GGMillion$ Won by Wonderful Wardska_ Again for $265,000 – July 4, 2024

Although he waited a while for his debut GGMillion$ victory, Austrian Wardska might well already be tired of winning after taking his second GGMillion$ title inside a fortnight on GGPoker. Triumphing at a table packed with talent, the Austrian player came back from entering the final table as the second-shortest stacked player to win the top prize of $265,112. The PokerStars PCA and PSPC star Aliaksandr Shylko joined Jeff Gross in the commentary booth as the final table players battled for the biggest share of the $1,220,000 prize pool.

No Luck for Nolet

Heading into the 9-handed action, Ukrainian player Vlad Martynenko (105 big blinds) was a huge chip leader, with Brazil’s ‘axelroses’ (47BB) as his nearest challenger. Further down in the chip counts were Japanese player ‘Kuromichan’ (44BB), Canadian players Guillaume Nolet and ‘NiceAndSlow’ (both on 43BB), Estonian Ottomar Ladva (26BB), Austrians ‘EEweedm99’ (25BB) and ‘Wardska_’ (19BB), with the short stack position being held by Belarussian Ilya Anatski (15BB).

It took 30 minutes of poker for the first victim to fall in this Texas Hold’em High Roller event, and when it happened, it was a shocking exit. Japanese player ‘Kuromichan’ had started the final table of nine in third place but fell in ninth for a disappointing score of $36,681. Calling all-in with ace-queen of clubs, they lost to Vlad Martynenko’s pocket threes as the overnight chip leader continued to add to his stack.

Next to go was the Canadian player Guillarme Nolet. Having run desperately short in chips, he called off a micro stack pre-flop with nine-three offsuit but lost out to ‘axelroses’ who woke up with pocket aces. The flop came down K-9-6 giving the Canadian hope, but the turn Q and river 4 ended Nolet’s hopes for a miracle and he cashed for $46,970 in eighth place.

‘NiceAndSlow’ Goes Quickly

Estonian player Ottomar Ladva has made many GGMillion$ final tables and earned another good result this week, finishing in seventh place for $60,114. Ladva and ‘Wardska_’ got their chips in pre-flop, and with 1.75 million chips in the center of the virtual felt and only 209,000 left in front of Wardska, it was a huge flip. Ladva’s ace-queen was behind the pocket jacks of ‘Wardska_’ pocket jacks. The board came down 7-6-3-9-9 as the Austrian watched with relief and claimed the chips.

‘NiceAndSlow’ had reached a pivotal phase of their game. Running short to a stack of just five big blinds, they got it all-in pre-flop with king-queen offsuit. Called by Martynenko with king-six, they looked to have a full double-up through the chip leader coming soon. Unfortunately for the at-risk Canadian, the chip leader’s luck held as a six on the flop doomed ‘NiceAndSlow’ who was sent to the rail with a score of $161,690.

“That just feels a little bit cruel.” Said Gross on comms, and he wasn’t wrong. “This guy can’t miss.”

Martynenko already had more than double the stack of anyone else and soon, that lead would increase even more. He hit trips with his suited eight-seven on a flop of 9-7-7. All of the chips found the middle after a 2 appeared on the turn with Austria’s ‘EEweedm99’ committing his stack with pocket queens. An ace on the river condemned the Austrian to the rail with a score of $126,273, while the Ukrainian had built a monster stack.

Wardska_ Wins Yet Again

Four left, and one big leader in this poker tournament. Martynenko had a chip leading stack of 6.2 million chips (just under 50% of the chips in play), with ‘Wardska_’ sitting second with 2.54 million. Anatski was just behind him with 2.36m while ‘axelroses’ was not sitting great with just 1.7m. The short-stacked Brazilian was the next to leave, getting his stack into the middle on the turn of a board showing A-9-5-4 holding ace-four only to be called by ‘Wardska_’ holding ace-five for a better two pair. The river did not bring a four, and the Brazilian went home with $126,273.

