With two major online tournament series in the books it is time to get back to the weekly tournament report. The first Sunday after an FTOPS or WCOOP series finish is always an interesting one. Will the Sunday majors come back better than ever with a new influx of tournament grinders? Or will a lot of the players who competed over a grueling month of events take a breather leaving the majors well short of their guarantee. This time, the answer appears to be a little bit of both. While the majority of the Sunday majors surpassed their guarantees there were still a few events teetering on the edge as well as the $750k on FullTilt which continues to struggle.
The Sunday Warm-Up on PokerStars got the day started on the right foot. The $750,000 guaranteed event has continued to grow lately and has supplanted the $750k on FullTilt as the week’s 2nd biggest tournament. Even with an earlier starting time and NFL games to compete with the Warm-Up attracted more than 4,300 players Sunday building a $867,700 prize pool. The final table had a few well known professionals including mid-stakes cash game and tournament professional “ActionDJ” who busted in 8th place. The $5/$10 grinder has seen some great success in online tournament including a 7th place finish in last year’s SCOOP Main Event for $163,150. He has also final tabled the Sunday Second Chance on a few occasions finishing in 2nd place for $40,141 in January 2009.
A former Sunday Warm-Up champion found himself at the final table hoping history would repeat itself. And as the saying goes it certainly did. Having won the Warm-Up in 2008 for $93,810, “ThePokerBody”, was set to ship the title for a 2nd time when he found himself heads-up with “GreekToni777” for a $136,111 payday. The heads-up battle was a strong one with ThePokerBody ultimately coming out on top when GreekToni777 missed a high combo draw in a massive pot. The first-place check was the biggest of ThePokerBody’s carrer on PokerStars which includes the other Warm-Up win and a 4th place finish in the Sunday Million last year.
Seat 2: ThePokerBody (23871999 in chips)
Seat 9: GreekToni777 (19508001 in chips)
GreekToni777: posts small blind 150000
ThePokerBody: posts big blind 300000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
GreekToni777: raises 300000 to 600000
ThePokerBody: calls 300000
*** FLOP *** [8c 9s 4s]
ThePokerBody: checks
GreekToni777: bets 600000
ThePokerBody: raises 1100000 to 1700000
GreekToni777: calls 1100000
*** TURN *** [8c 9s 4s] [7h]
ThePokerBody: bets 2700000
GreekToni777: raises 3000000 to 5700000
ThePokerBody: raises 15841999 to 21541999 and is all-in
GreekToni777: calls 11478001 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (4363998) returned to ThePokerBody
*** RIVER *** [8c 9s 4s 7h] [2d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ThePokerBody: shows [9h 8h] (two pair, Nines and Eights)
GreekToni777: shows [Ts 2s] (a pair of Deuces)
ThePokerBody collected 39016002 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up $750k Guaranteed
4,338 Entrants; $867,600 prize pool
1. ThePokerBody $136,111
2. GreekToni777 $101,075
3. DooshDotCom $71,577
4. steve3331 $49,019
5. bisbiki78 $36,873
6. Ninemil $28,197
7. Funbaer1 $19,521
8. actionDJ $10,845
9. JackRich $6,941
The Sunday Million crept past its $1.5M Guarantee with just 7,638 players competing for a $299,144 first-place check. There were a few solid players at the final table including “AJacejackAJ” who nearly won the WCOOP $215 Heads-Up evnet and took down a massive $109r earlier this year for $85,955. He was certainly no stranger to Sunday success as he also finished 3rd in the Warm-Up in January for $77,566. Ultimately his previous experience failed to pay off as he was one of the firs to go at the final table finishing in 7th place for $30,552. Another well known player who fared a bit better at the final table was Darren Elias who finished in 3rd for $114,750. The high-stakes tournament professional is best known for final tabling the WCOOP Main Event just days ago where he finished 6th for $396,987. His biggest victory online came in another tournament series where he took home $126,544 for winnings FTOPS Event #13 in February 2009.
