The luck of the Irish held over a few days for TheConcept79 as he battled back to take down $147,310.32 with no deals in the post-St. Patrick's Day edition of the Sunday Warm-Up. The field of 4,695 players built up a whopping $939,000 prize pool, with the top 675 players picking up cash. After nearly ten hours of wall-to-wall poker, the final nine players settled in to finish off their quest for the big cash.

The first few confrontations of the final table went the way of the underdog, as the shorter stacks doubled through the first few all-ins. But eventually juanan's luck ran out and he became the first casualty of the final table. Action folded around to the deep-stacked Civell in the small blind, and he put out a healthy raise with [Qs]-[2s]. Juanan moved all in over the top in defense of his big blind, and Civell called. Juanan tabled [Jc]-[8s], already behind, and fell further in the rearview as the flop came down [6c]-[4h]-[Qd]. Juanan picked up a pair on the [Jh] turn, but needed to catch another jack or an eight on the river to stay alive. Neither materialized, and when the river peeled off the [Tc], juanan was done in 9th place ($7,512).

LukeFromB13 got all his money in good in his final hand, but the outcome clearly showed why it's called a favorite preflop, but not a winner until all the cards come down. Trontrontron raised from late position with [Ah]-[Qc], and Luke quickly shoved all in over the top with [Ac]-[Ks]. Tron called and was a serious underdog, but the queen-high flop turned that all around in an instant. The final board read [8d]-[Qh]-[5s]-[5h]-[9d], and Luke was the 8th-place finisher ($11,737.50).

Rounder13 watched his stack dwindle until his only option was the open-shove, and when he woke up with [Ac]-[9c] in middle position, that looked like a good hand to do it with. He got action from TheConcept79, who woke up on the button with [Jc]-[Jd], and rounder was in trouble. The [Kh]-[Ts]-[3s] flop was no help, and the [4d] on the turn left rounder drawing thin to stay alive. The [8d] on the river meant the best hand preflop would hold up, and rounder13 headed home in 7th place ($21,127.50).

The rich kept getting richer as the night wore on, and when big stack TheConcept79 moved all in from the button, shorty yomahu felt compelled to call with [Ah]-[7d]. Yomahu was actually ahead preflop, as TheConcept79 showed [Kd]-[Qc], but all that changed on the [Ks]-[4c]-[9c] flop. The [9s] on the turn gave TheConcept two pair, and the aceless [6d] on the river meant that another short stack was gone, as yomahu busted in 6th place for $30,517.50.

TheConcept79's timely aggression and run of good cards continued as he took out his third opponent in a row. This time the victim was once again the shortest remaining stack, vtr82w. Vtr82w raised preflop from the cutoff, and TheConcept79 made a huge re-raise from the small blind, moving all in in a massive bet. TheConcept's trap worked, as vtr82w made the call with [Qd]-[Ts], only to find himself facing TheConcept's [Ks]-[Kc]. The cowboys ran roughshod over vtr82w as they picked up a set on the [7s]-[Kd]-[3h] flop. Vtr82w needed runner-runner to stay alive, so when the [4s] landed on the turn, he was drawing dead. The river was a meaningless [7c], and vtr82w collected $39,907.50 for 5th place.

A few orbits later, and once again it was TheConcept79 claiming yet another casualty. Action folded around to TheConcept, who raised from the small blind. Civell defended his big blind by moving all in over the top with [Jh]-[Td], and TheConcept quickly called with, once again, pocket kings. His [Kc]-[Kd] was firmly in the lead going into the flop, and the [2h]-[6c]-[9c] flop did nothing to change that. The turn was a useless [2h], and Civell was drawing dead. The [4s] came on the river, and Civell headed to the rail with a $53,053.50 payday for 4th place.

Three-way action took just a few hands before the steamroller that was TheConcept79 rolled over trontrontron in 3rd place ($77,467.50). Tron opened with an all-in shove from the button holding [Kc]-[8c], and TheConcept made the call from the big blind with [Qd]-[Jd]. Tron was looking good on the [2h]-[7h]-[8d] flop, but the worm turned on the [Qc] turn, as TheConcept made top pair. The [6c] on the river was no help, and trontrontron was done done done in 3rd place.

After taking a massive chip lead into heads up play, one might think that TheConcept79 would make short work of his last remaining opponent weriol. One would be wrong. After doubling through TheConcept on the very first hand of heads up play, weriol pulled almost even in chips before slipping back down the ladder. After several more back-and-forth hands, weriol moved ahead for the first time. Once he grabbed onto the chip lead, weriol kept the pressure on, taking a 2.5:1 chip lead into the final break of the night.

