Sunday Million 20th Anniversary Starts On PokerStars Today

Sunday Million 20th Anniversary Starts On PokerStars Today
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Alex Sakuta Content Editor
Fact Checked: PokerListings
  • Updated: June 28, 2026
  • Read time: 1 min

For the first time, PokerStars is moving away from the classic vanilla-style Sunday Million Anniversary and is introducing the tournament in a new format. Here’s a closer look at the new structure, along with a recap of all previous Sunday Million Anniversary winners.

Sunday Million 20th Anniversary Runs In A Phased PKO Format

The first Phase 1 begins on June 28 at 15:30 UTC. Each phase continues until just 3% of the field remains. All survivors advance to the combined Day 2, which starts on September 6 at 19:05 UTC. As a result, the tournament runs for 71 days.

Phases begin daily at 15:30, 17:30, 19:30, and 21:30 UTC. The entire tournament is played in the PKO format.

The Sunday Million Anniversary Timeline

Vanessa “Niffller” Kade had to make a deposit for her third re-entry into the 2021 Sunday Million Anniversary.

The first Sunday Million with a $1M guarantee took place in March 2006.

Since 2011, PokerStars has hosted special Sunday Million Anniversary editions. They have always been held in the vanilla format:

  • $215 buy-in, one flight, up to five re-entries
  • $5M+ guaranteed prize pool
  • No knockouts or Mystery Bounties

Here are the winners of the previous Sunday Million Anniversary events:

YearGTDEntriesWinnerMain Prize
2011$5M59,128Luke “Bdbeatslayer” Vrabel*$671,094 + Lamborghini Gallardo
2012$6M33,732“slyfox151”*$480,761
2013$7M49,827Andrius “benislovas” Bielskis*$848,589
2014$8M45,586“DrUPSWING”*$1,038,540
2015$9M50,432Brayden “BRAYDEN93” Fritzshall*$597,720
2016$10M55,059“a.urli”*$970,000
2017$10M55,835“Xavi666”$1,093,204
2018$10M43,975Luis “Hulk9950” Felipe*$960,000
2019$10M61,342“wangli0402”*$611,914
2020$12.5M93,016Alex “AAAArthur” Brito*$1,192,802
2021$12.5M69,876Vanessa “Niffller” Kade$1,514,920
2022$10M52,119Alex “Blackbeaty” Kell*$931,885
2023$7.5M39,500Ricardo “RFN1986” Nagamoto$1,000,000
2024$8M39,226Mateus “CrossBreed17” Mendes$1,000,000
2025$6M28,444Carlos Augusto “gutAoAllin” Martins*$391,436

Sunday Million Anniversary Fun Facts

  • The winner of the first Sunday Million Anniversary received a Lamborghini Gallardo in addition to the cash prize.
  • Eleven Sunday Million Anniversary events ended with a deal.
  • The last three Sunday Million Anniversary titles have all been won by Brazilian players. We’ll find out in September whether Brazil can extend that winning streak.