Friday, 29th March 2024 05:34
Home / Uncategorized / Sunday Million Live: Kurdyukov bags massive lead to end Day 2

Day 2 was like a rocket that our 512 players were desperately trying to hang on to. Most of them failed as this fast-paced behemoth hurtled towards giant blinds at breakneck speed. After 15 levels of play, only 27 players were left.

The chip lead was just as volatile, switching hands faster and more often than a new baby at a family reunion. Towards the end of the day, it seemed like the leader would either be Helma Weber or Andrei Kurdyukov. The two were seated right next to each other and then all doubt of who would lead was eliminated along with one of them.

-STA_1172Sunday Million Live Rozvadov 3.9.2017 day 2 Helma WeberPCMON2017Tomas Stacha stacha@poker-photo.eu.jpg

Helma Weber right before her elimination.

Kurdyukov and Weber got it all in in the last few minutes of the day. Kurdyukov came out victorious while Weber exited the tournament in 29th. The hand also gave Kurdyukov a massive chip lead. Kurdyukov finished the day with 13.55 million while his closest contender bagged 6.925 million.

Read about that hand and other updates from Day 2 below.

-STA_1190Sunday Million Live Rozvadov 3.9.2017 day 2 Andrei Kurdyukov chip leaderPCMON2017Tomas Stacha stacha@poker-photo.eu.jpg

Andrei Kurdyukov

Can Kurdyukov ride that lead to victory tomorrow? Join us tomorrow at 12pm local time to find out as we play down to our first-ever Sunday Million Live champion.

End of Day 2 chip counts

Name Chip count
Andrei Kurdyukov 13,550,000
Philipp Salewski 6,925,000
Karel Kovaoik 6,375,000
Ralph Habig 6,075,000
Frank Rohrmüller 5,650,000
Uwe Klos 5,400,000
Simon Schobel 4,500,000
Andrei-Gabriel Roscan 4,500,000
Heiko Maass 4,450,000
David Rodriguez 4,200,000
Daniyal Rizwan Butt 3,425,000
Mikhail Filatov 3,250,000
Paul Boizesan 3,175,000
Filip Zak 3,125,000
Dusan Trojeak 3,025,000
Patrick Vogelsanger 3,000,000
Domonik Alexander Kabas 2,900,000
Jozef Komorny 2,825,000
Markus Kowalski 2,800,000
Werner Nather 2,275,000
Jan Timo Jobmann 2,150,000
Chrisoph Cajochen 2,125,000
Mario Langer 2,000,000
Jakub Odverko 1,750,000
Christopher Adams 1,525,000
Jonas Steinmüller 400,000
Edoardo Poggiali 175,000

12:30am: Five more
Level 27 – Blinds 80,000/160,000 (ante 20,000)

Play is almost done. The final four tables are playing five more hands apiece and then they’re bagging and tagging for the day.

12:20am: Giant clash
Level 27 – Blinds 80,000/160,000 (ante 20,000)

Our last few posts showed the rise and volatility of the chip lead. Helma Weber seemed to take it for a while and the Andrei Kurdyukov took it back.

Both players were seated right next to each other too, and then they got it all in.

Weber raised to 1 million from the button and Kurdyukov called from the small blind. The flop came 8K8 and Weber bet 600,000 when checked to. Kurdyukov called and a 10 came on the turn. Kurdyukov bet 1.5 million and Weber moved all in. Kurdyukov snap-called and showed a pair of kings with AK. Weber tabled QQ and she needed a queen on the river to survive.

The river brought a 4 instead and the dealer needed some assistance from the floor in counting the stacks. Kurdyukov had 5.3 million and Weber had slightly less. Weber was eliminated in 29th place and Kurdyukov took a massive lead with 13.5 million.

12:00am: Kurdyukov kicks it up again
Level 27 – Blinds 80,000/160,000 (ante 20,000)

Aside from Heiko Alexander Maass’s lead that lasted a few hours, chip leads have been incredibly ephemeral this tournament.

Blinds are rising faster than inflation in failed dictatorships and just a few bad decisions can send millions of chips flying across the table. That’s what recently happened to Andrei Kurdyukov, who has taken the tournament chip lead with 7.5 million.

