Before the rest of the table could catch their breath, all the chips were in the middle again as L C P open-shoved with [Kd]-[Qd]. His only opponent was Ansgar2000, holding the charmed hand du jour - pocket eights. Ansgar's [8c]-[8d] was good enough to send another competitor to the rail, however, as the board ran out [6h]-[9s]-[5s]-[Js]-[3d]. After two hands, and two coin flips, there were two fewer players at the table as LCP collected $12,450 for 8th place.

But the frenzy wasn't over yet, as Ramux and gaffel tangled in one last huge pot to kick off the final table. Ramux opened for a raise with [Kh]-[Qh], and made the call when gaffel moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[Js]. The flop brought a huge draw to Ramux, as it came down [3h]-[3s]-[7h], giving Ramux the flush draw to go with his live cards. The flush hit the turn on the form of the [Th], leaving gaffel drawing dead. The river was the irrelevant [Jc], and gaffel headed to bed with an extra $22,410 for 7th place in his bankroll.

With the breathtaking pace of the first few eliminations, the remaining six players decided to chat about a deal. The massive chip lead the Ramux had accumulated made the deal process difficult, but after some lengthy debate, a deal was reached that left $10,000 for the winner and locked up comfortable guarantees for everyone.

The deal locked up $129,163.73 for chip leader Ramux, while the second-place Ansgar2000 picked up $86,163.71. Hismoon nabbed $77,163.71 for his third-place stack, Method999 locked in $68,163.71, juda10 took down a guaranteed $66,163.71 and Feez0 grabbed $48,163.71 for his 6th-place stack. That left $10,000 for the eventual winner of the tournament, and play resumed.

After some jockeying for position at the final table and a few double-ups, the first big confrontation sent two players to the rail at once. Feez0 found himself on the extreme short stack and put his last few chips in the middle of the table as the big blind. Method999 raised from the button, and Ramux made the call from the small blind. The flop came down [9d]-[Ks]-[7h], and the rest of the chips went in the middle. Feez0 showed [Qs]-[4s], Method999 opened [Kh]-[6d], and Ramux held the lead with [Kc]-[Td]. The [Kd] on the turn did nothing to change that, and when the river brought the [Ts], it was all over for Feez0 and Method999.

Ansgar2000 was the next to fall, busting in 4th place at the hands of juda10. Action folded around to juda, who moved all in preflop with [6h]-[9h]. Ansgar thought for a moment but finally called with [Ac]-[8c]. Juda10 picked up a pair of nines on a flop of [Th]-[Ks]-[9c], and that was enough to hold up and send Ansgar packing as the turn and river came down [7d]-[Qd] and thin the field to three.

It took a little while to whittle it down, and there were several double-throughs along the way to heads-up play, but finally juda10's run at the final table came to an end. After Ramux folded from the button, juda10 moved all in from the small blind with [Ac]-[6c]. Hismoon made the call with [Ad]-[9c], and his lead extended with the flop of [4d]-[As]-[9s]. Needing running sixes to stay alive, juda was drawing dead after the [Tc] hit the turn. The river was a meaningless [Qd], and the tournament was heads up for $10,000.

Heads up play was a real battle, with multiple lead change and double ups before everything was finally settled. But in the end, it came down to who could catch cards when it counted most, and that was Ramux on the last hand. After crippling Hismoon, then doubling him up on back-to-back hands, all the money went in the middle preflop once again, but this time Ramux had the right ammo - pocket aces. His [Ac]-[Ad] was firmly in the driver's seat against Hismoon's [Kc]-[Jh]. The flop brought more suspense as it came down [Tc]-[7c]-[Qs], giving Hismoon the up and down straight draw, but the [5h] on the turn was no help. Ramux just needed to fade an ace or nine on the river to win the tournament and the extra $10k, and when the river brought the [Qd], that's exactly what he did. Hismoon played a brilliant final table, even taking over Ramux's seemingly insurmountable chip lead a couple of time, but in the end he could only come away with second place.

Congrats to Ramux, who picked up $139,163.73 when all was said and done, and congratulations as well to all our final table players!