Just three players remained, and that pot gave ‘Wardska_’ the chip lead. Soon, play was heads-up, as Ilya Anatski from Belarus, who started the final table in ninth place of the nine, crashed out in third for $161,690. All-in with ace-queen, Anatski was very unlucky to lose against the ace-deuce of Martynenko as the board came J-T-2-7-9 to reduce the field to a heads-up battle.

Martynenko trailed going into the final duel with 6.2m to ‘Wardska_’ with 6.6m. The Austria-based player had only captured his first victory in this event a few weeks ago and was hoping to repeat that trick, while Martynenko hoped that his overnight chip lead would lead him to victory.

The finale pot, just the second of heads-up play, was all ‘Wardska_’ from the deal. A pre-flop raising war ended with a chunky pot of 3.5m in the middle with ‘Wardska_’ holding pocket queens that were ahead of Martynenko’s suited ace-nine. A flop of J-T-8 came down and ‘Wardska_’ bet half pot from position. Martynenko tanked before shoving his chips all in on the straight draw only to be snapped off by ‘Wardska_’. Although ‘Wardska_’ had blockers, the four turn and river king did nothing to help his opponent, earning him a spectacular second win in three events.

You can watch all the action in the company of Jeff Gross and Aliaksandr Shylko right here:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	‘Wardska_’	Austria	$265,112
2nd	Vlad Martynenko	Ukraine	$207,041
3rd	Ilya Anatski	Belarus	$161,690
4th	‘axelroses’	Brazil	$126,273
5th	‘EEweedm99’	Austria	$98,614
6th	‘NiceAndSlow’	Canada	$77,013
7th	Ottomar Ladva	Estonia	$60,114
8th	Guillaume Nolet	Canada	$46,970
9th	‘Kuromichan’	Japan	$36,681

Lakemeier Uses Lead for GGMILLION$ Glory and Wins $242k – July 10, 2024

The latest GGPoker GGMillion$ saw Jens Lakemeier go wire-to-wire to lead the final table, riding a rollercoaster battle across three hours of poker to take home the $242,551 top prize. With regular host Jeff Gross and special guest co-commentator Mike Wasserman both commentating after having unfortunately busted on Day 2 of the WSOP Main Event. The action was pulsating as a final table that saw the lead change hands dozens of times and the final hand ended in heroics.

Kuromichan Ducks the River

Kicking off the action with the chip lead was German player Jens Lakemeier, who began the final table with a massive 104 big blinds. Belarussian player Artsiom Lasouskii was the closest in chips to the leader, with 65 big blinds. Japanese player ‘Kuromichan’ (54BB) was at their second final table in a row, with Russian Almaz Zhdanov also on that starting stack. Just behind was the poker and GGMillion$ legend Michael Addamo (53BB), the Australian starting with a great chance of victory.

Other players involved included Belarussian pair Ilya Anatski (42BB) and ‘Golardo’ (7BB), with Russian duo Konstantin Maslak (12BB) and ‘kolayruss1978’ (8BB) both hoping to boost their chances with an early double. As it would happen, there was no early double-up, and 45 minutes elapsed before the first player departed. When they did, it was painful, as ‘Golardo’ was all-in with king-jack of diamonds and lost to Kuromichan’s pocket deuces. The flop of Q-J-7 paired up the Belarussian’s hand, a four on the turn was safe, leaving just one card for the player at risk to dodge. Sadly, a deuce on the river was a dagger to the heart of ‘Golardo’ and they departed in ninth for a score of $32,180.

Next to go was Zhdanov, who cashed for $41,423 in eighth place after a fascinating hand developed between them and ‘Kuromichan’. A board of T-8-7-K-Q saw the Japanese semi-bluff shove with ace-seven. After a lengthy time in the tank, Zhdanov called with the inferior nine-seven, leaving a pot of over 2.7 million to be added to the Japanese player’s chips, putting him in the lead.

Addamo Sent Home in Three-Way Paired Pot

Michael Addamo found himself the short stack of the GGMillion$ and hoped to get back into contention when he shoved pre-flop with pocket jacks for ten big blinds. Unhappily for the Australian, he was called by Artsiom Lasouskii with pocket kings and Jen Lakemeier with pocket tens. A board of 9-2-2-3-9 fell, and Lasouskii bagged the lead, sending Addamo home with $53,320 and reducing Lakemeier to twenty big blinds.

