Brazilian players dominated the PokerStars Spooky Season Sunday Million, filling five of the nine seats at the final table and taking four of the top five places. The $109 progressive knockout, which concluded on November 10, was won by Brazil's "Kume23" for $79,149, with countryman "Izinmsr" close behind on $73,616. Together, the five Brazilian finalists earned $222,394.
The event was the centrepiece of the Spooky Season finale. It drew 9,128 entries but still fell short of its $1 million guarantee, leaving PokerStars to cover an $87,200 overlay. Here is the full breakdown and what the result says about online poker in Brazil and the state of the Sunday Million.
Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kume23 | Brazil | $79,149 |
| 2 | Izinmsr | Brazil | $73,616 |
| 3 | WrongOne364 | Thailand | $45,888 |
| 4 | Gipzinho | Brazil | $36,282 |
| 5 | fedazete | Brazil | $24,166 |
| 6 | vdp2.0 | Estonia | $18,449 |
| 7 | Hristiyan "cskar4e1" Panchev | Bulgaria | $15,036 |
| 8 | Caue "cauee_am" Augusto de Macedo | Brazil | $9,181 |
| 9 | UPERAD | Belarus | $9,651 |
Kume23's total was made up of $59,145 in prize money and $20,004 in bounties. Izinmsr took $14,480 in bounties on the way to second. Note that ninth-place UPERAD's total exceeds eighth-place finisher Augusto de Macedo's, a common quirk in PKO events where bounties can reorder the money list.
The Overlay: What 9,128 Entries Tells Us
A $1 million guaranteed Sunday Million that misses by $87,200 is worth thinking about. PokerStars' Sunday Million is the most famous weekly tournament in online poker, and it has drawn far bigger fields during special editions. Our coverage of the Sunday Million's 20th anniversary showed how the brand can still pull huge numbers when PokerStars invests in a special event.
On a regular weekend at the end of a promotional series, though, the field was not quite enough. There are a few reasons this matters:
- Overlays are good for players. When a guarantee is not met, the operator adds the difference to the prize pool. Every player in the field effectively received free equity.
- The guarantee was aggressive. Assuming $100 of each $109 buy-in goes to the prize pool (bounties included), a $1 million guarantee needs 10,000 entries. The maths checks out: 9,128 entries x $100 = $912,800, exactly $87,200 short. Hitting 9,128 still shows strong demand, even if not quite enough.
- Competition for Sunday traffic is fierce. GGPoker, ACR and others all run major Sunday events, and players have more choice than ever. Our ACR Online Super Series report covers one of the competing series running this month.
We previewed this finale before it started in our Spooky Season Sunday Million strategy guide, which looked at the PKO format and satellite routes.
Why Brazil Keeps Producing Winners
Five Brazilian finalists in a nine-player table from a field of more than 9,000 is not random luck. Brazil has become one of the most important markets in online poker over the past decade, producing a deep pool of skilled tournament players who play huge volume.
Several factors explain the pattern:
- Huge player base. Brazil's population and passion for the game mean a large share of any global field comes from the country.
- Tournament culture. Brazilian players are known for heavy MTT volume, particularly in PKO and bounty formats, which suit aggressive styles.
- Time zones. Sunday Million start times work well for South American players, meaning they are playing their late-stage hands at a reasonable hour.
- Strong coaching scene. Brazil has a large community of training sites, streamers and study groups.
Regulation is part of the story too. Brazil has been moving toward a regulated online gambling market, and our coverage of Brazil's election and online poker looked at what the political picture could mean for players there.
Bulgaria's Panchev Pulls Off a Double
One of the more impressive storylines came from Hristiyan "cskar4e1" Panchev of Bulgaria. He finished seventh in the Sunday Million for $15,036, but also won the $530 Bounty Builder High Roller for $14,214 while he was still playing Day 1 of the Sunday Million.
Playing deep in two tournaments at once requires strong focus and multi-tabling discipline. It also highlights why tournament regulars value series like Spooky Season: the volume of events allows strong players to run several deep at once.
Strategy Takeaways From a PKO Sunday Million
The Spooky Season Sunday Million used a progressive knockout format, which changes how the tournament should be played compared with a standard freezeout.
Bounties Change Calling Ranges
When you can win a bounty, the effective size of the pot grows. That improves your pot odds when calling an all-in from a player you cover. In large-field PKOs, many players fail to adjust, calling too tightly early and too loosely late.
Covering Stacks Are Valuable
You can only win a bounty if you cover the player you eliminate. Building a stack early in a PKO gives you more chances to collect bounties later. Kume23's $20,004 in bounties shows how much of a winner's total can come from knockouts.
Final Table ICM Still Applies
Despite bounties, the prize ladder at the final table is steep. First place was worth $59,145 in prize money alone. ICM considerations still matter a great deal at that stage, especially for medium stacks that cannot cover the chip leader.
What This Means for Players
The overlay tells you something useful: big guaranteed tournaments do not always fill, and those that miss give extra value to every entrant. Following guarantees and late registration fields can help you find spots where the prize pool is larger than the entries justify.
If you are looking to play large-field online tournaments, our tournaments guide compares the major sites, and our bonus page covers welcome offers that can help build a bankroll for regular MTT play.
The Bottom Line
The Spooky Season Sunday Million was a showcase for Brazilian poker, with Kume23 and Izinmsr leading a five-player Brazilian contingent at the final table. The field of 9,128 fell short of the $1 million guarantee, delivering an $87,200 overlay to the players who showed up. With competition for Sunday traffic as intense as ever, events like this show both the enduring power of the Sunday Million brand and the challenge of filling ambitious guarantees week after week.