This week we returned to the traditional sized $500,000 Sunday Warm-up after kojocki took down eamsie last week in a distinct $1 million guaranteed edition of the Sunday Warm-up celebrating the sooner start times to deal with individuals who love to play poker but would rather not need to call into work the following morning with over $100,000 at the line. While it's still going to take a marathon ten plus hours to award this $101,611.21 sitting on the final table for our champion, our victor gets a bit of more shut-eye and down a couple of less Red Bulls on the office after taking down the 3,236 players that punched their ticket for this $215 buy-in event.

Team Online Martin AABenjaminAA Hruby was capable of finding the appropriate cards while cashing in 324th place ($362.43). Team PokerStars pro Jan Heitmann was found a bit of higher up the pay ladder but after losing a couple of flips bowed out in 154th place ($679.56). Sebastian Ruthenberg also enjoyed a protracted run tonight but was stopped by iberbiber as pocket sevens for the united kingdom pro was unable to dodge A♣8♣ on a K♦ K♣ 9♦ A♦ 4♦ as Ruthenberg collected $776.64 in 131st place. That left Spanish Team PokerStars pro Juan Maceiras trying to add to his bankroll from the large €315,000 cash for 5th place on the EPT Madrid Grand Final. With the blinds sitting at 6K/12K ante 1.2K Maceiras would open shove from early position for 218,711 because it folded to BetrThanPhil (who almost snagged a SCOOP watch a couple of weeks ago in Event #35-L) within the cutoff holding A♣Q♥ and covering Juan's stack. BetrThanPhil would make the decision as Maceiras turned over K♥T♦. Despite flopping an open ended straight draw, Macerias would watch the 6♦ Q♣ J♦ 2♥ 4♠ board end his tournament night in 94th place ($906.08).

Juan Maceiras - 94th place

Just after the nine and half hour mark only ten players and two tables remained as hand for hand play trickled into the 80K/160K ante 16K level. migsgreen was hanging on with just 1.1 million facing a raise to 480,000 chips from Ab4r4 within the cutoff. Holding T♥J♥ within the big blind migsgreen fired the remainder of his missiles into the center and got a decision from ab4r4 who showed A♠4♦. The jack within the door was good for migsgreen however the second card paired up Ab4r4's ace J♣ A♦ 4♣ 8♣ 2♥ and held for the 2.3 million chip pot shipping $3,883.20 to migsgreen for tenth place and starting our final table below:

Seat 1: juancito10 (2896654 in chips)Seat 2: Grizzlypower (8047090 in chips)Seat 3: iberbiber (1938681 in chips)Seat 4: mister MH (2964530 in chips)Seat 5: circuslover (1663584 in chips)Seat 6: kronkol (3432072 in chips)Seat 7: BetrThanPhil (6139493 in chips)Seat 8: Ab4r4 (3613674 in chips)Seat 9: pastika (1664222 in chips)

It pays to knock out the Team PokerStars players

Two of our final nine got the respect of knocking out the resident pros. BetrThanPhil was better than Juan Maceiras and iberbiber took down Sebastian Ruthenberg before both players assured themselves $5,177.60 for making tonight's final table.

Ok, maybe it doesn't pay that well to knock out the Team Pros

With the blinds at 80K/160K ante 16K only Grizzlypower and BetrThanPhil held greater than 20 big blinds because the remainder of the pack would have to pick a place soon. Iberbiber's spot was holding J♦A♦ within the small blind calling the chip leader's shove from the button with 1.6 million chips. Grizzlypower would want some help so as to add to the chip lead flipping up the dominated A♥3♣, and that help wasted no time showing up because the first card at the board paired up the trey, holding at the 3♠ 4♥ A♠ Q♣ 8♠ board to bump iberbiber out in ninth place ($5,177.60).

1-2-3 DODGEBALL!

The time is available in every tournament where you're sitting with a pocket pair hoping it finds how to dodge a host of outs. Ab4r4's turn to begin bobbing and weaving came within the hand below:

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All-in preflop for 1.2 million holding pocket sixes 6♦6♣ Ab4r4 was seeking to parry his way during the board cards as kronkol held A♣Q♦. The flop J♣ 8♣ T♣ added more balls being thrown on the Switzerland player as kronkol picked up straight and flush draws to his overcards. The scoring hit came at the turned 9♥ because the 3♥ at the river didn't salvage a chopped straight and Ab4r4 claimed eight place cash ($8,090.00).

Exiting from the large top

Just two hands later BetrThanPhil was already enjoying a good stack of chips and facing the quick stack 1.1 million chip shove by circuslover within the big blind. BetrThanPhil would make the decision in addition to the chip leader Grizzlypower for a potentially messy pot. The 2 chip leaders decided to not prod one another and checked down the 3♥6♠ A♦ 8♦ 6♥ board. BetrThanPhil was first to show, turning up two pair J♥A♥ as Grizzlypower and circuslover could only muck their hands while watching another 3.6 million chips slid over to BetrThanPhil. circuslover ride on the carnival came to finish in seventh place ($14,562.00).

