Frugtplukker was the final table bubble boy, collecting $5,294 for 10th place when his pocket eights couldn't hold up. Witcherd came into the final table with the biggest stack, but pocktnizzles and Supa4real were also stacked deep as the final nine consolidated to play for the big money.

Almost as soon as the final table started, it was time for one of the tournament's scheduled breaks. After a quick five-minute pit stop, short stack jouby44 picked up his namesake hand in late position and moved all in with [4s]-[4c]. Brianm15 defended his big blind with [Ah]-[9d], and the race was on. That race ended in 9th place for jouby44 as the flop came down [7c]-[Ac]-[6h] to give brianm15 top pair and leave jouby44 drawing thin to say alive. The turn and river brought no help as they came down [Th]-[Ts], and jouby44 was the first elimination from the final table, picking up $7,059.21 for 9th place.

Jordie1982 went out in 8th place in very unlucky fashion after getting all his chips in as a big favorite over brianm15. After action folded around to his button, Jordie open-shoved with [Ah]-[Qc]. Brianm15 made the call from the small blind with [Kd]-[Qs], and Jordie1982 looked poised for a double up, especially when the flop came down [8s]-[2s]-[6c]. The [7s] on the turn gave Brianm15 a few more outs to the flush, but it was the [Kc] on the river that shipped the pot Brian's way, leaving Jordie1982 out in 8th place ($11,030.01).

It was turning into a night of nasty river cards, and BillieD was the next victim to be washed away when he ran afoul of chip leader witcherd. On the short stack, BillieD open-shoved with [Qs]-[Qd], and super stack witcherd defended his small blind with [Ks]-[5s]. The flop was harmless, coming down [9h]-[Ad]-[6h], and the [8h] on the turn was no help to either player. But the river peeled off the [Kh], giving witcherd the bigger pair, and the last of BillieD's stack as well. BillieD picked up $19,854.01 to soothe the pain of the bad beat.

Witcherd claimed another victim when his [6s]-[6h] not only held up against kingsofcards all-in, but actually improved significantly along the way. Kingsofcards moved all in for a huge preflop raise from the cutoff with [4c]-[4s], and witcherd called from the small blind with sixes. If kingsofcards was in trouble preflop, the [6c]-[Jc]-[8h] left him drawing to running perfect cards to stay alive. None of those running perfect scenarios included the [9d], so when that peeled off on the turn, the king was dethroned and drawing dead. The river was a meaningless [Jd], and kingsofcards was done in 6th place ($28,678.01). After that hand, witcherd's chip stack was nearly twice that of his nearest opponent.

That chip stack got even healthier when witcherd busted his third opponent in quick succession, this time taking out bboooommmmmm in 5th place ($37,502.01). Action folded around to bboooommmmmm, who moved all in preflop from the small blind with [Ah]-[8c]. Witcherd quickly called with [Ad]-[10c], and the chip leader was once again in the driver's seat with an opponent all in. The flop of [As]-[7h]-[Qd] did nothing to change the preflop standings, and when the turn and river came down [3c]-[Qs], it was all over for bboooommmmmm. The remaining four players took a moment to discuss a deal, and after lengthy negotiations came to the following guaranteed money: brianm15 locked up $75,000 even, with pocktnizzles securing $77,484.15. Supa4real claimed $88,000.00, and chip leader witcherd picked up a guaranteed $113,400.00, with $10,000 left for the eventual winner. With the deal in place, the four remaining players settled in to battle for the remaining ten grand the all-important bragging rights.

The play was slower than normal once a deal was in place, but after a few orbits of probing and folding, pocktnizzles and witcherd squared off for one last fight. Pocktnizzles opened for a raise from the cutoff with [8h]-[7d], and witcherd three-bet from the button with [Qc]-[Jc]. The other players got out of the way, and pocktnizzles moved all in over the top. Witcherd made the call, and his overcards improved to a flush draw on the [5s]-[2c]-[3c] flop. The Ks on the turn was no help for either player, and witcherd still led with his unpaired high cards. The [Ac] on the river made his flush, and pocktnizzles was done in 4th place with his $77,484.15 payday.

Brianm15 managed to double through witcherd twice with three players left to move into a solid second place, as Supa4real saw his chip stack begin to dwindle. After a series of raises and re-raises, the last of Supa4real's stack went in on a flop of [8d]-[6d]-[8s]. Supa4real was holding [Kh]-[7s], but brianm15 had flopped two pair with [7h]-[6h] and made the call. The turn and river came down [5s]-[6s] to give brianm15 the full house and the chip lead as he bounced Supa4real in 3rd place, good for $88,000 after the deal.
Tides had certainly turned for brianm15, who was last in chips with four players left. He went into heads-up play with the chip lead, and it took just a few minutes for him to finish off his penthouse to outhouse story and lock up the extra $10,000 by booting witcherd in 2nd place. The final hand looked like this:

Brianm15 opened for a raise from the button, witcherd three-bet, and brianm15 called. The flop came down [4h]-[2s]-[5c], and witcherd led out. Brianm15 made the call, and the [3s] hit the turn. Both players checked, and fireworks erupted on the [Kh] river. Witcherd checked, brianm15 led out, and witcherd check-raised all in with [Qh]-[5d] for top pair on the flop. Brianm15 quickly called with [Ad]-[9c], showing the turned straight for the pot and the tournament win! With the extra $10,000 for winning the tournament, brianm15 secured an $85,000 payday, while witcherd still ended up with $113,400 for his work in the tournament. Congratulations to all our final table players and everyone who cashed in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!