That final break gave TheConcept time to gather his thoughts and get his game back on track, and just a few minutes after returning to the table, he had pulled almost even. Then in one massive pot, he took back his chip lead in dominating fashion. After trading raises back and forth preflop, all the chips ended up in the middle with weriol holding the chip lead and [Kd]-[7d] to TheConcept's [Jh]-[Js]. TheConcept's jacks held on a board of [2d]-[9c]-[4h]-[7h]-[3s] in a 42-million chip pot that left weriol on life support. But the wily weriol wasn't finished yet, as he doubled back through TheConcept just a couple of hands later.

TheConcept kept the pressure on, and finally it all came down to one big hand. Weriol had been chipped down by the constant raises from TheConcept, and managed one last double up before all the chips went into the middle for the last time. With a nearly 5:1 chip lead, TheConcept open-shoved from the button with [Js]-[Ts]. Weriol called with [As]-[4s], and was ahead preflop. The flop came down [Kh]-[Th]-[9h], and weriol needed an Ace on the turn. The deck didn't oblige, bringing the [Tc] instead. Once again, TheConcept had his opponent drawing dead on the turn, and this time it was for all the potatoes. The river was the [Kc], and weriol was the runner up with a $109,393.50 payday.

TheConcept tore apart the final table in one of the most dominating Sunday Warm-Ups in recent memory, but he had his hands full with weriol in the heads up match. When all was said and done, he earned every bit of the $147,310.32 he took down at the Sunday Warm-Up champion! Congratulation to TheConcept79, weriol for a fantastic runner up performance, and to all our PokerStars players who cashed in the Sunday Warm-Up this week!

The Sunday Warm-Up continued to blaze hotter and hotter as the weather got colder this November weekend, with a whopping $925,600 in the prize pool. 4,628 players bellied up to the virtual felt to take their shot at the massive payout, and the top 675 finishers got paid for their efforts. Of course, the big money was concentrated at the final table, so after a little less than nine hours of grueling poker, the nine survivors gathered 'round the final table.

Action was tentative to start off, with players avoiding any major confrontations in the first few hands, but as the blinds and antes grew, the short stacks had to take their shots to double up just to stay alive. Melano26 put his last few chips in the middle with [As]-[8s] and found a caller in CruSader1981. Big stack angevert then moved all in over the top to isolate, and CruSader1981 got out of the way. Angevert was ahead with [Jd]-[Js], and the flop of [Jh]-[7s]-[Qc] left melano26 needing to catch runner-runner perfect to stay alive. The [2h] on the turn meant that melano26 was drawing dead, and when the meaningless [6s] rolled off on the river, melano26 was busted in 9th place ($7,404.80).

Floes came into the final table as the second-shortest stack, and it was just a few hands after melano26's elimination when floes open-shoved from the small blind with [Ad]-[5c]. It was a good time for the move, with a bunch of dead blinds and antes in the pot, but Mr. Shanish woke up with [Ac]-[Jc] in the big blind and made the easy call. Already a dominant favorite, Mr. Shanish took final control on the flop as it came down [9d]-[3h]-[Jh]. Running nines on the turn and river gave Mr. Shanish a full house, and gave floes 8th place money to the tune of $11,750.00.

Bahneyyy lost most of his stack in a huge hand earlier at the final table, but held on for a few more orbits before he got it all in preflop with [As]-[5c] against CruSader1981's [Ac]-[9s]. The board did nothing to help Bahneyyy, running out [8c]-[Jc]-[2h]-[3c]-[9h], and CruSader1981 picked up some much-needed chips as Bahneyyy busted in 7th place ($20,826).

CruSader1981 played his short stack well, but he eventually found a number of outs he couldn't fade when he went out in 6th place ($30,082) at the hands of angevert in this hand.

After a lengthy period of five-handed jousting, one misstep by cspdealer left him watching the game from the sidelines after busting in 5th place ($39,338). The aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the button, and cspdealer re-raised from the big blind with [Kd]-[Js]. Mr. Shanish moved all in over the top, and cspdealer called, only to find he was dominated by Mr. Shanish's [As]-[Jc]. The flop hit both players as it came down [Ac]-[Kc]-[9h], but Mr. Shanish's top pair was well ahead of cspdealer's middle pair. The [Qh] on the turn gave cspdealer few more outs to stay alive, but the [Qc] on the river ended his tournament.

After losing a big pot to double up the short-stacked $saxo$, Mr. Shanish came right back on the very next hand to bust rivermanl in 4th place ($52,296.40). Rivermanl moved all in preflop from the small blind on a steal with [Qs]-[5s], but Mr. Shanish found [Jc]-[Jh] in the big blind and made the easy call. The flop of [Tc]-[7h]-[7c] helped neither player, but the [5c] on the turn gave rivermanl a few more ways to survive. None of those ways included the [Td], so when that fell on the river, there were only three.