Two hands later, Lakemeier was all-in with jack-ten of spades against the ace-king of ‘kolayruss1978’. The Russian hit gin on the A-K-4 flop, making two pair. A seven fell on the turn which changed nothing but the queen on the river stunned both Gross and Wasserman on comms as the overnight chip leader and doubled up to a safe spot. Left with spare change, ‘kolayruss1978’ was all-in himself on the very next hand, this time with queen-jack against the suited ace-five of Anatski. A clean board of K-7-2-6-6 saw the Belarussian win the pot and sent the Russian home with $68,635.

Finding himself short on chips an hour after the last knockout, a flop of T-6-3 with two diamonds prompted Konstantin Maslak to shove with nine-eight offsuit. Kuromichan called it off with the superior queen-deuce of diamonds. The turn of an offsuit seven fulfilled Maslak’s dreams, but those dreams were dashed to pieces as the seven of diamonds fell on the river and Maslak cashed for $88,348 in fifth place.

Lakemeire Rides The Waves To The Finish

Four-handed, the stacks were quite different between the remaining players. Lasouskii had the lead with 3.88 million. ‘Kuromichan’ (3.16m) was closest to the chip leader, with Lakemeier (2.26m) a little way back and Ilya Anatski (694k) a long way behind. Despite these chip counts, it was another hour of play without anyone busting. But that hour changed things immensely, and it was ‘Kuromichan’ who had the short stack when they shoved with eight-ten of clubs. Calling with ace-ten off suit, Lakemeier easily survived the A-4-3-6-7 board, and the Japanese player went from third in chips to being on the virtual rail with $113,723.

The four-handed tournament play had lasted the best part of an hour. Three-handed play lasted little over a minute. Lasouskii shoved with pocket sevens two hands later, and Anatski called with pocket nines. A clean board came down for Anatski and he went into the final heads-up battle with a chip lead of 5.72 million to Lakemeier’s 4.28 million.

Martynenko trailed going into the final duel with 6.2m to ‘Wardska_’ with 6.6m. The Austria-based player had only captured his first victory in this event a few weeks ago and was hoping to repeat that trick, while Martynenko hoped that his overnight chip lead would lead him to victory.

The finale pot, just the second of heads-up play, was all ‘Wardska_’ from the deal. A pre-flop raising war ended with a chunky pot of 3.5m in the middle with ‘Wardska_’ holding pocket queens that were ahead of Martynenko’s suited ace-nine. A flop of J-T-8 came down and ‘Wardska_’ bet half pot from position. Martynenko tanked before shoving his chips all in on the straight draw only to be snapped off by ‘Wardska_’. Although ‘Wardska_’ had blockers, the four turn and river king did nothing to help his opponent, earning him a spectacular second win in three events.

You can watch all the action in the company of Jeff Gross and Aliaksandr Shylko right here:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Jens Lakemeier	Germany	$242,551
2nd	Ilya Anatski	Belarus	$188,431
3rd	Artsiom Lasouskii	Belarus	$146,386
4th	Kuromichan	Japan	$113,723
5th	Konstantin Maslak	Russia	$88,348
6th	‘kolyaruss1978’	Russia	$68,605
7th	Michael Addamo	Australia	$53,320
8th	Almaz Zhdanov	Russia	$41,423
9th	‘Golardo’	Belarus	$32,180

GGMillion$ Won by Vasiliy Meshkov for $243,000 After Dominant Display – July 16, 2024

This week’s GGPoker GGMillion$ was won by the Russian player Vasiliy Meshkov after the evenly stacked final five players were utterly dominated by the eventual winner. Meshkov knocked out each of his final four opponents to star at the 60th final table of this season in the GGMillion$, with players such as Canadian Guillarme Nolet and recent online crusher the legendary Japanese professional ‘Kuromichan’ featuring heavily.

