Andrew "stato_1" Hulme Among the Big PokerStars Bounty Builder Series Winners
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The three Bounty Builder Series Main Events kick off on October 29
October has been quite the ride for British professional poker player Andrew "stato_1" Hulme. He not only celebrated his wedding anniversary, but he and his wife, Holly, became parents for the first time, too. Throw into the mix the fact Hulme triumphed in the Bounty Builder Series edition of the Sunday Million at PokerStars for $102,522, and it is easy to see why the popular Brit will fondly remember October 2023.
With re-entries included, some 4,831 PokerStars players bought into Bounty Builder Series 71: $215 NLHE 8-Max Sunday Million, leaving a value-adding overlay on the $1 million guaranteed prize pool. Half of the prize pool was awarded to the top 783 finishers, with the remaining $500,000 split into bounties and placed on the head of each entrant.
Plenty of established grinders reached the main prize pool payouts, including Daan "DaanOss" Mulders, Guillaume "Nolet20" Nolet, Ivan "Negriin" Luca, Andras "probirs" Nemeth, Damian "pampa27" Salas, and Fabio "hdjgkfkgsdl" Sperling.
$215 NLHE 8-Max Sunday Million Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew "stato_1" Hulme | United Kingdom | $39,485 | $63,037 | $102,522 |
| 2 | Joao "Joao Valli" Valli | Brazil | $13,913 | $63,033 | $76,946 |
| 3 | jagger97 | Brazil | $6,639 | $37,399 | $44,038 |
| 4 | giorgiopf1 | Brazil | $5,697 | $26,659 | $32,356 |
| 5 | Razvi_audi | Romania | $2,723 | $19,003 | $21,726 |
| 6 | THE MOVER 92 | United Kingdom | $5,607 | $13,546 | $19,153 |
| 7 | elKKJitow | United Kingdom | $250 | $9,656 | $9,906 |
| 8 | LaviniaPortella | Brazil | $381 | $6,883 | $7,264 |
| 9 | Nemi55514 | Austria | $3,027 | $4,906 | $7,933 |
The final nine players sat down, knowing they were only a handful of eliminations away from becoming a Bounty Builder Series champion. The dream of such a victory ended prematurely for Austria's "Nemi55514" after they crashed out in ninth, although the $7,933 they collected should go some way to easing the pain of defeat.
Four Brazilians were present at the final table, but they were cut down to three with the exit of "LaviniaPortella" who was joined on the rail by two British grinders: "elKKJitow" and "THE MOVER 92."
The pay jumps increased significantly, but so did the progressive bounty payments, leading to a tense finale to the Bounty Builder Series edition of the Sunday Million. Something finally gave, and it resulted in "Razvi_audi" falling by the wayside in fifth, good for $21,726.
Two Brazilians then faltered to leave only two players in the hunt for the title. First, "giorgiopf1" busted in fourth for $32,356, then "jagger97" was eliminated in third for $44,038.
Hulme was heads-up against the fourth and final Brazilian at the final table, Joao "Joao Valli" Valli. Both players locked in over $63,000 from the main prize pool, leaving a huge final bounty to play for. Hulme defeated Valli one-on-one, boosting his payout with a near $40,000 bounty, which took his total haul to $102,522. Valli's second-place finish earned him $76,946.
Remaining PokerStars Bounty Builder Series Schedule
The massive PokerStars Bounty Builder Series rattles on until the 150th and final numbered event concludes on October 30.
This coming Sunday is when two No-Limit Hold'em Main Event and one Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event shuffle up and deal. The PLO edition starts at 5:30 p.m. UK time, costs $215 to enter, and has $80,000 guaranteed.
The NLHE Main Events come with buy-ins of $109 and $1,050, with guaranteed prize pools set at $1 million and $1.25 million, respectively.
Satellites for the $109 edition start at only $5.50 and run around the clock. However, two mega satellites represent superb value. A $5.50 satellite kicks off at 2:00 p.m. UK time on October 29 and guarantees 100 seats to the $109 Main Event. Slightly later, at 3:15 p.m. UK, an $11 satellite will award no fewer than 200 seats!
It is a similar story regarding the $1,050 Main Event. A $55 satellite at 3:15 p.m. has a 50-seat guarantee, while a $109 buy-in version also has a prize pool of at least 50 seats at 4:30 p.m. UK time.
