The first weekend in March brought a sizable crowd to the PokerStars tables for the big Sunday tournaments. Maybe it was the absence of big land-based tournaments to consume players. Possibly not many people cared about the Academy Awards. Or the stars could have been aligned in a particularly complicated way. Or players were simply anxious to play some online poker.

Whatever the reason, the Sunday Million was packed with players. The final registration number was 10,123, which translated into an impressive $2,024,600 prize pool, well beyond the $1.5 million guarantee. The top payout of $283,449.40 was reserved for the first place finisher, but 1,440 players would receive some sort of payout for their $200 + $15 investment.

As the tournament ran into the nighttime hours in America, there was one Team PokerStars Pro who is no stranger to deep tournament runs these days. Argentinian Veronica "Princesa" Dabul just scored 18th place in the March 2nd Super Tuesday event and followed that up with a solid 48th place finish in tonight's Sunday Million. Should Ms. Dabul continue this trend, she may be one that takes her South American success to an entirely new level.

The playdown toward the final table was quicker than anticipated for the substantial starting field, but action got stuck at hand-for-hand play that went into effect for the last two tables with ten players remaining. Players were hesitant to hit that bubble, knowing what it meant - financially and otherwise - to make a Sunday Million final table. But eventually, it had to happen to someone. The all-in move came from rigodoncio with less than 100,000 in chips, and calls came from maestrocaggi and camillo30. After the [7h][8s][8c] flop, a bet from camillo prompted a fold from maestrocaggi. The cards were then shown: camillo30 had [Ad][Ks] and rigodoncio was on the line with [As][6c]. The [Qh] turn and [Ts] river ended the action for rigodoncio, who finished in tenth place with $10,123.00.

Camillo30 in front but not out of reach

In the start of Level 36, with blinds at 200,000/400,000 and a 40,000 ante, players quickly launched into final table action as follows:

Seat 1: over.be (9,465,306 in chips)
Seat 2: adam eterno (1,932,992 in chips)
Seat 3: camillo30 (22,425,333 in chips)
Seat 4: maestrocaggi (18,292,096 in chips)
Seat 5: asturiano (17,730,819 in chips)
Seat 6: reelhugefish (5,508,071 in chips)
Seat 7: Lagerborg (7,959,486 in chips)
Seat 8: MAE9690 (15,234,599 in chips)
Seat 9: AA TURON AA (2,681,298 in chips)

It took only two hands for camillo30 to wield that chip lead at the expense of the shortest stack at the table. The all-in move came from adam eterno preflop from the small blind with [Qc][Js], and camillo30 made the call from the big blind with [8h][7s]. The board came out smoothly for camillo30 with [6c][6s][9d][Th][7d] for the turned straight, and adam eterno was out in ninth place with $13,767.28.

AA TURON AA made a small dent in camillo30's stack with a double-up through the chip leader, though the former was still one of the shorter stacks. AA TURON AA went on to double again soon after, though, through asturiano to live to fight a few more rounds.

Beginnings of a climb for over.be

The battle consisted of two hands, the first that saw over.be double through Lagerborg and leave the latter with little behind. It was only a few hands later that Lagerborg pushed all-in for his last 174,179 chips with [Kh][8c], and three players - over.be, MAE9690, and asturiano went along to see the [8s][7s][9d] flop. When over.be bet, the other two players got out of the way, and over.be showed [Td][9s] for the straight draw and top pair. The [Jh] on the turn made that straight, and the [7h] eliminated Lagerborg from the tournament in eighth place with $20,246.00.

Then it was over.be who put a serious dent in the stack of maestrocaggi with the collection of a pot worth nearly 20 million chips. It didn't take long after that for maestrocaggi to move all-in with [Ad][7h] from the big blind. Original raiser camillo30 called from the small blind with [Kd][Jd], and the board came [8c][9c][Tc][Qs][As] to make a Broadway straight for camillo30. That left maestrocaggi out in seventh place with $40,492.00 for the deep run.

MAE9690 rises while over.be falls

After steady movement up the leaderboard, the loss of a 23.5 million-chip pot to MAE9690 hurt the stacks. And a short while later, when MAE9690 pushed all-in, over.be called from the big blind for his tournament life with pocket eights. But the race was on as MAE9690 showed [Tc][9s]. The cards fell in favor of over.be with the [4c][5s][Js] flop and [3h] turn, but the [9d] on the river gave MAE9690 the pair of nines. Suddenly, over.be was gone in sixth place with $60,738.00.

