With more than 42,000 entries processed across dozens of Phase 1 flights and Day 2 scheduled for September 6, PokerStars’ Sunday Million 20th Anniversary event is deep into its qualification window — and the field is building fast. The tournament carries a $109 buy-in and a $5 million guarantee, structured as a progressive knockout phased event, according to PokerNews.
As of the time PokerNews published its report on September 2, exactly 1,362 players had punched through to the final phase. The chip leader across all active Phase 1 flights at that snapshot was Uruguay’s “mike21_4life,” sitting on 1,180,083 chips. Among those who had already secured their Day 2 seat were PokerStars ambassadors Benjamin Spragg, Sebastian Huber, and Marle Spragg, per PokerNews. Phase 1 flights listed in the PokerStars lobby were running at 4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and 11:30 p.m. BST across September 2–3, with Day 2 set to begin at 8:05 p.m. BST on September 6.
Entry routes into the anniversary event extend well below the $109 direct buy-in. Satellites are running around the clock with buy-ins starting at $0.55, and a series of special-edition Spin & Go tournaments — available at $0.75 and $4 — are awarding $109 tickets as their top prize, according to PokerNews.
September 6 carries additional weight on the PokerStars calendar beyond the Sunday Million’s Day 2. The 2026 World Championship of Online Poker is scheduled to kick off that same day at 2:05 p.m. BST, with six numbered WCOOP events set to begin on the opening day. Among the highlighted events on that slate are the $75 buy-in Sunday Special, which carries a $350,000 guarantee, and the $5,200 World Championship of 6-Max NLHE, guaranteed for $400,000, per PokerNews.