It's not often that the final table bubble corresponds to break time, but that's exactly what happened this week. The players came back from break for just a couple of hands of bubble, then the final table was set. The chip stacks looked like this when the final table kicked off -

Seat 1: homanga - $3,374,111
Seat 2: intervnton - $3,729,128
Seat 3: ANIMAL5050 - $6,717,841
Seat 4: APerfectGent - $7,338,237
Seat 5: polpolpol - $1,871,264
Seat 6: alexuuus - $944,126
Seat 7: bigbear17 - $6,944,718
Seat 8: Skryll - $3,812,540
Seat 9: cumicon - $18,243,035

After the final table bubble burst, it took just one hand for the field to be reduced to eight. Intervntion opened for a raise from the button with [5s]-[5h], and polpolpol woke up with [Kh]-[Kc] in the small blind. Polpolpol made the call for the last of his stack, but watched his huge favorite turn into a huge dog when the flop came down [Jh]-[5d]-[8h]. The [4h] on the turn gave polpolpol a flush draw to stay alive, but the [Qs] on the river was no good, and intervntion sent polpolpol packing in 9th place ($8545.60).

Alexuuus quickly followed polpolpol to the rail, busting in 8th place just moments later. On the short stack and in late position, alexuuus shipped it all in when the action folded around to him in the cutoff with [Jc]-[8c]. Cumicon had a dominating chip lead and the big blind, so he made the call with [Kd]-[9s]. The flop was right in cumicon's wheelhouse as it came down [Ks]-[3d]-[5d]. The [Jh] hit the turn to give alexuuus a little hope, but it wasn't enough, as the [6s] came on the river. Alexuuus picked up $13,352.50 for his 8th-place finish.

Play continued 7-handed for a while until cumicon decided it was time to send another opponent to the rail. This time it was intervntion, busting in 7th place for $24,034.50. Intervntion raised preflop from early position, then snap-called when cumicon moved all in over the top from the big blind. Intervntion was in the lead when the cards were revealed, with [Jc]-[Js] to cumicon's [Kd]-[Th]. The players traded places promptly on the flop, though, as it came down [3c]-[Ks]-[Qh]. The [7h] on the turn was no help to either player, and when the [Ac] came on the river, intervntion's run was over.

Skryll was next to fall, finishing a respectable 6th place thanks to a coin flip gone the other way. ANIMAL5050 raised preflop with [8d]-[8s], and Skryll moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[9h]. ANIMAL5050 made the call, then made a set on the [9s]-[8c]-[3d] flop. Skryll needed to catch perfect running cards to stay alive, and when the [Jd] hit the turn, he was drawing dead. The river was an irrelevant [4d], and Skryll headed home with an extra $34,716.50 in his virtual pocket.

Another coin flip, another victim, could be the story of the night as cumicon claimed another victim, busting bigbear17 in 5th place ($45,398.50). The players traded raises back and forth preflop until all the money was in the middle, and bigbear17 tabled [Tc]-[Ts] to cumicon's [Ac]-[Jd]. The flop pretty much ended all speculation when it came down [9d]-[Ks]-[Jh]. Bigber17 needed a queen or a ten on the turn or river to stay alive, but when the rest of the board ran out [5s]-[2d], the field was down to four. The last four players took a brief break to discuss a chop, and after some wrangling agreed to a deal that guaranteed big payouts to all four players.

Chip leader cumicon locked up $128,006.50, while second-place APerfectGent nabbed a guaranteed $109,006.50. Homanga rounded out the six-figure club at $101,006.50, while fourth-place ANIMAL5050 took down $92,006.50. This deal left $10,000 to play for, so the four survivors took a brief moment to congratulate each other, and then re-entered the fray.

As often happens once a deal is struck, the all-ins came fast and furious once the details had been hammered out. It was just a few hands into four-handed play when homanga raised enough from the small blind to put ANIMAL5050 all in with a call. ANIMAL did indeed call, and was slightly ahead with [Ac]-[4d] to homanga's [Kc]-[Js]. The flop helped neither player as it came down [6s]-[8h]-[9c]. Homanga was behind ANIMAL's ace-high even when the turn brought the [Qs], but the [Tc] on the river made the runner-runner straight, and ANIMAL5050 was done in 4th place ($92,006.50).

