01)
7th place: SebiXXXX ($35,972.01)
8th place: Whitfield74 ($19,784.61)
9th place: Spoli4tor ($12,590.21)

*numbers resulted from a five-way chip-chop agreement

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page. And the 2009 WCOOP is just around the corner! Satellites are running now for many of the tournaments, and all of the details, including the $40 million in guarantees, can be found on the WCOOP home page.

It happened again. Live tournaments have revved up around the globe, keeping people from their trusty laptops and home computers. Whether people are wrapping up their trips to the European Poker Tour stop in Kyiv or heading out to Macau for the start of the third season of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, or playing with the likes of Daniel Negreanu at the WPT Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, they were not logged in to PokerStars for this week's Sunday Million.

Their loss. (Except in the case of those winning those live tournaments, in which case we see the point of their choices.)

For the 7,431 players who did turn up for the August 23rd rendition of the Sunday Million on PokerStars, they were in for a bit of a treat. The guarantee of $1.5 million kicked in and gave players a $13,800 overlay. Out of the starting field, the last 1,080 competitors standing received a portion of the $1.5 million prize pool, though over half of it was reserved for the final table finishers. A whopping $225K was up for grabs to the player who outlasted the entirety of the field, so there was nothing but excitement on tap for the latest Sunday Million event.

With a smaller than usual field, one would suspect an early final table but there was no rush to play as the that point neared. It took quite some time to find those last nine players, but with the eventual elimination of CrAzYSiXeS66 in 11th place, hand-for-hand play was implemented. Only a few hands later, New Shawboy was eliminated by tysonduke23 and his pocket aces:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Tenth place gave New Shawboy $8,250.00 for the effort, but it left the last nine players set up to continue on at the final table as follows:

Seat 1: dmytro1 (2,972,552 in chips)
Seat 2: Sheeeeep (4,301,581 in chips)
Seat 3: shawry5 (9,963,830 in chips)
Seat 4: Faraday (7,192,984 in chips)
Seat 5: tysonduke23 (12,804,233 in chips)
Seat 6: Specialk66 (11,313,744 in chips)
Seat 7: rmpvieira (7,925,749 in chips)
Seat 8: DDfromDS (10,117,803 in chips)
Seat 9: jornxx (7,717,524 in chips)

Short-stacked dmytro1 was anxious to try for a double-up, and he succeeded when his A-K of diamonds made a flush to crush the pocket pair of queens held by shawry5. Sheeeeep also managed a double when his pocket jacks held up to the pocket tens of rmpvieira. And Faraday had a substantial double-up when his aces held up to the eights of DDfromDS. tysonduke23 did it through Specialk66 in a pot worth nearly 20 million chips, which put tysonduke23 in the lead. None of the players seemed shy about putting their chips at risk on this table, but it took quite awhile before any of those actions resulted in an elimination.

Finally, after Specialk66 was crippled to less than 1 million chips by the tysonduke23 double-up, the short-stack made the all-in move from the big blind with [Qc] [6s], and DDfromDS was there with [Ac] [3h] and the call. The board came [Jc] [Js] [Ks] [4s] [Kc], and the ace kicker played to eliminated Specialk66 in ninth place, which was worth $11,625.00.

Within minutes, Sheeeeep tried an all-in move holding [Ac] [8d], but Faraday woke up to pocket kings with which to make the call. The virtual dealer quickly put out a board of [Qh] [Jd] [7s] [2s] [5c], and the kings held up to send Sheeeeep out to pasture in eighth place with $18,000.00.

jornxx had a wild ride in his final level of play at the table, first doubling through DDfromDS, then losing most of those chips when rmpvieira doubled through jornxx. With just over 3.6 million left in his stack, it was time to move again, which he did preflop with [8h] [7c], but when Faraday looked down at [Ah] [Ks] in the big blind, the decision to call was not a difficult one. The board ran out [7s] [Kd] [6d] [Tc] [4c], and jornxx left in seventh place with $46,500.00 as a consolation prize.

After nearly a half hour of no more eliminations, the six remaining players returned from a break and decided to take a look at chip-chop numbers. Shockingly and without any disagreements or negotiations, all parties accepted the deal as proposed, which was completed as follows with the exception of $30,000 more set aside for the eventual winner:

Seat 1: dmytro1 (8,846,916 in chips) = $92,818.62
Seat 3: shawry5 (19,096,881 in chips) = $146,483.00
Seat 4: Faraday (13,924,296 in chips) = $119,401.59
Seat 5: tysonduke23 (7,737,343 in chips) = $87,009.38
Seat 7: rmpvieira (14,601,533 in chips) = $122,947.31
Seat 8: DDfromDS (10,103,031 in chips) = $99,395.10

And then big-pot poker came into play. After dmytro1 doubled through DDfromDS in a 15-million-plus chip pot, DDfromDS was left with just over 4.5 million and the urge to move it. The all-in move actually came from tysonduke23 preflop, but DDfromDS called all-in for his tournament life with [Kh] [3h]. Up against the pocket fives of tysonduke23, the two watched the board immediately drop a five on the flop. The entire board ran out [5d] [Ks] [Ad] [3d] [Tc] to end the run for DDfromDS, and he collected the $99,395.10 agreed upon in the deal.