Kurdyukov was near the lead early in the day and was always doing well. But now he’s sitting behind an intimidating stack of chips that’s larger than any in the tournament. There are still 30 minutes of play left though and it’ll only take one pot to see someone get an even larger lead.

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Andrei Kurdyukov

11:40pm: Closing in
Level 26 – Blinds 60,000/120,000 (ante 20,000)

We’re approaching the final level of the day and only 34 players remain. There spread across five tables and they’ll be breaking down to four once we lose two more players.

There’s still another 40-minute level of play to go so we’ll see how close we can make it to the final table before play ends.

11:20pm: Weber making some
Level 26 – Blinds 60,000/120,000 (ante 20,000)

Helma Weber has been seated in the same spot nearly all day, quietly brewing up a big stack that’s now culminated into a tower of just over 5 million.

Weber added a chunk when she knocked out a short stack with ace-queen. The short stack had a dominated ace-seven and then Weber improved to a pair of queens. That hand added about 400,000 to Weber’s stack, and then she got another 450,000.

Eugen Schirnin raised to 450,000 that hand and Weber called from the big blind. The flop came down 9J5 and Weber fired a bet of 600,000. Schirnin folded and Weber’s stack grew to about 5 million. She’s definitely the table leader and is jockeying for the tournament lead.

Weber has a few tournament cashes, all here in Rozvadov. Her biggest was back in 2012 when she finished 9th in €299 event. Weber won €2,548 that event and now she’s getting close to beating that record. The final 40 are guaranteed at least €2,000 and they’ll soon make the jump to €2,400. If Weber can make it to the final 23, then she’ll beat her record and be that much closer to the €136,000 grand prize.

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Helma Weber

11:05 Numbers in, players out
Level 25 – Blinds 50,000/100,000 (ante 10,000)

The numbers are in, and they’re predominantly German. Check out the breakdown of the 5,045 entrants in the inaugural Sunday Million Live.

Sunday Million Nationalities Pie Chart.jpg

All those players have now been reduced to just 43.

10:50: Rough run for Roscan
Level 25 – Blinds 50,000/100,000 (ante 10,000)

Andrei Roscan started the level near the lead with 5.7 million, but about 20 minutes later he was down to just a few big blinds.

The decline came courtesy of a one-two hit from the players on his left.

The first hit started when action folded to Roscan’s small blind. Roscan raised to 325,000 and Daniyal Rizwan moved all in from the big blind for 2.54 million.

Roscan snap-called and showed 1010 to Rizwan’s 55.

“He’s running good,” Philip Hollederer said, referring to Roscan.

Up to that point, he had been. Rizwan seemed defeated and started packing up his things. The flop came Q86 and Rizwan stood up. The 4 didn’t change Rizwan’s demeanor even though it gave him a straight draw. But then a 7 landed on the river and Rizwan hit his straight and doubled to about 5.1 million.

“Not running good anymore,” Hollederer said. Then he doubled up through Roscan as well.

Roscan raised to 230,000 from the button that hand and Hollederer three-bet to 500,000 from the big blind. Roscan called and the flop came 954. Hollederer moved all in for 2.1 million and Roscan thought. Then someone called the clock. It was a rarity this fast-paced tournament and the floor came and started counting down.

Roscan hit the 10-second mark and with just a few seconds left, he called. Roscan turned over Q9, but Hollederer had him beat with A9. The turn brought a 6 and then a 7 came on the river. Hollederer doubled to 5.2 million while Roscan was left with just 600,000.

Roscan then moved all in but got no callers. His stack grew to 800,000, but he’s still under 10 big blinds.

10:30pm: Bring it back
Level 25 – Blinds 50,000/100,000 (ante 10,000)

Break is done and the poker is back. We’re on Level 25 and we’ll finish this one and two more before we close the curtain on Day 2.

Only 49 players are left and they’re all guaranteed €1,650. They’re also on the bubble of a payjump bubble. The final 47 will get a payjump to €2,000 and they won’t hit one again until they get down to 31. That shouldn’t take too long though.

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10:15pm: Break it up
Level 24 – Blinds 40,000/80,000 (ante 10,000)

Players are now on their final break of the day. They’ll come back to play three more levels before we bag and tag.

10:05pm: Burned set
Level 24 – Blinds 40,000/80,000 (ante 10,000)

There are more flips going on in the tournament area than a gymnastics competition with a breakdance intro.

