Some people can’t get enough action in Sunday tournaments online. You’ll find many of the same names playing in several of the major tournaments on the weekends for that exact reason. One online poker room recently set the bar for guaranteed tournaments just a little bit higher. Over the weekend, it was revealed that the two largest tournaments offered on PokerStars every week would see their guarantees increase dramatically starting on August 3rd. The Sunday Million, which currently sports a $1 million guarantee, will now offer at least a $1.5 million prize pool. The Sunday Warm-Up, which currently boasts a $500,000 prize pool, will now have a $750,000 guarantee. In both cases, the largest online poker site in the world just increased its two largest guarantees by 50%.
PokerStars was the very first site to offer a seven-figure guaranteed prize pool for a tournament. It has been the standard by which all other online poker rooms are measured. On July 13th as part of its July “2X” promotion, the guarantee of the Sunday Million was bumped up to $2 million, which sent a flurry of activity to PokerStars. In fact, nearly 15,000 players showed up for the Sunday Million that week, each paying $215 to enter and making the prize pool just less than $3 million, well above the guarantee. PokerStars has proven to itself and the online poker community that it can consistently cover its guarantees. I can’t recall a time in recent months that PokerStars has ever had to pay an overlay, due in part to catering to U.S. customers.
The Sunday Million starts at 4:30pm ET. The buy-in is $200+$15 and the online poker site offers a variety of satellites starting at $3 if that is completely out of your budget. First place is always at least six-figures and regularly approaches $200,000 depending on the number of people who enter.
The Sunday Warm-Up starts at 12:45pm ET, four hours before the Sunday Million begins. Just like the Million, it’s a $200+$15 buy-in tournament that attracts throngs of hungry poker players every single week. Starting on August 3rd, the guarantee of the Sunday Warm-Up increases from $500,000 to $750,000, meaning a gigantic payday will be in store for several contestants. Satellites to the Sunday Warm-Up start at $3 and run constantly.
Both tournaments attract the cream of the crop in the online poker world. In addition, a variety of novices also enter. After all, where else can you find a tournament that allows you to turn $200 into a house in just a few hours? The PokerStars Second Chance, which is a $200,000 Guarantee tournament with a $200+$15 buy-in, also occurs each Sunday. However, no official word has been given on the future of its guarantee. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
Other high-stakes weekend tournaments available to players worldwide include a $150K Guaranteed event on Absolute Poker every Saturday and a $200K Guaranteed on Ultimate Bet every Sunday. Given the recent merger of UB and AP into CEREUS, it’s conceivable that these two tournaments may cease to exist. Instead, a high-stakes guaranteed tournament may take their place. If you’re looking for more poker, visit Full Tilt Poker for its $750K Guaranteed and $250K Sunday Brawl. Finally, take advantage of the weekly overlay at Bodog, where the $100K regularly falls woefully short of its guarantee.
The guarantees of the Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-Up will increase starting August 3rd. Both are expected to remain at the increased levels permanently. Visit PokerStars for more details.