The player happiest about making a four-way deal had to be cumicon, because after a marathon three-way session, he ended up on the short end and still had the biggest payday of anyone. After losing a few tough hands to APerfectGent, cumicon's demise came at the hands of homanga. With only fumes left in his tank, cumicon moved all in preflop with [Qh]-[9s], and homanga made the call with [Ah]-[8c], and promptly flopped trips on the [3h]-[Ad]-[As] board. With his opponent drawing dead, homanga added insult to injury when he rivered quads on a final board of [3h]-[Ad]-[As]-[6s]-[Ac]. It was pretty hard for cumicon to be upset, though, as he'd locked up $128K for a third-place finish!
Heads up play then ensued between APerfectGent and homanga, who were both mostly concerned with the TLB points at stake, even moreso than the $10,000! They battled back and forth for quite some time, before finally this hand happened.

APerfectGent opened with a button raise, and homanga made the call. The flop came down [9c]-[9s]-[Kh], and homanga led out. APerfectGent raised, and homanga once again flat-called. Homanga checked the [7d] turn, and APerfectGent led out. Homanga called once again, then checked again on the [8d] river. APerfectGent moved all in, and homanga called. APerfectGent showed [9h]-[4h] for trips, but was crushed to see homanga table [Js]-[9d] for trips with a better kicker. After all that heads up play, it all came down to a kicker as homanga picked up an extra $10,000 and the title of Sunday Warm-Up champion!

Congrats to homanga, APerfectGent, and all our final table players for a game well played. Join us next week for more busted guarantees and gigantic payouts!

It took nine hours to get there, but only a few minutes to play out hand-for-hand play as derek8 busted in 10th place to set up the final table. Gretko came into the final table as the chip leader, with the stacks looking like this as the final nine settled in to duke it out for the big money.

gretko (LA) - $11,052,372
ROHR (Wurzburg) - $8,641,187
Chaesi (Aetingen) - $7,155,428
donnylon346 (skivarp) - $6,298,870
delegator (Bergen) - $5,435,468
risiko13 (Basel) - $3,741,696
toetagU (WWI) - $2,532,407
Joe Hahn (Doorwerth) - $2,053,096
Negriin (Punta Alta) - $1,269,476

It only took a few hands into the final table for the first big confrontation to take place. Action started off reasonably, with a preflop raise from Chaesi and a call from ROHR, but the fireworks kicked off when the flop came down [Qs]-[9s]-[Ah]. Chaesi led out with a bet, and ROHR flat-called to bring the [Jd] on the turn. Chaesi quickly moved all in with [Ad]-[Js] for two pair, and ROHR made the easy call with [As]-[Qh] for the bigger two pair. Only a jack on the river would save Chaesi, but it was not to be when the [Ac] rolled off to send him packing in 9th place ($7,708.80).

Joe Hahn came into the final table one of the shortest stacks, and when action folded around to his small blind, [Qd]-[6c] looked good enough to shove with, so that's exactly what he did. ToetagU thought for a moment before calling, but tabled the dominating [Ah]-[6d] to put Joe in a world of hurt. Life got no better for Joe Hahn as the board ran out [Ac]-[8s]-[Ks]-[Qh]-[Kh] to bust him in 8th place ($12,045).

Negriin played the short-stack ninja role well, ducking and weaving his tiny stack to a 7th-place finish and a $21,681 payday. His run came to an end at the hands of the deep-stacked gretko, who moved all in over the top of Negriin's preflop raise. The pot-committed Negriin called with [Ac]-[3d], only to find himself crushed by gretko's [Ad]-[4h]. The flop of [4s]-[9c]-[7c] left Negriin looking for running clubs to stay alive, and for a moment it looked like the poker gods would obey when they dropped the [Tc] on the turn. But the river was a less-than-helpful [6h], and Negriin was headed to the virtual rail.

Gretko claimed another victim and the chip lead when he busted toetagU in 6th place ($31,317). All the money went in preflop when toetagU defended his small blind against gretko's button raise by moving all in over the top with [Ah]-[2d]. Unfortunately for toetagU, gretko wasn't on a bluff, but had pocket queens. Gretko made the obvious call, but the [4d]-[2h]-[4s] flop gave toetagU a couple more outs. The [Td] on the turn wasn't one of them, and neither was the [5s] that hit the river as gretko's queens held up, and then there were five.