Kuromichan Ducks the River

Heading into the action at the final table, which was brought to life by regular host Jeff Gross and guest co-commentator Benjamin Rolle – known as ‘bencb’ to the online poker community – it was the North Macedonian player ‘Ultimatefish657’ who had a big lead with 94 big blinds. Japanese player ‘Kuromichan’ (60BB) was closest in attendance, with Australia’s Joshua McCully (53BB), Canadian Guillaume Nolet (40BB), and Russian Vasiliy Meshkov (40BB) all in the top half of the chip counts.

Austrian ‘Khaanos’ (37BB), Belarussian Yauheni Tsiareshchanka (33BB), ‘d1nzvoz’ from Croatia (24BB), and Austria’s ‘lospob4res’ (11BB) completed the list of nine players aiming to become this week’s champion. Before the show, the 60th production of Season 2, Rolle and Gross looked back at the biggest winners of the GGMillion$ to date, with the Russian player Artur Martirosian on the top 2 titles and $6 million.

While it was a bit of a surprise when the first casualty happened over 30 minutes after the final table started, it was no surprise when it was the Austrian player ‘lospob4res’. All-in for just four big blinds with pocket threes, he lost to Croatia’s ‘d1nzvoz’ who called with a king-ten of diamonds and rivered the victory on an agonizing board of J-8-5-Q-K. ‘lospob4res’ went to the rail with $33,675 in ninth place.

McCully Culled After Lengthy Battle

As long as it took for nine players to be reduced to eight, it took over an hour to produce another exit. When it came, the Australian player Joshua McCully was the victim of the escalating blinds and his own dwindling stack. Raising for most of his six bigs pre-flop with king-queen from first position, he shoved on the Q-4-2 flop only to be snapped off by the only pre-flop caller ‘Kuromichan’, who tabled pocket aces. After a six and a seven fell on turn and river, McCully was ousted for $43,120 in eighth place.

The very next hand, the Japanese player should have had another scalp. Guillaume Nolet shoved pre-flop with ace-jack of hearts, and the initial raiser ‘d1nzvoz’ made the call with pocket nines. The board of K-K-4-3-Q was good for the Croatian and Nolet busted for $55,214 in seventh place. Kuromichan had folded ace-queen and lost a potentially huge pot as the Croatian chip leader pulled further away.

Less than 15 minutes later, ‘Kuromichans’ plummet from nearly being the chip leader was complete as they busted in sixth place for $70,701. It was a bitterly disappointing end to the night for the player who had come into play second of nine players. All-in with ace-king of hearts pre-flop, Belarussian Yauheni Tsiareshchanka held with pocket jacks across a board of T-T-4-5-T to put themselves back in contention for the title, taking second in chips with five remaining.

Meshkov the Monster in Late Slaughter Show

Over the course of nearly the full next hour of play, the chips balanced out to such a degree that the lead changed hands almost as often as the dealer button moved around the table. Croatian ‘d1nzvoz’ was all-in with the best of it, holding ace-king, but he ran out of luck against his opponent, the Russian Vasiliy Meshkov, who held ace-queen. A flop of Q-6-3 was a disaster for the Croatian, and after blanks on turn and river, he left for $90,531 in 5th instead of looking forward to being just 4 bigs behind the chip leader.

Meshkov now had the lead and soon had another player’s chips. Tsiareshchanka shoved pre-flop with king-jack, and Meshkov correctly called it off with ace-nine. The board played out T-5-4-5-7 – no paint – and suddenly Meshkov had a big lead. With over 7 million chips, Meshkov’s two remaining opponents had just over 4.3m combined. Tsiareshchanka, meanwhile, headed to the virtual rail with $115,923.

Meshkov was on a roll and made it three eliminations in a row when the overnight chip leader ‘Ultimatefish657’ got all his chips into the middle on a board showing K-T-4-J while holding jack-ten for two pair. Sadly for the North Macedonian player, Meshkov had been trapping with pocket kings. The top set prevailed to send the at-risk player home with $148,437.

