PokerStars server needs attention, first of all, because, update service has too low download speed! I believe this problems with server maintenance will continue , until PS migrates to a bigger and more efficient server!
I don't know why Stars had their recent server issues, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with the new Card Match feature. That said, I experienced one of their server crashes years ago, and Stars did a fine job distributing the prize pool to everyone who was affected by the crash IAW their policy:
Roll Forward (No Players in the Money)
If a tournament is cancelled and we do a "roll forward" before the players are in the money, we refund each remaining player his tournament fee (and knockout bounty if appropriate), and then divide up the prize pool based on the following formula:
50% of the award pool is distributed evenly among all remaining players
50% of the award pool is distributed proportionally according to the chip count