The only word for the flurry of action that followed was "crazy." After tysonduke23 doubled through dmytro1, the latter was very short-stacked and pushed all-in with [Ah] [3d]. rmpvieira called with [8c] [6h] and found a miracle board of [Qc] [3c] [2c] [7c] [Kd]. With four flush cards right out of the gate, rmpvieira won with that flush and send dmytro1 out in fifth place with $92,818.62.

Faraday seemed to be quickly running away with the tournament after having doubled through shawry5 a few hands earlier. Faraday then got involved with rmpvieira preflop when the latter moved all-in with [Kc] [9h]. Faraday was the caller from the big blind with [Ac] [Kd], and the board came [5c] [As] [Qd] [3c] [Ks]. The two pair knocked rmpvieira to the rail in fourth place with $122,947.31.

One right after the other, it seemed, was how it continued. And it was Faraday at the helm again, this time calling shawry5's all-in. Faraday had [Ah] [Kh] to the pocket fives of shawry5, and the cards on the board came [Ks] [Td] [2h] [Jc] [Js]. shawry5 had the lower two pair and was eliminated in third place with $146,483.00.

Heads-up play began with the following counts:

Seat 4: Faraday (43,872,974 in chips)
Seat 5: tysonduke23 (30,437,026 in chips)

And the tables turned, so to speak, in the blink of an eye. The very first hand of heads-up action went down as follows:

RSS readers click through to see replay

New chipleader tysonduke23 saw Faraday double through him in a subsequent pot but kept the lead going into the fourth hand of heads-up. Faraday made the initial raise, and tysonduke23 reraised all-in. Faraday called all-in for his tournament life with [Kh] [Jd], but tysonduke23 showed the better [As] [9c] hand. The board brought aces, seemingly just to make a point that the all-in fest must end, as it produced [Ad] [3h] [6h] [Qc] [Ac]. With that, Faraday settled for second place and $119,401.59.

The winner of the 8/23 Sunday Million was tysonduke23, who collected a total of $117,009.38 for the accomplishment. Congratulations to all of tonight's finishers!

Sunday Million Results for 08/23/09:

1st place: tysonduke23 ($117,009.38)*
2nd place: Faraday ($119,401.59)*
3rd place: shawry5 ($146,483.00)*
4th place: rmpvieira ($122,947.31)*
5th place: dmytro1 ($92,818.62)*
6th place: DDfromDS ($99,395.10)*
7th place: jornxx ($32,250.00)
8th place: Sheeeeep ($18,000.00)
9th place: Specialk66 ($11,625.00)

*numbers resulted from a six-way chip-chop agreement

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.

It is just a staple in the online poker industry. Almost every poker player wants to play in the Sunday Million on PokerStars. Not only is there always a $1.5 million guarantee awaiting players, but the title is one of the most recognized in online poker. Oh, and incidentally, the winner usually takes home more than $200,000 in prize money.

While it is true that not everyone can afford the $200 + $15 buy-in, there are satellites - many of them - that run up until the Sunday start time, and for a fraction of the cost, players at all bankroll levels compete on an even playing field for hundreds of thousands of dollars. They also get to sit alongside PokerStars pros, players like Greg Raymer and Daniel Negreanu that most only see on television, and match their skills to theirs. A unique opportunity for all, indeed.

This week, there were 7,863 competitors who sat down with an equal amount of chips to begin their attempts to win, in most cases, life-changing money. That number created a prize pool of $1,572,600, which went beyond the guarantee and was split up to allow 1,170 players to cash in. Hours into the action, it was kir99 that took the position of bubble player and unfortunately busted in 1171st place, but UGA7211 was the first of many to cash, taking home $314.52 for the effort.

When the final table was finally in sight, it was ChasingDevil who went out in 11th place to send the action into hand-for-hand mode. After more than ten minutes of tense play, it was short-stacked sontilou who made the all-in push preflop with [Ah] [8d] but found opponent HectorPva with [Ad] [Qd] making the call. The hand played out here and left sontilou forced to accept $8,413.42 for the tenth place finish:

RSS readers click through to see replay

With Team PokerStars Pros Tom McEvoy and Andre Akkari standing by to cheer on the final tablists, they took their seats at the last table of the night/morning as follows:

Seat 1: Slims (11,568,134 in chips)
Seat 2: HectorPva (9,884,677 in chips)
Seat 3: KJB11 (7,581,872 in chips)
Seat 4: a2z1to3 (1,848,005 in chips)
Seat 5: ParisTilt0n (3,305,070 in chips)
Seat 6: umacorso (7,000,001 in chips)
Seat 7: PedrinhoxX (11,762,579 in chips)
Seat 8: chicagoali (13,358,324 in chips)
Seat 9: mertge (12,321,338 in chips)

With chicagoali in the chip lead, it only took a few hands to be chipped down a bit and see PedrinhoxX take over that lead. But then a monster hand developed that found those two battling with preflop raises that ended with chicagoali all-in with pocket aces against the [Ah] [Ks] of PedrinhoxX. The board brought a king on the river, but it wasn't good enough to keep chicagoali from doubling up and becoming the massive leader of the table.