It was time for the heads-up battle, and the last two players, who had started the final table with just 77 big blinds between them, battled it out for the top prize of $243,381. Meshkov led with 8.38 million chips to ‘Khaanos’ with 3.34m, and it didn’t take long for the Russian to wrap it up. Dominated in defeat, ‘Khaanos’ shoved with ace-four and Meshkov called with ace-seven. As the board ran out 6-3-2-9-8, the Russian survived a wheel sweat to stand tall at the close of play, eliminating each of his final four opponents to triumph.

At the start of play, Meshkov had been available at odds of 10.84 to win, and he did it in style, taking home the top prize of almost a quarter of a million dollars after another thrilling week’s action in the GGPoker GGMillion$!

Watch all the action in the company of Jeff Gross and Ben Rolle right here:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Vasiliy Meshkov	Russia	$243,381
2nd	‘Khaanos’	Austria	$190,070
3rd	‘Ultimatefish657’	North Macedonia	$148,437
4th	Y Tsiareshchanka	Belarus	$115,923
5th	‘d1nzvoz’	Croatia	$90,531
6th	‘Kuromichan’	Japan	$70,701
7th	Guillaume Nolet	Canada	$55,214
8th	Joshua McCully	Australia	$43,120
9th	‘lospob4res’	Austria	$33,675

Anatski Earns Late GGMILLION$ Victory – July 23, 2024

Ilya Anatski won a late GGMILLION$ title after beating the overnight chip leader Michael Jozoff to the win and a massive $317,265 top prize. With players such as Aleks Ponakovs, Oliver Weis, and Volodymyr Palamar at the final table, it was a thrilling night at the virtual felt on GGPoker.

Jozoff the Leader

Heading into the final table, it was the American player Michael Jozoff who had the chip lead, and it was a massive one with his 122 big blind stack dwarfing everyone around him. Austrian player ‘xxkfiss’ was Jozoff’s closest challenger with 74 big blinds. Belarussian Ilya Anatski began a fair bit lower with just 48 big blinds, and Aleks Ponakovs from Latvia on 40 big blinds. Others at the eight-handed final table were ‘rieeson’ from Croatia (32BB), Ukrainian player Volodymyr Palamar (31BB), Austria-based ‘hazuzukaa’ (20BB) and German player Oliver Weis (15BB), who was short-stack but still had a very playable pile.

The first player to bust out of the event fifteen minutes after it began was Oliver Weis, the German was never able to build on his short stack to put himself back in the fight. All-in with king-queen, he was in a horrible position with ‘xxkfiss’ calling him with ace-king. The jack-high board was unable to save the at-risk player, and Weis headed home with $56,210.

Ukrainian Volodymyr Palamar was the next to go, busting in seventh for $71,976 when pocket kings were shot down by a weaker hand. The chip leader Michael Jozoff shoved from the hijack with an ace-six of clubs, and Palamar called it off with the best hand. A flop of A-8-5 put Palamar behind. One club fell on the flop, another on the turn, and a third on the river to give Jozoff the nut flush, sending Palamar to the rail.

Ponakovs Pushed Out

Aleks Ponakovs can claim a unique accolade in poker, having beaten Phil Ivey heads-up to win a WSOP bracelet. He was not, however, able to add this week’s GGMILLION$ title to a prime poker resume. All-in with king-jack, he lost a flop to Jozoff when the Latvian’s drawing hand failed to hit the A-5-2 flop. A queen on the turn opened up Broadway draws to Ponakovs’ outs, but an eight on the river only set up Jozoff for victory, as Ponakovs cashed for $92,164 in sixth.

There was another big pot twenty-five minutes later, as ‘rieeson’ busted in fifth for $118,014. All-in with ace-nine of spades, the Croatian was way behind Ilya Anatski’s pocket jacks and remained there through the 5-5-2-6-T board. With four players left, Jozoff was a clear leader, holding 7.5 million chips at the top of the leaderboard.

Behind Jozoff, ‘xxkfiss’ (4m), Anatski (2.1m), and ‘hazuzukaa’ (1.6m) gathered in pursuit of the crown. With $317,265 on the line for first, everyone was chasing one of the biggest top prizes of the year so far in 2024, with Jeff Gross and Jonathan Jaffe on the comms and loving the dramatic action.

