PokerStars Hoping It’s Not Unlucky 13 For $10 Million Anniversary Sunday Million

Kaycee James

2 years ago

PokerStars is doing everything it can to ensure it won’t be unlucky 13 when it hosts a $10 million anniversary Sunday Million in April.

PokerStars is celebrating 13 years of the Sunday Million with a special $10 million event in April. (Image: PokerStars)

Announced on March 14, the special edition Sunday Million will feature a top prize of at least $1 million. In a twist on proceedings, the April 14 tournament will feature a $215.

Although the Sunday Million buy-in has traditionally been $215, PokerStars flipped the script in January. Bidding to stay competitive, the online operator reduced the buy-in for its weekly event to $109.

Buy-in Up as Prizepool Increases

That dynamic has seen numbers remain high throughout 2019 but things will revert back to the old system for the $10 million showdown.

PokerStars hasn’t directly addressed its reasons for the temporary price increase but it has moved to counter any discontent with a selection of satellites.

As well as traditional qualifiers starting at $0.90, a new series of Spin & Go tournaments have been introduced.

Costing $5 to enter, the three-play shootouts will feature cash prizes starting at $10 as well as tickets to the 13^th anniversary Sunday Million. To sweeten the pot further, one in every 10 million Spin & Go tournaments will feature a $1 million prizepool.

Since it launched in 2006, the Sunday Million has offered players a weekly shot at $1 million+ prizepools, something that’s helped PokerStars dominate the online scene.

Celebrating that fact, multiple anniversary editions of the tournament have appeared in recent years. In 2011, one of the largest Sunday Million fields of all time anted up for the event’s 10^th birthday.

Through a combination of special satellites and direct buy-ins, 62,116 players pushed the prizepool to $12,423,200. On that occasion, Kyle Weir took the title and $1,146,574.

Sunday Million Remains Strong Under Pressure

More recently, increased competition has seen numbers dip slightly. Although missed guarantees are rare, PokerStars was forced to make up a $1.2 million deficit in 2018.

Hosting its 12^th anniversary event in February 2018, the operator failed to meet the necessary 50,000+ player target. Although the tournament still attracted 43,795 entrants, it wasn’t enough to hit the $10 million.

Taking the knock in its stride, PokerStars hosted a “Take 2” tournament a few weeks later which surpassed the $10 million mark.

With increasing pressure from the likes of Partypoker, PokerStars won’t want to miss another high-profile guarantee. This may explain increased to the buy-in and slew of new satellite options.

Either way, the combination of celebration and competition has delivered yet more value to poker players across the board.