They say that fortune favors the bold, and it's certainly easier to be bold if you've got a big chip lead. That's what the world looked like when gretko open-raised from the small blind with [Kc]-[3s], then called delegator's all-in move. Delegator showed [Ah]-[Kh], and looked to be in good shape to double through the chip lead on the [Jc]-[8s]-[Tc] flop, but disaster in the form of the [3h] came on the turn. The [7d] on the river was no help, and delegator was relegated to a 5th-place finish, good for $40,953.

Donnylon346 made it all the way to 4th place mostly by staying out of the way, but eventually he too, succumbed to the gretko steamroller. Gretko opened with a raise from the button, and donnylon moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[5h]. Gretko made the call with [Ah]-[8c], and was significantly ahead of his opponent. The flop was no big help to either player, coming down [4s]-[Jc]-[7c], and the [Qd] on the turn was equally meaningless. The [Qh] on the river brought no reprieve for donnylon, and he was done in 4th place ($54,443.40).

With donnylon's elimination, the three remaining players took a moment to discuss a chop, and after some brief discussion, they agreed on a chip count chop that locked up $128,188.59 for gretko, $109,548.05 for ROHR and $94,758.03 for risiko13. With $10,000 left on the table for the eventual winner, the three survivors retook their seats and the tournament was re-started.

All the money went in on a coin flip on the very first hand back, as gretko opened from the button with [Ah]-[Jh], and risiko13 moved all in over the top with [6h]-[6c]. The flop swung the pendulum firmly to gretko's side when it came down [Tc]-[Ad]-[Qh], and risiko was in deep trouble. The [5s] on the turn was no help for anyone, and when the river brought the [9h], risiko was done in 3rd place and heads up poker ensued.

For all the fevered pace of the rest of the final table, the heads up match between ROHR and gretko was a study in patience. Gretko took a big lead into heads up play, and quickly established a 2:1 chip advantage, but was unable to advance his cause for the longest time as ROHR proved adept at picking his spots and timing his moves.

And finally, after a lengthy heads-up duel, ROHR's patience was rewarded. He took a dominant chip lead when his pocket eights held up against gretko's flush draw in the next-to-last hand of the tournament, and then this all happened. With a massive chip lead, ROHR opened for a raise from the button with [3c]-[3h]. Gretko called for the last of his chips with [Jd]-[4c]. The flop of [Qd]-[7s]-[6h] was no help to either player, but gretko picked up an inside straight draw with the [5c] turn. No two-outer for greto, though, as the [Ad] on the river sent him packing in 2nd place, but with $128,188.59 for his troubles.

ROHR proved that good things come to those who wait, and his slow-but-steady approach to the heads up match garnered him a Sunday Warm-Up title and $119,548.05 for a good day's work. Congratulations to ROHR and all our final table players on a job well done!

The final table kicked off after nine grueling hours of tournament play, and the action kicked off quickly. It only took a few orbits for the first casualty of the final table to occur, and it was the short-stacked PaperChump making his exit in 9th place ($7,521.60). Action folded around to PaperChump in middle position, who moved all in preflop with [Kc]-[8d]. Action then passed to the deep stacked flpro157, who woke up with [5c]-[5s] and made the call. The board missed PaperChump completely, running out [Jc]-[2d]-[Ts]-[9c]-[2s] to thin the field by one.

The short stacks kept falling, as teknotom headed to the rail in 8th place ($11,752.50). Teknotom moved all in preflop from late position with [Ad]-[8d], and wreidthansen re-raised out of the small blind to isolate. The big blind folded, and wriedthansen's [Ac]-[Kh] was revealed. The flop was interesting as it came down [Kd]-[9h]-[9d], giving teknotom a flush draw to go up against wriedthansen's top pair, top kicker. The [4s] on the turn was no help to either player, and when the [8s] hit the river, teknotom was done in 8th.

