The PokerStars Sunday Million has its 20th Anniversary champion. Belarusian player “AHTOCb” defeated a staggering 55,444-entry field to win $255,336 including bounties, while online poker legend Niklas “Lena900” Astedt made another extraordinary anniversary run before finishing eighth.
The $109 progressive knockout generated $5,544,400, beating its $5 million guarantee by more than half a million dollars. A tournament that began with thousands of players chasing cheap qualification routes ended with two $11 qualifiers among the final six.
Astedt had entered the final 49 players sitting sixth in chips, while eventual champion AHTOCb was second. By the end of the final session, the Belarusian had climbed the one remaining place that mattered.
AHTOCb Wins $255,336
Finland’s “RageReaperf” began the final session with 28.38 million chips, narrowly ahead of AHTOCb on 26.98 million. Astedt was another major threat with 19.64 million, while several players who had reached the tournament through satellites, Power Path or PokerStars promotions remained in contention.
AHTOCb ultimately outlasted them all. The Belarusian collected the scheduled $176,310 first-place payout plus $79,026 in progressive bounties, taking the total score to $255,336.
| Place | Player | Country | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AHTOCb | Belarus | $255,336 |
| 2 | Charlie “JIZOINT” Combes | UK | $186,255 |
| 3 | Marton “komarcus” Kokai | Hungary | $144,167 |
| 4 | 234241234214432 | Ukraine | $93,793 |
| 5 | Aleshek | Belarus | $55,198 |
| 6 | makassip | Denmark | $31,578 |
| 7 | RageReaperf | Finland | $32,712 |
| 8 | Niklas “Lena900” Astedt | Sweden | $25,538 |
| 9 | grid 92 | Ukraine | $12,999 |
Charlie “JIZOINT” Combes finished runner-up and received almost the same regular prize as the champion, collecting $176,303 before bounties. The major difference came from AHTOCb’s knockout haul, which pushed the champion’s final return comfortably beyond a quarter of a million dollars.
Astedt Does It Again
Astedt’s eighth-place finish is another remarkable entry on one of online poker’s deepest résumés. Four years after finishing 23rd from 52,119 entries in the Sunday Million 16th Anniversary, the Swedish star reached the final table against an even larger field.
He collected $10,834 from the regular prize pool and another $14,703 in bounties for a total of $25,538. He could not convert his sixth-place starting position into the title, but surviving from 55,444 entries to the final eight remains an exceptional result.
The performance reinforces Astedt’s unusual ability to navigate enormous online fields. His career includes major championship titles and high-stakes results, but repeatedly reaching the closing stages of tournaments containing more than 50,000 entries presents a very different challenge.
Two $11 Qualifiers Reach the Final Six
The biggest story away from the winner and Astedt may belong to “Aleshek” and “makassip.” Both reached the final table after securing their places through routes that ultimately cost them just $11.
Cheap qualification had been central to the anniversary from the start, with the field already above 1,400 before the final weekend. Hundreds had paid less than the standard $109 entry, creating a tournament where established professionals could compete for the same prizes as low-cost satellite winners.
Aleshek took that opportunity all the way to fifth place. The Belarusian collected $44,028 from the main prize pool and $11,170 in bounties for a total return of $55,198.
Denmark’s makassip went almost as deep, finishing sixth for $31,578 including bounties. The Danish player reached the tournament through Power Path after beginning the qualification route with an $11 entry.
A $1.50 Route Reaches 14th
The cheap qualification stories did not end at the final table. British player Paul “jim5432” Romain reached 14th after beginning his journey through a $1.50 Power Path Step 2 tournament.
Romain eventually collected $2,039 including bounties. The amount is considerably smaller than the final-table prizes, but reaching the last 14 of a tournament recording 55,444 entries after beginning with $1.50 captures much of what has made the Sunday Million attractive for two decades.
The scale of the qualification campaign had become apparent when 1,000 players secured seats with more than a week still remaining. Satellites started at $0.55, while special anniversary Spin & Go routes were available from $0.75.
By the final session, eight of the remaining 49 players had reached the tournament for less than the standard $109 entry. Two of them eventually occupied fifth and sixth place.
55,444 Entries Beat the Guarantee
The final field represented a huge turnout for the anniversary tournament. Its 55,444 entries generated $5,544,400, taking the prize pool more than half a million dollars beyond the $5 million guarantee.
This year’s format was built around a lengthy phased qualification campaign, with daily heats beginning months before the surviving stacks were brought together in September. When Phase 2 finally began, players carried forward the stacks they had accumulated rather than starting the final stage evenly.
The timing also connected two of PokerStars’ longest-running online tournament brands. The Sunday Million is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the same month that WCOOP reaches its 25th edition.
There is considerably more still to come from the 350-event WCOOP schedule, which runs through September 30. For the Sunday Million, however, ten weeks of qualifying and two days of final-stage poker are complete.
The Sunday Million Formula Still Works
The anniversary tournament looked very different from the weekly Sunday Million that helped establish the brand. Its phased progressive knockout structure allowed tens of thousands of entries to feed into a single final stage, while satellites and Power Path opened routes far below the standard buy-in.
The basic appeal remained remarkably familiar. A world-class professional such as Astedt could make the final table, while an $11 qualifier could finish fifth for more than $55,000.
A player beginning through a $1.50 Power Path step could survive until 14th, while an online screen name from Belarus could emerge from 55,444 entries with more than a quarter of a million dollars. That mixture of elite professionals, unknown screen names and cheap qualifiers has always been central to the Sunday Million’s appeal.
Twenty years after its launch, the formula is still working.