End Game Sees Anatski Triumph

Down to four players, it was ‘xxkfiss’ who bowed out first, winning $151,114 in the process. All-in with king-seven, they lost to Anatski’s pocket kings after a clean board for the Belarussian came 9-6-3-Q-Q. Anatski vaulted into a clear second place on the leaderboard with that victory, with Jozoff still leading the way.

The final table had reached two hours of play as the final three continued to battle it out. Jozoff was still well in the lead with 8.2m in chips, but it wasn’t quite the dominant lead he had when play began. Ilya Anatski had climbed his way up to second and was sitting with 5.3m, while the short stack, ‘hazuzukaa’, was holding just 1.7m, good for 14.5 big blinds.

Fifteen minutes later, ‘hazuzukaa’ finally fell in third place. He was all-in for 900K with pocket eights. Jozoff easily had the stack to call it off with queen-nine and won as the board player out 9-6-4-4-T, giving Jozoff a pair of eights. ‘Hazuzukaa’ was headed to the rails with $193,498 as the stage was set for the final duel. Heading into the final, Jozoff had a strong lead of around 2:1 (9.77m to 5.51m) going to heads-up poker.

The chips flowed back and forth over the next few minutes as Anatski slowly chipped away at Jozoff’s monstrous stack. A crucial pot developed when Anatski had 9-8 on a Q-T-6-J-J board against Jozoff’s queen-nine. That advantage for the Belarussian saw the stacks level up at 7.6m each. A few hands later, on a board of T-T-5-9 all the chips went in. Most of the chips were on the line, with Anatski miles ahead. Ilya was holding a jack-ten against Jozoff’s pocket sevens. The final card was a King, not the miracle seven Jozoff needed as Anatski’s win was finalized.

Watch all the action in the company of Jeff Gross and Jonathan Jaffe right here:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Ilya Anatski	Russia	$317,265
2nd	Michael Jozoff	Belarus	$247,770
3rd	‘hazuzukaa’	Austria	$193,498
4th	‘xxkfiss’	Austria	$151,114
5th	‘rieeson’	Croatia	$118,014
6th	Aleks Ponakovs	Latvia	$92,164
7th	Volodymyr Palamar	Ukraine	$71,976
8th	Oliver Weis	Germany	$56,210
9th	‘TBDestroyer’	Austria	$43,898

GGMillion$ Won by Wisbrod as Epic Finale Plays Out on GGPoker – July 31, 2024

One of the hardest to predict final tables played out on GGPoker this week as the latest $10,300 buy-In GGMillion$ event gave Barak Wisbrod the win. The Israeli, who came into play third in chips behind GGMillion$ legend Michael Addamo, saw some incredible competition from Dejan Kaladjurdjevic at the end to seal a remarkable win after a back-and-forth heads-up battle for the title.

Wisbrod Rockets Off to Fast Start

A prize pool of $1.51 million saw a top prize of $306,923 up for grabs. Marching into the final nine with a big chip lead was Australian Michael Addamo, who began the show with 77 big blinds. Behind him sat the impressive German pro, Christoph Vogelsang, on 62 big blinds, with Israeli regular at GGMillion$ final tables, Barak Wisbrod (56BB), not far behind.

The rest of the field at the final table included Brazilians Pablo Silva (45BB) and Rodrigo Selouan (44BB), with Montenegran Dejan Kaladjurdjevic (39BB) in close attendance. Russian player ‘IamBusinessman’ (31BB) was followed by Austrias ‘basjorke5’ (21BB), while German player Alexander Tkatschew started on just 19 big blinds as the official short stack.

The first player to bust, just 6 hands into the final table, was Austria’s ‘basjorke5’, who shoved for around 18 big blinds with pocket tens. Unfortunately, the hand ran into Wisbrod’s holding pocket aces. The flop of T-9-4 hinted at a miraculous save for the at-risk player and after the turn of a five, ‘basjorke5’ only needed to fade the two remaining aces. As Wisbrod used the ‘One Time!’ avatar animation, it came in, the ace of spades landing on the river to send ‘basjorke5’ home with $43,846 in ninth place.