Players are going to have to win several flips to win this tournament and they’re also going to have to win a few longshots. So far, our start-of-day chip leader, Paul Boizesan, has managed to do just that.

Boizesan raised from under the gun with JJ and Emil Mesaros moved all-in with KK from the cutoff. Boizesan called and the dealer briefly flashed the burn card, a king. It was a bad omen for Mesaros.

The 72Q kept him in the lead and so did the 8 on the turn. But then a J came on the river to give Boizesan a set. Mesaros exited the tournament in 55th place while Boizesan chipped up to 3 million.

9:45pm: Punishing short stacks
Level 24 – Blinds 40,000/80,000 (ante 10,000)

While no one’s caught up to Heiko Alexander Maass yet, a few players are getting close.

Ralph Habig recently knocked out a short stack to push his stack up to 4.4 million. The short stack thought he got it in good with AK, dominating Habig’s AQ, but chip and tournament inertia was on Habig’s side.

Habig paired his queen on the 6Q796 board and the tournament lost a player while Habig’s huge stack clocked in at 4.4 million.

9:30pm: More for Maass
Level 23 – Blinds 30,000/60,000 (ante 10,000)

Heiko Alexander Maass is an intimidating force at the Sunday Million Live. He’s had a massive lead for some time and he’s also changed tables about every two minutes.

Like a predator drone looming in the sky, other players look up terrified when he passes with his massive stack, hoping they won’t be his next targets.

When Maass moved to his most recent table, he was still unstacking his chips when he was on the big blind. Everyone gave him a walk.

The he showed his true strength a few moments later. Albert Ekelik moved all in for about 600,000 from middle position and Maass rejammed from the hijack. He had every player at the table covered and they got out of the way.

The spectators saw Ekelik table KQ and Maass showed 1010. The flop was a straight-y 89J, but neither player hit one. An A came on the turn and a 6 completed the board to give Maass the pot. Ekelik busted in 77th while Maass’s massive stack grew to 5.5 million.

9:10pm: Gambling tides
Level 23 – Blinds 30,000/60,000 (ante 10,000)

Marek Blasko was near the lead with 1.2 million not too long ago. Now he’s back at 1.2 million after knocking out a player, but instead of being near the lead, he’s at just about average with 20 big blinds.

It’s dangerous out there, the blinds are rising fast and it’s a cutthroat battle to stay afloat. You have to be ruthless, gamble-y and lucky. Blasko was all three in his most recent elimination. Blasko raised to 120,000 from under the gun that hand and action folded around to Dominik Paus in the big blind.

Paus was down to about 450,000 and moved all-in with AK. Blasko called and showed a dominated A7, but the 97J flop brought him a pair of sevens. Paus was hoping for a king, but the turn and river brought an 8 and 2 instead. Blasko chipped up to 1.2 million while Paus exited the tournament in 86th place.

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Dominik Paus

8:50pm: Double digits
Level 22 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (ante 5,000)

The field keeps on dwindling and we’ve now fallen below the triple-digit barrier. Only about 90 players are left in the Sunday Million Live.

8:40pm: The dream
Level 22 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (ante 5,000)

A chip and a chair.

That’s all you need to keep the dream alive. Every so often it happens, a player’s left with a single chip and they’re able to run it up to victory.

While we’re still a day away from crowning our victor, we do have a player that was able to run up a single unit to –now– a minimum of €1,400.

Christian Martin turned a lone StarsCoin into a seat here at the first-ever Sunday Live Million. Martin qualified to Day 2 with a stack with 149,030 and has managed to run that up to 700,000 so far.

He’s outlasted most of the field already. Only about 99 players are left and Martin is one of them. The StarsCoin is still pumping life into his dream of taking down the title and the €136,000 payday that comes with it.

The friendly British is seated at the feature table and his journey is being broadcast by PokerStars TV. It’s a familiar place for Martin, but he’s usually on the other side of the screen, watching and commenting. Martin closely follows PokerStars and Twitch and keeps up to date with all the streams. Now it’s his turn to be on it and a number of his fellow Twitch companions have jumped on the stream to show their support.

It also gives off an air of Chris Moneymaker, but a smaller online/live/SundayMillionLive hybrid version. Martin’s lone StarsCoin could find itself giving an ROI of a billion percent, maybe even a gazillion.

