"Hulk9950" Wins PokerStars 12th Anniversary Sunday Million for $960K

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Feb 06, 2018 5 min read Last updated Mar 26, 2018

It was 12 years ago when PokerStars decided to launch the weekly Sunday Million event, giving online players a chance to turn a relatively small investment into much, much more. Hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money later, PokerStars resolved to celebrate the Sunday Million��s 12th anniversary in style, guaranteeing a monstrous $10 million prize pool for just a $215 buy-in.

A total of 43,975 entries were tallied and with 9,701 being re-entries, that means 34,274 players took their shot at the $1.2 million scheduled first-place prize. The 7,334 in the money benefited from an overlay of more than $1.2 million.

Sunday��s play took the field down to 535 runners with Latvia��s ��LV_Arturs�� and Brazil��s ��ViDss�� leading the way. Those players returned Monday, and after another long day of online grinding, ��Hulk9950�� claimed the title along with $960,000 after a three-way deal.

Final Table Results

*denotes results of a three-way deal leaving $200,000 for the winner

A small-stakes player from Brazil, according to the PokerStars blog, ��Hulk9950�� started Day 2 in 21st place with more than 60 big blinds to work with. After hovering around average chips for around five hours of play to get down to two tables, ��Hulk9950�� got a key double up and never really looked back from there.

��Hulk9950�� three-bet shoved with ace-queen from the small blind, only to have ��FrCnnctn1960�� re-shove from the big blind with pocket kings. Tournament life on the line, ��Hulk9950�� found an ace on the flop and another on the river to stay alive and briefly take over the chip lead.

��Hulk9950�� regained that chip lead on the final table bubble and then picked up pocket tens on the button, facing an under-the-gun all-in shove from ��jeffzhang888�� who held ace-jack. Hulk re-raised to isolate and then eliminated the bubble when the board ran out clean. And the final table was set with the following chip distribution and blinds at 3M/6M/750K.

��Hulk9950�� extended the lead after defending the big blind against a 1.3 million chip-raise from ��kiwis1966�� two hands in. The pair checked 2?10?2? flop and then ��Hulk9950�� check-called a bet of 14.6 million on the K? turn. Hulk checked the Q? river, only to move all in after a bet of 22.9 million from kiwis, putting the latter to a decision for 101 million more chips. ��kiwis1966�� folded king-queen face-up and the big pot went to ��Hulk9950��.

Six hands later, ��oddscompile�� three-bet shoved all in with ace-jack in the hijack for an additional 17 million after a 13.2 million raise from ��moutsoun75�� in middle position with A?4?. After making the call, ��moutsoun75�� flopped the nuts when three clubs appeared on the board, and that was it for the Romanian player.

Next out was past Sunday Million finalist ��botteonpoker�� in eighth after jamming with ace-jack over an open min-raise from ��Hulk9950��, who called with the superior ace-queen and held.

Shortly after, a large three-way pot started with a 38.4 million-chip raise from ��FrCnnctn1960�� with ace-jack suited. The most accomplished player at the final, ��Sasuke234��, moved in for 51.5 million with pocket kings and ��zelikzelik8�� called with ace-queen suited in the big blind. ��Sasuke234�� tripled up after flopping top set and holding, while ��FrCnnctn1960�� took seventh place.

��zelikzelik8�� was left with 106 million after the three-way clash, and got it in shortly thereafter, raising nearly all in with king-jack and getting the rest in on a four-high flop. It was ��Hulk9950�� doing the dirty work again, calling down with ace-eight to send the sixth-place finisher to the rail.

Then, ��Sasuke234�� claimed another knockout after open-shoving with ace-nine suited on the button and getting called by ��kiwis1966�� in the small blind with pocket queens and the shorter stack. The ace-high flop sprung ��Sasuke234�� into the lead and ��kiwis1966�� was unable to catch up, exiting in fifth place.

A few hands later, ��moutsoun75�� moved all in for 69.9 million on the button. After ��Sasuke234�� flat-called in the small blind with pocket eights, Big Blind ��kapchin�� re-shoved for 274 million and ��Sasuke234�� got out of the way. A paired flop and a nine on the river improved ��kapchin�� to nines-full and ��moutsoun75�� was the fourth-place finisher.

Final Three Strike a Deal

With three left, a deal was made that saw each player lock up at least $640,000, leaving $200,000 additional for the eventual winner. Four hands later, ��Hulk9950�� limped in for 8 million in the small blind with ace-deuce and ��Sasuke234�� made it 24 million with pocket eights. That was met by an all-in shove, and ��Sasuke234�� called for 202 million chips with the best hand, only to see an ace on the flop end his bid for the title.

The heads-up match between ��Hulk9950�� (710 million chips) and ��kapchin�� (389 million) lasted longer than it took to get from nine down to two, which was only 45 minutes.

��kapchin�� put up a strong fight, taking over the lead at one point, but eventually losing it back to ��Hulk9950��, who then maintained around a two-to-one chip advantage over ��kapchin�� for a long stretch.

Then, ��kapchin�� limped in on the button with seven-eight and called a raise from ��Hulk9950�� who had pocket kings. ��kapchin�� made a pair of eights on the jack-high flop and shoved 178 million after ��Hulk9950�� led out. ��Hulk9950�� called, and after a safe turn, a seven landed on the river to give ��kapchin�� two pair and stay alive.

The tides seemed to be turning in favor of ��kapchin��, but ��Hulk9950�� went on to win 17 of the next 22 hands, including a 219 million chip-pot where ��Hulk9950�� defended the big blind with queen-six suited and check-called all three streets, showing down two pair, which was good against the ace-king suited of ��kapchin��.

Whittled down to around ten big blinds, ��kapchin�� shoved with queen-ten and ��Hulk9950�� called with ace-three. The king-high flop also contained a three, giving ��Hulk9950�� bottom pair, and that would prove plenty good to win the pot and close out the tournament for what is sure to be a life-changing victory for the Brazilian.

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