Poker Pro Wins High-Stakes Online Poker Tournament

PokerStars' online poker tournament, "Sunday $5,200 Winner-Take-All Freezeout", was taken down by 2007 WSOP Bracelet winner, Steve 'MrSmokey1' Billirakis last Sunday. One of PokerStars' most prestigious events of the year, Billirakis pocketed a cool hundred-grand ($100,000) for his talented efforts.

And talented efforts they were, as 'MrSmokey1' battled it out with some of the biggest names in the professional poker industry. His opposition included the likes of WPT finalists Kevin 'BeLOWaBOve' Saul and Darrell 'GigaBet' Dicken, along with Dario 'supernova9' Minieri, the first SuperNova member of PokerStars.

The tournament got underway with 20 players, divided into two tables. The winner-take-all event prohibited deal-making during the tournament, which lasted a staggering 6 hours. With only 20 participants, the length of the tournament alone attests to the skill of these veteran online poker players.

In the end, it came down to heads-up action between 'MrSmokey1' and 'supernova9' (Billirakis and Minieri). MrSmokey1 toughed it out, sending supernova9 to the rail to claim first place winnings of $100,000.

Interested poker fans can see a replay of the tournament on PokerStars for the remainder of the week, including the viewing of all players' hole cards. The replay should prove most interesting as a lineup of such skill in a single tournament is rarely seen in the online poker community.

PokerStars "Sunday $5,200 Winner-Take-All Freezeout" Final Table Results:

1. MrSmokey1 - $100,000
2. supernova9
3. oznec
4. batoelrob
5. holla@yoboy
6. -db-
7. RockAClock
8. lilholdem954
9. GigaBet
10. TheCleaner11