GGMillion$ Won by Volodymyr Palamar for $315,000 – December 4, 2024

A brilliant finish saw Ukraine’s Volodymyr Palamar take home the top prize of $315,092 as he triumphed heads-up against a resurgent Russian poker legend. The weekly $10,300 entry GGMillion$ tournament has become the jewel in GGPoker’s crown and the premier regular online poker tournament, and this week’s bragging rights went to Ukraine as the shortest stack with three players remaining proved a dogged underdog to take the win.

Wisbrod Whiffs the Board

There was no runaway chip leader heading into the final table, with Belarussian ‘D Kravchenko’ leading the way with 82 big blinds. Two Brazilians were closest to the chip leader, with Fabiano Kovalski (75BB) and Bruno Volkmann (53BB) close enough to provide a stiff challenge. Another Belarussian heavyweight, Mikalai Vaskaboinikau (50BB), sat behind those challengers, with Ukrainian Volodymyr Palamar (42BB) fifth in the rankings before the final table began. 

Others still in the hunt for glory but much shorter stacked were Latvian Aleks Ponakovs (24BB), Israel’s GGMillion$ regular Barak Wisbrod (24BB), Swiss online poker machine Diego Zeiter (20BB), and the shortest stack, Russian player Nikita Kuznetsov, who started with just 10 big blinds. 

The first player to bust was regular GGMillion$ final table player Barak Wisbrod. He left in ninth place for $43,597 when he shoved pre-flop with ace-king offsuit, only to be called by the ace-jack of Diego Zeiter. The Swiss player held the ace of hearts, and after two hearts on the flop gave hope to the underdog, another arrived on turn and again on the river to give Zeiter the nut flush, sending Wisbrod from the felt first.

Kovalski Crashes After Double Disaster

There was a surprise exit in eighth place as Mikalai Vaskiboinikau from Belarus scored $55,825 despite starting the final in fourth place. All-in and at-risk pre-flop with ace-nine, the Belarussian needed to hit when Volodymyr Palamar called with pocket sevens. The flop of A-K-7 left the Belarussian player nearly drawing dead. No help came on turn or river, meaning Palamar’s flopped bottom set of sevens won the day and reduced the field to seven.

There was another big pre-flop confrontation to send the Latvian Ponakovs home in seventh place for $71,483. All-in pre-flop with ace-queen of spades, Ponakovs needed to hit after he was called by Fabiano Kovalski with pocket jacks. An eight-high board was no good for the Latvian as he fell, sending the pot to Kovalski, who jumped up into second place with just six remaining.

Despite winning that hand and gaining all the momentum, Kovalski proved true the old poker adage that any player was only ever two hands from the exit. First, he was unfortunate to double up short stack Nikita Kuznetsov when the Russian’s small blind shove with nine-ten of hearts overtook Kovalski’s ace-jack call from the big blind. Running nines on turn and river halved Kovalski’s stack, and in the next hand, his shove with ace-seven from the small blind ran into Kravchenko’s ace-nine in the big. No help came to the Brazilian’s aid, sending Kovalski home with $91,532. 

“That’s why you can’t just catch the knockouts, so much happens in between,” said Jeff Gross. 

“[His stack] turned to dust in 60 seconds,” agreed co-commentator Sebastian Crema. “It shows you how insane these final tables can be.”

Palamar Pushes for Glory

Five players were racing to the finish, and soon, the other Brazilian at the virtual felt would hit the rails. All-in pre-flop with ace-six of spades, Volkmann ran into Kravchenko’s pocket queens. He couldn’t overtake the ladies and was forced to the rail with $117,205. Diego Zeiter followed him to the rail just three hands later, shoving with the short stack holding king-jack. He was called by Kutznetsov with pocket nines. The board came down 6-4-3-2-4 to send the Swiss player home with $150,079. 

A trio of talented players remained, with Kravchenko leading on 7.9 million chips. Kuznetsov, who had started the day rock bottom of the chipcounts with just 10 big blinds, was on 4.45 million, and Palamar brought up the rear of 2.8 million. Despite these stacks, it all went wrong for Kravchenko, who dropped just behind Palamar before getting it all in bad with ace-ten. Palamar called with ace-jack. There was no help across the board as Kravchenko was sent home with $192,173 in third.