Another elimination, and again it was the shortest remaining stack that fell by the wayside. After an opening raise from flpro157, Se7enTr3y looked down at [8h]-[8d] on the button. He moved all in over the top, only to watch flpro157 snap-call with [As]-[Ac]. The board ran out [2d]-[Js]-[4s]-[6s]-[9s] to give flpro157 the nut flush, and give Se7enTr3y $21,154.50 for his 7th-place finish.

After losing a massive pot to AJacejackAJ, flpro157 was on the extreme short stack, and finally moved all in preflop with [6c]-[9d]. Vyna made the call with [Ad]-[Kd], and his lead grew only wider when the flop came down [Qh]-[Ks]-[7c]. The [Ts] on the turn gave flpro157 a gutshot straight draw, but the [Qs] on the river was no help, and flpro157 had to settle with $30,556.50 for 6th place.

A cruel river sent Joe Hahn home in 5th place ($39,958.50). Joe Hahn raised preflop, and AJacejackAJ flat called to see a flop of [7h]-[3s]-[2d]. Joe Hahn fired another bullet at the flop holding [Ac]-[Th], and AJacejackAJ called with [4h]-[5h] for the double gutshot draw. Joe Hahn checked the [2c] turn, and AJacejackAJ led out. Joe Hahn called, then check-raised all in when the river showed the [Ad]. Joe Hahn's two pair was no good against AJacejackAJ's rivered wheel, and then there were four.

Players took a few moments to discuss a deal, and at the end of a brief discussion, the remaining four players locked up the following amounts. Chip leader AJacejackAJ took down a guaranteed $137,866, with paddy723 locking up $90,381. Vyna took a guaranteed $88,695, and the short stack, wriedthansen locked up $60,508, with $10,000 left for the eventual winner.

Play loosened up considerable after a deal was made, with three double ups in the first five hands, as wriedthansen doubled up twice and vyna took over the chip lead when he doubled through AJacejackAJ. Wriedthansen's comeback continued as he busted paddy723 in a b ig hand. Paddy723 open-shoved from the button, and wriedthansen called from the small blind. Paddy723 was slightly ahead with [Ad]-[5h], but the cards were close as wriedthansen showed [Ah]-[4h]. The flop was an innocuous [9c]-[8s]-[Kh], but the [7h] on the turn gave wriedthansen the nut flush draw. The [9h] promptly landed on the river to fill the flush, and paddy723 had to be content with his $90,000 payday from the deal.

The three remaining players continued to sling chips back and forth, with an all in seemingly every other hand, until finally Vyna took out AJacejackAJ with his namesake hand. AJ raised preflop with [As]-[Qc], and wriedthansen flat-called. Vyna three-bet from the big blind with [Ah]-[Js], and AJ moved all in over the top. Vyna thought for a moment before calling, and was in deep trouble preflop. But the flop changed everything, as it came down [4s]-[9d]-[Jc]. The [Ad] on the turn left AJ looking for a queen and only a queen, but when the river rolled over the [Tc], his tournament was over in 3rd place. Thanks to the four-way chop, AJacejackAJ still took down the biggest payout, with $137,000 added to his bankroll as wriedthansen and Vyna settled in to play heads up for $10,000.

It only took a few hands, and even though he put on a great run at the final table, wriedthansen couldn't quit crawl out of the chip deficit he was in. The final hand started off slow, as both players limped in to see a [4d]-[8d]-[9c] flop, but the bets and raises started flying after the flop. All the money went in on the [8s] turn, and wriedthansen showed [6c]-[7h] for a straight draw, as Vyna tabled [7s]-[9d] for two pair. The [Ad] on the river was no help to wriedthansen, and he had to settle for his $60,500 as part of the deal.

Vyna picked up an extra $10,000 to bring his total take for winning to $98,000 and some change. Congratulations to all our final table players and everyone who cashed in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!

That's exactly what happened on the last weekend of November. Lodden took fifth place early this morning for $72,616. It happened in a monster 9,077-player field playing for a $1,815,400 prize pool.The biggest winner of the day was Brazil's caio_pimenta who banked a startling $259,243 for first place. To see how he did it, check out Jen Newell's 11-29-09 Sunday Million report.

