Vanessa Kade Wins Anniversary Sunday Million After Career-Defining Performance

Vanessa Kade is the latest Anniversary Sunday Million champion after a dramatic final table on March 23. The Canadian pro beat almost 70,000 entrants to win $1.5 million.

Vanessa Kade has picked up a career-defining win in PokerStars’ 15th Anniversary Sunday Million. (Image: Twitter/Vanessa Kade)

The victory was made all the more remarkable by the fact Kade got it done without a deal. And, just for good measure, she had 100% of her action in the $215 MTT.

Not only that but the career-defining achievement comes just a few days after she became a Team Americas Cardroom pro.

Vanessa Kade Shines

Kade has been in the spotlight recently following a public showdown with GGPoker. She first criticized the operator’s decision to partner with Dan Bilzerian back in 2020.

That issue reared its ugly head again in early March when more critical comments forced GGPoker to terminate Kade’s affiliate contract.

A Twitter war of words ensued but there was a silver lining. Kade had been working on a deal with Americas Cardroom off and on for the best part of a year.

We just beat a field of 69,876 to win $1.5 Million.

It feels impossible.
This is the best day of my life.
It's not close.

All the pain was worth it, the dream is real. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/D0GKZSRhNl

— Vanessa Kade (@VanessaKade) March 23, 2021

That deal was finalized on March 18 and signaled a new chapter in her poker career. So far, it’s a chapter she’ll want to read again and again.

Within four days of joining Chris Moneymaker on Team ACR, Kade had notched up five final tables. She also found herself 12^th out of 65 players in PokerStars’ 15^th Anniversary Sunday Million.

The poker gods were clearly on her side as she found her way onto the March 23 final table. Even when she was down to six big blinds, it always looked as though fate had something in store for the Canadian.

Assured Performance Gets it Done

As the field thinned and a fairytale ending became more likely, Kade took control. Talks of a deal came and went; despite the stacks being almost even with three left.

Pawel Ladniak was in control for much of the three-way battle, but Bulgaria’s PanchoVetin came back from the short stack to dominate for a while.

Indeed, thanks to a rush of cards and aggression, it looked as though he might snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

However, amid the chaos, Kade remained steady. Eventually, she caught PanchoVetin bluffing before sending him to the rail in third.

That gave her an almost insurmountable lead over Ladniak. He made a last-ditch effort to cut a deal, but it was too late by this point.

https://twitter.com/PokerStars/status/1374485292535619587

Kade was in control and within three hands it was over.

A limp from Ladniak on the button with K♥ 9♦ elicited a shove from Kade holding pocket eights. Ladniak called off his stack and watched as the board ran out Q♣ J♣ 3♦ A♦ 5♥.

With that, Kade had won the second largest Sunday Million in history, her biggest ever win, and the hearts of the poker community.

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