PokerStars Keeps Sunday Million Phase 1s Rolling All Week
Another 15 heats are scheduled July 21-25 as the $5 million anniversary PKO pushes toward Phase 2 on September 6.
PokerStars is keeping the Sunday Million 20th Anniversary on the move this week, with another 15 Phase 1s scheduled from July 21 through July 25. The event is a $109 progressive knockout with a $5 million guarantee, and PokerStars says it needs 50,000 entries to reach that number.
Those heats run daily at 4:25 p.m., 7:25 p.m. and 10:25 p.m. BST. The phased setup gives players multiple chances to qualify before Phase 2 begins on September 6.
In its June announcement, Ashley Chase, PokerStars’ poker director, said the Sunday Million has been a major part of the site’s history for 20 years and that the anniversary edition was meant to offer a “summer-long road to Phase 2” with more ways to win a seat. PokerStars said Phase 1s would run for 10 weeks starting on June 28.
Each $109 Phase 1 starts with 10,000 chips and 10-minute levels, with blinds opening at 40/80/10. Late registration lasts 100 minutes, up to three re-entries are allowed, and each heat ends when only 3% of the field remains.
PokerStars is also offering satellites that start at $0.55, plus special $0.75 and $4 Spin & Go tournaments. Those Spin & Go routes can award $109 Sunday Million Anniversary tickets or satellite tickets worth between $1.50 and $22, depending on the buy-in and multiplier.
At the time of PokerNews’ July update, just shy of 12,600 players had already bought in across completed Phase 1s, with 403 through to Phase 2. Austria’s “go1vs1 legko” was the chip leader on 1,076,054, followed by Canada’s “getdamoney0” on 1,045,132.
PokerStars regulars “roo_400” and “P0TCHECKER99” also sat in the top 10 on 791,814 and 779,309 chips, respectively. The bounty figure is not consistent across the packet: the July update describes a $50 starting bounty, while PokerStars’ June announcement put it at $25.
The next checkpoint for survivors is Phase 2 at 8:05 p.m. BST on September 6, when the remaining stacks carry forward.