A few hands later, the crippled PedrinhoxX took a shot with [Ac] [Qc] preflop, and ParisTilt0n was the caller from the big blind with pocket nines. The virtual dealer gave them a flop of [As] [2c] [5c], which was definitely good for the all-in player, as was the [8d] turn. But the [9d] came on the river to give ParisTilt0n the set and the win, eliminating PedrinhoxX in ninth place with $12,187.66 for the rough beat.

Another player losing a lot of ground since the start of the final table was umacorso, and when relegated to less than 4 million chips, umacorso pushed all-in preflop with [As] [Kd] after an initial raise by ParisTilt0n. But ParisTilt0n had no problem making the call with pocket jacks, and the race saw an interesting flop of [Ah] [Qs] [9s] hit umacorso. The [9h] turn changed nothing, but the [Js] gave the hand back to ParisTilt0n. Again, the river card did it and eliminated umacorso, this time awarding $18,084.91 for the eighth place finish.

Within moments, mertge decided to move as well, doing it with [Ad] [Qh]. But HectorPva reraised all-in to isolate, which worked, with [Ac] [Kc]. The board ran out [Ks] [Qs] [2d] [3d] [8c] and gave the pot to HectorPva, leaving mertge with $31,452.01 for the seventh place finish.

It was a2z1to3 who played the short stack from the start of the final table through several other eliminations, but as the threat of dropping below 1 million chips with blinds at 300,000/600,000 with a 60,000 ante, the time had come to risk it. When the small blind hit, he pushed with [4s] [2s], and chip leader chicagoali called with [Ah] [Th]. The board was an uneventful [9s] [3d] [Kh] [Js] [8c] to knock a2z1to3 out in sixth place with $47,178.01.

Play then sped up with two eliminations in fairly quick time. The first came when KJB11 moved preflop with [Ks] [Js], which dominated caller ParisTilt0n's [Tc] [9h]. But the board hit ParisTilt0n twice when it produced [2d] [Ts] [Qd] [Qh] [Th], and KJB11 was ousted in fifth place with $62,904.01.

Only a few hands later, the struggling Slims pushed with [Ah] [Qd] but found himself up against the pocket aces of HectorPva. The dealer quickly put out [6c] [Kh] [9s] [Jd] [6d] on the board to end Slims' tournament, giving him a fourth place finish and $79,259.05 to go with it.

The last three players standing decided to see the chip-chop numbers and consider a deal, and on the first try, they did all agree to the numbers. With $30,000 extra set aside for the ultimate winner, the three players chopped up the remaining prize money as follows:

Seat 2: HectorPva (26,384,599 in chips) = $165,924.51
Seat 5: ParisTilt0n (18,639,730 in chips) = $151,840.73
Seat 8: chicagoali (33,605,671 in chips) = $179,055.79

Though chicagoali lost some chips after the deal was made, the aggression soon came out in force, and ParisTilt0n was the one struggling to find the cards with which to take a stand against it. Finally, a hand developed that saw all three players take a look at the [3s] [6h] [4c] flop. Though ParisTilt0n initially checked, as did chicagoali, it was HectorPva who put out the first bet. ParisTilt0n came back with a raise all-in, and chicagoali called before HectorPva folded. ParisTilt0n flipped over pocket fives for the up-and-down straight draw, but chicagoali turned over [7d] [5d] for the flopped straight. Deuces came on the turn and river, and ParisTilt0n was eliminated in third place with the agreed-upon amount of $151,840.73.

Heads-up play commenced with the following counts:

Seat 2: HectorPva (15,955,711 in chips)
Seat 8: chicagoali (62,674,289 in chips)

Though chicagoali had the upper hand going in, HectorPva was not giving up easily. Mostly through a slow chip-up process, HectorPva began to cut into his opponent's lead. With aggressive all-in moves at times that chicagoali simply couldn't call, HectorPva took several key pots, including one for 16 million and another for 38 million. And then an opportunity that changed the entire makeup of the heads-up match:

RSS readers click through to see replay

That double-up for HectorPva was followed shortly thereafter by a double for chicagoali, then one for HectorPva, and another for chicagoali. The two players traded the chip lead like pro sports teams trade athletes, but the $30K on the line over and above their established payouts was worth fighting for.

Ultimately, with HectorPva holding a relatively slight lead over chicagoali, the former raised and the latter called to see a [Kd] [As] [3d] flop. HectorPva bet that flop, and chicagoali check-called, which took them to the [5h] turn. That prompted similar action and a [2d] river card. chicagoali pushed all-in with [8c] [3h] for the bottom pair, but HectorPva called with [Ad] [3c] and the two pair. That gave chicagoali a second place finish and the $179,055.79 that went with it.

HectorPva became the latest Sunday Million champion and was awarded $195,924.51 for the accomplishment. Congratulations to all of tonight's finishers!

