More PokerStars news, how fun! The first season of the PokerStars All Stars is in the books and the leader board winners have been determined. Ukranian player Hatrick19911 emerged as the overall champion of the top division, the All Stars Table, winning $25,453 across 4,686 hands. In addition to the money he won from his play, Hatrick also nabbed an additional $20,000 leader board prize. Player ac1dd was close behind with $24,000 in winnings and had to settle for a $13,500 cash prize for finishing second.
The All Stars competition was invitation-only; PokerStars selected players “based on their long-term winnings and skill.” Players were invited to one of two tables: the All Stars Table, which was $10/$20 No-Limit Hold’em, or the Masters Table, which was $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em.
These games played like any other cash game; those invited were not required to play and those who decided to participate could play as they pleased from April 12th through May 10th. But to incentivize players, no rake was taken at these tables and, as mentioned, there were additional cash prizes for those who finished at the top of the leader boards.
The top five players in the All Stars level (ranked by total winnings) earned extra money, while the top ten in the Masters level won cash. The top five in the Masters level also received $2,000 to take a shot in the All Stars level in Season 2.
Additionally, those who ranked in the top three in most hands played won extra cash.
Speaking with the PokerStars blog, Severin Rasset, Director of Poker Innovation and Operations, said:
We created the All Stars to highlight our best players, promote the skill aspect of poker, and to show these exciting high stakes battles to the wider poker community. The first goal of offering a new challenge to our best cash game players has certainly been achieved, and their participation has exceeded our expectations. We will now listen to the suggestions of the All Stars on how we could make the challenge even more exciting and will then decide if a Season 2 is the right way to both keep the interest of the players and achieve our second goal of emphasizing the skill of poker among the wider community.
The final rankings can be found below.
All Stars Total Winnings Rankings
1. Hatrick19911 – $25,453 – 4,686 hands played – $20,000 additional cash prize
2. ac1dd – $24,000 5 – 969 hands – $13,500 additional cash prize
3. OtB_RedBaron – $11,044 – 3,182 hands – $10,000 additional cash prize
4. SDMaxOn – $11,038 – 13,594 hands – $7,500 additional cash prize
5. Stambolov – $8,816 – 2,323 hands – $5,000 additional cash prize
6. 0Human0 – $5,052 – 3,030 hands
7. ZarubaNT – $4,094 – 362 hands
8. Iimitless – $3,287 – 4,548 hands
Masters Total Winnings Rankings
1. zas91 – $5,447 – 10,122 hands played – $5,000 additional cash prize
2. Flying Smile – $4,006 – 7,122 hands – $4,000 additional cash prize
3. ValentjNN – $2,878 – 15,877 hands – $3,000 additional cash prize
4. stan_09319 – $2,495 – 6,741 hands – $2,500 additional cash prize
5. blakerr – $2,436 – 2,327 hands – $2,000 additional cash prize
6. KoReaNcHoBO – $1,614 – 7,273 hands – $1,500 additional cash prize
7. Theproksa – $1,476 – 3,486 hands – $1,500 additional cash prize
8. Bedofour – $1,399 – 4,512 hands – $1,500 additional cash prize
9. AngulenUK – $1,375 – 6,565 hands – $1,500 additional cash prize
10. GODofHU – $1,268 – 3,215 hands – $1,500 additional cash prize
All Stars Volume Rankings
1. SinKarma – 14,422 hands
2. SDMaxOn – 13,594 hands
3. LLinusLLove – 7,705 hands
4. Jakeeeeeeeee – 6,226 hands
5. ac1dd – 5,916 hands
Masters Volume Rankings
1. ValentjNN – 15,877 hands
2. N4$H – 15,791 hands
3. matti55 – 13,928 hands
4. zas91 – 10,122 hands
5. msusyr24 – 9,670 hands