Two aggressive big stacks enter just one leaves

As mentioned with circuslover's elimination, Grizzlypower and BetrThanPhil held the chip lead with aggression and either one of them got their chips within the middle preflop with the blinds at 125K/250K ante 25K for a whopping 12.8 million chip pot. Watch the consequences below:

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The big hand showed to be a large cooler for Grizzlypower holding big slick A♠K♥ to BetrThanPhil's aces A♦A♣. No miracles 6♣ 4♦ 6♥ 9♦ 4♣ and no chips for Grizzlypower because the former chip leader's growl became a soft as a whisper exiting the general table collapse sixth place ($21,034.00).

BetrThanAces? Didn't think so

With the blinds holding at 125K/250K ante 25K for a couple of more hands, BetrThanPhil took just a little hit to his massive stack while doubling up pastika but still held an eight figure pile of chips. After kronkol raised it as much as 750K from the small blind, BetrThanPhil slyly gave the raise a little bit bump to 1.25 million. Holding just 219,844 more behind, kronkol called showing a suited ace A♦9♦. kronkol would wish some diamonds to triumph over the pocket aces A♣A♥ that gave the impression to have reappeared in BetrThanPhil's hand. Drawing dead by the turn T♠ 4♣ K♠ 7♦ Q♠ kronkol watched another tournament life fall to BetrThanPhil's aces, finishing in fifth place ($27,506.00). This will likely be kronkol's second fifth place finish within the Sunday Warm-up equaling his February 2010 feat.

Fans love quick deals (and so do bloggers)

Team Online's Andre Coimbra heeded the decision of our remaining four to hash out a deal, and in less time than it took to type this sentence the players took home the below amounts with $10,000.00 put aside for the winner.

pastika: $76,627.71BetrThanPhil :$74,609.26mister MH: $55,550.51juancito10: $51,154.13

Take it at the run baby

Just one hand after splitting up the cash, pastika put the 2 smaller stacks at the defensive with a shove from the button. juancito10 looked down at a good J♠K♥ and made the decision for his remaining 3.6 million chips as mister MH folded the massive blind. pastika's J♣Q♥ went in search of a girl and located her quickly at the flop 3♥ Q♣ 4♠. Kings managed to stick off the turn 6♥ and river 8♠ as juancito10 profited almost $14K more from making the deal one hand earlier, taking home $51,154.13 in fourth place.

Too much pastika within the pie

Taking down five of six hands in a row, pastika (which appears like a unprecedented spice but actually is a tackle and bait shop in Wisconsin) continued to extend the chip lead going into the 150K/300K ante 30K blind level. After min-raising from the button, pastika would call mister MH's 4.5 million chip shove from the small blind. mister MH showed pocket eights 8♥8♠ and pastika would have to shake and bake slightly for the win again, as his pocket fives 5♣5♠ were dominated. 9.4 million within the middle and it all would slide to pastika after another two outer spiked, this time with a dramatic five at the river Q♣ 2♦ T♥ T♠ 5♥ ending mister MH's night in third place ($55,550.51). The win arrange the prospective long heads-up battle below.

Potential not reached, winner found quickly

Two aggressive players but both had a variety of chips to fight it out for the additional $10K and title of Sunday Warm-up champion. pastika's 20.6 million to BetrThanPhil's 11.6 would find all in their chips within the middle preflop after just six minutes of heads-up play. BetrThanPhil was ground all the way down to 8.6 million and blinds sitting at 200K/400K ante 40K when the decisive hands played out below:

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BetrThanPhil 4♦4♥pastika A♣7♥

A race for the win as pastika would have to catch something one last time to disclaim BetrThanPhil the title. It could look forward to the turn but sure enough a seven managed to seem at the K♣ K♠ 5♣ 7♦ 8♣ board ending BetrThanPhil's night because the runner-up ($74,609.26) shipping the additional $10K to our champion pastika!

$500,000 guaranteed Sunday Warm-up results (06-12-11)(* denotes a part of four-way deal)1. pastika (Czech Republic) *$86,627.712. BetrThanPhil (Canada) *$74,609.263. mister MH (Netherlands) *$55,550.514. juancito10 (Spain) *$51,154.135. kronkol (Netherlands) $27,506.006. Grizzlypower (Germany) $21,034.007. circuslover (UK) $14,562.008. Ab4r4 (Switzerland) $8,090.009. iberbiber (Canada) $5,177.60

Read More... [Source: PokerStars Poker Blog :: Tournaments]