Sunday Million Results for 08/16/09:

1st place: HectorPva ($195,924.51)*
2nd place: chicagoali ($179,055.79)*
3rd place: ParisTilt0n ($151,840.73)*
4th place: Slims ($79,259.05)
5th place: KJB11 ($62,904.01)
6th place: a2z1to3 ($47,178.01)
7th place: mertge ($31,452.01)
8th place: umacorso ($18,084.91)
9th place: PedrinhoxX ($12,187.66)

*results of a three-way chip-chop agreement

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.

A little money here, a little there. For some players, an extra $100,000 in the prize pool isn't anything to get excited about. For most, every extra buy-in contributing to a larger prize pool matters; not only do a few extra people receive a payout in the end, but each prize level is just a little bit sweeter.

That's why it is always thrilling to see the registration number climb as the tournament begins. As the clock nears the end of the opportunity to jump in, that final number appears, and tonight it was 8,007. Any count of 8,000 players ensures the prize pool will surpass the $1.6 million mark, which is already $100,000 above the guarantee set by PokerStars. Every little contribution counts, and it all managed to set the total pool at $1,601,400, which would be shared by the final 1,170 players. Those are exciting numbers!

When it came down to the money bubble, money was the only thing on most players' minds. For their $200 + $15 buy-in, they were looking for a bit of a profit with a cash. Timo Magic wasn't able to get there, with a 1171st place finish on the bubble, but that exit made way for others like kvnok88 to make the minimum cash of $320.28, which is nothing to scoff at.

But speaking of cash, there was nearly $800,000 alone waiting for the final table nine, and there was certainly a mad scramble to get there. Play slowed quite a bit at the 18-player mark, and it did the same when the field thinned to only 12 players. Competitors were swapping chips, and the lead was alternating between several players. Ultimately, though, it came down to givi63 out in 12th and bl4cksky1 in 11th in quick succession, and soon after Doli pushed all-in with two overcards against the pocket pair of jacob126b38. The hand played out as follows:

RSS readers click through to see replay

That gave Doli a tenth place finish, and a prize of $8,567.50 was given for the final table bubble player. With that, the final table was set as follows:

Seat 1: D.K.5 (15,938,244 in chips)
Seat 2: danger0us (3,074,102 in chips)
Seat 3: th9nip (6,526,198 in chips)
Seat 4: kurvekat (7,168,267 in chips)
Seat 5: jacob126b38 (21,138,282 in chips)
Seat 6: fetchmeabeer (6,561,322 in chips)
Seat 7: lordhuttyx (3,901,360 in chips)
Seat 8: h2oace (5,271,144 in chips)
Seat 9: FOREVER_RU (10,491,081 in chips)

Team PokerStars Pro William Thorson was in the chat box with good wishes for all, and that took the players right into their first break.

Upon returning from break, it only took a few moments for one of the shorter stacks to push. It was lordhuttyx who made the all-in move preflop with [As] [Jc], but FOREVER_RU woke up with pocket queens in the big blind and called. The board ran out [9d] [6h] [6d] [Td] [4d], and lordhuttyx couldn't improve. That left him out in ninth place with $12,410.86 as consolation.

The very next hand saw h2oace make a double-up happen with A-Q versus the K-Q of chipleader jacob126b38. Most players at the table were clearly not afraid to move chips and take risks, but it took awhile for anything to happen to remove a player from the action. Meanwhile, kurvekat doubled through D.K.5, danger0us did it through h2oace, who then doubled back through danger0us, and the latter then stayed alive by doubling through FOREVER_RU. Difficult to keep up? Yes.

Finally, fetchmeabeer could hang on to a short stack no longer. Pushing all-in preflop, fetchmeabeer had two calls from kurvekat and danger0ous. They checked down the board of [6s] [Qd] [Th] [Kd] [2h], and when kurvekat shoed [6d] [3d], both other players mucked, which left fetchmeabeer out in eighth place with $18,416.11.

Then th9nip and D.K.5 tangled a few times, but it was the following hand that changed the course of the latter player and put the former into a solid position:

RSS readers click through to see replay

D.K.5 soon went all-in preflop for 5,692,298 chips with pocket tens, but FOREVER_RU called with pocket kings. No help came on the [6h] [5s] [8h] [7s] [Jc] board, and D.K.5 was ousted in seventh place with $32,028.01.

FOREVER_RU took on a bit of an aggressive image at the table, and a few hands later pushed all-in preflop for nearly 18 million chips. But danger0us took the bait and called all-in with [Jd] [8d], only to find himself up against the pocket aces of FOREVER_RU. The board came [5h] [Qh] [As] [2d] [7c], and the set eliminated danger0us from the tournament in sixth place, which was worth $48,042.01.

Into the wee hours of the morning in America, another player finally took a risk with a short stack. After a preflop raise from th9nip, kurvekat pushed all-in with [Ac] [Ts], and though th9nip folded, h2oace called with pocket nines. The race went to the board, which produced [Jd] [2h] [4c] [Js] [8s], and kurvekat was eliminated in fifth place with $64,056.01.

Though FOREVER_RU was the short stack of the group, it was th9nip who seemed extremely anxious to make moves. He got involved preflop with h2oace to see a flop of [2h] [7h] [3c], at which point th9nip pushed all-in for more than 17 million chips with [Kh] [Qh] and the flush draw, but h2oace called with [Kc] [7s] and top pair. The [3s] on the turn was no help, nor was the [Ad] on the river, and th9nip was gone in fourth place with $80,710.57.

