First phased Sunday Million in PokerStars history
As PokerStars approaches the 19th anniversary of its iconic Sunday Million tournament, the online poker room has announced that it is now “Sunday Million Season.” Sunday Million Season will span six weeks, February 23 to April 6, culminating with the $6 million guaranteed Sunday Million 19th Anniversary event.
“Whether you’re a seasoned pro or an aspiring champion, the Sunday Million Season is your chance to be part of poker history,” said Steve Clarricoats, Associate Director of Poker Operations at PokerStars, in Wednesday’s news release. “The Sunday Million has a long tradition of turning dreams into reality with players from all over the world having won. We invite players of all levels to take their seat, showcase their skills, and chase the ultimate online poker glory. Mark your calendars and prepare for a season of unforgettable poker action.”
There’s more to the Sunday Million Season than just the anniversary tournament, hence the word “season.” The first Sunday Million of the run – on February 23 – is the first “phased” Sunday Million ever. Essentially, it’s a tourney with multiple starting flights, so players can find a convenient time to jump into one of many Phase 1s between now (technically this past Monday) and Sunday. Those who make it through Phase 1 will have their chip stacks carried over to Sunday’s Phase 2.
Catch every episode
PokerStars is calling each of the Sunday Millions during the season an “episode.” Champs of each will win a trophy and the top finishers will earn hoodies in addition to their prize money. The episode schedule is as follows:
- February 16-23 – $109 Sunday Million (Phased) with $1 million guaranteed
- March 2 – $215 Sunday Million with $1 million guaranteed & $55 buy-in Red Spade Open with $500,000 guaranteed
- March 9 – $11, $109, and $1,050 Super Sunday with $125,000, $1 million, and $250,000 guaranteed
- March 16 – $109 Sunday Million Mystery Bounty with $1 million guaranteed
- March 23 – $109 Sunday Million with $1 million guaranteed & $11 Sunday Storm 14th Anniversary with $350,000 guaranteed
- March 30 – $109 Sunday Million with $1 million guaranteed
- April 6 – $215 Sunday Million 19th Anniversary with $6 million guaranteed
Those who play in the Sunday Million tournaments will earn leaderboard points, points which are doubled for the above episodes. The big Sunday Million Anniversary awards triple points. PokerStars will dole out $100,000 in Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) tickets to players on the leaderboard.
The poker room is also raffling off a total of $300,000 in Sunday Million Anniversary and satellite tickets to players who compete in the episodes.
As is always the case with PokerStars, players can qualify for the Sunday Million Anniversary in all sorts of ways, such as freerolls, special Spin & Go’s, and Power Path competitions.
Brazil’s “CrossBreed17” won last year’s 18th Anniversary Sunday Million and the $1 million first prize. The tournament had an $8 million guarantee and actually ended up with some overlay; the 39,226 total entries – 25,566 of which were unique – fell just short of the required total to meet the guarantee.
