At any given time there are usually about 7,000 players playing on PokerStars, but we hear more about a handful of them than all of the rest combined. That's because, as in all disciplines with a high skill factor, the cream rises to the top.

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But who are these people? Who are the real players behind the online screen-names who tend to dominate at the PokerStars tables?

In some cases, we just don't know. PokerStars permits players anonymity, and we are no wiser at PokerStars Blog as to many of the players' identities as you are. But we also have access to social media and other outlets, and we meet people at events, where we'll sometimes ask them their screen-names. Consequently, we've built up quite a knowledge base of players and their aliases. And it's time to share it.

Here's our list of PokerStars screen-names and the real people we know are behind them.

Matthew Higgins opens to 230,000 on the button. Kevin Johnson, in the small blind, calls. Higgins bets 130,000. Johnson check-raises to 350,000. The turn comes the. Johnson bets 400,000. The fills up the river. Johnson bets 650,000.

The list features only players whose screen-names are either common knowledge or who have volunteered the information online -- usually via a social media account, a results-tracking service (such as Pocket Fives), an interview or part of a coaching offer. The 'Nationality' field shows the country in which they hold a passport, but the 'Based' field shows the country in which their PokerStars account is currently registered, and from which they play online. (This is subject to change as players move around.)

This is far from exhaustive and it is likely to be updated as and when we learn more.

• Matthew Higgins was down to around 16 big blind and he shipped all in on the button. Lytle Allen looked down at his cards in the big blind and made a quick call to put Higgins at risk.
• Matthew Higgins poker tournament results, including recent cashes, lifetime winnings, WSOP and WPT stats.
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Pearl River Resort, located in Philadelphia, Mississippi, hosted a live poker event dubbed 2020 Pearl River Poker Open. The series consisted of nine events and attracted a total of 3,392 entries, including poker lovers from all over the country. One could see players from Missouri, Arizona, Michigan, and more. Most importantly, a sum of $865,851 was distributed via prizes.

The series lasted from November 12 – 22 and started with Event #1 :$250 NLH $100K GTD. The first event attracted a total of 1,735 entries who managed to create a prize pool of $333,120. The player who managed to top the list was Anthony Reynolds from Atlanta, GA, earning $45,984 as the main prize.

Other players who managed to reach the final table of this event are Thierry Quintin, Frank Boswell, Kenny Prendergrass, Eric Yim, Sean Small, Michael Owens, Thomas Pullens, and Phyllis Pettit.

However, what all players were really interested in was the Main Event of this tournament, which attracted a total of 671 entrants, who created the prize pool of $335,5000. The Main Event offered $100k in guaranteed prizes, which more than tripled in value after the registration period closed.

All players received 20,000 in chips, and the levels lasted for 40 minutes. There were three starting flights, and the top 63 players made it to the money list.

Some of the players who did well, but failed to make it to the final table are Robert Hankins, Kelly Hebert, Trace Henderson, Logan Hoover, Joe Saleh, Donnie Phan, Tiffany Keathley, and Andrew Barfield.

The Final Table Overview

The first player to hit the rail in the ninth place was Kevin Henderson from Ft. Payne, AL, earning a total of $5,871 along the way. He was followed by Shawn Calvit from Lafayette, LA, for $9,226.

Seventh place was reserved for a player named Joseph Hebert from Covington, LA, who earned $12,581. After him, it was time for Daniel Lowery from Ozark, AR, to leave the game with a total of $15,936 in his pocket.

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Gerald Stonger from Kokomo, MS, ended up fifth and won $19,291, and Dusting Steward from Biloxi, MS, existed after that as a fourth-placed player and won $22,646.

The last player to hit the rail before the heads-up was Jeffery Hewitt from Atlanta, GA, who won $27,679.

Finally, Matthew Higgins and Christopher Nunnally met in the heads-up part of the tournament, but Higgins had to settle for the consolation prize of $50,000. On the other hand, Nunnally topped the event, winning $57,835 along the way.

Other Events

Apart from the entry and the Main Event, there were seven additional events that players could take part in. Perhaps, the most important one was Event #5: $250 Monster Stack, which attracted 213 entries and awarded the winner, Brain Walsingham, with a $10,021 purse.

Another event worth mentioning is Event #2: $350 Big Monster Stack. A total of 249 entries were recorded, and the winner was Paul Strizhevsky, who took home a total of $7,000 from the event.

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