FOREVER_RU did push soon after with [Ad] [5d], and he was ahead of the [Kc] [9s] of h2oace, who made the call. But the board immediately brought the card for h2oace on a board of [Kd] [5h] [Tc] [4c] [2c], and FOREVER_RU was eliminated in third place with $120,105.01.

Heads-up action then began with the following chip counts:

Seat 5: jacob126b38 (22,074,196 in chips)
Seat 8: h2oace (57,995,804 in chips)

The lead was with h2oace, and jacob126b38 seemed to struggle to find a hand with which to move. It only took 14 hands, though, before jacob126b38 found [Ac] [Qs] and pushed. h2oace called with [Ks] [5s], and the flop was safe for his opponent with [7d] [4h] [4c]. But the [Kc] came on the turn to change the dynamic of the hand, and the [9h] on the river ended the tournament. jacob126b38 was awarded $176,154.01 for the second place finish.

The August 9 Sunday Million victory was claimed by h2oace, who took down the substantial top prize of $240,210.01 and one of the most prestigious titles in poker - Sunday Million champion. Congrats!

Sunday Million Results for 08/09/09:

1st place: h2oace ($240,210.01)
2nd place: jacob126b38 ($176,154.01)
3rd place: FOREVER_RU ($120,105.01)
4th place: th9nip ($80,710.57)
5th place: kurvekat ($64,056.01)
6th place: danger0us ($48,042.01)
7th place: D.K.5 ($32,028.01)
8th place: fetchmeabeer ($18,416.11)
9th place: lordhuttyx ($12,410.86)

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.

For some people, the first Sunday in August means vacations, family barbecues, or outdoor activities. But for poker players, it means the same as any other Sunday - PokerStars tournaments. Sure, the spot in front of the laptop might be accompanied by a cool beverage or a fan to bring in the summer breeze, but poker players are committed to their poker. So, August begins like any other month, with the first Sunday consumed by online poker.

It began with 7,911 players, all of whom showed up for the $1.5 million guarantee and one of the most coveted titles in poker that comes with a Sunday Million victory. The number of players boosted the prize pool to $1,582,200, which was reserved for the last 1,170 players standing.

Play moved along rather quickly, as the final two tables were reached by just after 1:00am ET. With only three players above the million-chip mark - shack232, grebnrets86, and kenneeoin - there were several short stacks that took leave of the tables in a timely manner, though the last 11 players seemed to find themselves stuck, as numerous players doubled up or chopped pots to stay alive. Ultimately, 1montezuma left in 11th place, and hand-for-hand play began. After more than 10 minutes, it was LukeFromB13 who went up against BigRed0000 and lost the following hand to finish in tenth place, which was worth $8,464.78.

RSS readers click through to see replay

And the final table was set! With Sosnoviy holding down first place for Russia, the rest of the players started the last table's action with chip counts as follows:

Seat 1: almaty.kz (5,166,640 in chips)
Seat 2: Sosnoviy (19,240,360 in chips)
Seat 3: shack232 (11,815,085 in chips)
Seat 4: BigRed0000 (13,183,370 in chips)
Seat 5: Jakelamotta3 (4,230,595 in chips)
Seat 6: kenneeoin (9,795,296 in chips)
Seat 7: EAlriksson (4,751,982 in chips)
Seat 8: grebnrets86 (5,524,713 in chips)
Seat 9: getdaragzout (5,401,959 in chips)

Action began just a few hands in when grebnrets86 doubled through shack232 by cracking aces with eights, and grebnrets86 was just getting started, it seemed. Several minutes later, Jakelamotta3 decided to open with a preflop push for more than 5 million chips, and grebnrets86 decided to call from the small blind with [As] [Tc]. Jakelamotta3 called with [Ah] [8h] and was in some trouble. The board came down in favor of the larger stack with [2d] [Qd] [Ts] [5c] [6h], and Jakelamotta3 was knocked out in ninth place with $12,262.06.

Then one of the biggest hands of the tournament began to unfold. grebnrets86 was clearly in a gambling mood and made an initial raise, but Sosnoviy decided to reraise from the small blind. grebnrets86 was not having it, and he reraised all-in for more than 16 million chips with pocket eights. Little did he know that Sosnoviy would call so quickly, since he was holding pocket aces. The board gave them each a full house when it produced [Js] [Jh] [5s] [Kd] [Jc], but grebnrets86 had the worst of it and lost the 33 million-chip pot to finish in eighth place with $18,195.31.

Before most players could get their bearings, another hand developed when EAIriksson made his all-in move preflop with [Kh] [Jh]. That put almaty.kz to the test from the big blind with [Ah] [6h], and he finally made the call. The board hit [Ad] [7d] [7s] [Ks] [Qc], and EAIriksson left the tournament in seventh place with $31,644.01.

In another battle of the non-short stacks, BigRed0000 decided to make his move after Sosnoviy opened with a raise. Sosnoviy called with pocket sevens, and BigRed0000 was in on the race with [Qs] [Jd]. But the board blanked for the all-in with [3d] [6d] [Th] [6h] [2c], allowing Sosnoviy to take the 23.6 million-chip pot and eliminate BigRed0000 in sixth place, which was worth $47,466.01.