Eventual winner “sola100” was a total Cinderella story as he had seen very little success on PokerStars in the past before winning nearly a quarter-million dollars early Monday morning. Over the years the Sunday Million has given plenty of players a great chance to make a live-changing score through their $11 satellites which can be found in the PokerStars Lobby. The final table stacks, bust-out hands, and pay-outs can be found below:
Seat 1: lasklinz (16364594 in chips)
Seat 2: winga699 (7040238 in chips)
Seat 3: $am$pade (2575077 in chips)
Seat 4: AJacejackAJ (11843061 in chips)
Seat 5: Jakivi (6711673 in chips)
Seat 6: Dsavo (4020249 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (9727619 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (14972143 in chips)
Seat 9: Urlastchance (3125346 in chips)
Seat 1: lasklinz (16977881 in chips)
Seat 2: winga699 (7828738 in chips)
Seat 3: $am$pade (2905077 in chips)
Seat 4: AJacejackAJ (13337274 in chips)
Seat 5: Jakivi (6741673 in chips)
Seat 6: Dsavo (4050249 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (9037619 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (13066143 in chips)
Seat 9: Urlastchance (2435346 in chips)
winga699: posts small blind 150000
$am$pade: posts big blind 300000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
AJacejackAJ: folds
Jakivi: folds
Dsavo: folds
sola100: folds
darrenelias: folds
Urlastchance: folds
lasklinz: raises 444248 to 744248
winga699: folds
$am$pade: raises 2130829 to 2875077 and is all-in
lasklinz: calls 2130829
*** FLOP *** [5s Kc 4s]
*** TURN *** [5s Kc 4s] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [5s Kc 4s 9d] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
$am$pade: shows [Ah 8h] (a pair of Fours)
lasklinz: shows [Qd Ad] (a pair of Fours – Ace+King+Queen kicker)
lasklinz collected 6170154 from pot
Seat 1: lasklinz (17929625 in chips)
Seat 2: winga699 (7468738 in chips)
Seat 4: AJacejackAJ (14357274 in chips)
Seat 5: Jakivi (7105006 in chips)
Seat 6: Dsavo (3390249 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (11257619 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (12406143 in chips)
Seat 9: Urlastchance (2465346 in chips)
lasklinz: posts small blind 150000
winga699: posts big blind 300000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
AJacejackAJ: raises 325000 to 625000
Jakivi: folds
Dsavo: raises 2735249 to 3360249 and is all-in
sola100: folds
darrenelias: calls 3360249
Urlastchance: folds
lasklinz: folds
winga699: folds
AJacejackAJ: folds
*** FLOP *** [2h 4h Qs]
*** TURN *** [2h 4h Qs] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [2h 4h Qs 6d] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dsavo: shows [7c 7d] (a pair of Sevens)
darrenelias: shows [9d 9c] (a pair of Nines)
darrenelias collected 8035498 from pot
Seat 1: lasklinz (16879625 in chips)
Seat 2: winga699 (6978738 in chips)
Seat 4: AJacejackAJ (11057274 in chips)
Seat 5: Jakivi (10725006 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (12112619 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (17061392 in chips)
Seat 9: Urlastchance (1565346 in chips)
winga699: posts small blind 200000
AJacejackAJ: posts big blind 400000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Jakivi: folds
sola100: folds
darrenelias: raises 422500 to 822500
Urlastchance: folds
lasklinz: folds
winga699: folds
AJacejackAJ: calls 422500
*** FLOP *** [9s 6s 6h]
AJacejackAJ: checks
darrenelias: bets 1112500
AJacejackAJ: calls 1112500
*** TURN *** [9s 6s 6h] [4c]
AJacejackAJ: checks
darrenelias: checks
*** RIVER *** [9s 6s 6h 4c] [Td]
AJacejackAJ: checks
darrenelias: bets 2565000
AJacejackAJ: raises 6435000 to 9000000
darrenelias: raises 6086392 to 15086392 and is all-in
AJacejackAJ: calls 82274 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (6004118) returned to darrenelias
*** SHOW DOWN ***
darrenelias: shows [Tc Ad] (two pair, Tens and Sixes)
AJacejackAJ: shows [5c 5d] (two pair, Sixes and Fives)
darrenelias collected 22514548 from pot
Seat 1: lasklinz (16759625 in chips)
Seat 2: winga699 (7498738 in chips)
Seat 5: Jakivi (10405006 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (10968119 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (29303166 in chips)
Seat 9: Urlastchance (1445346 in chips)
darrenelias: posts small blind 200000
Urlastchance: posts big blind 400000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
lasklinz: folds
winga699: folds
Jakivi: folds
sola100: folds
darrenelias: raises 1200000 to 1600000