After a brief hand-for-hand period, the final table kicked off with Payacan and Blue Knight1 holding the biggest stacks. Szusza84 was the final table bubble boy, busting with top pair against a flush to claim $4,693.21 for 10th place. Prezidento barely lasted long enough to hear Greg "Fossilman" Raymer's welcoming remarks before he busted in 9th place ($6,257.61) in a huge hand against Dsavo. Coming into the final table the shortest of the short stacks, Prezidento open-shoved from early position with [Ad]-[Qc]. Dsavo woke up in the big blind with [Ac]-[Ah], and snap-called. Prezidento was behind and stayed that way as the final board ran out [As]-[5d]-[8s]-[2c]-[Jd]. Dsavo's top set was good, and then there were eight.

Columbian80% found himself running on fumes with barely 2 big blinds left, so when the action folded around to his button, he shipped it in with [Kd]-[2h]. El Tiltor decided it was his turn to wake up with a monster in the big blind, and called with [As]-[Kh]. The flop of [7c]-[7s]-[5c] helped neither player, and the [Td] on the turn left Columbian80% drawing for three outs. The [Ad] was the furthest thing from help he could have found, and his tournament was over in 8th place ($9777.51).

Faster than you can say "wait a minute, I'm still typing over here!" the field lost another competitor as kiehndk went to the rail in 7th place ($17,599.51). All the money went in preflop, as kiehndk open-shoved from the button with [Kc]-[9d]. Big stack Payacan thought for a moment before making the call with [Ad]-[Ts], but when the flop came down [Td]-[3d]-[6h], it was a great move. The [6d] on the turn gave Payacan the nut flush draw to go with top pair, but the river was an irrelevant [Qc] as Payacan sent kiehndk packing.

The pace of play slowed not a bit as players came back from break to see the next elimination on the very first hand. Blue Knight1 raised from the small blind with [As]-[Ts], and saufar moved all in over the top. Blue Knight1 thought for a moment before making the call, and found out he was in great shape when saufar tabled [Ks]-[9s]. The flop hit both players as it came down [9d]-[Tc]-[3h], but Blue Knight1 had top pair, top kicker and a huge lead in the hand. Top pair held up as the turn and river came down [8h]-[6h], and saufar fell in 6th place for $25,421.51.

El Tiltor was the next to fall when he moved all in preflop with [Qd]-[Js] and got one caller in Blue Knight1 with [Kc]-[Qs]. The board ran out a singularly unhelpful [2d]-[5d]-[Ts]-[9h]-[Th], and El Tiltor was El-iminated in 5th place ($33,243.51). After dropping most of his stack to calvo1989 when he ran [Ad]-[9h] into calvo1989's [Ah]-[Qs], Blue Knight1 was running on fumes when he put the last of his chips in the middle of the table preflop. In his final hand, Blue Knight1 found all his cookies in the middle of the table after calvo1989 raised preflop, Payacan called from the small blind, and Blue Knight1 moved in for the last of his stack from the big blind. Both opponents called, and the live players checked down the [4s]-[Qs]-[Jc]-[6c]-[7h] board. Payacan showed [Ac]-[7d], and Blue Knight1 mucked, picking up $44,976.51 for 4th place.

Just as talks of a deal were starting, a huge hand broke out between the two big stacks. When the dust settled, there was one less big stack after this monster hand.

Dsavo earned a very respectable $64,531,51 for his 3rd-place finish, and the two survivors took a moment to come to a deal. After looking at the numbers, the two remaining players agreed on a chop which gave Payacan $107,352.35 and calvo1989 $96,970.47, with $10,000 left in the middle for the eventual champion. With the details taken care of, the players returned to their corners and came out swinging for the last $10K.

Payacan took a 3:1 chip lead into heads up play, and it wasn't long before the final outcome was decided. Payacan lost the chip lead in huge hand early in heads up play, and the whole confrontation lasted less than fifteen minutes. Finally, it all came down to a coin flip and the river card, as the final hand unfolded like this -

Calvo1989 came from behind in dramatic fashion at the final table to take down the whole enchilada, including the $96,970 from the chop and the extra $10K left for the winner, making his total take $106,970.47. Congratulations to calvo1989 on a spectacular final table performance and a great come-from-behind victory!

It was certainly a case of the rich getting richer on the final table bubble, as hwtd1's pocket aces held up on a king-high board to boot short-stacked Charibert to the rail in 10th place when his top pair wasn't quite good enough. Hwtd1 was the dominant chip leader before that hand, and after it came into the final table with a massive 14 million in chips, more than double the stack of his nearest competitor.

The action kicked off right from the start at the final table, with hwtd1's huge stack translating into several short stacks around the table. Two of them tangled on one of the very first hands, and a cruel river washed away dan82mur in 9th place ($6,544). All the money went in preflop, as chip leader hwtd1 raised from middle position. MellowGold11 smooth-called from the button, but dan82mur moved all in from the small blind. Hwtd1 got out of the way, but mellowGold11 made the call with [Ac]-[Qs], only to find dan82mur holding [Ad]-[Kc]. The [7d]-[Ah]-[9h] flop left mellowGold11 drawing slim, and the [5c] on the turn was no help. The river brought the [Qd], giving mellowGold11 the three-outer he needed, and dan82mur was done.

