PokerStars began the celebration of its 20th anniversary with the Big 20 Rewind tournament series last week. Events run through Dec. 4 with some big guarantees and massive prizes on the line as well.
Some of those special prizes include Platinum Passes, UFC tickets, and trips around the world. The series also is being broadcast on the PokerStars official Twitch page. Week 1 is now in the book and several players were rewarded with some major cores so far.
Massive prize payout for first winner
Each Big 20 comes with a certain year and title pegged to a significant event in PokerStars history. The opening $11 event on Nov. 14 included a $100,000 guarantee and came with the “2001 – Year of PokerStars” tournament name.
This event saw 12,037 entries try to grab a piece of rewound history. In the end, Ireland’s “Chanaldo9” turned 11 bucks into $15,288.
On top of the win, Chanaldo also received a SLAM Package from PokerStars – quite a haul for the lucky winner.
This includes Main Event buy-ins to SCOOP and WCOOP. The winner also received an EPT package and a PSPC Platinum Pass.
‘Big trip’ with win for Swedish player
Event 2 was known as “2002 – Year of WCOOP” and came with a $1,050 buy-in. The tournament brought in 218 player with a $250,000 guarantee, offering a significant overlay.
Players from all over the globe were represented the at final table including the United Kingdom’s Ronan “Sw33ney” Sweeney and “MilkmanPro”.
It came down to Sweden’s “Hendurr” verses Denmark’s Christian “Equanimity911” Frimodt Pederson for the title. Hendurr came out victorious and snagged $48,889. Hendurr also won a trip around the world courtesy of PokerStars.
Making money in the Moneymaker
“2003 – Year of Moneymaker” honored Chris Moneymaker winning an $86 tournament to propel him to the World Series of Poker Main Event title. Last week’s $86 buy-in event offered a $125,000 guaranteed prize pool.
The winner also received $10,000 towards live buy-in events for 2022. The player pool swelled to 1,698 and Malta’s “GamadGADOL” scored the victory.
Besides the package, Gamad also won $20,552 after defeating Bulgaria’s “PSany2cando”. The runner-up finisher took home $14,776.
Many Streamers jumped in the event and showcased the tournament on Twitch. This included Kristian “BlueDucky45” Leger.
EPT pays off big with overlay
On Thursday, online warriors jumped into the fourth of the series, the $1,050 “2004 – Year of the EPT.”
This two-day event included a $250,000 guarantee as well as an EPT-style trophy and travel package. The event also saw an overlay as only 219 players entered the field.
At the end of the action, Sweden’s “S1xxten” captured the trophy and $48,687.
Satellites and side events
If some of these tournaments are out of a player’s reach, Stars is offering smaller buy-in qualifiers as well. Players can try and ladder up into the series.
The site is also offering free chances on their social media to get in on the action.
The series also includes multiple side events as well. “martin12389” of Argentina, “Syltty” of Finland, and “millimetre” of Russia won the first three side events of the Big 20 Rewind.
The first side event, a $215 freezeout, was particularly lucrative with “martin12389” winning $20,780 for first.
Upcoming Rewind events
PokerStars will offer a good mix of prizes over the next few days. Some of the special prizes include streamer packages, an electric car, and a trip to the Bahamas. Here’s a look at the weekend’s action:
- Freeroll – Year of the EPTLive (Nov. 22) – $20,000 guarantee
- $30 Year of the Turbo Takedown (Nov. 22) – $100,000 guarantee
- $109 Year of SCOOP (Nov. 23) – $300,000 guarantee
- $55 Year of the Big Game (Nov. 24) – $300,000 guarantee
- $11 Year of Home Games (Nov. 25) – $100,000 guarantee
For a complete preview and series schedule, click here.