MAE9690 was at it again, shoving preflop. AA TURON AA looked down at [Ad][Jd] in the big blind and decided to make the call, which forced MAE9690 to show only [9s][7s]. But the flop couldn't have been better to put MAE9690 in the lead as it came [9c][7d][Ac]. The last two cards brought [4d] and [6h], and that put MAE9690 at the top of the leaderboard by a large margin, while AA TURON AA was headed out in fifth place with $80,984.00.

Let's make a deal

The final four players soon decided to take a look at chip-chop numbers, which weren't to the liking of any of the finalists. But they continued the discussions and came up with numbers they decided were fair. With the agreement that $30,000 be set aside for the eventual winner, the deal amounts were as follows:

Seat 3: camillo30 (22,257,597 in chips) = $176,959.80
Seat 5: asturiano (10,254,769 in chips) = $150,000.00
Seat 6: reelhugefish (10,283,052 in chips) = $150,000.00
Seat 8: MAE9690 (58,434,582 in chips) = $230,000.00

On the first hand back, short-stacked asturiano decided to raise preflop from the small blind, but when original raiser MAE9690 came back with an all-in move, asturiano called all-in for his tournament life holding [As][Td]. MAE9690 showed pocket sixes, and the board allowed that pair to win the race when it came [2s][6h][Kh][5c][9c]. And with that, asturiano was gone in fourth place with $150,000.00.

A few hands later, the other short stack pushed. It was camillo30 with the original raise from the small blind, but reelhugefish moved all-in from the big blind with [Ah][8c]. camillo30 showed [Ac][Jc] for the dominating hand, though reelhugefish took the lead when the flop came [Qc][8s][7s]. The [4c] on the turn changed nothing, but the [Js] on the river gave camillo30 the bigger pair and eliminated reelhugefish in third place with $150,000.00.

MAE9690 takes lead into heads-up with camillo30

The starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 3: camillo30 (32,240,649 in chips)
Seat 8: MAE9690 (68,989,351 in chips)

Though camillo30 tried to chip up, it was the following hand that gave MAE9690 more than a four-to-one chip lead.

MAE9690 didn't let up, which soon prompted camillo30 to move all-in for his last 18,140,649 chips with [Qc][Tc]. MAE9690 called with [Ad][4d], and the [Ah][2h][5d][3d][8h] board turned a straight. The $176,959.80 prize money went to camillo30 for finishing in second place.

And the winner of the tournament was MAE9690, and the prestigious Sunday Million title went with a solid $260,000 payday.

Sunday Million Results for 03/07/10:

1st place: MAE9690 ($260,000.00)*
2nd place: camillo30 ($176,959.80)*
3rd place: reelhugefish ($150,000.00)*
4th place: asturiano ($150,000.00)*
5th place: AA TURON AA ($80,984.00)
6th place: over.be ($60,738.00)
7th place: maestrocaggi ($40,492.00)
8th place: Lagerborg ($20,246.00)
9th place: adam eterno ($13,767.28)

*payouts based on a four-way agreement

For more information on ways to register and qualify for upcoming Sunday Million tournaments, visit the Sunday Million page.

While the Hollywood stars were walking the red carpet in Hollywood, the only fabric anyone was concerned about in the poker world was the final table felt at the PokerStars Sunday majors. This week's Sunday Warm-Up had 4,980 players, with a prize pool of $996,000. It was a fast and furious final table, with a six-way deal after a racecar start, but when everything was settled and the last cards were dealt, Ramux walked away with the win and the $139,163.73 first place prize money. Not only did he win the event, he held the chip lead when the deal was made, so he ended up with the lion's share of the cash as well!

The final table kicked off in the most tumultuous action I've ever seen, with an elimination on each of the first three hands! On the very first hand of the final table, the short-stacked Shaaarrrp moved all in from early position with [As]-[Qc]. Juda10 moved all in over the top to isolate, and when the rest of the table folded, juda10 showed [8c]-[8h] for the slight edge in the race. A slight edge was all juda10 needed, as the board came down [Ks]-[5d]-[Jh]-[4c]-[9d], and Shaaarrrp was done in 9th place ($7,968).