How many StarsCoins do you have? Whatever the number, Martin shows that it’s time to put them to good use.

-STB_6875Sunday Million Live Rozvadov 3.9.2017 day 2 Christian MartinPCMON2017Tomas Stacha stacha@poker-phto.eu.jpg

Christian Martin

8:10pm: Fire it up
Level 22 – Blinds 20,000/40,000 (ante 5,000)

They’re back, we’re back, and if you’re reading this, then you’re back too.

Cards are in the air and blinds have been pumped up to 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante. Only 118 players remain and the average stack is hovering at 855,000, or just slightly more than 22 big blinds. Next level they’ll be playing at 30,000/60,000.

The plan is to play three more levels, take one more break and play a final three levels before we bag and tag. It could end sooner though, but we’d have to lose 109 players to make it down to the final table. Our bet is on the hard stop.

7:10pm: Dinner
Level 21 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (ante 4,000)

Players are now on a 60-minute dinner break. You should take one too and then come back for more Sunday Million Live updates.

7:00pm: Flying out and chipping up
Level 21 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (ante 4,000)

Players seem to be running out of this tournament. We’re already down to 125 and players are now making four-digit paydays. A €1,170 payment is now the minimum players will make for lasting this long.

But while there’s a steady cacophony of “All-in, call!” heard across the tournament and a subsequent exodus, there are also a few players who are on a steady rise. Heiko Alexander Maass is now up to about 3 million and is towering above the rest of the field.

The start-of-day leader, Paul Boizesan, also added a bit more to his stack after a recent elimination. Lukas Grussmann moved all in for 375,000 with AJ and Boizesan called with 1010.

Grussmann was flipping for his tournament life and the K763Q board decided his Sunday run had come to an end. Boizesan on the other hand chipped up to about 2.2 million.

-STA_1056Sunday Million Live Rozvadov 3.9.2017 day 2 Hein Alexander MaassPCMON2017Tomas Stacha.jpg

Heiko Alexander Maass

6:35pm: Some of the top
Level 21 – Blinds 15,000/30,000 (ante 4,000)

We have a few players breaking through the 2 million mark.

Heiko Alexander Maass is topping the field with 2.4 million while Pawel Pudlowski, who took a slight dip a little bit ago, is back up to 2.2 million.

Our start-of-day chip leader, Paul Boizesan, is still standing strong in third with a smooth 2 million. Frank Stobinski is nearing that mark with 1.8 million and Andrei Kurdyukov is also closing in with 1.75 million.

6:10pm: A dip in the lead
Level 20 – Blinds 10,000/20,000 (ante 3,000)

Pawel Pudlowski started Level 20 in the lead, towering over the rest of the field with just over 2 million.

Pudlowski is still up there, but he took a few dings after losing three hands in a row. Pudlowski raised to 40,000 from early position in the first loss and then folded to a three-bet.

Pudlowski then bet another 40,000 from under the gun the following hand and Christopher Adams called from the big blind. The two players then went to the 7510 flop.

Both players checked and then an A came on the turn and brought more action. Adams checked, Pudlowski bet 50,000 and then Adams raised to 100,000.

Pudlowski folded and Adams chipped up to about 1.3 million.

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Pawel Pudlowski

Pudlowski then called a 100,000 bet the following hand. Marton Czuczor raised to 100,000 from under the gun that hand and action folded around to Pudlowski’s big blind. Pudlowski called and the flop came JA5.

Pudlowski checked and then folded after Czuczor bet another 100,000. Czucsor’s stack rose to about 500,000 while Pudlowski was left with about 1.75 million after the trio of losses. It’s still good for the lead, but plenty of players are close with about 1.5 million.

5:40pm: Sub 200
Level 19 – Blinds 8,000/16,000 (ante 2,000)

Laurentiu Dumitru keeps on chipping up and busting players. His promise to his table earlier that he wouldn’t be a threat turned out to be a false reassurance.

Mihai-Ionel Popescu moved all-in for 115,000 from early position and action folded around to Dumitru’s button. Dumitru called and the big blind, who had about 450,000, lamented the call.

“Ah, why did you do that? Now I don’t know what to do?” He said. Then he folded.

