The iconic PokerStars Sunday Million celebrates its 16th anniversary this March and is doing so with an awe-inspiring $10 million guaranteed prize pool! Those of you entering this historic tournament are in for a real treat if past anniversary editions are anything to go by.
March 20 at 5:05 p.m. GMT is the date and time you want to be logged into your PokerStars account because that is the exact moment the Sunday Million 16th Anniversary event shuffles up and deals. Buying in direct sets you back $215, although there are dozens of freerolls and satellites from only $2.20 feeding into the tournament.
You receive 20,000 chips for your $215 investment and play to blinds starting at 50/100/12a. Those blinds increase every 20-minutes for the first 18 levels before shortening to 15-minutes thereafter.
16th Anniversary Sunday Million Schedule
Day 1 ends after the completion of the 18th level before play resumes at 5:10 p.m. on March 21. Day 2 players battle it out until the end of Level 50. Surviving players return to the action from 5:05 p.m. GMT on March 22 and play down to a champion.
Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2, and you are permitted to purchase up to five re-entries while late registration is open. It is definitely worthwhile attempting to win several seats via the plethora of satellites in the run-up to the 16th Anniversary Sunday Million.
- Day 1 – Breaks after Level 18 and resumes at 5:10 p.m. GMT on March 21
- Day 2 – breaks after Level 50 and resumes at 5:05 p.m. GMT on March 22
Vanessa “Niffller” Kade Wins PokerStars Sunday Million 15th Anniversary ($1,514,920)
15th Anniversary Sunday Million Final Table Results
It is fair to say the 15th Anniversary Sunday Million was a roaring success. The tournament attracted a bumper crowd of 69,876 entrants who created a $13,975,200 prize pool, which was the second-largest Sunday Million prize pool ever.
Vanessa “Niffller” Kade was the last woman standing in this massive tournament, and walked away with a life-changing $1,514,920 after she defeated “Talibenes” of Poland heads-up. The Polish runner-up also became a millionaire courtesy of banking a cool $1,035,358 consolation prize.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanessa “Niffller” Kade | Canada | $1,514,920 |
| 2 | Talibenes | Poland | $1,035,358 |
| 3 | PanchoVetin | Bulgaria | $707,640 |
| 4 | Transylvanian | Romania | $483,652 |
| 5 | peu3ep | Russia | $330,564 |
| 6 | malinga | Norway | $225,930 |
| 7 | ikkedus | Netherlands | $154,416 |
| 8 | kefirchik106 | Russia | $105,538 |
| 9 | Vvlankov | Russia | $72,132 |
History of the PokerStars Sunday Million Anniversary Events
Past Anniversary Sunday Million Champions
PokerStars has run special edition anniversary editions of the Sunday Million since the tournament’s fifth birthday. Unsurprisingly, all these events have been massive and their champions padded their bankrolls with mega prizes.
Luke “Bdbeatslayer” Vrabel won the fifth anniversary Sunday Million after an unprecedented nine-way chop. Vrabel walked away with $671,094 in cash, a brand new Lamborghini Gallardo, and the victory as part of that deal. This was the last Sunday Million anniversary edition featuring American players because Black Friday happened a month later, changing the online poker landscape as we knew it.
The first seven-figure top prize from a Sunday Million Anniversary came as PokerStars celebrated eight years of running the tournament. Again, the battle ended in a deal, this time involving two German players. The deal left $160,000 for the eventual champion, and “DrUPSWING” got their hands on this extra cash for a total prize worth $1,038,540) after beating Fabio “hdjgkfgsdl” Sperling heads-up.
The honor of the largest Sunday Million Anniversary event came in 2020 the 14th such tournament. Online poker was enjoying something of a renaissance with players worldwide locked down due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some 93,016 players bought in, and Alex “AAAArthur” Brito outlasted them all to secure $1,192,802 after a four-way deal, doing so having won his seat via an $11 satellite; what an incredible ROI!
| Anniversary Edition | Entrants | Prize pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th | 59,128 | $11,825,600 | Luke “Bdbeatslayer” Vrabel | $671,094 |
| 6th | 33,732 | $6,746,400 | slyfox151 | $480,761 |
| 7th | 49,827 | $9,857,400 | Andrius “benislovas” Bielskis | $848,589 |
| 8th | 45,586 | $9,317,200 | DrUPSWING | $1,038,540 |
| 9th | 50,432 | $10,086,400 | Brayden “BRAYDEN93” Fritzshall | $597,720 |
| 10th | 55,059 | $11,011,800 | a.urli | $970,000 |
| 11th | 55,835 | $11,167,000 | Xavi666 | $1,093,204 |
| 12th | 43,975 | $10,000,000 | Luis “Hulk9950” Felipe | $960,000 |
| 13th | 61,342 | $12,268,400 | wangli0402 | $611,944 |
| 14th | 93,016 | $18,603,200 | Alex “AAAArthur” Brito | $1,192,802 |
| 15th | 69,876 | $13,975,200 | Vanessa “Niffller” Kade | $1,514,920 |
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Enjoy the 16th Anniversary Sunday Million With a $600 Bonus
New depositing PokerStars customers can claim a welcome bonus worth up to $600. Download PokerStars via PokerNews, create your free account, and decide how much you want to deposit. Your deposit is matched 100% up to $600 in the form of a bonus. In fact, your first three deposits in the first 60-days after making your first deposit are matched up to a combined total of $600.
The bonus releases into your playable balance in $10 increments each time you generate 180 redemption points, which in turn are earned at a rate of five per $1 contributed to the cash game rake or spent on tournament fees (6.5 points per £1, 5.5 points per €1, and four points per CAD$).