The PokerStars Stars Season keeps marching towards its thrilling December 1 finale. During the past week, 13 PokerStars players have become champions, while one grinder took down two Stars Season episodes in the space of an hour. Here's what went down over the past few days.
The $109 Sunday Million Progressive Knockout attracted 9,990 entrants, leaving PokerStars nursing a slight overlay on the $1 million guaranteed prize pool. $500,000 was split and placed on the head of each entrant, with the remaining $500,000 awarded to the top 1,663 finishers.
Two PokerStars ambassadors were among the entrants: Laurie "LaliTournier" Tournier and Sebastian "peace&loove" Huber. Neither player cashed, but both won at least one bounty before busting.
All but one of the nine finalists locked in a five-figure haul, with bounties included. The final table had an Eastern European feel, with a trio of Polish players joined by two Ukrainians, a Belarusian, and a Romanian. A Swede and a Brazilian were also present and correct.
The two PokerStars stars who navigated their way to heads-up had been busy eliminating foes left, right, and center, resulting in both guaranteeing themselves over $13,000 worth of scalps.
After the final hand was dealt, Belarus' "asdAK1" had all the chips in play, resulting in $70,324 landing in their PokerStars account. Brazil's "cauee_am" was the runner-up, a finish worth $66,021.
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | asdAK1 | Belarus | $17,706 | $52,618 | $70,324 |
| 2 | cauee_am | Brazil | $13,412 | $52,609 | $66,021 |
| 3 | pAArich | Poland | $4,507 | $39,188 | $43,695 |
| 4 | yasmin3fx3 | Sweden | $8,235 | $26,869 | $35,104 |
| 5 | Alegator333 | Ukraine | $2,633 | $18,871 | $21,504 |
| 6 | JarczykPL | Poland | $2,341 | $12,882 | $15,223 |
| 7 | haideee | Romania | $5,272 | $9,076 | $14,348 |
| 8 | sauvage616 | Ukraine | $4,864 | $6,441 | $11,305 |
| 9 | Michael 2048 | Poland | $2,830 | $4,584 | $7,414 |
Several notable players took down PokerStars Stars Season episodes last week, including Russia's Andrey "ThePateychuk" Pateychuk. Aside from the Sunday Million champion, Pateychuk was the biggest winner, scooping $24,287 for his victory in the $1,050 NLHE Thursday Thrill, which Sam "SamSquid" Grafton hosted.
Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph deserves a special mention thanks to winning two episodes in the space of an hour. Rudolph came out on top in the $109 NLHE Daily Cooldown for $8,200 and less than 60-minutes later became the champion of the $1,050 NLHE Daily Cooldown for an additional $7,171.
| Episode | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #17-L: $11 NLHE Monday Mystery | 9,227 | $90,424 | ranyan44594 | $5,823* |
| #17-M: $82 NLHE Monday Mystery | 2,356 | $176,700 | 73panamera73 | $13,765* |
| #17-H: $215 NLHE Monday Mystery | 986 | $200,000 | Mcds2k18 | $17,935* |
| #18-L: $11 NLHE Thursday Thrill | 5,723 | $56,085 | GuiCP | $5,519* |
| #18-M: $109 NLHE Thursday Thrill | 1,179 | $117,900 | CatfishBillyMan | $14,268* |
| #18-H: $1,050 NLHE Thursday Thrill | 107 | $107,000 | Andrey "ThePateychuk" Pateychuk | $24,287* |
| #19-L: $11 NLHE Daily Cooldown | 2,582 | $25,303 | Gonop7 | $2,685* |
| #19-M: $109 NLHE Daily Cooldown | 435 | $43,500 | Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph | $8,200* |
| #19-H: $530 NLHE Daily Cooldown | 45 | $22,500 | Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph | $7,171* |
| #20: $109 NLHE Sunday Million PKO | 9,990 | $1,000,000 | asdAK1 | $70,324* |
| #21: $11 NLHE Sunday Storm | 14,258 | $139,728 | gwaltikrk | $11,108* |
| #22-L: $11 NLHE Monday Mystery | 7,972 | $78,125 | FloriaBogdan55 | $4,876* |
| #22-M: $82 NLHE Monday Mystery | 1,787 | $134,025 | BetForNympho | $10,116* |
| #22-H: $530 NLHE Mystery Bounty | 701 | $150,000 | RRagazzo | $12,849* |
*includes bounty payments
This week's action sees the Stars Season episode count reach 26 as the season is in its penultimate week. On November 19, Sebastian "peace&loove" Huber hosts a trio of Bounty Builder episodes. In addition to his standard bounty, eliminating Huber sees you receive a special Spraggy throwable, entry to an All-In Shootout with a $2,500 New Year Series Silver Pass up for grabs, and a $109 entry to the $1.25 million Stars Season Finale on December 1.
| Date | Time (GMT) | Episode | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 19 Nov | 5:30 p.m. | #23-L: $5.50 NLHE Bounty Builder | $20,000 |
| 5:30 p.m. | #23-M: $55 NLHE Bounty Builder | $125,000 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | #23-H: $530 NLHE Bounty Builder | $60,000 | |
| Wed 20 Nov | 9:02 p.m. | #24-L: $11 NLHE Fenomeno | $20,000 |
| 9:02 p.m. | #24-M: $109 NLHE Fenomeno | $50,000 | |
| Sun 24 Nov | 6:05 p.m. | #25: $109 NLHE Sunday Million Mystery Bounty | $1,000,000 |
| 7:00 p.m. | #26: $11 NLHE Sunday Storm | $100,000 |
The Stars Season Finale serves as the season's Main Event, and it will be huge. Cards are in the air from 6:05 p.m. GMT on December 1, with each entrant sitting down with 50,000 chips. Day 1 ends seven hours and 50 minutes after the start, with surviving players returning to the action at 6:05 p.m. GMT on December 2 to conclude the $1.25 million guaranteed event.