It was just a couple of hands later when the next victim fell, this time at the hands of Bassduck. This time the best preflop hand held up as Bassduck opened for a raise with Ah-Qc. Prallimall moved all in over the top with Ad-Jd, and was dominated when Bassduck made the call. The flop pretty much sealed the deal, as Bassduck made top pair on the [7h]-[Qh]-[5c] board. With no flush draw available, prallimall was drawing dead after the [3h] turn, so the [Jc] on the river was just adding insult to injury as prallimall retired in 8th place ($10,225).

Faster than a typing blogger, the field shrunk again as powerle and haneferd tangled in a huge confrontation that left the game seven-handed. As was the case in most of our bustout hands, all the money went in preflop, as powerle open-shoved with [As]-[Th]. He was in deep trouble when haneferd snap-called with [Ad]-[Ah]. The outcome was pretty standard, as the board ran out [8s]-[Ac]-[Td]-[8d]-[8h] to give both players a full house. Haneferd's yacht proved the bigger boat to powerle's dinghy, and powerle was done in 7th place ($18,405).

Eventual champ mellowgold11 claimed another victim when he busted Paulmclean23 in 6th place ($26,585) to move ever closer to the chip lead. Hwtd1 raised preflop and got action from mellowGold1, Bassduck and Paulmclean23, and then the fireworks went off on the [7d]-[2s]-[4s] flop. Bassduck led out, Paulmclean raised, hwtd1 got out of the way, and then mellowGold11 moved all in over the top! Paulmclean23 quickly called all in for less, and Bassduck decided discretion was the better part of valor and got out of the way. Paulmclean23 held the lead with [4c]-[2c] for two pair, but mellowGold11 had [As]-[Qs] for the nut flush draw. The turn brought the [Ts] to complete mellowGold11's flush, and Paulmclean was drawing to four outs. The [Kh] on the river wasn't one of those outs, and his tournament was over.

Bassduck came back from break on the short stack, and it only took a few hands for all his chips to end up in the middle of the table. After a button raise from mellowGold11, Bassduck shipped it in with pocket sevens. MellowGold11 had a real hand, and made the easy call with two queens. Nothing out of the ordinary happened on the [Ac]-[6h]-[Kh]-[5d]-[Th] board, and Bassduck picked up $34,765 for 5th place.

It took next to no time for the first pile of eliminations to come to pass, but it took almost an hour for the field to shrink the next spot, as hwtd1 came from behind to send happyfister packing in 4th place ($47,035). All the money went in preflop, as hwtd1 moved all in with [As]-[Tc] and happyfister snap-called with [Kd]-[Ks]. The flop was ugly for happyfister, coming out [Qh]-[Ad]-[5c], and happyfister needed one of two outs to stay alive. It was not to be, as the turn and river came down [5s]-[Th] to cut the field to three.
That hand gave the chip lead back to hwtd1, who had lost it earlier in the final table. His aggression unabated, hwtd1 took out haneferd in 3rd place ($67,485) a few hands later. It was hwtd1 who put the final nail in the coffin, but mellowGold11 did all the heavy lifting, decimating haneferd's stack in this huge hand.

With the chip lead firmly in hwtd1's hands going into heads up play, it was time for the final break of the night. The players came back from break to play a tremendous back and forth heads up match, with lead changes coming every few minutes as one player would pull away, only to fall prey to a big hand that didn't go his way. Finally, after one of the longest heads up matches I've seen in a Sunday Warm-Up, and with no talk of a deal ever kicking off, mellowGold11 took the chip lead for the final time. The final hand was as exciting as they come, starting off as a coin flip, then the pendulum swinging one way, then a massive two-outer to send all the chips in the other direction. Check out this craziness -

When the dust settled, mellowGold11 came from behind to knock out hwtd1 in 2nd place ($95,706) and claim the whopping $128,426 top prize. Congrats to our top two finishers on a phenomenal heads up match, and congratulations to all our final table players in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!

The balance of power at the final table started off a little lopsided, as Aguskb took a massive chip lead into the final nine. Aguskb came into the final table with more than 13 million in chips, with his nearest competitor sitting around 8 million. The action was tentative at first, as the players settled into full table action again. But before long the bets started to fly and the field started to thin.

The first bustout of the final table came in a soul-crushing hand. Jane Smith opened for a raise and blend84 moved all in over the top. Action folded back around to Jane Smith, who called with [Jh]-[9h]. Blend84 tabled [Ac]-[Kc], and promptly flopped top pair on a board of [Ad]-[2d]-[Js]. Jane Smith needed a jack or a nine to bust blend84, and the turn obliged by dropping the [9d] onto the table. The river was the unhelpful [5c], and blend84 was done in 9th place ($6,884.81).

Another gut-wrenching come from behind hand sent ILANI7 to the rail in 8th place ($10,757.51). The micro-stacked ILANI7 moved all in preflop with [Ac]-[9h], and UNCGuy made the call from the small blind with[Ks]-[9s]. The flop came down gin for UNCGuy as he hit two pair on the [Jc]-[Kc]-[9d] board. ILANI7 had a backdoor flush draw, but the [4h] on the turn left him drawing to just an ace. The [5s] on the river was no good, and UNCGuy dunked ILANI7 in 8th place.

