December 05 2011, Mickey Doft
Now that it's December, those who can take to the virtual felt will have some exciting things to look forward to because of PokerStars' 10th Anniversary. Recently added was a 10th Anniversary $10,000 High-Roller Event that will run on Dec. 18. As for this week, with the exception of one tournament, the numbers were up across the board for the Sunday Majors. Among the winners were Bryn "BrynKenney" Kenny, Sam "aaajack" Chartier, and Paul "pvas2" Vas Nunes.
Team PokerStars was represented well in the Sunday Million as Jose "nachobarbero" Barbero made a deep run, finishing in 23rd place. When the final table was reached, eventual champion "traxxart" entered with the chip lead. As play made its way down to the final four, "traxxart" was the shortest stack but still locked up more than $123,000 when a four-handed deal was agreed upon. Immediately when play resumed, "traxxart" doubled up. On the third hand following the deal, "gabriel171" scored an elimination and it wasn't long before he was heads-up with "traxxart."
On the final hand with the blinds and antes at the 500K/1M/100K level, "traxxart" min-raised on the button. "Gabriel171" three-bet shoved for about 15 big blinds, and "traxxart" made a quick call. It was a race as "gabriel171" tabled 
against the 
of "traxxart." The 
flop sure made things interesting, but the 
turn locked it up for "traxxart" to notch the victory.
To read more about this week's Sunday Million, head over to PokerStarsBlog.com
*denotes four-handed deal
Notable Finishes: Steve "BetrThanPhil" Tripp (13th - $5,795.16), Jose "nachobarbero" Barbero (23rd - $3,228.73), Daniel "GotURead" Reijmer (33rd - $2,883.78)
Making a deep run in the Sunday Warm-Up this week was Team PokerStars Pro Jose "nachobarbero" Barbero finishing just shy of the final table in 14th place. Barbero's final hand came when he three-bet shoved from the big blind with 
. Preflop raiser "OliverDK" called with 
and won the race as the board ran out 
, sending Barbero to the rail.
"Randall37" and the aforementioned "OliverDK" entered the final table with the big stacks but bowed out in fifth and seventh place, respectively. The final three players remaining worked out a deal and when it was all said and done, short-stacked "raulbcn" made a comeback to claim the victory. On the final hand, "raulbcn" three-bet shoved with 
. "3591omanyd" called all-in with 
and watched as the board ran out 
to secure the victory for "raulbcn."
To read more about this week's Sunday Warm-Up, check out PokerStarsBlog.com
*denotes three-handed deal
Notable Finishes: Jose "nachobarbero" Barbero (14th - $3,226.50), Tim "Calvin32" Sullivan (34th - $1,613.25), Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick (37th - $1,469.85)
The Sunday 500 attracted 789 players, creating a prize pool of $394,500 and boasted an impressive final table that included Vincent "Vingtcent" van der Fluit and Dani "supernova9" Stern. Following a heads-up deal, Paul "pvas2" Vas Nunes took it down for just more than $66,000.
Vincent "Vingtcent" van der Fluit*denotes heads-up deal
Notable Finishes: Mickey "mement_mori" Petersen (18th - $2,564.25)
In celebration of PokerStars' 10th Anniversary, a special World Record Tournament was on the docket this week. Looking to top its previous mark of 149,196 set back in December 2009, the tournament reached its cap of 200,000 players to set the record. A three-handed deal was worked out and when the dust settled, "sokoluk1991" was the last man standing for a $40,258.83 first-place prize.
*denotes three-handed deal
Notable Finishes: Kevin "WizardOfAhhs" Thurman (380th - $27)
With a gain of 147 entrants from last week, the Bigger $55 drew 5,952 players and created a prize pool of $297,600. Winning the tournament outright was "krille3000" for $46,130.79.
Aside from the Bigger $109 gaining 199 entrants this week, for the third straight week a notable player took it down. Joining Mike "Timex" McDonald and Michiel "utreg" Brummelhuis in the Bigger $109 winners circle was Sam "aaajack" Chartier, winning outright for $48,308.40.
Notable Finishes: Igor "lechuckpoker" Kurganov (10th - $2,385.60)
The Bigger $162 also saw its attendance number rise with 57 more participants this week. Swedish online star "Sirocko" topped the field for an outright victory for just shy of $40,000.
Notable Finishes: Pablo "pabritz" Brito (14th - $1,649.25), Elad "Gambit360" Nosimaj (17th - $1,209.45)
The Sunday 2nd Chance wasn't all that far from doubling its $125,000 guarantee as a field of 1,216 generated a prize pool of $243,200. Following a four-handed deal, "elde30cm" emerged on top with a $26,948 payday.
*denotes four-handed deal
Notable Finishes: Elad "Gambit360" Nosimaj (28th - $899.84)
This week's $109 Sunday Rebuy drew 14 more entrants than last, but had $14,000 less in the prize pool. Winning the tournament outright was online poker superstar Bryn "BrynKenney" Kenney for $59,570.
Notable Finishes: Steve "BetrThanPhil" Tripp (12th - $3,381)
We've teased the last few weeks that the Sunday Storm had been nearly doubling its $200,000 guarantee. Well, this week it came closer than it ever has, drawing a field of 39,815 and a prize pool of $398,150. "R0B_45" won it outright for $32,304.90.
The only Sunday Major to not see an increase in attendance this week was the Sunday Kickoff, which drew a mere two-fewer players this week. A three-handed deal went down with "kenneth81" edging out the rest for the top honors.
Jimmie "AlusivPnkBny" Guinther*denotes three-handed deal
*PokerStars Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-Up data obtained from PokerStarsBlog.com
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of "BrazillianDog" failed to improve against "MeatPounder's" 
as the board came down 
. That paved the way for the remaining four players to work out a deal.
. A flop of 
, followed by the 
fell on the river to make a tournament-clinching broadway straight for "StuU_0905."
of "bearbeer123" and was left with less than ten big blinds. On the flip side, "gtzy69" took the chip lead when "PSMozak" four-bet shoved about 20 big blinds with 
held by "gtzy69." The kings held, giving "gtzy69" a comfortable stack of roughly 46 big blinds.
, "LevotonKala" called a three-bet with position and saw a flop of 
. After "gtzy69" followed with a continuation bet, "LevotonKala" called and hit the money card on the turn. The 
gave "LevotonKala" trips and it wasn't long before the remainder of "gtzy69's" stack was in the middle. With 
officially ended the tournament and secured the victory for "LevotonKala."