Controversy overshadows record-setting PokerStars Sunday Million
PokerStars didn't have long to celebrate its record $11.8 million prize pool in the Sunday Million, with controversy erupting over sixth-place finisher 'zeurr.' 'zeurr' officially finished in sixth place, but claimed $518,204, the fourth-highest payout in the event, thanks to a nine-way deal made prior to the start of play at the final table.
But a Dutch newspaper is reporting that 'zeurr' is actually 17-year-old Jimmy Jonker. According to AD Sportwereld, Jonker was tweeting and commenting on poker forums during and immediately following the tournament about playing in the 59,128-player field. When reporters for the newspaper tried to get in touch with Jonker, his father, Jos Jonker, age 47, said he was playing on the account. You have to be 18 to play on PokerStars.
It's unclear whose name the 'zeurr' account is registered under. If it is registered under Jimmy Jonker's name, then he would have had to have lied about his age during the registration process. If it is under the elder Jonker's name and his son was the player who actually played in the tournament, then both would have violated PokerStars terms of service. In either case, PokerStars terms state that they reserve the right to deny payment to the fraudulent account.
"If a User breaches in whole or in part any provision contained herein, PokerStars reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit, including terminating this Agreement, immediately blocking access to the Service to such User, terminating such User's account with PokerStars, seizing all monies held in the relevant PokerStars account and/or taking legal action against such User," the terms read.
A post about the topic the Two Plus Two poker forum elicited a brief response PokerStars' representative 'HostScott' which stated only that they could not comment in detail on investigations and that "no decision has been made yet regarding this possible issue."
Should the money in the player's account be seized, the most likely scenario would be for the players in the tournament who finished behind Jonker to move up one spot on the pay ladder. However, it might be a little tricky to do that, since the final table agreed on a nine-way chop.
The most equitable solution would likely be to give the 10th-place finisher the money that the ninth-place player received in the chop ($263,888) and redistribute the remaining $254,316 to the other eight players who made the final table in the same percentages that they received in the final table chop.
But a Dutch newspaper is reporting that 'zeurr' is actually 17-year-old Jimmy Jonker. According to AD Sportwereld, Jonker was tweeting and commenting on poker forums during and immediately following the tournament about playing in the 59,128-player field. When reporters for the newspaper tried to get in touch with Jonker, his father, Jos Jonker, age 47, said he was playing on the account. You have to be 18 to play on PokerStars.
It's unclear whose name the 'zeurr' account is registered under. If it is registered under Jimmy Jonker's name, then he would have had to have lied about his age during the registration process. If it is under the elder Jonker's name and his son was the player who actually played in the tournament, then both would have violated PokerStars terms of service. In either case, PokerStars terms state that they reserve the right to deny payment to the fraudulent account.
"If a User breaches in whole or in part any provision contained herein, PokerStars reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit, including terminating this Agreement, immediately blocking access to the Service to such User, terminating such User's account with PokerStars, seizing all monies held in the relevant PokerStars account and/or taking legal action against such User," the terms read.
A post about the topic the Two Plus Two poker forum elicited a brief response PokerStars' representative 'HostScott' which stated only that they could not comment in detail on investigations and that "no decision has been made yet regarding this possible issue."
Should the money in the player's account be seized, the most likely scenario would be for the players in the tournament who finished behind Jonker to move up one spot on the pay ladder. However, it might be a little tricky to do that, since the final table agreed on a nine-way chop.
The most equitable solution would likely be to give the 10th-place finisher the money that the ninth-place player received in the chop ($263,888) and redistribute the remaining $254,316 to the other eight players who made the final table in the same percentages that they received in the final table chop.