Sunday Briefing: Elio Fox Takes Down partypoker's Sunday Gladiator

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May 06, 2019 6 min read Last updated Dec 19, 2019

Thousands of poker players headed to the online tables on May 5 while the 2019 European Poker Tour Monte Carlo festival was drawing to a close. You would have thought having such a massive live festival taking place would have made the online tables less shark infested. You would think wrong!

$1M Gtd Big Game at partypoker

partypoker ran its $1 million guaranteed Big Game again on May 5 and 194 entries fought it out to finish in the top 32 places where the seven-figure prize pool was distributed.

Everyone locked up at least $23,000 by the time the final table was set and “franthemonster” would get their hands on this prize after failing to ladder up the payouts. Ramiro “letsgodancing” Petrone was the next to fall; his seventh-place finish was worth $31,000.

“RPILON” won this tournament in late Feb. 2019 and almost took this one down too but ran out of steam and had to make do with the $42,000 sixth-place finish. RPILON was then joined in the role of spectator by “MechaCorta” and “Chelsea72” who won $55,000 and $78,000 respectively.

The penultimate elimination was that of “GreenNaugahyde” who locked up their first six-figure score of their career by collecting the $105,500 third-place prize. This exit set up a heads-up battle between “SlowDoke” and “ucantrybut” and it was the latter who emerged unscathed to collect a cool $203,900 with SlowDoke taking home $148,000.

Sunday Gladiator: $250K Gtd at partypoker

Elio “donzledubru” Fox (lead image) won the Sunday Gladiator: $250K Gtd at partypoker, topping a field of 111 entries to bolster his bankroll with a combined $63,481.

Fox’s impressive prize was made up of $25,124 first-place money and an additional $38,357 worth of bounty payments, including the one on his own head and that of runner-up “aLiNeNok1617” of Russia who walked away with a total prize worth $27,460.

It was a talented final table, as you’d expect from such a high buy-in affair. After winning the $1 million Gtd Big Game, “ucantrybut” finished in eighth here for $10,831 while “ojanOmaha” and “BuyThaPot”, a pair of Swedish grinders, busted with prizes of $8,823 and $9,011.

Mexico’s “Partyyycular” was the next to fall, busting in fifth-place for $12,673 before “onehundredeyes” of Austria added $17,017 to their massive $7 million in lifetime winnings.

“Sentapied99” busted in third-place for $29,453 leaving aLiNeNok1617 and Fox to fight it out of the title and glory, and we already know how that finished!

$2,100 Sunday High Roller at PokerStars

The $2,100 Sunday High Roller at PokerStars always attracted a stellar field and this weekend was no different. A total of 133 entries created a $266,000 prize pool that was shared among the top 17 finishers.

Austria’s Thomas “WushuTM” Muehloecker was the unfortunate soul to burst the money bubble; his exit paved the way for a min-cash of at least $4,987. This sum increase to $7,161 by the time the nine-handed final table was reached and the sum collected by Austria’s “Tankanza”; the final table’s first casualty.

Russia’s “Kot_Spartac” busted in eighth-place for $9,257 and was the last player not to bank a five-figure prize. Seventh-place and £11,967 went to Sweden’s “compris” before Portugal's Joao “Naza114” Vieira, playing out of the Netherlands, saw his tournament end in a sixth-place finish worth $15,469.

Argentina’s Ivan “Negriin” Luca then busted in fifth-place for $19,996 and was joined on the rail by Swedish superstar Niklas “Lena900” Astedt who collected $25,849. Luca and Astedt received some more company on the rail when Andras “probirs” Nemeth busted in third place for $33,414.

This left the United Kingdom’s Jonathan “Proudflop” Proudfoot and China’s “zzwwzzwwzz” to fight one-on-one for the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool. It was the Chinese player who emerged victorious, claiming the $55,834 top prize and resigning Proudfoot to a $43,193 consolation prize.

The Chinese player has only ever won more than this impressive sum twice before. Once in 2015 when they were the runner-up in a $2,100 PLO SCOOP event for $103,428, and again in 2018 when they won a $1,050 High Roller for a career-best score of $167,910.

