The Sunday Briefing: "SpeckBasu" Wins Sunday Million for $231,214

Brett Collson Chief Editor

Mar 19, 2012 5 min read

The virtual tables were crowded Sunday as thousands gathered to compete in a number of MicroMillions events, but the biggest payouts were still left for those playing in the Sunday Majors at PokerStars. Although the numbers were down from last week's sixth anniversary of the Sunday Million, every major event managed to exceed its guarantee. Germany's "SpeckBasu" was the day's biggest winner, collecting more than $230,000 for winning the Sunday Million, and Team PokerStars Pro members Toni Judet and Martin "AABenjaminAA" Hruby also cashed in with big scores.

PokerStars Sunday Million ($1M Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	7,707	$1,549,600

This week's Sunday Million didn't have the flash or pizzazz of last week's $6 Million Anniversary event, but it had no trouble exceeding its $1 million guarantee. More than 7,700 players competed on Sunday to generate a prize pool of $1,549,600, and nine players reached a final table in the late hours with a $231,214 top prize of for grabs.

"TONI-BG" had the chip lead going into the final table and eliminated three players en route to a heads-up match with "SpeckBasu." "TONI-BG" held a 2-to-1 edge going into the match, but "SpeckBasu" doubled up with pocket eights against ace-four to take control.

On the very next hand, "TONI-BG" was all in preflop with A♣6♣ against SpeckBasu's K♣10♣, and the 7♥7♣5♣J♥10♦ board gave SpeckBasu the winning hand on the river to send "TONI-BG" to the rail in second place. "SpeckBasu" collected $231,214 as the Sunday Million champion.

To read more about this week's Sunday Million, head over to PokerStarsBlog.com

Place	Player	Prize
1	SpeckBasu	$231,214
2	TONI-BG	$169,554
3	fullmagro_ps	$115,605
4	Faxe07	$77,686
5	davebond2	$61,656
6	brauniTR	$46,242
7	Valdem2010	$30,828
8	niku1971	$17,726
9	cime173	$11,945

Notable Finishes: Elio "smokrokflock" Fox (24th - $3,391), Sebastian "sebbau" Bauer (38th - $2,851), Martin Staszko (136th - $1,001)

PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up ($500K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	3,280	$656,000

Attendance for the Sunday Warm-Up dropped by nearly 400 players this week, but the 3,280 players still managed to eclipse the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. "Maverick 36O" and "a.S.e High" were the last two players standing and, after they couldn't agree on a deal, "Maverick 36O" went on to win outright for $102,992, and "a.S.e High" earned $76,752 as the runner-up.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Maverick 36O	$102,992
2	a.S.e High	$76,752
3	kiskin1979	$54,120
4	dimetriouspb	$37,720
5	yurasov1990	$27,880
6	Mysters_Y	$21,320
7	SUNDAYKING	$14,760
8	johngarvey	$8,200
9	rssoul20	$5,248

Notable Finishes: Ted "Traveller99" Sorensen (14th - $2,952), Jason "jtdjpoker" Wheeler (27th - 1,672), Dani "supernova9" Stern (33rd - $1,476), Allan "Sifosis" Baekke (47th - $1,246)

PokerStars Sunday 500 ($300K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$500+$30	904	$452,000

More than 900 players put up the $500 buy-in for the Sunday 500. Notables Aaron "JeanGrae" McCready and Ashley "DYBYDX" Mason made deep runs in the tournament but ultimately fell short of the final table. The final four players decided on a deal, giving each at least $49,483. "Gasnnjep" from the Netherlands went on to take the title and the top prize of $61,846

Place	Player	Prize
1	Gasnnjep	$61,846*
2	thewattsy	$49,483*
3	GONDIANA	$49,483*
4	FreezeOutLV	$54,548*
5	kriga	$22,600
6	zcedrick	$18,080
7	guinor	$13,560
8	Stephan “delegator” Kjaerstad	$9,040
9	BIGMICKG	$5,424

*denotes four-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Aaron "JeanGrae" McCready (14th - $3,390), Ashley "DYBYDX" Mason (17th - $2,486), Michael "WatchOutFish" Benvenuti (25th - $1,988)

PokerStars Bigger $55 ($250K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$50+$5	6,042	$302,100

Team PokerStars Pro Martin "AABenjaminAA" Hruby reached the final table of the Bigger $55 and agreed to a four-handed deal to secure $36,678. Hruby bowed out in third place, leaving "martinshev" and "KippekontNL" to duel for the title. "Martinshev" got the best of his Dutch counterpart to claim victory and $33,298.

