It was business as usual in the online poker world this past weekend and the action in the major Sunday tournaments was brisk as usual. One week removed from the PokerStars $2 Million Guaranteed as part of the site’s 2X program, thousands of poker players flocked to the virtual felts of Stars, Full Tilt Poker, and Party Poker to try and claim their share of life-changing money. Let’s check out the action this week as we recap some of the largest weekly guaranteed prize pools offered online.
The Absolute Poker $150K Guarantee attracted 266 entrants, each coughing up $530 to play in the online poker room’s largest tournament. The $150K’s prize pool fell $17,000 short of its guarantee, meaning a large overlay was up for grabs. In the end, MYAGAME777 finished first for $37,500. In second place was PIPELAYER54, who pocketed an even $24,000. The top 36 spots cashed and the top four finishers walked away with over $10,000. Absolute Poker, like Full Tilt, PokerStars, Bodog, and Ultimate Bet, accepts customers from the United States, so if you’re in the U.S., you can easily take advantage of Absolute’s frequent overlay in the $150K.
For as long as I can remember, the Bodog $100K Guaranteed has had an overlay every single week. It’s like clockwork. Every Sunday, Bodog forks out between $20,000 and $30,000 to help cover its guarantee in this tournament. This past Sunday was no exception. The $109 buy-in tournament attracted 753 entrants, which means that the prize pool fell $25,000 short of its guarantee. Winning the $23,600 first place payday was dippydough, who defeated 35thcorvette heads up. The consolation prize was worth $13,600. The top 90 spots paid out and the top five finishers banked more than $5,000.
The Party Poker $300K Guarantee is the largest online poker tournament held every week that doesn’t have any U.S. players in it. This week, 1,480 non-U.S. poker stars turned up for the $215 buy-in tournament. The top 200 finishers cashed, led by Marnanya, who turned $215 into $60,000 in a matter of a few hours. That’s a pretty noteworthy rate of return. Taking home a healthy $33,000 payday for second place was fud9990. The top six finishers pocketed more than $10K.
Full Tilt Poker’s $750K Guaranteed turned into a $1 Million Guarantee this week, with 2,396 players showing up for the special occasion. Full Tilt ups the ante once per month, much to the delight of GulahPapyrus, who took home $219,773 for first place. Online poker superstar AJKHoosier1 finished second, cashing for $134,895. The top 351 players made the money and the top nine took home at least five-figures.
Finally, the largest weekly tournament held in the online poker world is the PokerStars Sunday Million. Coming off of last week’s groundbreaking 14,000 player field, the 8,589 contestants this week seemed like a small turnout. The tournament once again shattered its guarantee, with $1.7 million up for grabs. To give you an idea of just how popular this tournament is, $1.7 million is the same amount that Mike Watson won for taking down the Bellagio Cup a few days ago. SAM66 had the second largest payday online this week, taking home just less than $210,000 for winning the Sunday Million. Shantaram took home second place and a balmy $141,719 payday. The top 1,233 players cashed and the five best finishers pocketed at least $50,000. All in a day’s work on PokerStars!
Check back next week for the latest news from the weekend’s online poker tournaments.