$109 Sunday Million at PokerStars

Last weekend’s Sunday Million ended in a heads-up chop and this week's edition followed the same path. The heads-up duo in question, “tomnelz1” of Brazil and Turlough “TheVirus217” McHugh split more than $200,000 between them.

It was the Brazilian who ran out the winner and got their hands on $110,747. McHugh locked up $90,747 which is by far his largest online cash to date, with his previous best weighing in at $15,018.

Earlier at the final table, “777ANTONY777” crashed out in ninth-place for $8,981 and was joined on the sidelines by “ChristianBR4” and Hungary’s “Csabi69” who walked away with $12,375 ad $17,053 respectively.

Next to bust was “fishyfischer” and “FreshAir93”, the latter hailing from the UK, before Netherlands’ “IADTTMax" and “Bertheult” of Denmark saw their tournaments come to an abrupt end, the latter turning their $109 into an impressive $61,488.

^{*reflects a heads-up deal}

$100,000 Sunday Mega Deep at 888poker

The $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep at 888poker ended in a heads-up chop this week with final two players winning more than a combined $33,000.

Each of the nine finalists won at least $1,750, the sum awarded to “DR.Lorax” who fell in ninth-place. The New Zealander was joined on the payout table by Brazil’s “Catholoa” and a pair of Lithuanian players in “PiktasVilkas” and “oTILIN”, the latter scooping $4,400.

Malta’s David “OccItalian” Gervasoni was the next casualty, his bust out in fifth place netting him $5,700 before “buitre180” won $8,250 for their fourth-place elimination. Third place and $11,000 went to “drupalucker” of Russia, which set up the heads-up encounter between Diego “Diegoavc” Ventrua Chunga and “KTBFFH89” of Denmark.

A deal was struck before the Dane won all of the chips in play, meaning the runner-up netted $16,461 and KTBFFH89 walked away $17,388 richer.

^{*reflects a heads-up deal}

$20,000 Sunday Challenge at 888poker

Canada’s “patrickhenry” was crowned the $20,000 Sunday Challenge champion this week, an accolade that came with a $5,224 prize. The Canadian found themselves heads-up against Ukraine’s “MAVERICk121” who fell at the final hurdle for a $3,766 addition to their bankroll.

The runner-up was one of three Ukrainian players to reach the final table. “busKKer” busted in ninth-place for $486 with “YSoSerious7”, a regular at 888poker, navigating their way to third-place for a $2,855 prize.

Another 888poker regular, Austria’s “alwayswin111” couldn’t win this time around and had to make do with a $2,126 fourth-place finish instead.

Sunday Blade 2.5K (playable via Natural8)

The GG network, playable through Natural8, continued its massive high roller events this weekend with the Sunday Blade $2.5K attracting 56 entries, creating a $133,000 prize pool.

Seven places were paid, with “NOMAMES” falling in seventh-place for $5,520. The Mexico-based star was then joined on the rail by “LlinusLLove” of Austria whose $7,647 score was the last four-figure prize awarded.

$10,593 went to Costa Rica’s “TexasPete” before the UK’s “chan593” busted in fourth-place for $14,674. “ImLividBuddy” all the way over in Thailand, banked $20,328 when they exited in third place, leaving “SasukeUchiha” and “PyramidOfSkulls” to play one-on-one for the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool.

It was PyramidOfSkulls who walked away as a champion, doing so with a $46,076 prize in their hand, leaving the runner-up to collect a $28,159 consolation prize.

Sunday Blade $5K (playable via Natural8)

The biggest prize at Natural8 this weekend went to Mexico’s “vamossuerte” who won the Sunday Blade $5K for an impressive $94,390. The Mexico-based grinder defeated “ravenoustrashdog”, also of Mexico, heads-up for the title and the massive payout; second-place was worth $58,040.

Only six-places were paid with “SasukeUchiha” collecting $11,813 for being the first player to cash. Partypoker-sponsored pro Kristen “Krissyb24” Bicknell followed them to the cashier’s desk to pick up $17,587 before “Shark Bait” busted in fourth place for $26,184.

Third place and $38,983 went to the Ukrainian superstar Roman “SanityWaterline” Romanovsky.

_{The Stars Group is a majority shareholder in iBus Media}

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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