Just when you were starting to think that bad beats were the theme of the final table, that idea was reinforced by dippedydawg's bustout hand. Dippedydawg raised preflop with [Qd]-[Qh], and HEMIpowerSW moved all in over the top with [7d]-[7h]. Dominated not only by pips but also in suits, things weren't looking good for HEMIpowerSW. The all-heart flop of [3h]-[Jh]-[Kh] didn't make anything any better, nor did the [5s] on the turn. But the river delivered the [7c], hitting one of HEMIpowerSW's two outs, and sending dippedydawg to the rail in 7th place ($19,363.51).

Finally, after three bustouts, the best hand preflop held up in an all in confrontation. Daddddymufff open-raised with [8d]-[8h] from the cutoff, and Wackworm moved all in over the top from the small blind. Everyone got out of the way, and Daddddymufff made the call. Wackworm had outs with the [Ac]-[8c], but none of them came on the [Jc]-[2s]-[Td]-[Jd]-[5d] board, and Wackworm was whacked in 6th place ($27,969.51).

UNCGuy found himself on the short stack and got the last of his chips in with [Ad]-[2c]. HEMIpowerSW called with [Kc]-[Js], and it was a coin flip for UNCGuy's tournament life. UNCGuy held a slight lead after the [Qh]-[6d]-[Tc] flop, but the [Kd] on the turn moved the needle over to HEMIpowerSW's side. The river brought the [9h]; filling HEMIpowerSW's straight and sending UNCGuy home in 5th place ($36,575.51). Just moments later the field went from four to three as Aguskb took out Jane Smith in 4th place ($48,623.91) when his [9s]-[9h] held up against Jane Smith's [As]-[Js] on a board of [Ts]-[5h]-[3c]-[2c]-[3h]. Jane Smith lost the coin flip, but pocketed nearly $50K for a great tournament run!

The chip stacks were close in size to start three-handed play, and none of the three remaining players seemed in a hurry to commit their entire stack. They traded pots back and forth until the following hand leveled a knockout blow for HEMIpowerSW.

HEMIpowerSW picked up a respectable $70,999.51 for the day's work, and Daddddymufff took a 2:1 chip lead into heads up play. But as we know, it only takes one misstep for the momentum to swing, and Aguskb picked his spot and doubled through Daddddymufff to reclaim the chip lead. The back and forth of heads up continued for some time before this massive hand took place.

With a chip lead nearing 6:1, the final outcome was pretty well set. It was only a matter of time before Aguskb's chip lead proved too much for Daddddymufff. In the final hand, Daddddymufff open-shoved with [9s]-[2s]. Aguskb called with [Kc]-[Qs], and hit a king on the [8s]-[7c]-[Kd] flop. The [9c] on the turn gave Daddddymufff a little help, but the [Ad] on the river couldn't save him. Daddddymufff picked up $100,259.91 for second place as Aguskb finished the final table where he started off - with all the chips. First place was good for a whopping $135,010.93 as Aguskb took down all comers in the Sunday Warm-Up!
Congratulations to Aguskb on his great victory, and congrats as well to all our final table players!

It certainly seems like big live tournaments don't do any harm to the turnout in the PokerStars Guaranteed Tournaments. While PokerStars qualifiers made up a significant portion of the field in the World Series of Poker Main Event, going on right now in Las Vegas, there were still plenty of players willing to take their shot at the huge guarantees available every week on PokerStars, as both the Sunday Warm-Up and Sunday Million exceeded their guaranteed payouts yet again. 3,884 players turned out for the Sunday Warm-Up, well exceeding the guarantee and creating a $776,800 prize pool. The top 585 finishers got paid, with devinr12 going wire-to-wire in a two-hour endurance test of a final table, finally taking down $107,418.95 after a three-way deal.

The final table bubble seemed interminable for the big stacks, as short stacks tightened up, chopped pots and doubled through to stay alive. But finally hwtd1 busted in 10th place ($4,660.81) and the final table was set. That was all the news short stack xthesteinx needed, and he shipped the last of his chips in on the first hand of the final table with [Ac]-[8h]. Chip leader devinr12 called with [Kd]-[Jc], and the board kept things exciting until the very end. With the ace high on a flop of [3d]-[4d]-[Qc], xthesteinx looked poised for a double up, but running diamonds on the turn and river gave the flush to devinr12 and sent xthesteinx home in 9th place ($6,214.41).

Just a couple of hands later mannefredo, who had been on life support for the entire hand-for-hand period, put the last of his stack in the middle with [5c]-[5s]. Portokali29 called with [Qh]-[Js] from the big blind, and flopped the joint to leave mannefredo looking for running boat or quad cards. The flop came down [Ad]-[Ts]-[Kh] to make Broadway for portokali29, and when the [8d] hit the turn, mannefredo was drawing dead. The river was the meaningless [Jd], and mannefredo worked his short stack ninja magic all the way to a 9,710.01 payday for 8th place.