The Final Two

Heads-up, Palamar had a slight lead and won the title in short order after diamonds proved his best friend. On a flop of J-9-8 with two diamonds, Kuznetsov got it in with ten-deuce of diamonds for the straight and flush draw combo. Palamar called with queen-four of diamonds, and it was the correct call. A ten of clubs on the turn made him an overwhelming favorite to win while Kuznetsov was suddenly drawing to a chop. A three of clubs landed on the river to conclude the event, and a thrilling final table was over with the Ukrainian celebrating a tremendous victory and taking home $315,092.

Having been a huge 30-to-1 underdog to start, Russian Nikita Kuznetsov came in ninth and ended as runner-up for $246,073, a stunning performance that very nearly bagged him the title. 

Watch all the action as it happened in this week’s exciting GGMillion$ finale with Jeff and Sebastian right here:

Watch all the action from the final table right in the company of him and regular host Jeff Gross:

GGMillion$ Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Volodymyr Palamar	Ukraine	$315,092
2nd	Nikita Kuznetsov	Russia	$246,073
3rd	D. Kravchenko	Belarus	$192,173
4th	Diego Zeiter	Switzerland	$150,079
5th	Bruno Volkmann	Brazil	$117,205
6th	Fabiano Kovalski	Brazil	$91,532
7th	Aleks Ponakovs	Latvia	$71,483
8th	Mikalai Vaskaboinkau	Belarus	$55,825
9th	Barak Wisbrod	Israel	$43,597

GGMillion$ Won by Volodymyr Palamar for $315,000 – December 11, 2024

Canadian poker player ‘rivo_john’ took down this week’s GGPoker GGMillion$ for over $325,000 after their overnight chip lead was carried through to victory at an exciting final table. Legends of the game, such as Dominik Nitsche, Yuri Dzivielevski, and runner-up Volodymyr Palamar, all outlasted, and it was the dominant stack that won the day on GGPoker. 

Yuri Kicked Out Early

This week’s co-commentator was a crusher, but not at the poker felt. Dutch legend Rico Verhoeven is a heavyweight Kickboxing champion who has defeated legends like Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, and Jamal Ben Saddik. With 2.2 million followers on Instagram and 10 title defenses, Verhoeven is used to tasting victory, and his pursuit of greatness was a great backdrop for an entertaining stream all evening.  

Canadian ‘rivo_john’ was the monster chip leader heading into the final, bagging 150 big blinds on the virtual felt the night before. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Palamar, no stranger to GGMILLION$ final tables and the reigning champion from last week, began with 83 big blinds in second place. Everyone else had fewer than a third of the leader’s chips, with Canada’s ‘JackJohnson9’ (44BB), Germany’s Dominik Nitsche (37BB), Irish hopeful James Hopkins (26BB), and British online player Andrew Wilson (24BB) the only other player beginning with over 10 bigs. 

Brazil’s Yuri Dzivielevski (10BB), Polish player ‘Hotel De Paris’ (9BB), and Australian Joshua McCully (7BB) were hoping to ladder as much as they could. With three short stacks, it didn’t take long to lose one. It was Dzivielevski who was all-in pre-flop for just four big blinds. His hand looked good against Nitsche’s pocket fives and Palamar’s pocket nines when the flop came A-K-8. However, a nine on the turn was devastating for the Brazilian, and Palamar’s bet pushed Nitsche out of the way. A meaningless ace gave Palamar a full house, sending the former global online number one home with $45,100 in ninth place.

Short Stacks Shuffle Out

McCully was the next short stack to bow out, and he was super-short when the time came. Just a single big blind sat in front of his avatar when he was all-in pre-flop with king-five. That lost to ‘rivo_john’s ace-seven as a board of T-9-3-J-J sent him home in eighth place for $57,750.

It took some time, but the last of the trio of short stacks who started the game on 10 big blinds or less busted next. ‘Hotel De Paris’ moved all-in pre-flop with pocket sevens, but that pair was not enough as they busted in seventh place, cashing for $73,948. The Polish player lost to Palamar’s ace-jack when a board came T-9-6-A-Q. Last week’s winner, Palamar, took second in the chip count, not far behind Rivo John at the top. 

Within the first thirty minutes of play, nine starters had been reduced to six. It wasn’t long before the first of the two Canadians who made it to the final table lost his tournament life. ‘JackJohnson9’ had started the final table third in chips but left in sixth place for $94,689 when he got his 3 big blind micro stack in with ace-three. He was called by Nitsche and Hopkins, and it was the latter’s hand that eliminated the Canadian. Hopkins held queen-jack as the board of Q-8-2-K-2 left just five at the table.

