$500,000 Guaranteed in the 15th Anniversary PokerStars Sunday Storm

The Sunday Million is PokerStars’ most famous weekly tournament, but it is fair to say that the Sunday Storm runs it a close second in the popularity stakes. The Sunday Storm has been the go-to tournament for thousands of PokerStars players for years, thanks to its offering a $100,000 guarantee for an $11 buy-in. The Sunday Storm is about to celebrate its 15th anniversary, and PokerStars is boosting its guarantee to an impressive $500,000.

May 10 is the date of the Sunday Storm’s 15th anniversary, and you cannot miss the celebrations. A $500,000 guarateed prize pool for an $11 buy-in is bordering on crazy talk, especially when one considers the tournament requires 50,000 entrants to hit that half-million pot.

PokerStars has made the 15th-anniversary edition of the Sunday Storm a phased event, meaning it features dozens of flights (think of them as Day 1s of a live tournament) running right now. These phases continue to welcome players from far and wide through May 10.

Each Phase 1 concludes when only 3% of the field remains, which means those who reach Phase 2 will do so in the money. Add into the mix the fact that this tournament is a Progressive Knockout event, so bounties are up for grabs from the word go, and it is plain to see that the Sunday Storm 15th Anniversary edition could be quite profitable even if players’ quest for glory ends during Phase 1.

Players are permitted to play in as many Phase 1s as they wish, but only until they progress to Phase 2. Once they have bagged a stack at the end of a Phase 1, those chips are put into play at 7:05 p.m. BST on May 10.

Past Sunday Storm Anniversary Champions

In 2025, the 14th anniversary of the Sunday Storm attracted 37,180 entrants. Hungary’s “Diesel Ramirez” came out on top and walked away with $23,093, including bounties.

Prior to that, in 2024, Brazilian grinder “kdrAS” left 46,678 opponents in their wake during the 13th anniversary Sunday Storm. Their reward, including bounty payments? $19,357.

Another Brazilian, “Basigol,” turned their $11 investment into $26,050 in 2023 when the Sunday Storm 12th Anniversary attracted a monster-sized field of 72,658.

Turn $0.55 Into a Shot at the Big Time

While $11 is at the more affordable end of the buy-in scale, PokerStars wants as many of its players as possible to have a chance to play in a $500,000 guaranteed tournament. This is why satellites from as little as $0.55 can be found in the PokerStars tournament lobby. Imagine turning $0.55 into the lion’s share of $500,000 and the title of Sunday Storm 15th Anniversary Edition champion. Only you can make that happen.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.