Thursday, 28th March 2024 21:24
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Here’s a quick catch up from the week on PokerStarsBlog… 

  • Bounty Builder Series begins Sunday
  • Simon Brändström’s remarkable run
  • EPT Open Sochi Main Event rolls on
  • How the Sunday Million was won
  • Player news and interviews

BOUNTY BUILDER SERIES BEGINS SUNDAY

The Bounty Builder Series — spooky, scary!

It’s the tournament series for action minded players who don’t want to wait until the final table to make some money. The Bounty Builder Series is back this month with $25 million guaranteed, a Halloween theme, and multiple ways for you to win.

They’ll be 180 events on the schedule. They’re designed to suit every bankroll and are all slightly different. But they share one thing in common – everyone has a bounty on their head. It all starts on Sunday 13 October.

Check out the full rundown of the series, then learn how to lock up a profit without making the money.


SIMON BRÄNDSTRÖM’S REMARKABLE RUN

Simon Brändström’s EPT victory was only one of three major scores in 2019

Remarkable winning streaks are not uncommon in poker. Most famously, Fedor Holz and Justin Bonomo had spectacular strings of results to put them at the top of all the money lists, and then Bryn Kenney came along this year, did the same and leapfrogged them both. But the sheer size of the fields Simon Brändström has defeated at WPT UK, EPT Barcelona, and WPT Deepstacks Barcelona in the last three months makes his victories particularly unusual.

So what can account for Brändström’s remarkable run? Is momentum in poker really a thing? Certainly Brändström himself isn’t able to reveal any one particular secret to his new-found dominance, but a closer look at his current circumstances might help piece together something of a formula.

Howard Swains weighs in on one of the most incredible winning streaks in recent memory.


EPT OPEN SOCHI MAIN EVENT ROLLS ON

The Main Event rolls on in Sochi

Today is Day 2 of the EPT Open Sochi Main Event. Chris Moneymaker busted right before the remaining 118 players went on dinner break, and Ghana’s Ghassan Bitar holds the chip lead.

It’s been a good week for the locals in Sochi. Russian players have won all but one of the events held so far (and that one was won by a neighbor from Iran). Check out the full results from preliminary events to see what local dominance looks like.

Keep up with the Main Event with the Day 2 live updates, and check in on the EPT Open Sochi content hub throughout the weekend to follow all the action from Sochi.


HOW THE SUNDAY MILLION WAS WON

Another week, another $350K at the final — no big deal

Another Sunday, another $375,000 up for grabs among the final nine players in the Sunday Million.

No big deal — unless you’re one of the players who survived the 10,623-strong field to make it there. Then it was a very big deal indeed — as we were told by a poker hobbyist from Northern Ireland who dreams of turning pro, a Czech transplant to Canada, and a Ukrainian poker pro playing his first Milly as a regular.

Here’s how this week’s Sunday Million was won.


PLAYER NEWS AND INTERVIEWS

No matter the venue, Dario Sammartino is ready to win. We caught up with this year’s WSOP Main Event runner-up after his victory in the WCOOP $10K Progressive KO event to talk about about achieving his dreams, 6+ Hold’em, the High Roller Club, and what it’s like to wear a really sharp suit on international television.

2019 has been a dream come true for Dario Sammartino

One of the people with a front-row seat to Sammartino’s performance in Las Vegas was WSOP commentator Jamie Kerstetter. She dropped by Poker In The Ears this week to talk about moving from estate law to poker right around the time of Black Friday, comedy in our touchy times, moving to Mexico to play online poker, writing one-liners for Doug Polk, and lots more. She’s funny, personable, and carries on a great conversation — you’ll enjoy listening to this one.

From Brazil this week came news of our first two-time Platinum Pass winner. Last year Paulo Milani won an all-in-or-fold tournament at BSOP Florianopolis to earn his Platinum Pass. In late September he fired up a $2 Spin & Go last year and followed the Mega Path from there to grab his entry into PSPC 2020. Sergio Prado shares Milani’s story here.


WSOP photography by pokerphotoarchive.com


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