Brayden Fritzshall Tops Over 50,000 Players To Win $9M Guaranteed Sunday Million
On Sunday, an incredible field of 50,432 players signed up to play the special Sunday Million 9th Anniversary on PokerStars. The event boasted a $9 million guarantee. With a buy-in of just $215, the bar was set high. As the site general does, though, PokerStars leaped over the bar with ease and a prize pool of over $10 million was generated.
The final table consisted of players from Greece, Bulgaria, Argentina, Czech Republic, Israel, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada, with Bulgaria having two players that made it. When it was all said and done, the title was shipped over to Mexico after Brayden "BRAYDEN93" Fritzshall took down the event for just under $600,000 following a seven-way chop.
Sunday Million 9th Anniversary ($9M Guaranteed)
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| $200+15 | 50,432 | $10,086,400 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brayden "BRAYDEN93" Fritzshall | Mexico | $597,719.60* |
| 2 | kelly_koulis | Greece | $725,267.11* |
| 3 | João "tiltinha" Paulo Gomides | Brazil | $567,978.95* |
| 4 | Viliyan "PSMozak" Petleshkov | Bulgaria | $542,539.85* |
| 5 | Rodrigo "sonmonedas" Pérez | Argentina | $413,610.60* |
| 6 | salaliitto | Israel | $394,207.12* |
| 7 | Ian "ModzillaPL" Modder | Canada | $336,550.72* |
| 8 | bari_nikolov | Bulgaria | $119,523.84 |
| 9 | Kokli_1 | Czech Republic | $87,247.36 |
*Denotes a seven-way deal.
Following the eliminations of "Kokli_1" in ninth place and "bari_nikolov" in eighth place, the remaining seven players opted to pause the event in order to discuss a possible deal. Greece's "kelly_koulis" was the chip leader at the time with 172 million — more than double João "tiltinha" Paulo Gomides' second-place stack of 86.5 million. The other five stacks were Viliyan "PSMozak" Petleshkov with 77.3 million, Fritzshall with 63 million, Rodrigo "sonmonedas" Pérez with 41.5 million, "salaliitto" with 37.3 million, and Ian "ModzillaPL" Modder with 26.2 million.
When the clock was paused, the blinds were 2.5 million/5 million, which meant that three players were under 10 big blinds.
According to the report from Martin Harris on the PokerStars Blog, the discussions didn't last long and a deal was quickly reached that reflected the following payouts:
| Player | Country | Prize from Deal | Stack at Time of Deal | Big Blinds at Time of Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kelly_koulis | Greece | $725,267.11 | 172 million | 34.4 |
| João "tiltinha" Paulo Gomides | Brazil | $567,978.95 | 86.5 million | 17.3 |
| Viliyan "PSMozak" Petleshkov | Bulgaria | $542,539.85 | 77.3 million | 15.46 |
| Brayden "BRAYDEN93" Fritzshall | Mexico | $497,719.60 | 63 million | 12.6 |
| Rodrigo "sonmonedas" Pérez | Argentina | $413,610.60 | 41.5 million | 8.3 |
| salaliitto | Israel | $394,207.12 | 37.3 million | 7.46 |
| ModzillaPL | Canada | $336,550.72 | 26.2 million | 5.24 |
The group left $100,000 on the table to play for, and that additional six-figure prize went to Fritzshall to make his total take $597,719.60.
On the final hand of the tournament, Fritzshall and "kelly_koulis" saw a flop of J♣9♣8♣. Fritzshall led with a bet of 12.775 million, and "kelly_koulis" called to see the 2♦ land on the turn. Fritzshall bet nearly 29 million, "kelly_koulis" raised to 72 million, Fritzshall shoved, and "kelly_koulis" called off for a little under 150 million total. He held the A♠J♥ for top pair, top kicker, but his hand was behind the 9♥8♥ of Fritzshall.
Following the 4♦ completing the board on the river, "kelly_koulis" was eliminated in second place, and Fritzshall was crowned champion.
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