Palamar Pushes for Glory

Five players were racing to the finish, and soon, the other Brazilian at the virtual felt would hit the rails. All-in pre-flop with ace-six of spades, Volkmann ran into Kravchenko’s pocket queens. He couldn’t overtake the ladies and was forced to the rail with $117,205. Diego Zeiter followed him to the rail just three hands later, shoving with the short stack holding king-jack. He was called by Kutznetsov with pocket nines. The board came down 6-4-3-2-4 to send the Swiss player home with $150,079. 

A trio of talented players remained, with Kravchenko leading on 7.9 million chips. Kuznetsov, who had started the day rock bottom of the chipcounts with just 10 big blinds, was on 4.45 million, and Palamar brought up the rear of 2.8 million. Despite these stacks, it all went wrong for Kravchenko, who dropped just behind Palamar before getting it all in bad with ace-ten. Palamar called with ace-jack. There was no help across the board as Kravchenko was sent home with $192,173 in third.

Then There Were Two

Three handed play saw Dominik Nitsche crash out with top pair. Starting the hand with a little over 1 million chips, his trapping play might have worked with lower-stacked players, but on a board of Q-2-2-K, the German’s king-nine priced ‘rivo_john’ into calling. The trapper was suddenly trapped when the river came down a jack, leading to a Broadway straight coming on fifth street. All the chips went in on the river, and Nitsche lost out in third for a prize of $198,800.

Heads-up, ‘rivo_john’ led by 8.9 million chips to Palamar’s 6.6 million as an epic forty-minute duel to decide the winner between a potential first-timer and the reigning champion got underway. After some timid opening exchanges, Palamar took a slim lead but became the victim of a Broadway massacre himself when holding ace-king to the queen-jack of ‘rivo_john’. A board of T-7-5-A-K produced incredible drama as Palamar bet almost half of his stack on the river.

No way! This is a nasty one.” Said Jeff Gross as ‘rivo_john’ pondered his obvious all-in move. 

“He’s waiting. He’s thinking as if it’s a hard decision. I love it!” Rico Verhoeven eulogised on co-comms.

‘rivo_john’ eventually bet all-in, and Palamar went into the tank. 

“Can you imagine the agony here? You beat all these hands. I don’t see how he can fold.” Gross said, and he was right. Palamar clicked call and lost 95% of his stack. Starting with under 2 big blinds and an ace-seven, the Ukrainian doubled up an amazing four times, but soon enough, it was all over. A flop of Q-9-3 saw both players with a gutshot straight draw, but while Palamar had jack-eight, ‘rivo_john’ held king-jack. Sure enough, a ten landed on the turn, and Gross declared it all over before the chips even went in. The hand virtually played itself as Palamar shoved after a deuce on the river, and ‘rivo_john’ had the title and a top prize of $325,957, denying Volodymyr Palamar back-to-back GGMILLION$ victories. 

Watch all the knockout action here in the company of Jeff Gross and Dutch kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven here:

GGMillion$ Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	‘rive_john’	Canada	$325,957
2nd	Volodymyr Palamar	Ukraine	$254,559
3rd	Dominik Nitsche	Germany	$198,800
4th	Andrew Wilson	United Kingdom	$155,254
5th	James Hopkins	Ireland	$121,247
6th	‘JackJohnson9’	Canada	$94,689
7th	‘Hotel De Paris’	Poland	$73,948
8th	Joshua McCully	Australia	$57,750
9th	Yuri Dzivielevski	Brazil	$45,100

GGMillion$ Won for Quarter-Million Top Prize with Explosive Ending – December 18, 2024

This week, the GGMillion$ Super High Roller final table featured nine poker greats, all hoping to capture the top prize of $252,073 and bragging rights in the elite world of the $10,300 buy-in weekly online event. With Benjamin Rolle, Marius Gierse, Artur Martirosian, and Niklas Astedt all in the mix, there was no end of excitement as the action took place over three hours on GGPoker. All eight players who busted out went home in the last hour of a crazy showdown no one predicted pre-match.

