GGPOKER

Stunning Comeback Conquers Latest GGMillion$ – GGMillion$ Season 2026 Episode 27

This week’s $10,000 GGMillion$ final table showdown featured a deep run for a satellite qualifier who returned an ROI of over $220,000, a comeback from the lowest stack in the counts at the start of play, and an astonishing win against the odds as the Russian winner climbed a chip mountain to become champion.

Pre-Match Betting Odds

Presented by Jeff Gross as regular host with the special guest co-commentator Terrace ‘TJ’ Reid, a WSOP Main Event finalist in 2025, this week’s GGMillion$ was almost impossible to call before the action began. 

The field was a very balanced one in terms of chipstacks, with the chip leader, Aleks Borovkov from Russia, on just 64 big blinds, half of the chip leader’s stack compared to previous weeks. Borakov was available at odds of 5.54 in the GGPoker client, where fans could back their favorite to win. 

Just behind the leader, American player Arunas Sapitavicius had 52 big blinds and was at odds of 6.90, while the Mongolian ‘Tsintao’ began on 50 big blinds at 8.98. A new GGPoker player, they found their way to this event through a $1,050 satellite and started the tournament as a complete unknown. Jeff Gross referenced his style as “got a hunch, bet a bunch” regarding his massive win with ace-jack against Artem Lasouski’s pocket kings on the run-up to the final table.

Last week’s winner, Osmirko Artem, was back representing Russia at the final table in a bid to go back-to-back and began with a very healthy stack of 48 big blinds. He was priced up at 8.80 and was in a great position to become a back-to-back champion. Serbian Danilo Velasevic (47BB/7.00) and Russian former winner Arsenii Malinov (47BB/6.74) followed, with the Estonian player ‘Clarity’ (38BB/9.92) at longer odds. The final table regular, Dutchman Duco Haven (36BB/8.60), was given shorter odds based on his previous success at the GGMillion$ felt. And despite being eighth of the nine players, he was our pick for the outright win. The outsider was Viacheslav Larin, and the fourth and final Russian at the final table was a long shot at odds of 16.34 with just 19 big blinds.

Key Moments from the Felt

The first elimination was a key battle between two players in the middle of the pack, which ended in disaster for the pre-flop favorite. All-in and at risk with ace-king (1:16:00), the Serbian player Danilo Velasevic was dominating Russian player Arsenii Malinov, who had shoved with king-queen only for Larin in the next seat to fold the same hand. Incredibly, a flop of Q-T-2 changed everything, and a king on the turn did the Serbian no favors. Only an ace or a jack would save him on the river, but Velasevic drew a blank as a nine came to send him home in ninth for $53,515.

A couple of minutes later, in a thrilling mystery hand, Estonian player ‘Clarity’, who held the hidden hole cards, couldn’t have had a harder decision to make against Dutch pro Duco Haven on the river (1:19:55). The board had landed K-T-7-A-T with three clubs, and Haven had check-shoved with ten-six of clubs. ‘Clarity’ had made a pot-sized river bet, leaving him with only 727,000 behind. It was a very marginal decision. In the end, ‘Clarity’ made the call with an offsuit queen-jack for a turned Broadway straight, but it wasn’t enough as Haven flushed out, sending the Estonian out for an eight-place score of $68,252.

A trio of early eliminations was rounded out by the exit of American high-flier Arunas Sapitavicius, whose departure in seventh place for $87,047 came at the benefit of the shortest stack at the beginning of the final table. Viacheslav Larin’s notoriety at the live and online poker felt is second to very few, and his resurgence coincided with Sapitavicius’ fall from grace. All-in with ace-nine on a board showing A-J-9-8, the U.S. player must have believed himself to be ahead, only needing to fade a few outs to stay alive. Instead, the opposite was true, as he needed a miracle to come back against the made straight of Larin holding queen-ten. A king on the river didn’t save Sapitavicius. Down to just 7 bigs, he shoved with A-3 off on the next hand. The board played out K-J-9-3-8, giving him bottom pair against Borovkov’s K-6 top pair. The American busted outside the top six, having come into play only behind the chip leader.

Another mystery hand saw a huge swing affect the rest of the final table. All-in with a set of sevens, Duco Haven lost out to Osmirko Artem’s flopped set of aces for the outright chip lead, the 5.8m going all to Osmirko. Haven was left with just 640,000 chips, but he was not out. At least not yet.

After working his chip stack back up, Haven’s rollercoaster ride at the final table came to an end in sixth place as he claimed $111,017. All-in with king-queen against the dominating ace-king of bigger-stacked Borovkov, Haven flopped a queen and survived the turn, but an ace on the river finally sent him to the rail. Soon, the previous week’s winner departed too, as Osmirko Artem was all-in with pocket tens and was racing to save his tournament life from before the flop, eventually losing to the overnight short stack, Larin. The all-Russian clash saw Larin’s ace-queen prevail after an ace fell on the flop. It was a terrific defense of his title, as Artem claimed $141,589 in fifth place.