Sosnoviy took a massive chip lead over the pack at that point, as he neared 50 million chips and proceeded to bully the table with that stack.

Seat 1: almaty.kz (11,248,622 in chips)
Seat 2: Sosnoviy (47,828,751 in chips)
Seat 3: shack232 (5,915,372 in chips)
Seat 6: kenneeoin (8,875,296 in chips)
Seat 9: getdaragzout (5,241,959 in chips)

getdaragzout and shack232 were able to produce double-ups through the chip leader, though Sosnoviy didn't even dip below the 50M-mark and continued to dominate.

The next to attempt a double-up was kenneeoin, who found [Qc] [Tc] to be quite attractive preflop, but Sosnoviy was the caller with [Kh] [9h], and the two watched the board run out [3c] [Jc] [5h] [Ah] [Ad]. That put an end to kenneeoin's run in the tournament, and he finished in fifth place with $63,288.01.

Again, getdaragzout and shack232 doubled through the chip leader, but hardly a dent was made in Sosnoviy's stack. When shack232 did it again, it put him in second position on the leaderboard and went down like this:

The new short stack was getdaragzout, and it was time to make another move, this time with with [Js] [4s] from the small blind. But almaty.kz decided to call from the big blind with [Ah] [2h], and the board came in support of that with [3d] [9d] [Jd] [Qc] [Ad] to end getdaragzout's tournament in fourth place, for which the player received $79,742.89.

Sosnoviy had such a grasp on the majority of the chips during the final three action that both players doubling through still left the leader with more than 50 million. Even so, the almaty.kz and shack232 let him know that they were not going down without an aggressive fight. almaty.kz made a significant leap, though, when he doubled through the leader with pocket eights over A-Q and climbed to 27,445,832 chips.

Three-handed play lasted for quite awhile, with Team PokerStars Pro Tom McEvoy chimed in with some comments about shack232's "impressive" play and hosting duties. When shack232 pushed into a solid second place and Sosnoviy seemed to be losing momentum, the three players finally agreed to look at chip-chop numbers after about 30 minutes. McEvoy took the reigns, letting the players know the numbers and that $30,000 must be left over for the eventual winner. Sosnoviy took control of the talks, maneuvered into a bit more money, and the final amounts agreed upon were as follows:

Seat 1: almaty.kz (12,789,880 in chips) = $133,937.05
Seat 2: Sosnoviy (41,096,312 in chips) = $206,610.23
Seat 3: shack232 (25,223,808 in chips) = $159,489.76

Play continued for some time before Sosnoviy and shack232 got involved to see a [Kh] [Js] [7s] flop. A bet and a call led them to the [6s] on the turn, at which point Sosnoviy bet out again. shack232 raised all-in for his last 14 million and some change, and Sosnoviy called with [Jc] [7h] and the flopped two pair. shack232 showed [Kd] [5d] for top pair, and the [Ad] on the river sent shack232 out the door with $159,489.76 for the third place finish.

Heads-up play commenced with the following counts:

Seat 1: almaty.kz (17,109,880 in chips)
Seat 2: Sosnoviy (62,000,120 in chips)

There was a double-up to start things off, when the pocket sixes of almaty.kz turned into a set on the flop, though Sosnoviy still held a 2-to-1 chip lead over his opponent. But after the players took a short break, the two were quick to act upon their return. Sosnoviy was the one to move all-in after the initial raise by almaty.kz. The all-in call came from almaty.kz with [As] [4s], and Sosnoviy showed [Kd] [Jh]. The board ran out [Jc] [7s] [Jd] [Qs] [5d], and almaty.kz was forced to accept second place and the $133,937.05 from the previous deal.

Sosnoviy won the tournament for his hometown of Moscow, Russia, and won $236,610.23 for the feat. Congratulations!

Sunday Million Results for 08/02/09:

1st place: Sosnoviy ($236,610.23)*
2nd place: almaty.kz ($133,937.05)*
3rd place: shack232 ($159,489.76)*
4th place: getdaragzout ($79,742.89)
5th place: kenneeoin ($63,288.01)
6th place: BigRed0000 ($47,466.01)
7th place: EAIriksson ($31,644.01)
8th place: grebnrets86 ($18,195.31)
9th place: Jakelamotta3 ($12,262.06)

*results of a three-way agreement

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.

A double-edged sword, some might call it. The large number of players in the tournament removes any chance for an overlay in the $1.5 million guaranteed event. But that high number also means that the prize pool soars well beyond that already impressive dollar amount. And PokerStars can call it another Sunday success.

There were 8,342 players in the last Sunday Million in July, and that catapulted the prize pool to a whopping $1,668,400. While only 1,260 players would receive any payout, those who made it to the final three would be eligible for six-figure payouts with the ultimate winner receiving $245,421.65. Is there anyone who wouldn't call that a successful Sunday?

