PokerStars Sunday Million Anniversary Phase 1 Continue Running All Week

The PokerStars Sunday Million is about to turn 20 years old. To celebrate, PokerStars is hosting a 20th Anniversary edition of online poker’s longest-running weekly tournament, a $109 buy-in, $5 million guaranteed Progressive Knockout version to be precise.

To hit the ambitious $5 million guarantee, PokerStars requires 50,000 entries. The online poker giant plans to reach that lofty total through dozens of Phase 1 tournaments running right up to September 6, which is when Phase 2 gets underway.

Another 15 Phase 1s are scheduled between July 21 and 25. They shuffle up and deal daily at 4:25 p.m., 7:25 p.m., and 10:25 p.m. BST.

Each $109 buy-in Phase 1 sees players start with 10,000 chips and play 10-minute levels, with blinds starting at 40/80/10. Players are permitted to re-enter up to three times while late registration is open; late registration slams shut an hour and 40 minutes after the pitching of the first cards. Each phase wraps up when only 3% of the field remains.

As the Sunday Million 20th Anniversary tournament is a progressive knockout (PKO), every Phase 1 player starts their quest for glory with a $50 bounty on their head. Half of that bounty is instantly won by the player who sends them to the showers, with the other half added to their bounty, making them a more attractive target.

Players are permitted to enter as many of the Phase 1s as they wish or their bankroll allows until they manage to advance to Day 2.

Who Are the Current Sunday Million 20th Anniversary Leaders?

At the time of writing, just shy of 12,600 PokerStars players had bought in across the already completed Phase 1s, with 403 of those starters navigating their way to Phase 2 on September 6.

Two players managed to turn their 10,000 starting stacks into seven-figure piles of chips! Austria’s “go1vs1 legko” is the current chip leader with their 1,076,054 stack, while Canadian “getdamoney0” also has a huge stack, one tipping the scales at 1,045,132.

PokerStars regulars “roo_400” (791,814) and “P0TCHECKER99” (779,309) currently occupy places in the top 10. Expect many more stellar names to enter over the coming weeks.

Satellite or Spin Your Way Into the Sunday Million 20th Anniversary

Satellites for the $5 million guaranteed Sunday Million 20th Anniversary are running right now at PokerStars. Their buy-ins start at $0.55.

Those wishing to explore a different route into a $109 Phase 1 may want to try the special edition Spin & Go tournaments that start as soon as three people register. These special editions cost $0.75 or $4 to enter, and award their winner $109 Sunday Million Anniversary tickets or satellite tickets ranging from $1.50 to $22, depending on the buy-in and prize pool multiplier.

$0.75 Sunday Million Spin & Go Payouts

$4 Sunday Million Spin & Go Payouts

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.