Larin had played fearless stuff as a short stack, and although many players who start in his position suddenly find themselves tighten up as the chip leader, that was not part of the Russian’s plan. A series of brilliant plays saw him improve his lead, including a superb call for a big pot against his countryman Borovkov, when Larin’s pair of queens was good on an ace-high board with three diamonds. Soon, he had another victim, as the luckless Arsenii Malinov bowed out in fourth place for $180,578 (2:55:48). All-in with pocket jacks, Malinov was licking his lips when Larin shoved with queen-jack, and Malinov called. A flop of A-Q-6 put Malinov on the back foot, and another queen on the turn left him drawing dead to the river as he busted and Larin took a vast lead into three-handed play. 

One hand later, the match was heads-up. The online qualifier ‘Tsintao’ came into play third and finished there for $230,305, an incredible $229,305 of that being profit after he qualified in his first-ever game on GGPoker in the $1,050 GGMillion$ satellite. All-in with ace-five, the Mongolian lost to Larin’s ace-seven. A board of 8-7-2-3-6 condemned the qualifier to his fate. 

The hand gave the overnight short stack, Larin, a nearly insurmountable lead, with his stack of 16.5 million chips way clear of his countryman Borovkov, who sat on just under 3.5m. The heads-up battle could have been over very quickly, but the poker gods had other plans. In one of the many hands in the near hour-long battle, a board of K-J-2-6-7 fell with Larin holding jack-nine. Borovkov shoved the river and got a fold, having bluffed with just five-four as Larin wasn’t able to find what would have been a title-winning call. 

Another win with a turned straight gave Borovkov almost as many chips as his opponent. The hand itself was a coin flip, with even the on-screen GTO Wizard tool that helps GGPoker viewers make the right play, split on what Borovkov should have done on the river, with just 1% between the shove and a check.  Borovkov’s shove and Larin’s fold meant another non-showdown pot went to Borovkov, and just over a million chips separated the two players.

Another key decision came Larin’s way on a board where Borovkov turned a flush. The GTO Wizard recommended a river bluff-shove 100% of the time, but Larin, perhaps suspecting a sleeper hand, made a brilliant check back to save almost all of his remaining chips. However, the lead was gone. While he battled on, Larin never regained the advantage he had earlier in the duel. (3:48:45) All-in with ace-six, Larin ran into his compatriot’s ace-eight. The flop was T-5-4, already good for Borovkov, but an eight on the turn was exactly what he hoped for. Only a seven would save the comeback king, Larin, but it didn’t come. A second five landed to prompt the ‘Good Game’ emoji from Larin as the overnight leader, Aleks Borovkov, claimed his first GGMillion$ title and $374,609, with Larin claiming an improbable result from the start of play, taking home $293,725 as runner-up after starting last on the grid.

This Week’s GGMillion$ Results – July 28th, 2026

Russian players dominated this week’s GGMillion$ chipcounts at the start of play, and their collective strength proved pivotal. Four of the final five came from the powerhouse poker destination, and an all-Russian heads-up was won by the overnight leader, Aleks Borovkov.

“There was a lot of action early, people trying to separate themselves,” said Terrance Reid. “Borovkov really ran that lead into a few handed then lost with pocket queens and was put to the test. It’s easy when everything’s going right and you’re chip leader but it didn’t stop him clawing it back.”

Also winning a $10,000 GGMillion$ seat at the Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas for WSOP Paradise later in the year, Aleks Borovkov’s first GGMillion$ title was a great one and a final table we won’t forget easily. 

Here are all the finishers from this week’s GGMillion$ final table:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Aleks Borovkov	Russia	$374,609
2nd	Viacheslav Larin	Russia	$293,725
3rd	‘Tsintao’	Mongolia	$230,305
4th	Arsenii Malinov	Russia	$180,578
5th	Osmirko Artem	Russia	$141,589
6th	Duco Haven	Netherlands	$111,017
7th	Arsunas Sapitavicius	United States	$87,047
8th	‘Clarity’	Estonia	$68,252
9th	Danilo Velasevic	Serbia	$53,515

One Great Bluff

While Aleks Borovkov faced a 5:1 chip deficit heads-up and came back with some spectacular hands, such as a key flush, the standout was his bluff. Holding just five-high, he put Viacheslav Larin off second pair on the river, where one click would have given Larin the title. So, how did Borovkov pull off the bluff? The key factor was consistency. He told a strong story the entire way through the board, and didn’t back down on any street. 

Making the right bluff at the right time is all about convincing the player you’re bluffing. Having them believe that you want them to call, and that by folding, they are making a decision to save themselves from losing chips. Larin would have claimed the GGMillion$ title had he found the call, but ultimately, he wasn’t able to. Borovkov survived the scare, and from there, he worked himself level and eventually made the lead count when he took it.

Watch all the action with Jeff Gross and Terrance Reid here in this week’s GGMillion$ show:

2026 Week 26                                          2026 Week 28

About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.

* The pre-game pick is the sole opinion of the author. It in no way reflects or affects the outcome of the final table.

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Edited by Shawn A.