Popescu tabled K10 and Dumitru showed JJ for the flip. The 468 flop kept Dumitru in the lead and then a J on the turn cemented it. The river brought a 5 and another elimination.

Popescu finished in 201st and the tournament quickly dropped below 200 players soon after that. Dumitru on the other hand chipped up to about 1.3 million and is still close to the top.

-STA_1050Sunday Million Live Rozvadov 3.9.2017 day 2  Laurentiu DumitruPCMON2017Tomas Stacha.jpg

Laurentiu Dumitru

5:10pm: We’re back
Level 19 – Blinds 8,000/16,000 (ante 2,000)

Players are back in their seats and cards are back in the air. Only 212 players remain and the average stack is about 30 big blinds.

4:50pm: Another break
Level 18 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)

That’s it for Level 18. Players are on another 20-minute break. They can hit up the buffet, smoke, or do whatever their heart pleases within the confines of Rozvadov.

4:40pm: Closing in on another one
Level 18 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)

Players are now approaching the second break of the day and only about 225 remain. They’re all guaranteed a minimum of €830 and that will bump up to €980 once we hit 191 players.

4:30pm: Converging stacks
Level 18 – Blinds 6,000/12,000 (ante 2,000)

Some of the start-of-day leaders have been on a constant rise. Laurentiu Dumitru is one of them. The Romanian player started the day 4th in chips with 687,000 and he’s still near the top with about 1.3 million.

He recently got moved to, to a table with another large stack, Mike Adamo. When Dumitru sat at his new table, a few players joked that they didn’t need another big stack at the table.

“Don’t worry,” Dumitru said. “You won’t have a problem with me.”

A few minute later, Dumitru raised to 25,000 from under the gun and a short stack moved in for 193,000. Action folded back to Dumitru and he folded.

“See,” Dumitru said. “I told you you wouldn’t have a problem with me.”

We’ll see how long that lasts.

4:10pm: Kurdyukov keeps rising
Level 17 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)

Andrei Kurdyukov is now up to about 1.45 million.

His stack just keeps on absorbing chunks from those at his table. In one of the recent chip additions, there was about 120,000 in the pot and a 975 flop on the board.

Kurdyukov bet 100,000 and it was good enough to take down the pot. Kurdyukov added to his massive pile and keep on swinging his big bets around and forcing folds.

4:00pm: Sub-Sparta
Level 17 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)

Less than 300 players remain in the Sunday Million Live, definitely not enough players to defend Sparta. It is enough to make the payjump to € 690 though.

While the field has been nearly halved, there are still plenty of players left to lose. The plan today is to make it down to a final table or play to the end of Level 27. By that point, blinds will be up to 80,000/160,000 with a 20,000 ante.

3:45pm: Boizesan back in the lead
Level 17 – Blinds 5,000/10,000 (ante 1,000)

Paul Boizesan started the day with the lead and while he hovered around his starting stack for a while, he just got a big boost and is near the top of the leaderboard again.

David Neff –who’s also up there with about a million chips– raised to 21,000 and Boizesan called from the button. Alaattin Simsek then three-bet with three big piles of chips and Neff folded.

Boizesan had Simsek covered and moved all-in. Simsek quickly called and player were racing for nearly a million chips. Simsek showed AK while Boizesan turned over 88.

Simsek was hoping for an ace or a king, but the 22Q107 brought none. Simsek hit the rail in 292nd place while Boizesan chipped up to 1.24 million.

3:30pm: Schneiders sacked
Level 16 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)

If you were watching the stream, you might’ve just caught this:

GG Felix, now get back to the internet.

3:20pm: Gousis gets some
Level 16 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)

Chrissovalantis Gousis might have more chips in his stack than Ss in his name after he took a few pots off Marek Blasko.

Gousis took one down with a continuation bet, but then he took a bigger one down with a pair of aces a few minutes later.

There was about 50,000 in that pot and an A52 flop. Gousis bet 34,000 from the cutoff, the big blind folded and Blasko called from middle position. The turn brought an 8 and another bet from Gousis, this time for 48,000.

Blasko thought a bit longer that time, but called as well. This brought a K and one more bet from Gousis: 64,000.

Blasko asked how much Gousis had behind and then tried to get a bit more information.

“Jack-nine of clubs?” Blasko asked. “Maybe jack-ten.”