Double Trouble for Brazil

While the first elimination came quickly, it would be almost an hour before the next player followed. When it came, it was premium into premium and the ultimate pain for the patient player. Rodrigo Selouan had waited for the perfect time to score a big double up, thought he had found it, and was all-in with ace-king. In fact, his timing could not have been worse. Dejan Kaladjurdjevic called the all-in with pocket kings and a bigger stack. A jack-high board gave the Montenegran the chips and sent Selouan home in 8th with $55,920.

Soon, the second of the two Brazilians hit the virtual rail. Pablo Silva crashed out when super-short with king-nine in the small blind, shoving into Kaladjurdjevic, who called with queen-five from the big blind. A board of T-8-7-5-A sent Silva out with $71,319. The hand also gave Kaladjurdjevic the chip lead, taking over from Addamo at the top.

The Russian player ‘IamBusinessman’ busted next in what was the hand of the night. All-in pre-flop with pocket jacks, ‘IamBusinessman’ had called Alexander Tkatschew’s shove with ace-queen. The real danger lay in waiting around the table as Kaladjurdjevic called both men off with pocket aces. A flop of 8-5-4 was followed by two complete bricks as both ‘IamBusinessman’ (6th for $90,958) and Tkatschew (5th for $116,006) departed.

Epic Heads-Up Battle Sees Heroics

Kaladjurdjevic was now on 6.36 million as chip leader, with Addamo (4.1m), Wisbrod (3.82m), and Vogelsang (1.48m) trailing in his wake. Things got even better for the leader when Vogelsang’s shoved with ace-jack saw the Montenegran call with king-jack of clubs. The king on the flop was the beginning of the end as the board ran out K-9-4-2-T, and the German Vogelsang cashed for $147,951 in fourth place.

With more than half the chips in play, Kaladjurdjevic could see the finish line. Growing his stack with a series of aggressive plays, everything went smoothly for him until Wisbrod doubled up and began to fight back. With both men close in chips, Kaladjurdjevic tried to put the pressure on soon after, shoving the river when holding jack-eight of diamonds on a board showing A-K-8-9-T with three clubs. It was a stellar move, but it had terrible timing, with Wisbrod making the quick call with pocket kings for middle set on the flop.

Suddenly, the Israeli player had 11.8 million chips, with Kaladjurdjevic (2.17m) and Addamo (1.83m) totaling just 4 million between them. The Aussie Addamo had the most ground to make up and got his chips in good with ace-king against Kaladjurdjevic’s ace-three, but a three on the river sunk Addamo, sending him to the rail in third for $188,693.

Heads-up, Wisbrod now had a 2.3:1 lead over Kaladjurdjevic. A stunning bluff on a board of K-Q-J-A-K with just pocket sixes saw Kaladjurdjevic’s shove on the river folded to by Wisbrod’s ace-jack. If the Israeli was on ‘Tilt!’ as he showed after the hand, he reigned it in and – now level – refused to lay down and give up. Building his lead back up to a massive 6:1, Wisbrod started pounding raises again and again. Eventually, Kaladjurdjevic shoved with king-deuce and ran into Wisbrod’s ace-king. A flop of A-Q-8 kept Wisbrod in the lead but a deuce on the turn gave Kaladjurdjevic hope of a miracle. Sadly for him no second deuce arrived, an ace on the river confirming the hardest-fought of wins for Wisbrod as he celebrated an epic victory.

Watch all the action with Jeff Gross and Mike Jozoff as this week’s GG MILLION$ produced another dramatic finale:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Barak Wisbrod	Israel	$306,923
2nd	Dejean Kaladjurdjevic	Montenegro	$240,654
3rd	Michael Addamo	Australia	$188,693
4th	Christoph Vogelsang	Germany	$147,951
5th	Alex Tkatschew	Germany	$116,006
6th	‘IamBusinessman’	Russia	$90,958
7th	Pablo Silva	Brazil	$71,319
8th	Rodrigo Selouan	Brazil	$55,920
9th	‘basjorke5’	Austria	$43,846

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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.

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Edited by Shawn A.