Urlastchance: calls 1005346 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (194654) returned to darrenelias
*** FLOP *** [2c 7d 6h]
*** TURN *** [2c 7d 6h] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [2c 7d 6h 6d] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
darrenelias: shows [Qd Qh] (two pair, Queens and Sixes)
Urlastchance: shows [8h Kd] (a pair of Sixes)
darrenelias collected 3050692 from pot
Seat 1: lasklinz (13678403 in chips)
Seat 2: winga699 (10551238 in chips)
Seat 5: Jakivi (10662895 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (11931452 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (29556012 in chips)
sola100: posts small blind 250000
darrenelias: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
lasklinz: raises 700000 to 1200000
winga699: folds
Jakivi: raises 1577777 to 2777777
sola100: folds
darrenelias: folds
lasklinz: raises 10850626 to 13628403 and is all-in
Jakivi: calls 7835118 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (3015508) returned to lasklinz
*** FLOP *** [As 4s Jc]
*** TURN *** [As 4s Jc] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [As 4s Jc 3s] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lasklinz: shows [Jh Ah] (two pair, Aces and Jacks)
Jakivi: shows [Qd Qh] (a pair of Queens)
lasklinz collected 22225790 from pot
Seat 1: lasklinz (25356298 in chips)
Seat 2: winga699 (12401238 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (10681452 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (27941012 in chips)
darrenelias: posts the ante 50000
darrenelias: posts small blind 250000
lasklinz: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
winga699: raises 1000000 to 1500000
sola100: folds
darrenelias: folds
lasklinz: raises 11500000 to 13000000
winga699: calls 10851238 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (648762) returned to lasklinz
*** FLOP *** [Ks 3d 7s]
*** TURN *** [Ks 3d 7s] [5d]
*** RIVER *** [Ks 3d 7s 5d] [8c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lasklinz: shows [7d 7h] (three of a kind, Sevens)
winga699: shows [Ac Qd] (high card Ace)
lasklinz collected 25152476 from pot
Seat 1: lasklinz (27426084 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (25625404 in chips)
Seat 8: darrenelias (23328512 in chips)
darrenelias: posts the ante 50000
lasklinz: posts small blind 250000
sola100: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
darrenelias: raises 500000 to 1000000
lasklinz: raises 2000000 to 3000000
sola100: folds
darrenelias: raises 20278512 to 23278512 and is all-in
lasklinz: calls 20278512
*** FLOP *** [5h 9c Ah]
*** TURN *** [5h 9c Ah] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [5h 9c Ah 6h] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lasklinz: shows [As Kc] (a pair of Aces)
darrenelias: shows [Kd 9d] (a pair of Nines)
lasklinz collected 47207024 from pot
Seat 1: lasklinz (22729192 in chips)
Seat 7: sola100 (53650808 in chips)
sola100: posts small blind 250000
lasklinz: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
sola100: raises 1000000 to 1500000
lasklinz: raises 21179192 to 22679192 and is all-in
sola100: calls 21179192
*** FLOP *** [6s Kd Tc]
*** TURN *** [6s Kd Tc] [4h]
*** RIVER *** [6s Kd Tc 4h] [2d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
lasklinz: shows [9c As] (high card Ace)
sola100: shows [4s Ks] (two pair, Kings and Fours)
sola100 collected 45458384 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Million $1.5M Guaranteed
7,638 Entrants; $1,527,600 prize pool
1. sola100 $229,144
2. lasklinz $168,036
3. darrenelias $114,570
4. winga699 $76,991
5. Jakivi $61,104
6. Urlastchance $45,828
7. AJacejackAJ $30,552
8. Dsavo $17,567
9. $am$pade $11,839
One of the better final tables on Sunday came from the $500k Guaranteed on PokerStars. Some of the best players in the world were on hand including a couple that busted quite early at the final table. Tony “D1rtyR1v3r” Nardi finished in 8th place for just $10,000 which is a tiny score for one of the best 10 online tournament players today. Nardi’s claim to fame is a win in the Sunday Million in 2006 which netted him $171,585. He has a ton of other $25,000+ scores including close calls in the $750k on FullTilt (3rd twice), Brawl (2nd), and Sunday Warm-Up (2nd) on PokerStars. Finishing one spot ahead of Nardi was “TravestyFund” who earned $15,000 for his efforts. The $15,000 pales in comparison to his win in FTOPS Event #22 last year which saw him take down a massive $460,000 payday.