Proving the old adage that fortune favors the bold, chip leader devinr12 busted wineguytx in 7th place ($17,478.01) with a bold call. Wineguytx open-shoved from under the gun with [Ad]-[Jd] and not much more than three big blinds to his name. Action folded around to devinr12 in the big blind, and he defended with [Ah]-[7d]. All was going swimmingly for wineguytx on the [Qs]-[Kh]-[5d] flop, and the [3h] turn did nothing to take his lead away. Of course, since we're writing about the hand, you know what landed on the river: the [7c]. Devinr12 extended his chip lead as wineguytx headed to the rail in brutal fashion.
The bustout of UGOTPZD in 6th place ($25,246.01) could easily be entitled "when big hands attack." Check out this clash of the titans:

With that huge pot devinr12 once again moved to more than double his nearest opponent as the field went to five-handed. Metatron1 moved into second place when he busted clems105 in 5th place ($33,014.01). Clems105 moved all in preflop from under the gun with [Kd]-[Qh], and Metatron1 moved all in over the top to isolate with [Ah]-[6d]. The flop missed both players as it came down [4d]-[5s]-[Ts], but Metatron1 solidified his lead when a truly angelic [Ad] hit the turn. Clems105 was looking for a jack on the river to stay alive, but the [9d] landed instead, and then there were four.

Portokali29 scooped a massive pot against Metatron1 to move into second place and leave Metatron1 on life support. Metatron1 managed one double up, but busted in 4th place ($44,666.01) a few hands later. He got his last few chips in the middle with live cards holding [8d]-[7h] against Polo Mint's [Ad]-[6d], and flopped a big draw on the [2s]-[Ts]-[9s] board. The [2h] was the useless turn card, and the [Ac] on the river sealed the deal as Metatron1 missed his straight draw to bust in fourth.

The tournament then paused as the final three players talked about a deal, with the experienced devinr12 taking the lead in the negotiations. After a lengthy period of negotiations and some serious higher math, a deal was reached that gave chip leader devinr12 $97,418.95, runner up portokali29 $88,558.09 and Polo Mint $80,952.19. With $10,000 left on the table for the eventual winner, the cards went back in the air.

The three remaining players battled it out for that last $10K like champs, and it took quite a while before Polo Mint succumbed in 3rd place ($80,952.10). After a series of back and forth raises, Polo and devinr12 got it all in preflop, with Polo Mint's [As]-[Qs] dominated by devinr12's [Ad]-[Ks] The board ran out [5s]-[5h]-[8d]-[7c]-[Kd] to give devinr12 two pair and a sizable chip lead going into heads up play.

The players battled back and forth for quite a while, with portokali29 doubling through to take the chip lead, then devinr12 returning the favor to reclaim the top spot. Finally, all the chips went in on the river in one final huge confrontation, and it was all over.

Portokali29 put up a great fight, but in the end it wasn't enough to overcome the chip lead and experience of devinr12, but $88,558.09 will go a long way towards salving the hurt of a second place finish. And after taking the lead going into the final table, and only losing it momentarily during the heads up match, devinr12 picked up $107,418.95 for taking down the Sunday Warm-Up. Congrats to our champ and to all the players who cashed in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!

Bethrea was the short stack going into the final table, and before the other players had their virtual seats warm, he was gone in 8th place ($18,000). Licha_Lopez opened up the action with a raise from the cutoff, and bethrea moved all in over the top. Licha_Lopez quickly called with [2d]-[2c], and bethrea showed [As]-[Kh] for the classic coin flip. The coin landed tails for bethrea as the flop came down [7c]-[6s]-[2s] to make a set for Licha_Lopez, and when the turn and river came down [Kc]-[6h], the field had quickly shrunk to seven.

With his elimination of bethrea, Licha_Lopez took over the top spot on the leader board, and the vast majority of the chips in play were gathered in the stacks of Licha_Lopez and jovdark6. Bachelor_80 made a move to catch the frontrunners when he took out SHAPKA4444 in 7th place ($32,250). Bachelor_80 raised preflop from the hijack with [Ah]-[Kc], and SHAPKA4444 defended his big blind with [7h]-[9s]. SHAPKA4444 shipped it in on the [7s]-[4d]-[Ad] flop, and bachelor_80 made the easy call with top pair, top kicker. The [8d] on the turn was no help to either player, and when the [Td] hit the river, there were six survivors.

How quickly things can turn around in a no limit hold'em tournament. Licha_Lopez looked like a lock on one of the top two spots early in the final table, but after a few tough double ups by the rest of the table, he found all his chips in the middle against Lileor99, and this time it was Licha_Lopez at risk. Lileor99 raised preflop from the button, and Licha_Lopez moved all in over the top. When Lileor99 made the call, it was another race, Lileor99 showed [9c]-[9d], and Licha_Lopez tabled [Ad]-[Tc]. The flop missed both players when it came down [5h]-[8s]-[4h], and when the next two streets brought running sevens, Lileor99's nines held to send Licha_Lopez to the rail in 6th place ($46,500) and move Lileor99 into a massive chip lead.

With the chip lead, Lileor99 turned into a chip magnet, busting bachelor_80 in 5th place ($61,500).

And then just a few minutes later Lileor99 took out blanconegro in 4th place ($79,500). Supernova blanconegro had done a fantastic job ducking and weaving through a final table where he was never a huge stack, but his luck came to an end against the steamroller of Lileor99. Blanconegro opened the action for a raise with [Kc]-[Qs], and Lileor99 three-bet with [Ah]-[Kh]. Blanconegro called, then all the money went in on the [9s]-[3d]-[Ks] flop. Blanconegro was dominated by Lileor99's Big Slick, and although he picked up a flush draw when the [2s] hit the turn, the [7c] on the river was no good and he was done in 4th place.

