Last weekend, a barrage of 36,169 players turned out for the largest PokerStarsSunday Million ever held, which boasted a $4 million guaranteed purse. In the end, PocketFives.com member Michael RichieRichZHFriedrich came out on top, banking a colossal $1.1 million and etching his place in poker history. The Swiss player edged out PokerStars member lankeshwar heads-up and a swarm of 5,400 entrants finished in the money. His $1.1 million cash marked one of the largest payouts the industry has ever seen. PocketFives.com virtually traveled to the land of cheese fondue, ski jumping gold medalists, and chocolate to learn more.

Before we get to our interview of the day, let’s take a look at the final table results from the $4 million guaranteed PokerStars Sunday Million, which played out on February 21st:
1. RichieRichZH – $1,141,510 (RichieRichZH)
2. lankeshwar – $754,775
3. petinvest7 – $506,366
4. lirarerik – $282,118
5. WNYCEC – $151,910
6. DerHenker666 – $86,806
7. Jaggy42 – $57,870
8. highplaya – $43,403 (highplaya)
9. Amoneymagnet – $28,935

PocketFives.com: Thanks for joining us. How does it feel to take down the largest Sunday Million in history?

Michael Friedrich: It’s still unbelievable! It’s just fantastic! It’s a dream come true!

PocketFives.com: Walk us through the event. What key hands can you remember?

Michael Friedrich: One key hand was a suckout. A short stack went all-in pre-flop for 12,000 and an M of five, under pressure so to speak. I had A-Q offsuit in middle position with about twice the average stack and went all-in for about 43,000 to isolate him. Unfortunately, another player also moved all-in for about 60,000 with A-K. The first player showed A-4 or A-5, the turn came a queen, and I was primed for a hot run. Within 30 or 40 minutes, I hit a set on the turn and flopped another set to go to one million in chips.

The guy who doubled me up to one million in chips was down to 100,000 and went all-in in early position. I had 7-7 and raised to 200,000. Somebody behind re-raised all-in for about 550,000. I decided that my hand was not good enough and folded. He showed A-Q offsuit and the guy with 100,000 had a baby ace. The turn was a seven. OMG! I could have gotten the entire pot and jumped to nearly 1.8 million in chips, which would have been the chip lead in the tournament after about four hours.

PocketFives.com: This clearly deserves a celebration. What do you have planned?

Michael Friedrich: My fiancée had her birthday on Monday, so we went out with some friends to eat and celebrate a bit. Honestly, I was too tired to keep my eyes open after playing from 10:30pm until about lunchtime. Then, there were four to five hours of phone calls and text messages. Somehow, I managed to sleep for two or three hours in the afternoon.

PocketFives.com: How have your friends and family reacted to the news?

Michael Friedrich: It’s been overwhelming! Insane! No one in Switzerland has ever won so much in poker in history.

PocketFives.com: Tell us how you got started in poker.

Michael Friedrich: Some of my business partners asked me to play poker at a friend’s place one evening. I remember we played very aggressively, not knowing the math. We had a lot of fun.

PocketFives.com: Do you play professionally?

Michael Friedrich: No, I don’t play professionally. It’s a game I like to play from time to time as a hobby with great passion. Four friends of mine and I founded the Swiss Crystal Poker Club, whose bylaws state that we play at least three big live tournaments per year (two EPTs and the WSOP). I have been an independent investor for 12 years and played poker for about three years.

PocketFives.com: Is there anyone you want to recognize?

Michael Friedrich: I want to thank my fiancé and all of my friends who supported me.