With the stacks exceptionally close, the final three survivors took a few moments to discuss a deal. With the stacks almost even, the players decided on an even chop of the remaining money, with $10,000 left in the middle for the eventual champion. That locked up $106,468.22 for each player, a pretty good day's work by almost any standard. With their six-figure payday in hand, the remaining three players settled in to duke it out for the last $10K.

It only took a few minutes of folding before a big confrontation brewed up between our three survivors. The ever-aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the small blind with [Ad]-[9h], and $saxo$ moved all in over the top with [3h]-[3s]. The race was on as the flop came down [7h]-[8s]-[Qh], and $saxo$ had faded the overcards. The [2h] gave both players a flush draw, and the [4h] on the river gave Mr. Shanish the bigger flush to send $saxo$ home in 3rd place.

Heads up play lasted only three hands, and Mr. Shanish won all of them to secure his extra $10,000 and the Sunday Warm-Up title. The last hand went down like this -

When the dust cleared, Mr. Shanish's aggressive play had locked up the last $10K on the table and made a $116,468.22 payday for himself. Congratulations to Mr. Shanish and all our Sunday Warm-Up players!

The Sunday Warm-Up continued to blaze hotter and hotter as the weather got colder this November weekend, with a whopping $925,600 in the prize pool. 4,628 players bellied up to the virtual felt to take their shot at the massive payout, and the top 675 finishers got paid for their efforts. Of course, the big money was concentrated at the final table, so after a little less than nine hours of grueling poker, the nine survivors gathered 'round the final table.

Action was tentative to start off, with players avoiding any major confrontations in the first few hands, but as the blinds and antes grew, the short stacks had to take their shots to double up just to stay alive. Melano26 put his last few chips in the middle with [As]-[8s] and found a caller in CruSader1981. Big stack angevert then moved all in over the top to isolate, and CruSader1981 got out of the way. Angevert was ahead with [Jd]-[Js], and the flop of [Jh]-[7s]-[Qc] left melano26 needing to catch runner-runner perfect to stay alive. The [2h] on the turn meant that melano26 was drawing dead, and when the meaningless [6s] rolled off on the river, melano26 was busted in 9th place ($7,404.80).

Floes came into the final table as the second-shortest stack, and it was just a few hands after melano26's elimination when floes open-shoved from the small blind with [Ad]-[5c]. It was a good time for the move, with a bunch of dead blinds and antes in the pot, but Mr. Shanish woke up with [Ac]-[Jc] in the big blind and made the easy call. Already a dominant favorite, Mr. Shanish took final control on the flop as it came down [9d]-[3h]-[Jh]. Running nines on the turn and river gave Mr. Shanish a full house, and gave floes 8th place money to the tune of $11,750.00.

Bahneyyy lost most of his stack in a huge hand earlier at the final table, but held on for a few more orbits before he got it all in preflop with [As]-[5c] against CruSader1981's [Ac]-[9s]. The board did nothing to help Bahneyyy, running out [8c]-[Jc]-[2h]-[3c]-[9h], and CruSader1981 picked up some much-needed chips as Bahneyyy busted in 7th place ($20,826).

CruSader1981 played his short stack well, but he eventually found a number of outs he couldn't fade when he went out in 6th place ($30,082) at the hands of angevert in this hand.

After a lengthy period of five-handed jousting, one misstep by cspdealer left him watching the game from the sidelines after busting in 5th place ($39,338). The aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the button, and cspdealer re-raised from the big blind with [Kd]-[Js]. Mr. Shanish moved all in over the top, and cspdealer called, only to find he was dominated by Mr. Shanish's [As]-[Jc]. The flop hit both players as it came down [Ac]-[Kc]-[9h], but Mr. Shanish's top pair was well ahead of cspdealer's middle pair. The [Qh] on the turn gave cspdealer few more outs to stay alive, but the [Qc] on the river ended his tournament.

After losing a big pot to double up the short-stacked $saxo$, Mr. Shanish came right back on the very next hand to bust rivermanl in 4th place ($52,296.40). Rivermanl moved all in preflop from the small blind on a steal with [Qs]-[5s], but Mr. Shanish found [Jc]-[Jh] in the big blind and made the easy call. The flop of [Tc]-[7h]-[7c] helped neither player, but the [5c] on the turn gave rivermanl a few more ways to survive. None of those ways included the [Td], so when that fell on the river, there were only three.

With the stacks exceptionally close, the final three survivors took a few moments to discuss a deal. With the stacks almost even, the players decided on an even chop of the remaining money, with $10,000 left in the middle for the eventual champion. That locked up $106,468.22 for each player, a pretty good day's work by almost any standard. With their six-figure payday in hand, the remaining three players settled in to duke it out for the last $10K.

