The Bounty Builder Series Makes a Return to PokerStars with $12.5M Guaranteed

All the Key Details from the 2025 Bounty Builder Series

The series officially opens this Sunday, November 16, with a $75 Sunday Special boasting a $400K guarantee. Another edition of the Sunday Special, this one as a Mystery Bounty format, is slated for November 23 with the same prize pool. Then comes the finale: on Sunday, November 30, when PokerStars will run two Main Events. The Low tier is the $109 PKO version of the Sunday Million, while the High tier clocks in at $1,050 and comes with a $500K guarantee.

Buy-ins for the rest of the schedule span from $5.50 up to $5,200, and there’s an even spread of formats across all stakes.

Players with Power Path Gold or Silver bundles can use those tickets in this series. And if you’re not ticketed up yet, the $150K Ticket Machine will be giving away Main Event entries throughout the promotion. Simply opt in via the Challenges tab and complete basic knockout tasks (like eliminating 2 or 5 players in a promo window) to enter Main Event ticket raffles on November 22 and 29.

So… What Actually Is a Bounty Builder Event?

The Bounty Builder Series is made up entirely of progressive knockout tournaments, more often referred to as PKOs. The concept plays around with the traditional tournament structure by letting you win real money every time you knock out another player, regardless of whether you end up in the money yourself.

Here’s how it works in simple terms:

1. When you enter a PKO, half of your buy-in goes into the regular prize pool. The other half becomes your bounty. Knock someone out, and you instantly pocket half of their bounty. The other half gets added to your own head.
2. As you eliminate more players, your bounty grows. The bigger your bounty, the more attractive a target you become at the table and the more someone else can earn by knocking you out.