The tournament came down to Jon “PearlJammer” Turner and Ben “KidCardiff6” Warrington. Both players are highly-respected tournament professionals with resumes to back them up. Turner nearly won the SCOOP $10,000 Main Event last year before falling in 3rd place for $527,1000. His win at the $500k on Sunday was actually the greatest victory of his career but the $87,400 ranks 3rd on his list of scores. Warrington is also no stranger to massive online scores having won the $1,000,000 Rush championship on FullTilt this past July for $185,000. He also took down the biggest re-buy event on FullTilt, the $200k Guaranteed, for $70,575 just a month before his Rush win. The tournament ended on a hand that typically ends in a chop when both players got all-in with a small Ace but Turner was fortunate enough to make two pair:
Seat 6: KidCardiff6 (516988 in chips)
Seat 8: PearlJammer (9373012 in chips)
PearlJammer: posts small blind 30000
KidCardiff6: posts big blind 60000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
PearlJammer: raises 2760000 to 2820000
KidCardiff6: calls 450988 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (2309012) returned to PearlJammer
*** FLOP *** [2h Ac Jc]
*** TURN *** [2h Ac Jc] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [2h Ac Jc 8h] [Qh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KidCardiff6: shows [3s As] (a pair of Aces)
PearlJammer: shows [Ad 2c] (two pair, Aces and Deuces)
PearlJammer collected 1033976 from pot
PokerStars Sunday $500k Guaranteed
989 Entrants; $500,000 prize pool
1. PearlJammer $87,400
2. KidCardiff6 $63,500
3. flashdisastr $47,500
4. hafizzle $35,500
5. BabyAS $25,000
6. LUHMAN $20,000
7. TravestyFund $15,000
8. D1rtyR1v3r $10,000
9. CHRiiiiiiiiK $5,750
The Sunday $215r also brought a lot of excitement to the rail with a final table full of big names. The tournament barely surpassed its $150,000 guarantee and resulted in a small payday for an event where players average around $750 worth of buy-ins, add-ons, and re-buys. Taking down the $215r crown was Paul “ComeOnPhish” Lieu who is both a well respected cash game and tournament professional. Lieu has also done quite well on the live poker scene including a win in the WPT World Poker Final in 2007 for $278,148. Also showing up at the final table was Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek who finished in 5th place for $9,360. As one of the best online MTT players in the world Jarzabek has taken down numerous huge scores including a win in FTOPS Event #9 a few years ago for $277,929. Recently he has won the $109r on Stars multiple times and also shipped the Sunday Second Chance twice with in the past year.
Seat 2: PrinceAndrew (209268 in chips)
Seat 3: ComeOnPhish (1054732 in chips)
PrinceAndrew: posts small blind 8000
ComeOnPhish: posts big blind 16000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
PrinceAndrew: raises 191668 to 207668 and is all-in
ComeOnPhish: calls 191668
*** FLOP *** [Ac 7c 8s]
*** TURN *** [Ac 7c 8s] [3h]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 7c 8s 3h] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ComeOnPhish: shows [8d Ad] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
PrinceAndrew: shows [As 3c] (two pair, Aces and Threes)
ComeOnPhish collected 418536 from pot
PokerStars Sunday $215r $150k Guaranteed
225 Entrants; $156,000 prize pool
1. ComeOnPhish $33,540
2. PrinceAndrew $24,180
3. Poker Own U $18,330
4. Coyotee_gyn $13,650
5. bigdogpckt5s $9,360
6. antesnavte $7,800
7. GASSITT $6,240
8. LVSEO $4,680
9. G’s zee $3,120
The Sunday Second Chance gives every player on Stars one last shot at a big score. With more than 1,300 players on hand yesterday there was nearly $50,000 up for grabs for the winner. Jude “j.thaddeus” Ainsworth is a PokerStars sponsored professional who made the most of his opportunity yesterday by shipping the Second Chance crown and taking home a $48,305 payday. This big score barely cracked his top-5 career cashes on a resume that includes a victory in the $10,000 buy-in SCOOP Main Event in 2009 for $963,338. That near million dollar score might rank as one of the top-10 cashes in online poker history. Ainsworth has also won and FTOPS Event and nearly shiped the Sunday Million in 2008. Joining Ainsworth at the final table was Adam “AJunglen7” Junglen who previously won the Sunday Million in 2007 for $198,923 and has also made some noise on the live scene where he has final tabled an EPT event and earned more than $600,000 in his career.