Speaking of payouts, several hours into the tournament, it was ILimpSoWhat who was eliminated in 1261st place on the money bubble to give the remainder of the players the opportunity to cash out. CoachMarshal was the first to do so, taking home $300.31 for the 1260th place finish. The rest of the field then took their shots at the final table. At the point that there were ten players remaining late in Level 35, hand-for-hand play began and lasted for only several minutes, when Skammes took on Titan Tilts, the latter of whom was eliminated in tenth place ($8,842.53) on the following hand:

And then there were nine, along with Team PokerStars Pros Humberto Brenes and Steve Paul-Ambrose in the chat box to welcome the players. The final table of the PokerStars Sunday Million began as follows:

Seat 1: KingGorn (7,320,978 in chips)
Seat 2: BREAKURFACE (9,112,220 in chips)
Seat 3: FreeLancerZZ (6,546,888 in chips)
Seat 4: Skämmes (18,407,722 in chips)
Seat 5: asbo22 (13,017,771 in chips)
Seat 6: buttonsAAAA (4,997,590 in chips)
Seat 7: Danneville (12,275,378 in chips)
Seat 8: ThePokerBody (6,394,602 in chips)
Seat 9: domino16 (5,346,851 in chips)

Play started cautiously, as it sometimes does with such drastic differences in payouts at the final table. More than $230,000 separated a ninth place finish from a win, and none of the players were particularly desperate to move quickly. That was until ThePokerBody doubled through buttonsAAA, leaving the latter as the shortest stack of the group.

buttonsAAA came back to double through asbo22 but stayed in last place on the leaderboard, prompting another move. With [As] [Jc], buttonsAAA pushed all-in preflop for just under 4 million chips and was called by initial raiser KingGorn with pocket kings. The board came [9s] [6h] [3d] [4h] [8h], and the kings held up to send buttonsAAA out in ninth place with $12,930.11.

Action sped up noticeably, and FreeLancerZZ soon decided to get involved preflop, making the all-in move from the big blind with [Kd] [Jc]. But BREAKURFACE was there to call with [Ac] [Qs] and the lead in the hand. The virtual dealer gave them [2c] [2d] [9h] [Ad] [2h] on the board, and BREAKURFACE had no less than a full house. FreeLancerZZ was ousted in eighth place with a $18,352.41 consolation prize.

Within only a few hands, asbo22 decided to make his move from the small blind after a raise from Skammes, who had been dominating the tournament for level after level. asbo22 pushed all-in for more than 7.5 million with [Kh] [8s], but Skammes called with [Ah] [Jc] and the better hand. The board ran out [7c] [As] [Jh] [2d] [Qs], and asbo22 was gone in seventh place with $33,368.01 to soothe the pain.

After a bit of a lull in the action, Skammes was at it again. Already more than a 2-to-1 chip leader, he seemed unwilling to back down from any challenge. When BREAKURFACE raised preflop, Skammes came in with a reraise, which prompted an all-in move for a whopping 17.4 million chips with [As] [Kd]. Skammes called with pocket tens, and the board came [3c] [2s] [3d] [Qh] [6h]. BREAKURFACE was suddenly eliminated in sixth place with $50,052.01.

Play then sped up to an exciting pace. KingGorn moved all-in preflop from first position for his last 6.2 million chips with [Ah] [8c], and domino16 called from the big blind with pocket sixes. The board brought a clincher on the flop with [6d] [Qc] [8d], and it was followed by a [Kc] on the turn and [Ts] on the river to solidify the outcome. KingGorn was out of the tournament in fifth place, which was worth $66,736.01 in prize money.

Four players remained, and Danneville was quick to push all-in from the small blind for more than 15.5 million with [Qh] [Jh], which was a good-looking hand but didn't compare to the [Ac] [Kd] of ThePokerBody, who called all-in from the big blind. The rest of the cards came [Th] [Js] [7c] [Tc] [2d], giving Danneville the two pair, and that was all she wrote for ThePokerBody, who finished in fourth place with $83,420.01.

The final three wasted no time in pushing forward. It was domino16 who made the initial raise, and when Skammes reraised, domino16 pushed all-in for more than 17 million chips with [Ah] [Jd]. Skammes called with pocket nines, and they only improved to a full house on the [Kc] [Ts] [3h] [Ks] [Kd] board. That left domino16 with a third place finish and substantial payout of $125,130.01 for the effort.

Heads-up action promptly began with the following chip counts:

Seat 4: Skämmes (63,974,726 in chips)
Seat 7: Danneville (19,445,274 in chips)

After a number of hands and Danneville beginning to close the gap, the two agreed to look at chip-chop numbers and a potential deal. The players eventually agreed to the numbers given by the host, which were as follows with $30,000 left aside for the eventual winner:

Seat 4: Skämmes (53,005,837 in chips) = $202,271.36
Seat 7: Danneville (30,414,163 in chips) = $192,503.30

Play continued, and Danneville kept chipping away at Skammes and soon took over the lead with an all-in move that Skammes didn't feel able to call. The aggression by Danneville worked and pushed Skammes to move soon after he trailed in the chip counts, and the tournament came down to the following hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

The pocket sixes of Skammes lost the race with Danneville's [As] [Qs] when the latter caught a flush on the river to end the tournament. Skammes took the agreed-upon amount of $202,271.36 for second place.

