When PartyPoker first announced its MILLIONS online tournament, poker players’ interests were piqued. And when the prize pool was guaranteed to be at least $20 million, they were as ready to play.
PartyPoker was doing more than upping its guarantee from the previous $5 million; the company was asking players to believe in its vision. Changes in recent years were meant to show players players that their opinions matter, that their requests for better online poker were heard, and that everything from software upgrades to tournament changes were implemented per player input. The goal of becoming a clear frontrunner in the online poker races – second to the far-and-away leader, PokerStars, of course – was in view.
The PartyPoker MILLIONS Online tournament of 2018 was yet another way to show what the operator is capable of doing for poker. And it looks as if the minds behind the endeavor got their wish.
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MILLIONS Started with Thousands
The PartyPoker MILLIONS Online got underway with the first of five starting days of the tournament on November 25. That day brought in 1,574 entries for the $5,300 buy-in event with re-entries allowed. That put the prize pool at $7.87 million, though the $20 million was guaranteed.
The next starting flights were on November 29 (484 entries), December 2 (1,112 entries), December 3 (707 entries), and a December 4 turbo edition (490 entries). That brings the tournament to a grand total of 4,367 entrants and a $21,385,000 prize pool, significantly exceeding the guarantee.
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Day 2 found 687 players logging on with chips, but only the top 500 received payouts, which began at $10,918. By the time the night ended, only 29 competitors remained.
The final day whittled the field down to the final table, after players like Chance Kornuth exited. After senchilko busted in ninth place for $218,350, the eight-handed final table was set with Pedro “Maddonaa” Marques in the chip lead and the day’s original chip leader, wheatforsheep, second on the leaderboard.
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Big Money at Final Table
It didn’t take long for Marques to lose his lead to COL_Moutarde, but Marques was able to eliminate orginALUS in eighth place. Wheatforsheep was the next to go, at the hands of Pim “ForMatherRussia” de Goede, who also sent COL_Moutarde out in sixth place.
Meanwhile, Manuel “Sheparentao” Ruivo doubled through de Goede and then busted j2805667 in fifth place. Ruivo also sent Marques packing in fourth place. Blaz “Scarmak3r” Zerjav busted in third place at the hands of de Goede, but it was notable that Zerjav had satellited in to the tournament for only $5 and cashed for more than $1.3 million.
The final two players, Ruivo and de Goede, stopped the action briefly to talk about a possible deal, and then a chip count deal was proposed and accepted. That gave chip leader Ruivo the win and de Goede a well-paid second-place finish.
When all was said and done, the final table players and payouts were recorded as follows:
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