Sunday Briefing: tolstiykry Wins First Sunday Million of 2017
Russia’s “tolstiykry” kicked off 2017 in the best way possible by winning the PokerStars Sunday Million for $178,747.90 on Jan. 1.
Although lower than usual attendance for online tournaments was expected, 6,289 players participated in the $215 buy in event, smashing the $1 million guarantee by more than $250,000. No deal was struck at the final table of this weekend’s Sunday Million, meaning tolstiykry secured a massive payout of $178,747.90 and his heads-up opponent, “bob43155”, also banked a six-figure score of $122,915.10.
Austria’s “readas_reada” also found the winner’s circle, topping a field of 250 players in the $1,050 Sunday Grand. Victory in this star-studded tournament this week was worth a cool $48,071.86.
Some of the more notable victories in PokerStars’ high stakes online tournaments on Jan. 1 included:
- Joao Henrique “sydens” Sydenstricker – winner of the $109 Sunday Starter for $5,187.30
- Jonathan “MONSTER_DONG” Karamalikis – winner of the $109 Sunday Kickoff for $14,344.46
- “jimbojiff” – winner of the $215 Sunday Warm-Up for $46,996.77
- “Anjeyyy” – winner of the Big $109 for $20,046.67
- “sk2ll_m0dR” – winner of the $700 Super-Sized Sunday for $29,577.84
- Laszlo “omaha4rollz” Bujtas – winner of the $1,050 Sunday Grand PLO for $29,000.58
- “rosas22” – winner of the $109 Sunday Cooldown for $13,052.54
- Tomas “p1relli” Tamasauskas – winner of the $215 Sunday Supersonic for $31,133.81
- “sosna83” – winner of the $109 Sunday Wrap-Up for $9,500.08
Over at partypoker, “Scouts326” claimed the largest prize of the weekend, turning $2,600 into $42,875 by winning the $100,000 Super High Roller. “InNackenKacken” took full advantage of the $24,200 overlay in the $150,000 Gtd Main Event and scooped the $25,188.45 first-place prize.
A player calling themselves “WilliamKassouf” emerged victorious in the $40,000 Gtd Weigh-In and won $8,398.09, with “Gl4diat0r” coming out on top in the $250,000 Gtd Title Fight to secure a $41,971.50 score on the first day of the New Year.
Finally, for this week’s Sunday Briefing at least, are the results from 888poker’s biggest tournaments.
“ROLDY18” of the Netherlands became the $50,000 Baby Whale champion after outlasting 265 opponents in the $320 buy in event. This week’s victory was worth a cool $16,319.10.
In the $80,000 Mega Deep, “imjustagirl” turned $215 into $18,810 by finishing first out of a field of 495 players, while “PennyHrdaway” triumphed in the $50,000 Sunday Challenge and boosted his or her bankroll by an impressive $11,692.98.
There should be plenty of big scores at 888poker in the coming weeks because the $5 million guaranteed Super XL Series kicks off on Jan. 19. If the previous edition is anything to base judgement on, tournament grinders at 888poker are in for a real treat.
