Online poker rooms partypoker and GGPoker are likely relieved with the turnout of their biggest weekly guaranteed tournaments last Sunday. Both the partypoker MILLION and the GG Masters both saw their biggest turnout since their debut.
It comes just two weeks after a notable Sunday where all three majors, including the PokerStars Sunday Million, suffered overlays.
Partypoker’s leading tournament, boasting a $1 million guarantee for a buy-in of $215, attracted over 5000 total entries to build a $1,057,432 prize pool. It successfully covered its seven-figure guarantee for the very first time.
Meanwhile, GGPoker’s newly launched Sunday flagship tournament, GG Masters also enjoyed its best turnout yet.
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While it still fell short of its $300,000 guarantee, last Sunday’s event drew 2135 players, falling just 39 players short to create a tiny overlay of $5000.
Both operators will certainly be pleased with last week’s results; these tournaments have had some big overlays in the past.
partypoker Million Covers
Partypoker’s Sunday flagship has overlayed by over $1.1 million in total, with an average of close to $100,000 every week since launch. The tournament runs throughout the week, featuring multiple day 1s.
It is the operator’s attempt to take on PokerStars’ oldest-running tournament, the Sunday Million, which had its buy-in reduced to $109 from the traditional $215 last year.
However, the tournament had a rocky start: The very first edition was canceled due to technical issues. The operator had to bear an overlay of over $150,000 and compensated over $600,000 to hundreds of players.
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partypoker MILLION History
| Date | Total Entries | Buy-ins | Overlay | Overlay % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3 | 4244 | $848,800 | $151,200 | 15.12% |
| Nov 10 | 4658 | $931,600 | $68,400 | 6.84% |
| Nov 17 | 4472 | $894,400 | $105,600 | 10.56% |
| Nov 24 | 4568 | $913,600 | $86,400 | 8.64% |
| Dec 1 | 4439 | $887,800 | $112,200 | 11.22% |
| Dec 8 | 4515 | $903,000 | $97,000 | 9.70% |
| Dec 15 | 4455 | $891,000 | $109,000 | 10.90% |
| Dec 22 | 4563 | $912,600 | $87,400 | 8.74% |
| Jan 12 | 4953 | $990,600 | $9,400 | 0.94% |
| Jan 19 | 4390 | $878,000 | $122,000 | 12.20% |
| Jan 26 | 4599 | $870,010 | $129,990 | 13.00% |
| Feb 2 | 4756 | $916,286 | $83,714 | 8.37% |
| Feb 16 | 5321 | $1,057,432 | $0 | 0% |
The tournament ran smoothly for the next few weeks, but the trend of overlays did not stop. It was also canceled for two consecutive weeks on December 29 and January 5.
One week later, the tournament nearly breached its $1 million guarantee, falling short by just $9400. The following three weeks, partypoker MILLION overlayed by $122,000, $129,990, and $83,714 respectively.
On February 9, partypoker was plagued by another technical difficulty, forcing another cancellation of partypoker MILLION along with other major tournaments that Sunday. The operator offered compensation to players including many free tickets.
Those free tickets would have helped partypoker MILLIONS’ turnout last Sunday, with many presumably using their tickets to reenter.
Masters Comes Close
GGPoker’s GG Masters has also seen overlays every time it has run. Unlike partypoker MILLION, GG Masters is a freezeout tournament, with no multiple day 1s; each player in the tournament gets a single shot. It also comes for an accessible buy-in of $150.
There is also a “Player of the Year” leaderboard associated with the tournament, offering the winner a chance to become an ambassador for GGPoker. This means that the operator is fully committed to running this throughout the year.
The tournament has run on seven occasions and it has yet to breach its guarantee. In total, the tournament has overlayed by over $200,000.
Sign up to GGPoker today to play GG Masters & enjoy a generous Welcome Bonus! »
GGPoker GG Masters Tournament History
| Guarantee | Total Players | Buy-ins | Overlay | Overlay % | Buy-ins w/Fees | Profit or Loss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5 | $250,000 | 1610 | $222,180 | $27,820 | 11.13% | $241,500 | -$8,500 |
| Jan 12 | $300,000 | 1901 | $262,338 | $37,662 | 12.55% | $285,150 | -$14,850 |
| Jan 19 | $300,000 | 1800 | $248,400 | $51,600 | 17.20% | $270,000 | -$30,000 |
| Jan 26 | $300,000 | 1911 | $263,718 | $36,282 | 12.09% | $286,650 | -$13,350 |
| Feb 2 | $300,000 | 1940 | $267,720 | $32,280 | 10.76% | $291,000 | -$9,000 |
| Feb 9 | $300,000 | 2064 | $284,832 | $15,168 | 5.06% | $309,600 | $9,600 |
| Feb 16 | $300,000 | 2135 | $294,630 | $5,370 | 1.79% | $320,250 | $20,250 |
Participation in the tournament is certainly growing. If the trend continues, GG Masters on February 23 may exceed its $300,000 guarantee for the first time.
Meanwhile, the world’s leading online poker room PokerStars has announced the Half Price Sunday promotion. On February 23, three of its Sunday majors, including the famous Sunday Million, will have their buy-ins halved.
Sunday Million will cost just $54.50 but retain the same $1 million guarantee. The Sunday Warm-Up and Sunday Storm will also see their buy-ins cut by 50%.
