Former PCA Champion Warms Up For EPT Paris With an $83K Online Win
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Poker players love going into major tournaments on a run of form, and what better to warm up for the upcoming PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris festival than by taking down one of the toughest online poker tournaments?
That is precisely what Dimitar "KuuL" Danchev did over the weekend. The 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event champion came out on top in the $5,200 Titans Event online at PokerStars. Danchev's reward? A significant confidence boost and almost $83,000 in prize money.
$5,200 Titans Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dimitar "KuuL" Danchev | Bulgaria | $82,973* |
| 2 | Damian "pampa27" Salas | Argentina | $82,246* |
| 3 | IgammilI€120 | Belarus | $55,660 |
| 4 | Jonathan "x_zola25" Skovsen | Denmark | $43,015 |
| 5 | drew.derzh | Ukraine | $33,242 |
| 6 | fernandogiac | Croatia | $25,690 |
| 7 | Ihar "OMGitshunt" Soika | Belarus | $19,853 |
| 8 | SerVlaMin | Mexico | $15,343 |
| 9 | Stumpfed | Canada | $12,289 |
*reflects a heads-up deal
Fifty unique players purchased 28 re-entries between them in this week's Titans Event, resulting in a $390,000 prize pool. The top 11 finishers saw a return on their hefty $5,200 investment, so spare a thought for Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi, who was the unfortunate soul that popped the money bubble after busting in 12th place.
Sweden's "mamamamama70," last week's Titans Event champion, was the first in-the-money player to find themselves void of chips. Roman "Gogac sniper" Hrabec's exit in tenth place set a star-studded final table.
Each of the finalists locked in more than $12,200 for their efforts, with the eventual winner set to take home $93,196.
Canada's "Stumpfed" was the first finalist to be eliminated. "SerVlaMin" and Ihar "OMGitshunt" Soika joined the ever-growing list of bustees before "fernandogiac" fell by the wayside in sixth.
Fifth place and $33,242 went to Ukraine's "drew.derzh," with Danish superstar Jonathan "x_zola25" Skovsen running out of steam in fourth, a finish good for $43,015. Shortly after Skovsen's untimely demise, Belarusian "|gammil|€120" busted, leaving Danchev heads-up against Damian "pampa27" Salas.
With both players armed with relatively evenly sized stacks, the heads-up duo struck a deal that skimmed a shade over $10,000 from the top prize and awarded it to second place. The deal meant Salas officially finished in second place and banked $82,246, leaving Danchev to pad his bankroll with $82,973.
Zanetti Comes Out on Top in the Sunday Million PKO
The PokerStars Sunday Million returned to its usual $109 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed PKO self after a month of New Year Series, New Year Series Afterparty, and Carnival Series editions. Some 10,482 entries, including re-entries, were processed, resulting in a $1,048,200 prize pool.
Lex "L. Veldhuis" Veldhuis was the only member of Team PokerStars to finish inside the money place, falling in 923rd place for $129. Unfortunately for Veldhuis, the talented Belgian did not scoop any bounties.
$109 Sunday Million PKO Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henrique "Zanetti89" Zanetti | Brazil | $36,691 | $54,501 | $91,192 |
| 2 | ilyukevich21 | Belarus | $5,836 | $54,493 | $60,329 |
| 3 | AGAVVA90 | Brazil | $6,002 | $40,683 | $46,685 |
| 4 | JustTrappedU | Austria | $4,947 | $27,884 | $32,831 |
| 5 | 0IQCa11er | Mexico | $4,682 | $19,581 | $24,263 |
| 6 | mozok911 | Ukraine | $3,895 | $13,361 | $17,256 |
| 7 | xxlwantedlxx | Denmark | $3,647 | $9,413 | $13,060 |
| 8 | elkoftagy | Canada | $1,546 | $6,680 | $8,226 |
| 9 | queenqueen82 | Denmark | $4,456 | $4,754 | $9,210 |
Ninth-place finisher "queenqueen82" certainly banked some bounty payments. Indeed, $4,456 of their $9,210 haul stemmed from the progressive bounties PokerStars rewarded them for eliminating foes.
Once "elkoftagy" fell in eighth, the surviving seven finalists guaranteed themselves a five-figure score, with their bounty hauls considered.
"xxlwantedlxx" and "mozok911" crashed out and left only five PokerStars players in the hunt for the title. The field size reduced again with the eliminations of "0IQCa11er" and "JustTrappedU," before the latest Sunday Million reached the heads-up stage when Brazil's "AGAVVA90" bowed out in third.
Save the Date: Sunday Million 18th Anniversary Comes With $8m GTD
Henrique "Zanetti89" Zanetti found himself heads-up against "ilyukevich21" of Belarus. The regular prize pool payouts meant both players wouldn't take him less than $54,493, but the final bounties were substantial at this stage, meaning everything was still to play for.
Eventually, Zanetti came out on top and saw a cool $36,691 added to his $54,501 prize for a total payout worth $91,192, leaving the runner-up to wonder what could have been; the $60,329 they scooped will go some way to numbing the pain, of that we are sure.
The Sunday Million continues to run weekly, but it is the April 7 edition that has set tongues wagging. April 7 is when the 18th Anniversary edition of the Sunday Million lands at PokerStars. Its buy-in increases to $215, but that means PokerStars can slap an $8 million guarantee on the prize pool, an increase from 2023 and one that should see a seven-figure top prize!