Congratulations to Danneville, who used patience and well-timed aggression to overcome the tournament's dominating chip leader in the last few rounds of the event. The victory was worth $222,503.30 for the win, along with the priceless title of Sunday Million champion.

Sunday Million Results for 07/26/09:

1st place: Danneville ($222,503.30)*
2nd place: Skammes ($202,271.36)*
3rd place: domino16 ($125,130.01)
4th place: ThePokerbody ($83,420.01)
5th place: KingGorn ($66,736.01)
6th place: BREAKURFACE ($50,052.01)
7th place: asbo22 ($33,368.01)
8th place: FreeLancerZZ ($18,352.41)
9th place: buttonsAAA ($12,930.11)

*results of a chip-chop agreement

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.

It was a smaller than usual crowd for the Sunday Million this week, as 7,196 runners built up the $1.5 Million Guaranteed prize pool. Even so, it was well after midnight on the east coast of the US before the final table kicked off, with Dynamite 321 the final table bubble boy.

It would be another two hours before Turko_man bested Chucklo heads up for the $221,294 top prize (first place as a result of a four-way deal).

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It was nearly 30 minutes into the final table, an eternity on the internet, before we saw our first elimination of the final table. Moose4life moved all in on a steal attempt from the small blind with [Ts]-[7h], only to run facefirst into Turko_man's [Ah]-[Kh] in the big blind. The board ran out [5c]-[5d]-[Qc]-[Kc]-[7d], and moose4life was finished in 9th place ($11,625).

Play continued on a steady pace, with many hands folding to the first preflop aggressor, until Sagittus and .TiltandWin. tangled in a big hand that ended up with a seven-handed final table. Sagittus moved all in preflop from late position with [Jd]-[Tc], and .TiltandWin. woke up with [Ad]-[Kc] in the small blind. .TiltandWin. made the call, and took the lead into the [Qc]-[2s]-[8c] flop. Sagittus surged ahead on the [Jc] turn, but .TiltandWin. still had outs to a bigger pair, straight or flush. The [3h] on the river was a blank, and he picked up $18,000 for 8th place.

Almost immediately after .TiltandWin. headed to the rail, we had our next all-in confrontation. Haz31 open-shoved from early position, and Chucklo made the call from the button. The hands were a classic coin toss, as haz31 showed [Kh]-[Qd] to Chucklo's [Th]-[Ts]. The board ran out [5d]-[7d]-[8s]-[7s]-[8s], and Chucklo showed the better two pair to send haz31 home in 7th place ($32,250).

Turko_man went from slight chip leader to big stack monster in one hand, and it came at the expense of Sagittus. Check this out -

6th place was worth $46,500 for Sagittus as Turko_man stacked up around one-third of the total chips in play.

Chucklo moved within striking distance of the chip lead when he busted Bdbeatslayer in 5th place ($61,500). Bdbeatslayer raised preflop with [Ad]-[Qh], and Chucklo quickly moved all in over the top. When Bdbeatslayer called, he saw that Chucklo had one of the few hands that dominated him - [As]-[Ks]. The board ran out an uneventful [4d]-[8c]-[6d]-[4h]-[7d], and the tournament was four-handed. The remaining players took a moment to discuss a deal, and after some discussion back and forth, a deal was reached.

The two shorter stacks, DGMB and crnagora71 both picked up a guaranteed $110,000 for the tournament, while Chucklo nabbed $148, 130.47 based on his chip stack at the time of the deal. Turko_man was the chip leader with four remaining, and he guaranteed himself a $191,924.53 payday with the deal. As always, $30,000 was left on the table for the eventual winner.

Play typically loosened up after the deal was secured, with more multi-way flops and more turns being seen. It still took a while for the next elimination, and it was crnagora71 who finished in 4th place ($110,000). After losing most of his stack in a big confrontation with DGMB, crnagora71 got it all in preflop with [As]-[3c] against Turko_man and Chucklo. Turko_man led out on the [Kd]-[7h]-[5d] flop, and Chucklo got out of the way. Turko_man tabled [Ad]-[Ac], and crnagora71 got no help on the turn or river. Then there were three.

Three-handed play continued for quite a while, but eventually the big stack of Turko_man was too much for DGMB, and he was done in 3rd place ($110,000). Turko_man raised preflop with [As]-[Ts], and DGMB moved all in over the top with [Kd]-[Jd]. The flop came down [6d]-[Tc]-[3s], giving Turko_man top pair, but DGMB picked up all sorts of draws when the [Qd] hit the turn. The river [5s] was no help for a straight of a flush, and Turko_man's tens held up to take a massive chip lead into heads-up play.

With such a huge chip lead, it only took three hands of heads up play for it all to be decided. Take a look at how it all went down.

When all was said and done, Chucklo nabbed almost $150K for 2nd place, and with the $30,000 left for first place added to his $191,294 as a result of the deal, Turko_man finished with almost the exact same prize money as if he had won the tournament with no deal! Congratulations to Turko_man for a top-notch final table performance, and congrats as well to everyone who cashed in this week's Sunday Million!