It only took a few minutes of folding before a big confrontation brewed up between our three survivors. The ever-aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the small blind with [Ad]-[9h], and $saxo$ moved all in over the top with [3h]-[3s]. The race was on as the flop came down [7h]-[8s]-[Qh], and $saxo$ had faded the overcards. The [2h] gave both players a flush draw, and the [4h] on the river gave Mr. Shanish the bigger flush to send $saxo$ home in 3rd place.

Heads up play lasted only three hands, and Mr. Shanish won all of them to secure his extra $10,000 and the Sunday Warm-Up title. The last hand went down like this -

When the dust cleared, Mr. Shanish's aggressive play had locked up the last $10K on the table and made a $116,468.22 payday for himself. Congratulations to Mr. Shanish and all our Sunday Warm-Up players!

This week's edition of the Sunday Warm-Up drew a whopping 4,763 entrants to build a prize pool of a massive $952,600, more than $200,000 over the guarantee! By the time the final table was set, it was fully dark on the east coast, and the late NFL game was almost to halftime. Final table host PokerStars Team Pro Ivan Demidov came on to welcome the players to the final table, and they had just enough time to play one hand before going on a quick break.

With nine hours in the books, it would take the players less than 90 minutes to declare a winner. When all was said and done it was egor2077 getting hot hands at the right time to decimate his last opposition and claim the $149,017.54 top prize, with no deals made at the final table this week.

Short stack smerks pushed his stack into the middle several times before finding himself in a final coin flip against GoldStar player xQ024. Smerks held a slight edge preflop with [8h]-[8d], but xQ024's [Ks]-[Jd] made top pair on the [Kh]-[Th]-[7s] flop and smerks needed on of the two remaining eights or running hearts to stay alive. The turn card was a singularly unhelpful [Ad], and when the river brought the [9s], smerks was headed to the rail in 9th place ($7,620.80). Just a few hands later funnywhiteshss open-shoved with [Kh]-[Qs], only to run into egor2077's [Ah]-[As]. The board ran out [4c]-[8h]-[9s]-[7d]-[5s], and then there were seven. Funnywhiteshss picked up $11,907.50 for 8th place.

The all-ins were flying around like bullets in a Quentin Tarantino movie, but most of the time the short stacks were dodging elimination. After an opening all in move from egor2077 in the small blind, timdmd defended his big blind with [Qh]-[9h]. It turned out to be a good read, as egor2077 was on a steal with [As]-[3c], but the [Jc]-[9c]-[Ah] flop put egor2077 firmly into the driver's seat. Timdmd needed a queen or another nine to stay alive, but the turn and river ran out [6d]-[3h], and he was done in 7th place ($21,433.50).

XQ024 came out firing again with a series of strong preflop raises, and fabregarp moved all in over the top of his button raise with [As]-[2h]. This time xQ024 turned over the dominating [Ad]-[Kc], and fabregarp was in danger of elimination. The flop of [3d]-[3h]-[6d] was no help to either player, but fabregarp picked up additional outs when the [5c] hit the turn. No deuce or four landed on the river, however, as the [Jc] was the final card in his final hand. Fabregarp picked up an impressive $30,959.50 for his 6th-place finish.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this little video shows how a river is worth $40,485.50. That's how much olle101 picked up for his tournament after busting out in 5th place.

Play slowed dramatically with only four players remaining, as the remaining players jockeyed for position and passed the chip lead back and forth among themselves. Finally, just before the final break of the night, egor2077 took out two players in short order to move into a 2:1 chip lead going into heads-up play. First, xQ024 moved all in from the small blind with [Tc]-[Th], and egor2077 called with [Ad]-[Kd]. A flop of [4s]-[Ac]-[3h] put the coin flip in egor2077's court, and when the turn and river came down [Jd]-[7c], xQ024 was done in 4th place ($53,821.90).

On the very next hand, egor2077 raised from the button with [Ac]-[9c], and FUTURE102 moved all in over the top with [Ks]-[Kd]. FUTURE102 looked poised to double through egor2077 on the [Qd]-[8c]-[5d] flop, but the [Tc] on the turn gave egor2077 more outs to win. The [Ah] on the river was one of those outs, and FUTURE102 was done in 3rd place ($78,589.50) and egor2077 took a significant chip lead into heads up play.

No stranger to online final tables, Titantom32 closed the gap heads up fairly quickly, refusing to make things easy on egor2077. The players feinted and parried for long minutes before finally the chips went in the middle for the last time.

When the dust settled, egor2077's two pair were better than Titantom32's, and he was eliminated in 2nd place ($110,977.90). With no deal in place, or ever seriously discussed, egor2077 took out the final three opponents at the final table to claim the $149,017.54 top prize. Congratulations to egor2077 and all our final table players!