This past weekend, PokerStars hosted its 15th edition of the Sunday Million Anniversary Event. It is hard to believe that the event has been around for 15 years, but time flies by quickly. It was expected that the weekend event would be a big one, with $12.5 million in prize money up for grabs. After the tournament ended, over 69,000 players get in on the action, pushing the prize pool to over $13 million!
Details of the Event
The event had the second-largest turnout in PokerStars history and was the fifth largest event when you consider the prize money on offer. After the late registration process closed, it was discovered that 69,876 individuals competed in the tournament, creating a huge prize pool of $13,975,200!
Last year, the event was a bit larger, with just over 93,000 players competing. Back then, the prize pool pushed over $18.6 million. That anniversary competition saw such a huge turnout because it took place at the height of the pandemic. More people were taking advantage of online poker at that time.
This time around, players had the ability to take part in satellites to earn a seat to the event as well as earn entries via ticket giveaways. Plenty of players took part in the lower cost options to earn their way into the special anniversary event. The poker room has promoted the event heavily for several weeks so players would be ready to get in on the action.
Before Day 2 began, PokerStars offered up several satellites. Players could take part in freerolls at no cost or low-stakes options at just $5.50. SNG options were also offered with seats up for grabs. Players who wanted to buy-in directly and skip the satellite competition could pay $215 to compete.
Huge Growth
PokerStars first launched the Sunday major in March 2006 and offered up a $1 million prize pool. Players took to the event quickly and the tournament was soon a staple. It would take a few months before the event would gain the name Sunday Million.
By 2007, the first anniversary event took place with just over 10,500 players competing. The event then just continued to climb from there. By the 4th anniversary, the prize pool was boosted to $4 million. At that time, the field was so large, at over 36,000 players, that a massive $7.2 million in prize money was generated.
Since 2015, the event has surpassed the $10 million prize pool mark. It was set to have a $9 million prize pool that year, but enough players competed to reach the $10 million mark. Each year, the online poker room set the prize pool at $10 million and it was easily reached.
Players continue to sign up each go round to compete in the massive event due to its popularity as well as value. It will be interesting to see who takes the first place finish this year and just how much they earn thanks to the supercharged prize pool of well over $13 million!
