Sunday Briefing: Dario Sammartino Wins Two PokerStars High Rollers

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Dario Sammartino

Italian high stakes guru Dario ��Secret_M0d3�� Sammartino may be better-known for his exploits in the live arena, but showed he has what it takes to rub shoulders with the best online poker players by taking down two high roller events at PokerStars on Dec. 9 for a combined $58,667.

PokerStars High Roller Club: $530 Sunday 500

DateDecember 9th
Buy-in$530
Guarantee$75,000
Entrants244
Prize pool$122,000
ITM31

Sammartino��s first impressive victory came in the High Roller Club: $530 Sunday 500 that attracted 244 entries. It wasn��t a tournament that started well for Sammartino as he had to fire three bullets at it, but it proved to be third time lucky for the popular Italian as he triumphed over the star-studded field to lock up $23,459.

It was the talented Finn Samuel ���urop�an�� Vousden who was Sammartino��s final opponent. Vousden has a reputation for being highly aggressive and being one of the best no-limit hold��em players in the world. Vousden proved no match for Sammartino heads-up, however, and Sammartino brushed Vousden aside to secure the top prize, resigning Vousden to a $17,617 consolation prize.

Brazil��s ��edudrake1987�� was the only other player to lock up a five-figure score, collecting $13,231 for their third-place finish.

Earlier at the final table, Connor ��blanconegro�� Drinan ran out of steam to bust in eighth-place for $3,161.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Dario ��Secret_M0d3�� SammartinoSlovakia$23,459
2Samuel ���urop�an�� VousdenFinland$17,617
3edudrake1987Brazil$13,231
4blackaces93Malta$9,936
5LFFF22Brazil$7,462
64rebmunCanada$5,604
7CrazyLissyRussia$4,209
8Connor ��blanconegro�� DrinanMexico$3,161
9Rene_no_luckGermany$2,373

PokerStars High Roller Club: $1,050 Sunday Supersonic 6-Max Hyper-Turbo

DateDecember 9th
Buy-in$1,050
Guarantee$100,000
Entrants171
Prize pool$173,742
ITM19

Sammartino��s second win can in the High Roller Club: $1,050 Sunday Supersonic 6-Max Hyper-Turbo which was over in less than two hours, making for an incredible hourly rate of more than $17,600 per hour!

The 171 entrants were whittled to the final six and Uruguay��s ��alvaro noble�� busted in sixth-place for $8,993 and was the only player at the final table not to secure five-figures.

��PROCHRIS1�� of Switzerland ($11,816), Talal ��raidalot�� Shakerchi ($15,524), and ��Pimmss�� of Netherlands ($20,397) all departed to leave Sammartino and Canada��s ��roo_400�� to lock horns heads-up for the title.

No deal was struck despite the rapidly increasing blinds and the near $10,000 difference in prize money, meaning Sammartino bagged $35,208 for his victory while roo_400 netted $26,798 after Sammartino came out on top.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Dario ��Secret_M0d3�� SammartinoSlovakia$35,208
2roo_400Canada$26,798
3PimmssNetherlands$20,397
4Talal ��raidalot�� ShakerchiUnited Kingdom$15,524
5PROCHRIS1Switzerland$11,816
6alvaro nobleUruguay$8,993

partypoker Sunday Super High Roller

DateDecember 9th
Buy-in$2,600
Guarantee$200,000
Entrants94
Prize pool$235,000
ITM12

Simon ��fren96�� Higgins bagged the fourth-largest online cash of his career on Dec. 9 when he topped a field of 94 entrants in the partypoker Sunday Super High Roller, a tournament commanding a $2,600 buy-in. Higgins netted $62,275 for his victory, the largest cash he has scooped at partypoker, to push his lifetime online winnings past the $1.9 million barrier.

Higgins found himself heads-up with Costa Rica��s ��IamPEAKing�� for the title after the likes of Alexey ��toril274�� Bilokur (sixth for $12,337�� and Mikita ��helicopterben62�� Badziakouski (fifth for $16,450) had fallen by the wayside..