While that was the biggest win of the weekend, it was not the only one. November brought back from hiatus the much-loved PokerStars Turbo Takedown, a FPP-tournament with a $1 million prize pool. The PokerStars Blog's David Aydt tracked that one from beginning to end and saw viebu win $38,991 and a brand new car.

It was also the weekend for the Battle of the Planets finalists to square off in the monthly Triple Shootout. Aydt was on top of that one, too, and has the story of makkie21's win.

Finally, the tried and true Sunday Warm-Up got itself in the books before it got too late in the night. John Hartness saw Mr. Shanish make a good deal for himself and walk away with $116,468.

For all of this weekend's biggest finishes, check out our 11-29-09 PokerStars Sunday tournament results.

This week is all about live events. By this time tomorrow, EPT Prague and APPT Sydeny will be underway. Keep it here for all the live action.

Action was tentative to start off, with players avoiding any major confrontations in the first few hands, but as the blinds and antes grew, the short stacks had to take their shots to double up just to stay alive. Melano26 put his last few chips in the middle with [As]-[8s] and found a caller in CruSader1981. Big stack angevert then moved all in over the top to isolate, and CruSader1981 got out of the way. Angevert was ahead with [Jd]-[Js], and the flop of [Jh]-[7s]-[Qc] left melano26 needing to catch runner-runner perfect to stay alive. The [2h] on the turn meant that melano26 was drawing dead, and when the meaningless [6s] rolled off on the river, melano26 was busted in 9th place ($7,404.80).

Floes came into the final table as the second-shortest stack, and it was just a few hands after melano26's elimination when floes open-shoved from the small blind with [Ad]-[5c]. It was a good time for the move, with a bunch of dead blinds and antes in the pot, but Mr. Shanish woke up with [Ac]-[Jc] in the big blind and made the easy call. Already a dominant favorite, Mr. Shanish took final control on the flop as it came down [9d]-[3h]-[Jh]. Running nines on the turn and river gave Mr. Shanish a full house, and gave floes 8th place money to the tune of $11,750.00.

Bahneyyy lost most of his stack in a huge hand earlier at the final table, but held on for a few more orbits before he got it all in preflop with [As]-[5c] against CruSader1981's [Ac]-[9s]. The board did nothing to help Bahneyyy, running out [8c]-[Jc]-[2h]-[3c]-[9h], and CruSader1981 picked up some much-needed chips as Bahneyyy busted in 7th place ($20,826).

CruSader1981 played his short stack well, but he eventually found a number of outs he couldn't fade when he went out in 6th place ($30,082) at the hands of angevert in this hand.

After a lengthy period of five-handed jousting, one misstep by cspdealer left him watching the game from the sidelines after busting in 5th place ($39,338). The aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the button, and cspdealer re-raised from the big blind with [Kd]-[Js]. Mr. Shanish moved all in over the top, and cspdealer called, only to find he was dominated by Mr. Shanish's [As]-[Jc]. The flop hit both players as it came down [Ac]-[Kc]-[9h], but Mr. Shanish's top pair was well ahead of cspdealer's middle pair. The [Qh] on the turn gave cspdealer few more outs to stay alive, but the [Qc] on the river ended his tournament.

After losing a big pot to double up the short-stacked $saxo$, Mr. Shanish came right back on the very next hand to bust rivermanl in 4th place ($52,296.40). Rivermanl moved all in preflop from the small blind on a steal with [Qs]-[5s], but Mr. Shanish found [Jc]-[Jh] in the big blind and made the easy call. The flop of [Tc]-[7h]-[7c] helped neither player, but the [5c] on the turn gave rivermanl a few more ways to survive. None of those ways included the [Td], so when that fell on the river, there were only three.

With the stacks exceptionally close, the final three survivors took a few moments to discuss a deal. With the stacks almost even, the players decided on an even chop of the remaining money, with $10,000 left in the middle for the eventual champion. That locked up $106,468.22 for each player, a pretty good day's work by almost any standard. With their six-figure payday in hand, the remaining three players settled in to duke it out for the last $10K.

