While most of our readers were opening presents and carving their turkey on Christmas Day, scores of high-stakes poker tournament players were grinding online at PokerStars. Andreas “daskalos20” Christoforou, Pedro “gusmaa” Gusma, and Malta’s “HypnosisMass” were just three stars who shone brightly on Christmas Day and who padded their bankrolls with stocking-filling amounts.

Christoforou celebrated Christmas in style by taking down the $5,200 Titans Event for $87,002. Fifty-six players bought in and created a $280,000 prize pool that the top seven players shared.

Artur “mararthur1” Martirosian was the unfortunate soul that popped the money bubble, leaving Pablo “pabritz” Silva, “drew.derzh,” and “mell131313” to see a return on their $5,200 investment.

Thomas “WushuTM” Muehloecker was the fourth-place finisher, which came with $32,559 in prize money. Former PCA Main Event champion Dimitar “KuuL” Danchev fell in third for $45,182, which left Christoforou heads-up against Germany’s “TheRealWoG.”

Christoforou sent his final opponent to the showers and claimed the $87,002 top prize for himself. The runner-up left the table with $62,697 reasons to be cheerful at Christmas.

$5,200 Titans Event Final Table Results

Gusma Denied Danchev a New year Series Title

Dimitar “KuuL” Danchev finished third in the $5,200 Titans Event and followed that up with a runner-up finish in the $1,050 NLHE 8-Max PKO Kick-Off event, part of the New Year Series.

Danchev outlasted almost all of the 225-strong field, including the likes of Pavels “Rigapols81” Spirins, Sweden’s “ShipitFTW911,” and “A.Wesker999” who all navigated their way to the final table but busted before capturing the title.

Eventually, Danchev found himself heads-up against Pedro “gusmaa” Gusma. Just as it looked like Danchev was going to make amends for missing out on Titans Event glory by becoming a New Year Series champion, Gusma pulled the rug from under him and reeled in a first-place prize weighing in at $49,091. Danchev consoled himself with a $31,685 runner-up prize.

New Year Series 3-H: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max PKO Kick-Off Final Table Results

HypnosisMass Defeats Wheeler Heads-Up

Just as Danchev fell at the final hurdle in the $1,050 NLHE 8-Max PKO Kick-Off, popular grinder Jason “jdjtpoker” Wheeler did the same in the $1,050 NLHE 6-Max Semi-Turbo.

Some 123 players bought in and created a $123,000 prize pool, including a $26,959 top prize. The seven-handed final table lost a player when the UK’s “Big_Fish83” fell by the wayside. Mario “t4t0PAGAU” Navarro, Christian “WATnlos” Rudolph, Dalton “daltonhb” Hobold, and Estonian “PIPON777” crashed out in succession, leaving Wheeler heads-up against Malta’s “HypnosisMass”. It was not to be Wheeler’s day because he busted in second place for $20,230, leaving the Maltese champion to capture the $26,959 top prize.

New Year Series 6-H: $1,050 NLHE 6-Max Semi-Turbo Final Table Results