More than 1,000 players have already booked their places in the PokerStars Sunday Million 20th Anniversary Finals, with the $5 million guaranteed tournament approaching its conclusion on September 6.
PokerStars says 1,123 players have progressed through the Daily Heats so far. Of those, 390 qualified for less than the standard $109 tournament buy-in.
There is still plenty of time for that field to grow.
Daily Phase 1 heats will continue through September 6, giving players further opportunities to reach the final stage of a tournament celebrating two decades of one of online poker’s best-known events.
Big Names Already Through to the Sunday Million Finals
The qualified field is beginning to contain some serious tournament pedigree.
Dimitar “KuuL” Danchev has secured his seat after a career that includes WCOOP, PCA and EPT titles, while Swedish high-stakes player Mats “flerrehuve” Ullerang is also through after winning two SCOOP titles earlier this year.
They are joined by 2017 WCOOP Main Event champion Steven “SvZff” van Zadelhoff and two-time 2025 SCOOP champion Leonard “Grozzorg” Maue.
British player Joshua “3betwizkid” Boulton, who won a WSOP bracelet in 2025, has also advanced.
The list does not stop there.
PokerStars Ambassador Ben “Spraggy” Spragg has qualified alongside EPT Cyprus Main Event winner Gilles “TaxationisTheft” Simon.
Dalton “daltonhb” Hobold, who became the first winner of a phased Sunday Million, is also safely through, as is 2013 EPT London Main Event champion Robin Ylitalo.
Marle Spragg has also secured her place.
For Spraggy and Marle, September is becoming particularly busy. Both are involved in the new PokerStars WCOOP Games, where community players are competing to represent ambassador-led teams during this year’s World Championship of Online Poker.
Players Can Still Qualify for Less Than $1
The $109 Daily Heats are not the only route into the tournament.
PokerStars is running satellites starting at $0.55, while special edition Spin & Go tournaments begin at $0.75.
Its Sunday Million 20th Anniversary Ticket Machine is another route. More than $800,000 in tickets is being distributed through weekly draws, with players earning entries by completing challenges across different PokerStars games.
That range of qualification options helps explain how 390 of the first 1,123 finalists managed to secure their places without paying the full $109 buy-in.
The phased structure also means failing to survive one Heat does not end a player’s chances. Further Phase 1 attempts can be made before the final qualification window closes.
Sunday Million Celebrates 20 Years
The original Sunday Million was played in March 2006, when 5,893 players generated a $1,178,600 prize pool.
Twenty years later, the tournament remains a major part of PokerStars’ online schedule, although its format and buy-in have changed considerably over that period.
This year’s anniversary edition is particularly unusual.
Rather than staging one enormous anniversary tournament over a single weekend, PokerStars has turned the event into a 10-week phased competition. Daily Heats began on June 28 and feed players into the Phase 2 Finals on September 6.
The $5 million guarantee also puts considerably more on the line than a regular Sunday Million.
Recent anniversary editions have produced enormous fields and life-changing prizes. Vanessa Kade famously won the 15th Anniversary tournament in 2021, defeating a field of almost 70,000 entries and collecting $1.5 million.
Brazil’s Carlos Augusto “gutAoAllin” Martins won the 19th Anniversary edition in 2025, taking $391,436 following a four-way deal.
The 2025 tournament attracted 28,444 entries and generated a $6 million prize pool.
Huge September Ahead for PokerStars
The Sunday Million Finals will also arrive on one of the most important dates of PokerStars’ 2026 calendar.
September 6 is the opening day of WCOOP 2026, which will eventually crown 350 tournament champions across 121 numbered events.
That creates a major crossover between two of PokerStars’ longest-running tournament brands.
The Sunday Million turns 20 while WCOOP celebrates its 25th edition, with the championship series continuing through September 30.
Before attention fully shifts to WCOOP, however, there is still the matter of finding the latest name to join the Sunday Million’s long list of champions.
More than 1,100 players already have their tickets to the final stage.
With Daily Heats continuing until September 6, that number still has plenty of room to climb.