Before the rest of the table could catch their breath, all the chips were in the middle again as L C P open-shoved with [Kd]-[Qd]. His only opponent was Ansgar2000, holding the charmed hand du jour - pocket eights. Ansgar's [8c]-[8d] was good enough to send another competitor to the rail, however, as the board ran out [6h]-[9s]-[5s]-[Js]-[3d]. After two hands, and two coin flips, there were two fewer players at the table as LCP collected $12,450 for 8th place.

But the frenzy wasn't over yet, as Ramux and gaffel tangled in one last huge pot to kick off the final table. Ramux opened for a raise with [Kh]-[Qh], and made the call when gaffel moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[Js]. The flop brought a huge draw to Ramux, as it came down [3h]-[3s]-[7h], giving Ramux the flush draw to go with his live cards. The flush hit the turn on the form of the [Th], leaving gaffel drawing dead. The river was the irrelevant [Jc], and gaffel headed to bed with an extra $22,410 for 7th place in his bankroll.

With the breathtaking pace of the first few eliminations, the remaining six players decided to chat about a deal. The massive chip lead the Ramux had accumulated made the deal process difficult, but after some lengthy debate, a deal was reached that left $10,000 for the winner and locked up comfortable guarantees for everyone.

The deal locked up $129,163.73 for chip leader Ramux, while the second-place Ansgar2000 picked up $86,163.71. Hismoon nabbed $77,163.71 for his third-place stack, Method999 locked in $68,163.71, juda10 took down a guaranteed $66,163.71 and Feez0 grabbed $48,163.71 for his 6th-place stack. That left $10,000 for the eventual winner of the tournament, and play resumed.

After some jockeying for position at the final table and a few double-ups, the first big confrontation sent two players to the rail at once. Feez0 found himself on the extreme short stack and put his last few chips in the middle of the table as the big blind. Method999 raised from the button, and Ramux made the call from the small blind. The flop came down [9d]-[Ks]-[7h], and the rest of the chips went in the middle. Feez0 showed [Qs]-[4s], Method999 opened [Kh]-[6d], and Ramux held the lead with [Kc]-[Td]. The [Kd] on the turn did nothing to change that, and when the river brought the [Ts], it was all over for Feez0 and Method999.

Ansgar2000 was the next to fall, busting in 4th place at the hands of juda10. Action folded around to juda, who moved all in preflop with [6h]-[9h]. Ansgar thought for a moment but finally called with [Ac]-[8c]. Juda10 picked up a pair of nines on a flop of [Th]-[Ks]-[9c], and that was enough to hold up and send Ansgar packing as the turn and river came down [7d]-[Qd] and thin the field to three.

It took a little while to whittle it down, and there were several double-throughs along the way to heads-up play, but finally juda10's run at the final table came to an end. After Ramux folded from the button, juda10 moved all in from the small blind with [Ac]-[6c]. Hismoon made the call with [Ad]-[9c], and his lead extended with the flop of [4d]-[As]-[9s]. Needing running sixes to stay alive, juda was drawing dead after the [Tc] hit the turn. The river was a meaningless [Qd], and the tournament was heads up for $10,000.

Heads up play was a real battle, with multiple lead change and double ups before everything was finally settled. But in the end, it came down to who could catch cards when it counted most, and that was Ramux on the last hand. After crippling Hismoon, then doubling him up on back-to-back hands, all the money went in the middle preflop once again, but this time Ramux had the right ammo - pocket aces. His [Ac]-[Ad] was firmly in the driver's seat against Hismoon's [Kc]-[Jh]. The flop brought more suspense as it came down [Tc]-[7c]-[Qs], giving Hismoon the up and down straight draw, but the [5h] on the turn was no help. Ramux just needed to fade an ace or nine on the river to win the tournament and the extra $10k, and when the river brought the [Qd], that's exactly what he did. Hismoon played a brilliant final table, even taking over Ramux's seemingly insurmountable chip lead a couple of time, but in the end he could only come away with second place.

Congrats to Ramux, who picked up $139,163.73 when all was said and done, and congratulations as well to all our final table players!