It only took a few minutes of folding before a big confrontation brewed up between our three survivors. The ever-aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the small blind with [Ad]-[9h], and $saxo$ moved all in over the top with [3h]-[3s]. The race was on as the flop came down [7h]-[8s]-[Qh], and $saxo$ had faded the overcards. The [2h] gave both players a flush draw, and the [4h] on the river gave Mr. Shanish the bigger flush to send $saxo$ home in 3rd place.

Heads up play lasted only three hands, and Mr. Shanish won all of them to secure his extra $10,000 and the Sunday Warm-Up title. The last hand went down like this -

When the dust cleared, Mr. Shanish's aggressive play had locked up the last $10K on the table and made a $116,468.22 payday for himself. Congratulations to Mr. Shanish and all our Sunday Warm-Up players!

With nine hours in the books, it would take the players less than 90 minutes to declare a winner. When all was said and done it was egor2077 getting hot hands at the right time to decimate his last opposition and claim the $149,017.54 top prize, with no deals made at the final table this week.

Short stack smerks pushed his stack into the middle several times before finding himself in a final coin flip against GoldStar player xQ024. Smerks held a slight edge preflop with [8h]-[8d], but xQ024's [Ks]-[Jd] made top pair on the [Kh]-[Th]-[7s] flop and smerks needed on of the two remaining eights or running hearts to stay alive. The turn card was a singularly unhelpful [Ad], and when the river brought the [9s], smerks was headed to the rail in 9th place ($7,620.80). Just a few hands later funnywhiteshss open-shoved with [Kh]-[Qs], only to run into egor2077's [Ah]-[As]. The board ran out [4c]-[8h]-[9s]-[7d]-[5s], and then there were seven. Funnywhiteshss picked up $11,907.50 for 8th place.

The all-ins were flying around like bullets in a Quentin Tarantino movie, but most of the time the short stacks were dodging elimination. After an opening all in move from egor2077 in the small blind, timdmd defended his big blind with [Qh]-[9h]. It turned out to be a good read, as egor2077 was on a steal with [As]-[3c], but the [Jc]-[9c]-[Ah] flop put egor2077 firmly into the driver's seat. Timdmd needed a queen or another nine to stay alive, but the turn and river ran out [6d]-[3h], and he was done in 7th place ($21,433.50).

XQ024 came out firing again with a series of strong preflop raises, and fabregarp moved all in over the top of his button raise with [As]-[2h]. This time xQ024 turned over the dominating [Ad]-[Kc], and fabregarp was in danger of elimination. The flop of [3d]-[3h]-[6d] was no help to either player, but fabregarp picked up additional outs when the [5c] hit the turn. No deuce or four landed on the river, however, as the [Jc] was the final card in his final hand. Fabregarp picked up an impressive $30,959.50 for his 6th-place finish.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this little video shows how a river is worth $40,485.50. That's how much olle101 picked up for his tournament after busting out in 5th place.

Play slowed dramatically with only four players remaining, as the remaining players jockeyed for position and passed the chip lead back and forth among themselves. Finally, just before the final break of the night, egor2077 took out two players in short order to move into a 2:1 chip lead going into heads-up play. First, xQ024 moved all in from the small blind with [Tc]-[Th], and egor2077 called with [Ad]-[Kd]. A flop of [4s]-[Ac]-[3h] put the coin flip in egor2077's court, and when the turn and river came down [Jd]-[7c], xQ024 was done in 4th place ($53,821.90).

On the very next hand, egor2077 raised from the button with [Ac]-[9c], and FUTURE102 moved all in over the top with [Ks]-[Kd]. FUTURE102 looked poised to double through egor2077 on the [Qd]-[8c]-[5d] flop, but the [Tc] on the turn gave egor2077 more outs to win. The [Ah] on the river was one of those outs, and FUTURE102 was done in 3rd place ($78,589.50) and egor2077 took a significant chip lead into heads up play.

No stranger to online final tables, Titantom32 closed the gap heads up fairly quickly, refusing to make things easy on egor2077. The players feinted and parried for long minutes before finally the chips went in the middle for the last time.

When the dust settled, egor2077's two pair were better than Titantom32's, and he was eliminated in 2nd place ($110,977.90). With no deal in place, or ever seriously discussed, egor2077 took out the final three opponents at the final table to claim the $149,017.54 top prize. Congratulations to egor2077 and all our final table players!

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.