The final hand between Ainsworth and “Gammbella” was an exciting one which saw Gammbella suck out on the flop only to end up losing when Ainsworth hit a 3-outer on the river:
Seat 3: Gammbella (1194412 in chips)
Seat 5: j.thaddeus (2795588 in chips)
j.thaddeus: posts small blind 12500
Gammbella: posts big blind 25000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
j.thaddeus: raises 25000 to 50000
Gammbella: raises 50000 to 100000
j.thaddeus: raises 175000 to 275000
Gammbella: raises 916912 to 1191912 and is all-in
j.thaddeus: calls 916912
*** FLOP *** [4d 2d Td]
*** TURN *** [4d 2d Td] [4s]
*** RIVER *** [4d 2d Td 4s] [Qc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Gammbella: shows [Ts Ad] (two pair, Tens and Fours)
j.thaddeus: shows [Qh As] (two pair, Queens and Fours)
j.thaddeus collected 2388824 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Second Chance $250k Guaranteed
1,330 Entrants; $266,000 prize pool
1. j.thaddeus $48,305
2. Gammbella $35,112
3. Theknower $26,600
4. IG0tDibs $19,950
5. AJunglen7 $13,965
6. goatzilla $11,305
7. marroca5 $8,645
8. micro765 $5,985
9. parksy1066 $3,724
FullTilt was looking to build off both a successful FTOPS XVII and MiniFTOPS which saw some massive prize pools and record breaking attendance numbers. While some of their Sunday events continue to thrive it is worth noting the struggles of the $750k, their headlining event, which so far in 2010 has taken a definite step backwards. One tournament moving along quite nicely in the Sunday Brawl which attracted more than 2,600 players on Sunday generating a $520,400 prize pool. Along with the more than half-million dollar prize pool is a $40 to each player every time he/she eliminates a fellow opponent. This might seem small but can really add up for those making deep runs.
A solid contingent of FullTilt sponsored professionals competed in the Brawl including Allen Cunningham, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, and Ram Vaswani. FullTilt was also well represented at the final table which saw Maciek Gracz nearly take down the title before finishing in 5th place for $26,540. Unfortunately for the rail after Gracz busted in 5th and “guillemots” finished in 4th the final three players decided to chop the remaining prize pool based on chip counts. In the end it was the very patriotic “GODBLESSAMERIC” who took the biggest piece of the pie and the title of Sunday Brawl champion.
FullTilt Sunday Brawl $400k Guaranteed
2,602 Entrants; $520,400 prize pool
*3-way chop
1. GODBLESSAMERIC $85,254
2. Psevda $66,481
3. ftprodrigo $72,558 al
4. guillemots $37,989
5. Maciek Gracz $26,540
6. MarkFSU1 $17,694
7. shipthemula $11,969
8. zuckmeout $8,326
9. madcer $6,245
As mentioned before the $750,000 Guaranteed continues to fail to attract enough players. The week’s biggest event on FullTilt has been struggling for some time now and it seems FullTilt is content with paying massive overlay. This past Sunday was no exception as FullTilt shelled out more than $91,000 to cover the remaining prize pool. There were plenty of FullTilt professionals on hand including David Pham, Brandon Adams, David Benyamine, Erica Schoenberg, and Huck Seed. Two red pros, John Dolan and Christian Kruel, both finished inside the to-50 in 47th and 20th place respectively. Much like the Sunday Brawl the $750k came down to a 3-way chop which awarded $96,759 to eventual champion Randy “RolldUpTrips” Ohel. Ohel, whose previous high score was just shy of $20,000, took down $7,000 more than 2nd place finisher “Betong”.
FullTilt Sunday $750k Guaranteed
3,291 Entrants; $750,000 prize pool
*3-way chop
1. RolldUpTrips $96,759
2. Betong $89,236
3. bv4ever $79,542
4. seaport $41,400
5. Andypsx $31,050
6. Skittles6 $23,025
7. swisstard $17,250
8. Hagbart55 $13,500
9. powpowpowpow $10,050
Capping off a strong Sunday of big events and massive paydays was the appropriately-named Sunday Mulligan on FullTilt. The $200,000 guaranteed tournament crushed it’s guarantee as more than 1,200 players created a $240,200 prize pool. There were plenty of FullTilt sponsored professionals present including Eric Froehlich, Jeff Madsen, and Svetlana Gromenkova. Three professionals finished inside the top-100 including Michael Tureniec (38th), Niklas Heinecker (80th), and David Pham (88th). The final table was highlighted by Kane “NASCAR_1949” Kalas who is a high-stakes cash game professional on FullTilt having made most of his money at the $500/$1000 level against the likes of David Benyamine and Guy Laliberte. While the final-table pay-outs may not have been too intimidating for a player who plays 6 figure pots on a daily basis it is always an exciting time at the final table of a Sunday major. Kalas nearly made the most of this opportunity before falling in 4th place for $19,516. Taking down the title and a $52,844 payday was “tylor_dii” who earned the biggest score of his career.
FullTilt Sunday Mulligan $200k Guaranteed
1,201 Entrants; $240,200 prize pool
1. tylor_dii $52,844
2. mikipe $33,628
3. bullyon $24,320
4. NASCAR_1949 $19,516
5. kice32 $14,724
6. JUMPJC $10,809
7. NemoStars22 $6,966
8. clevelandkk $5,044
9. KiinGreen $3,603