There are countless reasons why this week will live long in the memory of poker enthusiasts. This was the first EPT event to be hosted in Berlin and it was the first time there was a guaranteed €1m to the winner. And, of course, there was that incident. It happened, but no need to say more.

Today's final table, however, was the perfect tonic to end a week of highs and lows. It featured eight players who had each earned their place by playing the best poker of their lives, and they gave a terrific show of fearless deep-stack final table play. When we were down to three - Kevin MacPhee, Ilari Tahkokallio and Marc Inizan - any of them would have been a more than worthy winner. The other five weren't too shabby either.

In the event, our first EPT Berlin champion is that man MacPhee from Coeur d'Alene, in Idaho, USA. MacPhee, a serial qualifier to major tournaments on PokerStars, is better known as "ImaLuckSac" online, and his immediate reaction echoed the sentiments of that username.

"I am a luck-sack," MacPhee said. "What can I say? I ran extremely good and I had the nuts every time someone played back at me." Advised that he was now a millionaire, MacPhee said: "Yeah, that's nice. About time." MacPhee is 29-years-old.

Tahkokallio, from Finland, who finished second, emerged with immense credit too. "He's an amazing player and my hat's off to him," MacPhee said of his adversary. And MacPhee was in the best position to judge.

Early yesterday, MacPhee had turned to Tahkokallio and said: "Are we going to get heads up again?" It was a reference to a side event at EPT London earlier this season, when the same two players had gone mano-a-mano for that title. "Probably," Tahkokallio replied, and despite all the intervening disturbances, the two of them kept their date tonight.

Their heads-up battle this time lasted more than three hours, with more than one exchange of the chip lead. MacPhee eventually persuaded Tahkokallio to get all his money in on a low board with the Finn holding a couple of overcards. MacPhee had middle pair and rivered a straight. Cue hugs, handshakes and a new champion.

MacPhee had the dominant stack coming into the final, but he was gracious enough to allow two of the shorties to get involved early on, costing Nico Behling his shot at the million. Behling was out on the second hand of the day, sent packing by Marcel Koller's pocket tens.

MacPhee then came out firing, flopping a set with pocket sevens to out-run Marko Neumann's big slick, and busting Ketul Nathwani in fifth with [ad][9c] against the Englishman's [as][6d].

Tahkokallio stuck his head briefly above the parapet to knock out Marcel Koller in between. That was a standard queens (Tahkokallio) against [ac][qs] (Koller) cooler - a rare moment of normalcy amid all the fireworks.

The first slowdown came four-handed, but the most pressure was on the Polish player Artur Wasek. He had made a last-minute decision to play this event, wagering money made at the cash tables on the eve of day one, and so had already progressed further than he could have hoped.

He wouldn't be shifted without a fight - or another cooler. Wasek found queens when Inizan had kings, and Inizan had a bigger stack. It all went in, the board was dry, and out went Wasek.

Inizan's tournament didn't last much longer, but here was a man who had demonstrated beyond doubt that he is a shark patrolling the waters of the biggest tournament fields. He led almost from pillar to post in a recent 800-strong event in Belgium, making the final table but finishing ninth, and he had been in the top nine at the end of every day here.

The momentum took him further than ever before in Berlin, but he was halted in third, flopping top pair when MacPhee had hit the nut straight. All in. Gone.

So here it was, the second date MacPhee and Tahkokallio had arranged in October. And although this time it was MacPhee picking up the check, few would bet against this tete-a-tete prospering around the tables of major poker tournaments on many more romantic occasions from here.

That, then, is that. The full list of who won what here in the German capital is on the prizewinners page. And you can look back at all the video blogs from the tournament floor at PokerStars.tv.

Today's typos action can be relived in all their its glory at the following links:

EPT Berlin final table player profiles
Levels 27 through 29 live updates
Levels 30-33 live updates
Level 33 live update (one hand!)

And who knows if what they write in German, Swedish or Dutch is worth the strain on the frontal lobe, but there's a link nonetheless.

All the photography on PokerStars Blog comes from Neil Stoddart and the words are the combined magic of Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young. Hubble hubble, boil and bubble, etc.

We'll be back on the EPT at Snowfest in Austria in a couple of weeks time. We can safely assume that you'll be there too - without the compound fractures that us non-skiers will surely have suffered during our ill-advised attempts at cliff-hucking and indie grabs.

Until then, cheerio from Germany.