Place	Player	Prize
1	martinshev	$33,298*
2	KippekontNL	$31,055*
3	Martin "AABenjaminAA" Hruby	$36,678*
4	azamat	$23,413*
5	da nuts 705	$$12,839
6	starplayeren	$9,818
7	Tellbut	$6,797
8	DwnByDaBrdge	$3,776
9	Blue Baboon	$2,416

*denotes four-handed deal

Notable Finishes: Bolivar "Ramux" Palacios (14th - $1,344), Ricky "ROnaldKosh" Fohrenbach (17th - $891)

PokerStars Bigger $109 ($200K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	2,948	$294,800

Peter "twirlpro" Turmezey headlined the final table of the PokerStars Bigger $109. The Hungarian pro exited in sixth place for $9,875, and Germany's "The40deuce" went on to claim the $46,578 top prize outright.

Place	Player	Prize
1	The40deuce	$46,578
2	mikki696	$34,786
3	LaurisL91	$24,763
4	StoyanB	$17,242
5	N1Imar	$12,823
6	Peter "twirlpro" Turmezey	$9,875
7	FreshFraiser	$6,927
8	JJEKKW	$4,274
9	Broose51	$2,505

Notable Finishes: Steve "Stev0L_" Leonard (23rd - $884), Brian "theczar19" Piccioli (30th - $787)

PokerStars Bigger $162 ($150K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$150+$12	1,782	$267,300

The Bigger $162 crushed its guarantee again on Sunday, drawing 1,782 players to create a prize pool of $267,300. David “highdro420″ Rowan had a chance to add another online title to his resume but finished second best to Chile's "LEOMAURO1." Rowan collected $32,076, while "LEOMAURO1" added $42,768 to his bankroll.

Place	Player	Prize
1	LEOMAURO1	$42,768
2	David “highdro420″ Rowan	$32,076
3	Litense	$24,057
4	bubys	$17,574
5	Aggelaras	$12,696
6	CaughtUbluff	$9,890
7	big723	$7,217
8	Oliya	$4,677
9	fs1950	$2,673

Notable Finishes: Toby "810ofclubs" Lewis (17th - $1,202), Thiago “XTheDecanoX” Nishjima (33rd - $882), Torsten “jetkiss” Brinkmann (39th - $748)

PokerStars Sunday 2nd Chance ($175K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$200+$15	1,547	$309,400

Team PokerStars Pro Toni Judet outlasted all but one player in the Sunday 2nd Chance. Judet took second place for $37,746 after Australia's "krasark" beat him heads up.

Place	Player	Prize
1	krasark	$51,685
2	Toni Judet	$37,746
3	bevpoker	$28,464
4	dimiplus	$21,039
5	Talerric	$15,160
6	Patq74	$12,066
7	teruliro	$8,972
8	Jack "jackellwood" Ellwood	$5,878
9	Masaie	$3,217

Notable Finishes: Ricky "RonaldKosh" Fohrenbach (15th - $2,057)

PokerStars $109 Sunday Rebuy ($225K Guaranteed)

Buy-in	Entrants	Prize Pool
$100+$9	1,013	$340,400

Jack "jackellwood" Ellwood made two final tables on Sunday but missed out on big scores in both. Ellwood took eighth place in the Sunday 2nd Chance and fifth place in the $109 Sunday Rebuy. The final four players in this one agreed on a four-handed deal that saw each collect at least $31,500. Denmark's "ministerborg" had the chip lead when the deal was cut and collected the biggest piece ($57,157), but the U.K.'s "parksy1066" earned the title along with $35,500.

Place	Player	Prize
1	parksy1066	$35,500*
2	OBigO	$44,000*
3	ministerborg	$57,157*
4	Kessbert	$31,500*
5	Jack "jackellwood" Ellwood	$17,871
6	Mysters_Y	$14,467
7	Tribeca1999	$11,063
8	montecarlo13	$7,659
9	sappy123	$4,765