IamPEAKing proved no match for Higgins who sent his opponent to the rail to collect the $43,475 runner-up prize and securing the $62,275 top prize for himself. Higgins has been in excellent form of late and has climbed to an all-time high of 64th in the world according to PocketFives. With more scores like this, Higgins could mount a charge on those towards the top of the leaderboard.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Simon ��fren96�� HigginsUnited Kingdom$62,275
2IamPEAKingCosta Rica$43,475
3SchelampigaUhuAustria$30,550
4NoisiaRadioAustria$21,150
5Mikita ��helicopterben82�� BadziakouskiLatvia$16,450
6Alexey ��toril274�� BilokurRussia$12,337
7rrinKSKosovo$9,987
8its_showtimeMalta$8,225

partypoker Super High Roller

DateDecember 9th
Buy-in$2,600
Guarantee$200,000
Entrants90
Prize pool$225,000
ITM12

Another $2,600 buy-in partypoker event, the Super High Roller, attracted 90 entrants who created a $225,000 prize pool as a result. This was shared among the top 12 finishers, but it was the British duo of ��FMylife�� and ��orud74�� who got their hands on the lion��s share of the prize pool after striking a deal when heads-up.

The eight-handed final table was a star-studded affair with the likes of Andras ����probirs�� Nemeth (seventh-place for $9,562), Rainer ��PartyRainer�� Kempe (fourth-place for $20,250) and Russia��s ��PhileasFogg�� (third-place for $29,250) all being in contention for the title at some stage.

When only two players remained, they paused the tournament clock and agreed on a deal that aw orud76 net $50,535 and FMylife walk away with $50,714.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1FMylifeUnited Kingdom$50,714*
2orud74United Kingdom$50,535*
3PhileasFoggRussia$29,250
4Rainer ��PartyRainer�� KempeUnited Kingdom$20,250
5sblanch259Canada$15,750
6JgsNVNetherlands$11,812
7Andras ��probirs�� NemethHungary$9,562
8TIMEXCNTCanada$7,875

*reflects a heads-up deal


888poker $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep

DateDecember 9th
Buy-in$215
Guarantee$100,000
Entrants417
Prize pool$100,000
ITM40

This weekend��s 888poker $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep ended in a three-way chop and the title heading to Lithuania.

Falling early at the final table was Pim ��SuprNintend0�� de Goede who you may recall finished second in the recent partypoker MILLIONS Online for a huge score of $2,309,994, the second-largest online cash in history. De Goede��s $3,000 score for his seventh-place finish in this tournament was a much more modest $3,000.

The majority of the prize pool was distributed to the top three finishers after the trio struck a deal to bring the tournament to a close. Germany��s ��bossamtisch1�� collected $13,400 for their third-place finish with Russian pro Roman ��EyeofSkadi�� Matveychuk banking $14,151 for his runner-up finish. The champion and player who is $17,448 richer is ��bomberman115�� of Lithuania.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1bomberman115Lithuania$17,448*
2Roman ��EyeofSkadi�� MatveychukRussia$14,151*
3bossamtisch1Germany$13,400*
4infaust992Austria$8,000
5Ronaldo4112Malta$5,500
6StreusalzGermany$4,000
7Pim ��SuprNintend0�� de GoedeMalta$3,000
8Gilza83Russia$2,500

*reflects a three-way deal


888poker $50,000 Sunday Whale

DateDecember 9th
Buy-in$1,050
Guarantee$50,000
Entrants46
Prize pool$50,000
ITM5

Completing the Sunday Briefing for another week is the $50,000 Sunday Whale that saw a compact crowd of only 46 players buy in. Only the top five finishers received prize money and most of the $50,000 headed to Sweden thanks to having three in the money finishes.

The United Kingdom��s ��Hateeeeem�� finished fifth for $4,000 before Niklas ��tutten7�� Astedt crashed out in fourth-place for $5,000. ��IHaveNoBoss�� of Costa Rica fell in third-place for $7,500 leaving a pair of Swede in ��freddaik11�� and ��SalsaFiesta�� to fight heads-up for the title.

It was the latter who emerged victorious to secure the $20,000 first-place prize with the runner-up winning $13,500.

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1SalsaFiestaSweden$20,000
2freddeaik11Sweden$13,500
3IHaveNoBossCosta Rica$7,500
4Niklas ��tutten7�� AstedtSweden$5,000
5HateeeeemUnited Kingdom$4,000

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