Save the Date: Sunday Million 18th Anniversary Comes With $8m GTD

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Sunday Million 18th Anniversary

It's the most iconic tournament in all of online poker, and it's back to celebrate its 18th anniversary.

The PokerStars Sunday Million has been a mainstay of the weekly tournament grind for many poker players �� both recreational and professional �� and serves as a flagship for the site.

Born in 2006, just 5,893 players joined the inaugural event, generating a prize pool of $1,178,60 the tournament has been an integral part of poker history. Whether it's Jesper ��KipsterDK�� Hougaard becoming the first player to win it twice, Kevin ��kevsteele�� Steele winning it twice in the space of four months or the only three-time champion in the form of Artem ��veeea�� Vezhenkov, there's a rich and storied history with the Sunday Million.

Now get ready for a special edition of one of the biggest online poker tournaments as the Sunday Million turns 18!

Sunday Million 18th Anniversary

The Sunday Million Anniversary traditionally returns to a buy-in of $215 and will take place on April 7. PokerStars has announced that the winner will receive $1 million and the overall guaranteed prize pool will be $8 million, an increase from the 2023 figure.

Here are the key details:

Date & TimeApril 7, 2024 @ 18:05 (WET)
Buy-in$215
Guarantee$8m GTD
Starting Stack20,000
Levels20 minutes
Re-EntryUp to 5 re-entries available during the late registration period
Late RegistrationAvailable until the start of Day 2 (April 8, 2024 @ 18:10 (WET))

Day 1 concludes at the end of Level 18: 900/1,800 (200)

Keep an eye out for satellite and qualification routes available in the PokerStars client.

Famous Sunday Million Anniversary Edition Winners

The very first Sunday Million Anniversary not only obliterated its $5m guarantee, generating a $11,825,600 prize pool, but it also saw the winner pick up a Lamborghini Gallardo in addition to the title. The inaugural winner was Luke "Bdbeatslayer" Vrabel, who took home $671,094 as part of a nine-handed deal.

The first nine-figure winner of the Sunday Million Anniversary was "DrUPSWING" in 2014, but they were soon followed by 2017 champion "Xavi666" ($1,093,204) and Alex "AAAArthur" Brito ($1,192,802) in 2020 �� one of three Brazilians to have won Sunday Million Anniversary titles.

And while Brito's victory came over a record field of 93,016, the largest first prize came the following year when Canada's Vanessa "Niffller" Kade won $1,514,920.

Sunday Million Anniversary Edition Winners (2011-23)

EventEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrize
Sunday Million 5th Anniversary59,128$11,825,600Luke "Bdbeatslayer" Vrabel$671,094
Sunday Million 6th Anniversary33,732$6,746,400slyfox151$480,761
Sunday Million 7th Anniversary49,287$9,857,400Andrius "benislovas" Bielskis$848,589
Sunday Million 8th Anniversary45,586$9,317,200DrUPSWING$1,038,540
Sunday Million 9th Anniversary50,432$10,086,400Brayden "BRAYDEN93" Fritzshall$597,720
Sunday Million 10th Anniversary55,059$11,011,800a.urli$970,000
Sunday Million 11th Anniversary55,835$11,167,000Xavi666$1,093,204
Sunday Million 12th Anniversary43,975$10,000,000Luis "Hulk9950" Felipe$960,000
Sunday Million 13th Anniversary61,342$12,268,400wangli0402$611,944
Sunday Million 14th Anniversary93,016$18,603,200Alex "AAAArthur" Brito$1,192,802
Sunday Million 15th Anniversary69,876$13,975,200Vanessa "Niffller" Kade$1,514,920
Sunday Million 16th Anniversary52,119$10,424,000Blackbeauty$931,885
Sunday Million 17th Anniversary39,500$7,900,000Ricardo "RFN1986" Nagamoto$1,000,000

All but three (2017, 2021, 2023) of the Sunday Million Anniversary events have involved final-table deals. Deals have included a nine-handed deal (2011), an eight-handed deal (2012), a seven-handed deal (2015), a five-handed deal (2019), two four-handed deals (2016 & 2020), two three-handed deals (2013 & 2018) and two heads-up deals (2014 & 2022)

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Managing Editor

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

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