Teflon shaf was the shortest stack when the game reached four-handed, but he managed to hold on for an extra pay jump to lock up a nice six-figure payday. He got it all in preflop with [Kc]-[3c], and found a caller in Lileor99, who showed [Ad]-[7s]. The board missed both players as it came down [9s]-[8s]-[4c]-[4s]-[Qh], and Lileor99's ace-high was good to send Teflon shaf packing in 3rd place ($120,000).

Lileor99 took a monster chip lead into the heads up match, but one huge hand changed all that as jovdark6 doubled through and took the lead for the first time at the final table.

Lileor99 was not to be denied, though, and after a couple of chopped pots and one big double up, he was poised to make another run at the top money. He really moved up to make a game out of it when he cracked jovdark's aces with pocket sevens on a seven-high flop to retake the chip lead, although the two players were practically neck and neck and the chip lead would hinge on whoever took down each consecutive hand.

With the stacks virtually even, the players took a moment to discuss a deal, with almost $400,000 for the top two spots. With almost no hesitation, the players agreed to split the remaining money evenly and leave $30,000 for the winner, which would mean a $180,000 payday for each player (plus a few random dollars). After a few minutes of math on the part of the host, and the deal was sealed.

A few hands later jovdark6 reclaimed the chip lead, and then all the chips went in the middle for one last hand. Jovdark6 opened for a raise from the button, and Lileor99 moved all in over the top with [Jd]-[Td]. Jovdark6 called with [Ah]-[Tc], and Lileor99 needed help to stay alive. The flop of [Ks]-[Kd]-[Qd] gave Lileor99 an up and down straight draw, but jovdark6 faded the outs on the [6c] turn and the [7c] river to lock up the win and the bonus $30,000 for winning the whole enchilada.

When the dust settled, Lileor99 played an incredible final table and picked up over $180K for second place, while jovdark6 took down the whole thing and a $210,000 payday. Congratulations to all our final table players and to jovdark6 for a tourney well played!

With well over half a million dollars to play for, a chop proposal was quickly floated by the short stacks, and just as quickly shot down by the big stacks. Sleire came into the final table with a serious chip lead, over 20 million in chips, and he continued to chip up early with aggressive three-bets and continuation bets.

Derryk4real was the first victim of the final table, busting at the hands of big stack Attuned in 9th place ($12,485). Like so often happens, the real damage wasn't done in the final hand, but about two hands earlier, when derryj4real moved all in over the top of a preflop raise from Sleire with [Ad]-[Qd]. Derryk4real shoved from the button, and got one caller from Casameda in the small blind. Sleire got out of the way, and derryk4real got the bad news: he was dominated. Casameda tabled [As]-[Kd], and promptly hit a king on the flop. Derryk4real was left crippled, and it was just a matter of time before he ran into a stack that took him out, and Attuned was happy to help.

Some hands are just a cooler, and that's what happened to jokkee_apart in this hand. After building his stack into serious contention for a deep run, he ran into this:

Jokkee_apart took home $18,526.50 for 8th place, a pretty good salve for a tough loss.
On the very next hand the field went from seven to six as lippersen took a tough beat to finish in 7th place ($32,220). Lippersen shipped it in from under the gun with [Ac]-[Jh], and the action folded all the way back around to Attuned, who called from the small blind with [Ad]-[Th]. Things looked good for a lippersen double up, until the flop came down [5c]-[9c]-[Td]. Lippersen went from a huge preflop favorite to looking for three outs to stay alive, and when the turn and river ran out [7c]-[9d], he was done.

It was just moments later when fateileoni made a stand preflop against Attuned and busted in 6th place ($48,330). Attuned raised preflop from the cutoff, and fateileoni re-raised from the big blind. Attuned moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[Qh], and fateileoni made the call with [Jh]-[Js]. The hand looked like a classic race, but it was over almost before it began with a [7h]-[As]-[Ad] flop. The turn and river came down [Kc]-[9c], and then there were five.

The players took a brief break to discuss a deal, but the talks broke down and play resumed. XbensthemanX was the short stack after the deal talks fell apart, and he moved all in immediately following the restart. He shipped it in with [Ks]-[5h], and BeechSquad called with [4d]-[4h]. The flop took all the suspense out of the hand, as BeechSquad made bottom set on a [4s]-[Jh]-[Ac] board, and when the rest of the board ran out [7s]-[Qd], there were four survivors. XbensthemanX picked up $64,440 for his 5th-place finish. The remaining players took another look at the numbers, but the talks once again stalemated.

And once again on the first hand after the deal talks ended, another player busted. This time it was Casameda who put his short stack in the middle, and again it was BeechSquad who made the call. Casameda's pocket threes held a slight lead after the flop came down [9s]-[7c]-[8d], but BeechSquad's [Ad]-[Td] made an unbeatable straight on the [Jd] turn. The river was a meaningless [As], and Casameda was done in 4th place ($81,194.40).

The final three players agreed on a deal that left $30,000 on the table for the winner and split the remaining money like this: Sleire - $198,484.30, Attuned - $156,089.17, BeechSquad - $155,111.50. The players locked up their six-figure payouts, and came back to battle it out for $30,000, still no chicken feed!