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Marek Blasko

He counted out the bet and thought a bit longer. Finally, he threw the pile in for the call. Gousis did have a jack, but he also had an ace with AJ. Blasko flashed an A and mucked. Despite losing the hand, Blasko is still at about 830,000 while Gousis chipped up to about 600,000.

3:05pm: Out and up
Level 16 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)

It looks like Michael Eiler won’t be adding a Sunday Million Live trophy to his resume this time.

Eiler started the day short-stacked and has failed to make it past Level 16. But where some fall, others rise. Andrei Kurdyukov appears to be at the top of the leaderboard with 1.2 million. Kurdyukov doesn’t seem to have any previous live cashes, so this will be his live debut.

Only about 335 players remain so he’s already guaranteed €580.

2:50pm: Back at it
Level 16 – Blinds 4,000/8,000 (ante 1,000)

The break clock took a bit of a break.

The first break lasted a bit longer as dealers colored up some of the massive stacks. Christopher Raatz started the day near the top of the leaderboard and has kept chipping up. He’s now up to about 870,000. Marek Blasko on the other hand is just a few chips short of 1 million.

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2:30pm: Break it up
Level 15 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (ante 1,000)

And that’s it for the first three levels of play. Players are now on a 15-minute break and the purple, T-500 chips are being colored up.

Our start-of-day chip leader has stayed about the same with 750,000, but now players are starting to catch up.

2:15pm: Dropping fast
Level 15 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (ante 1,000)

We’re approaching the first break of the day and only about 380 players remain. These players have all made a payjump to €490 and they’ll make €580 once there are 359 left.

2:00pm: An eye on Eiler
Level 15 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (ante 1,000)

There’s a champ in the field, hidden under a baseball cap and reflective sunglasses.

He’s tasted victory live and online. He took down a Sunday Million as “MAE9690” and he won EPT 7 Vienna back in 2010 for a smooth € 700,000 under his given name, Michael Eiler.

As a champion of both worlds, Eiler seems to be the ideal candidate to take down the first Sunday Million Live, but it’ll be a long, uphill battle for him. Eiler started the day with 92,762 and has managed to chip his way up to about 120,000. That’s about half the average stack though and just about 20 big blinds.

-STA_0978Sunday Million Live Rozvadov 3.9.2017 day 2 Michael EilerPCMON2017Tomas Stacha stacha@poker-photo.eu.jpg

Online and live champ, Michael Eiler

1:45pm: Flowing again
Level 15 – Blinds 3,000/6,000 (ante 1,000)

And the stream is back! We know you missed it, so be sure to catch it right here.

1:35pm: King Koopmann
Level 14 – Blinds 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)

Frank Koopmann had a good Sunday a few years ago.

With less than 10 hours to the Sunday Million, Koopmann had just $46 dollars in his PokerStars account. Well, why not play some cash games with it? Koopmann threw his bankroll into a ring game and managed to run it up to a Sunday Million buy-in.

After that, things went even better for Koopmann and he breezed into the money and made it all the way to the final table. When play got three-handed, they cut a deal and while Koopmann ended up falling 3rd, he won $118,000 for the finish.

Now Koopmann is in the Sunday Million Live field and is hoping to improve on that finish. Koopmann started Day 2 with 215,500 and he’s already chipped up to about 470,000.

-STA_0986Sunday Million Live Rozvadov 3.9.2017 day 2 Frank KoopfmannPCMON2017Tomas Stacha stacha@poker-photo.eu.jpg

Frank Koopmann

1:25pm: Tough stream
Level 14 – Blinds 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)

The Sunday Million Live stream is currently experiencing some technical difficulties. The crew is working hard to fix it and it should be back up soon.

1:15pm: Wrong day for Wright
Level 14 – Blinds 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)

The PokerStars Blog Team mostly operates behind the scenes. You’ll catch them looming behind you during a PokerStars event scribbling furiously in a tiny notepad or drinking late at night in a hotel lobby.

Some of them occasionally play poker, taking a stab at a live event or playing a few online events every week. But this tournament has had a penchant for taking what solely existed in the shadows and spitting out into the real world.

That’s exactly what happened with one of our own, Nick Wright, a dedicated British blogger who managed to be one of the first qualifiers for the Sunday Million LIve. He was also one of the first eliminations today. The dream was short-lived.

By his own account, Wright heroically called Frank Rohrmuller’s early-position raise to 10,000 with K10. The big blind called as well and there was a K-T-Q flop with two spades. Rohrmuller bet 22,000 when checked to and Wright, even more heroically, moved all-in for about 100,000. The big blind folded, but Rohrmuller called with ace-jack.

There was no help for Wright on the turn or river and his Sunday Million Live dreams came to an end.

1:00pm: The stream team
Level 14 – Blinds 2,000/4,000 (ante 500)

It’s all about the stream these days.

There’s no shortage of poker players on Twitch or Youtube teaching people how to play and showing what life as a poker pro is like. One of the most prominent streamers of course, is Jason Somerville and his site, RunItUp.

But as good as his stream is, it’s not much help to the German speakers out there. Luckily for them, they have Felix Schneiders has a team of Die Poker Bros. Aside from Scneiders, the bros include Murat Tülek and Niklas Ehrenholz, who are good players in their own right.

How good? Well, they’ve made it to Day 2 of the Sunday Million Live. Tülek started Day 2 with 163,725 while Ehrenolz made it with slightly more, 169,788. The three players usually share a streaming office in Cologne, Germany, where they make videos for all their fans, but now they’re trying to make it big live, here in the Czech Republic.

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Felix Schneirders

12:45pm: In and out
Level 13 – Blinds 1,500/3,000 (ante 500)

The seats are mostly full here in Rozvadov. A few online players have yet to find their way to their seats, including Anton Wigg. Wigg took down the internet version of this event back in 2009 and he also won EPT Copenhagen back in 2010. Wigg’s stack is sitting by itself and we’ll see if its owner will find his way to it.

While Wigg’s seat has been vacant since the start of the day, a few are still warm from their occupant’s recent departure. More than 20 players have hit the rail in the first 30 minutes of play and we’re down to 490 players.

12:30pm: On the big stage
Level 13 – Blinds 1,500/3,000 (ante 500)

The livestream has started and you can catch all the action right here. Team PokerStars Online Felix Schneiders is on it and he’s quite happy to be there. Hole cards are being shown so you can see how the online pro plays a big live event.

12:12pm: It begins
Level 13 – Blinds 1,500/3,000 (ante 500)

The internet is live.

The online and live qualifiers have met and meshed together in the tournament area. Blinds have also been rolled back to Level 13 and our 512 players are now back to playing poker.

11:45am: The calm before the storm

Imagine if the internet came to life.

That is, no doubt, a terrifying prospect in some regards, but a fascinating one in others. Imagine a real-life Google, a sprawling complex with every answer you ever wanted and even the ones you didn’t.

Imagine a library with books of puppy and kitten GIFs you can casually flip through. Now imagine the largest weekly online poker event, the Sunday Million, come to life. A €215 buy-in event with thousands of runners, a €1 million guaranteed prize pool and a six-figure payday for taking down.

Well, it’s real now. A tournament this great had to manifest itself into the real world at some point, and like Pinnochio willing himself from wooden puppet to real boy, PokerStars has managed to manifest the world’s greatest online poker tournament into the real world.

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The venue itself, the Kings Casino in Rozvadov, is also a pure manifestation of online poker. If poker.com were a real place, it would be Rozvadov. This small Czech town is all about one thing: poker.

Aside from some houses and a supermarket, there are few things to keep you distracted from the casino’s poker room. It was built with poker as its goal and everything around exists to support it. Most of the casino is a tournament room designed for poker, the 24-hour buffet is close by to keep players fueled and ready to play.

Players are going to need a lot of it to survive today. A total of 5,045 players signed up for Sunday Million Live –the largest in continental Europe– and only 512 remain. Tournament staff are hoping to get down to single digits by the end of the night. That break-neck speed really is online poker come to life.

The remaining 512 players are all guaranteed €400 for making it this far and if they make it to the final table, that number will jump to €11,300.

And our champion? Well, that lucky player will take the title of first-ever Sunday Million Live champion and €136,000.

Follow us here for updates and also check out the live stream, which shows hole cards on a 30-minute delay. For Day 2 counts, click here. Also, feel like you’re here by signing up for one of the online Sunday events and playing along.

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