Attuned made a good run at it, taking over the chip lead briefly from Sleire, but eventually his tournament ended in 3rd place ($156,089.17). After some moderate preflop raising, the flop came down [Js]-[2s]-[6d], and the fireworks went off. Attuned wasted no time in open-shoving with [Ad]-[2c], and Sleire wasted even less time in calling with [Ah]-[6h]. The turn and river brought running queens, and the heads up match for $30,000 was underway.

Sleire held a massive chip lead going into heads up play, and it took mere moments for it all to be over. Sleire put plenty of drama into the last hand, busting BeechSquad on the river to claim the extra $30,0000.

BeechSquad put on quite a show at the final table, and got his money in ahead, but in the end it wasn't enough, and he had to settle for second place and a $155,111.50 payday. Sleire held the chip lead for almost the entire final table, and took down the Sunday Million for a massive $228,484.30 top prize after the deal and the extra $30,000. Congratulations to our final table players, the 1,170 players who cashed this week, and the Sleire, who grabbed better than $200K for one long day's work!

The players wasted no time in throwing chips around, as the field went from nine to eight just moments after the final table kicked off. Sum1sgotmyID moved all in preflop with [8h]-[8d], and johnxfleming re-raised from the button to isolate with [Ah]-[Ks]. The flop put johnxfleming firmly in control as it came down [Ad]-[6d]-[As], and Sum1sgotmyID needed an eight to stay alive. The [Qc] on the turn was no help, and when the [Kh] hit the river, johnxfleming had filled up, and sum1sgotmyID became the first casualty of the final table. He picked up $6,724.81 for his 9th-place finish.

And keeping with the quick pace of the final table, mikkohanna busted in 8th place ($10,507.51) just a few hands later. Mikkohanna shipped it all in from the small blind with [Js]-[Tc] after the action folded around. GetItQuietly, suspecting a steal, made the call from the big blind with [Qh]-[4h]. The board ran out an less-than-helpful
[As]-[6c]-[4c]-[3s]-[5s], and GetItQuietly made a pair of fours to bust mikkohanna in 8th place.

Players came back from the first break of the final table to the 100,000/200,000/20,000 level, and it only took a few minutes for the field to thin even further. Chip leader Hobbes200 raised preflop from the cutoff, and Desideriu defended from the small blind to see a flop of [2h]-[7h]-[2s]. Desideriu open-shoved with [Jh]-[Th], and Hobbes200 called with [Ad]-[9h]. Hobbes200 faded the hearts as the turn and river came down [5d]-[Qd], and Desideriu was done in 7th place ($18,913.51).

Johnxfleming was the next to fall, moving all in preflop with [Qd]-[Jd] and finding a call from mement_mori in the small blind with [6h]-[6s]. The pocket sixes held on a board of [8d]-[3c]-[8h]-[Ts]-[8c], and mement_mori took over the chip lead. Johnxfleming picked up $27,319.51 for 6th place.

It was just seconds later when the field went to four-handed at the expense of JustNthrJack, who busted in 5th place ($35,725.51). JustNthrJack opened for a raise in the small blind, and found himself facing an all-in shove from GetItQuietly in the big blind. JustNthrJack made the call with [Kh]-[3h], and held a slight edge going into the flop over GetItQuietly's [Qd]-[Td]. The pendulum swung on the [8d]-[Jh]-[3d] flop, as JustNthrJack picked up bottom pair, but GetItQuietly grabbed a flush draw and an inside straight draw. The [4s] on the turn was no help to anyone, but the [Kd] on the river made the flush for GetItQuietly, and sent JustNthrJack packing.

The remaining four players gave your poor blogger just enough time to write up the last two bustouts before Hobbes200 reclaimed the chip lead by sending OBigO to the rail in 4th place ($47,493.91). All the money went in post-flop, and this was the brutal outcome.

Just a couple of hands later, GetItQuietly doubled through mement_mori to take over second place, and just a few hands later, mement_mori busted in 3rd place ($69,349.51) to set up the heads up match. Hobbes200 raised from the button, and GetItQuietly got quietly out of the way. Mement_mori moved all in with [4d]-[4h], and Hobbes200 quickly called with [5c]-[5d]. Presto was ahead, and the [3s]-[2h]-[9c] flop did nothing to change that. The [9h] on the turn gave both players two pair, but mement_mori was looking for a four on the river to stay alive. The [Qs] landed instead, and then there were two.

Hobbes200 took almost a 3:1 chip lead into heads-up play, but GetItQuietly was determined to make a match out of it. With the stacks deep and the blinds relatively small, there was plenty of play to be had, and within just a few minutes of heads up play, GetItQuietly had moved up to almost even in chips. And then, just as it looked like we were settling in for a long fight, GetItQuietly edged ahead in chips, and this massive hand occurred.

With nary a mention of a deal at the lightning-quick final table, Hobbes200 picked up $97,929.91 for his runner-up finish, while GetItQuietly came from a serous chip deficit entering heads up play to take down a monster $131,873.33 payday. Congrats to all our final table players and especially to our champ GetItQuietly, who can now make some serious noise after a six-figure payday.

Action kicked off hard and fast at the final table, with several all-in moves in the first orbit. No callers, and a double up by one short stack in the first few hands, and the players then settled in for the long haul. After losing a big hand early to double up pulse time, stockcar99 pushed all in several times finding no callers or doubling his short stack to stay alive before he finally ran afoul of Beund2 to become the first casualty of the final table. Stockcar99 put the last of his chips in the middle with pocket threes, and Beund2 called with Ad-Kh. The flop came down 8d-Qh-10s, and stockcar99 needed to fade more cards to stay alive. The Kd on the turn left him drawing to only two outs, and when the river brought the 7s stockcar99 was done in 9th place ($6,996.96).

The first one is always the hardest, so once stockcar99 busted, the floodgates opened. The very next hand saw djalminha move all in from the cutoff with Ac-7c, but wurevolution woke up with pocket tens in the big blind and made the easy call. The flop came down club-free, so when the board ran out Js-2d-2h-7d-6d djalminha was busted and the field was down to seven. Djalminha picked up $10,170 for his 8th-place finish.

MagicDeal went for the re-steal when he moved all in over the top of Farooo263, but found out that he had just shoved into pocket jacks with 7d-6s. Farooo263 made the call, but the flop of 4d-Qd-10d was pretty ugly for the diamond-less Farooo263. The 4h was no help to either player, but the 3d on the river made the four-flush for MagicDeal and sent Farooo263 packing in 7th place ($16,272).

Jacks gave and jacks tooketh away for MikeKB878. Just one hand after her doubled through MagicDeal when his pocket jacks held up against a big ace, he gave it all back to MagicDeal when his big ace couldn't crack MagicDeal's jacks. On the short stack, MikeKB878 shipped it in a couple of times until he found action from propell for the last time. MikeKB878 moved all in preflop with pocket fours, propell called with pocket fives, and when the board ran out 10c-Js-Qc-6s-9h MikeKB878 was done in 6th place for $24,408.00.

While I was watching the Steelers come from behind to take the lead in the last minute of a certain football game, propell lost a big coin flip to end his tournament in 5th place ($32,544.00). After knocking out several opponents, propel called MagicDeal's all in with Ad-Kd. MagicDeal tabled pocket eights, and the distinct lack of diamonds on the 2h-6h-10h flop left propell needing help to stay alive. MagicDeal had propell slightly covered, and when the 8h hit the turn, it was all over for propell. The 4d was the superfluous river card, and then there were four.

A deal was briefly discussed, but wurevolution had a massive chip lead and wasn't interested with four players remaining. He extended his lead even more when he took out Beund2 in 4th place on the very next hand. Wurevolution raised preflop with 7s-7d, and Beund2 moved all in over the top with Kh-5c. Wurevolution may have sniffed out a bluff attempt, or maybe he just was willing to gamble with his huge chip lead, but he made the call with his sevens. The cards were turned over, wurevolution saw that he was way ahead, and when the board ran out 8h-6s-5h-As-4h, wurevolution made a straight on the river and Beund2 was done in 4th place ($40,680.00).

Three-way action was tough, with MagicDeal and pulse time hanging in there against the huge stack of wurevolution, but finally wurevolution took out MagicDeal in 3rd place ($48,816.00). MagicDeal moved all in from the button with Kh-8h, wurevolution re-raised to isolate with As-Js, and the flop of 3d-10s-6s missed both players. Wurevolution picked up a flush draw to go with his live cards, but he didn't need any of them as the turn and river ran out Qc-3c to send MagicDeal packing.

Wurevolution took a huge chip lead into heads up play, but the Platinum Star pulse time was not going to go softly into the good night. With the tenacity of Santonio Holmes in the end zone, pulse time picked his spots and made a real match out of it heads-up. Heads up play started off slow, but turned into an epic duel, as pulse time refused to succumb to the big stack of wurevolution. After 20 minutes of back-and-forth play, the tourney came back from a break to move into the 11th hour of play.

But, as always happens, it came down to one big hand. Both players limped in to see a flop of 6h-Kd-5d, and wurevolution fired out a bet. Pulse time moved all in over the top with 8d-6s, and wurevolution quickly called with Ks-5c for top and bottom pair. Pulse time was drawing thin with middle pair, but picked up some outs on the 8s turn. Pulse time needed a six or an eight to double up, but the Qd on the river busted him in 2nd place ($73,224). After a tough heads up match, wurevolution took down the top spot with his flopped two pair for $105,768.00.

Congratulations to champion wurevolution and his heads up opponent pulse time for a classic final!

To be fair, it's not every week PokerStars gives its guarantees a shot in the arm, but it does seem like it's happen more often these days.

Just in to the PokerStars Blog newsroom, these new guarantees...kicking off tonight!

Tuesdays

19:55 -- Super Tuesday (Increasing from from $300,000 to $400,000)

Sundays

14:00 -- $109+R NL Hold'em (Increasing from $70,000 to $300,000)

15:00 -- Daily Eighty Grand (Increasing from $80,000 to $125,000)

17:00 -- $55 NL Hold'em (Increasing from $50,000 to $80,000)

17:30 -- $530 NL Hold'em (Increasing from $250,000 to $500,000)

19:00 -- $109 NL Hold'em (Increasing ffrom $50,000 to $100,000)

19:30 -- $109+R NL Hold'em (New guarantee--> $150,000)

21:00 -- $215+R NL Hold'em (Increasing from $200,000 to $250,000)

Oh, and if what we've been made to believe is true, you might want to check back here over the next few days for some more infomation on a very similar subject.

Enjoy!