On a Rolle

Heading into the back nine, it was the German player and trainer, Benjamin Rolle, leading the final table. His massive stack of 102 Big Blinds loomed large over his opponents’ chips. Fellow German Simon Beckmann (64BB) was Rolle’s closest rival, with Swede Niklas Astedt (58BB) and Austrian Marius Gierse (57BB) close behind him. 

The top four were some way clear of the other players, with the Ukrainian Andrii Novak (38BB), Swiss player Diego Zeiter (31BB), and the Spanish pro, Sergi Reixach (28BB) in the chasing pack. Much further back were the two short stacks, Russians Artur Martirosian (17BB) and Alexander Zubov, who started the final table with just seven big blinds.

Sitting beside regular host Jeff Gross, the co-commentator this week was Brazilian poker professional Rafael Reis. With over $2.3 million in live tournament cashes and a WSOP bracelet in 2023, Reis isn’t only a strong poker player but also coaches those looking to take their game to the next level.

Players Rush into Push-Fold Shootout

While there were a few all-ins to commentate on throughout the tournament, the first bust-out was an amazingly long time coming. After nearly two full hours of play, Reixach shoved with suited king-seven and was called by Astedt, holding ace-three. A flop of 6-5-2 did nothing to help the at-risk Spaniard, and after a nine on the turn and another six on the river, Reixach was sent home with $34,877 in ninth place – a record for the longest time before the first bust out on a final table in the GGMillion$. 

While Reixach’s elimination was the first, soon, players started pushing hard to double up and keep pace with the continually increasing blinds. It was another 20 minutes before Andrii Novak cashed for $44,660 in eighth place. He shoved pre-flop with a suited queen-jack but ran into the ace-king of Rolle. The overnight chip leader held with ease through the A-A-J-6-4 board, and the field was down to seven players.

 

Seven Quickly Becomes Four

Winning the hand against Reixach had not helped Astedt chip up much, and the Swede soon shoved shortly after Novak’s departure with ace-four. Rolle covered with king-queen of spades as a board of J-6-5 all spades landed on the flop. Astedt was drawing dead and left in seventh place for a score of $57,186, a big disappointment considering the online poker legend began the final table sitting third in the chip counts. 

“This has been a unique final table,” said Jeff Gross. 

“I have to say ‘GG’, Lena,” said Reis, using the online moniker for Astedt that so many know him by.

“Absolutely, he’s a real fan favorite in Brazil.” remarked Gross.

Soon, the field was down to five. Artur Martirosian shoved with ace-king, Zubov called with queens, and it looked like the latter of the two Russians, who started play with just seven big blinds, was going to be a big chip leader. No ace or king fell on the flop or turn, leaving Martirosian praying for a miracle. And a miracle is exactly what he got. A king fell on the river, leaving Zubov with fewer blinds than when the day started, and catapulted Martirosian into second place on the leaderboard. 

A few hands later, Simon Beckmann lost his last two big blinds, earning $73,226 in sixth when his five-seven was crushed by Rolle’s jack-ten, which paired a jack on the flop in a blind-on-blind battle. Zubov, down to just seven and a half big blinds, went to the rail soon after in fifth for $93,764 when his suited ace-six did not improve from being dominated by Martirosian’s ace-queen on a board of J-4-2-8-5.

Carnage at the Conclusion

A double all-in precipitated the heads-up battle, as Martirosian took out both Marius Gierse in fourth for $120,063 and Diego Zeiter in third for $153,738. On a flop of 6-4-3 with one club, Gierse had already committed his chips with jack-ten after Martirosian shoved with seven-four of clubs. Zeiter called it off correctly with queen-six for top pair. Unfortunately, a king of clubs on the turn was followed by the three of clubs on the river to give the Russian a runner-runner flush in sensational style.

With over $50,000 on the line between runner-up and winner, Martirosian had 7.5 million chips to Rolle’s 4.5 million. As one of the most successful players ever to play on GGPoker and in the GGMillion$ in particular, Martirosian took on Rolle, an extremely experienced poker pro and the overnight chip leader. 

Incredibly, the heads-up battle lasted just two hands, as Martirosian’s pocket nines faced off against Rolle’s ace-king with all the chips going into the middle pre-flop. A board of J-7-6-2-7 landed, and that was it as Martirosian, who began the final in eighth place of nine with just 17 big blinds, proved yet again that he can win titles – especially the GGMillion$ – from anywhere!  

Watch the superb conclusion of this week’s unique GGMillion$ in the company of Jeff Gross and a stunned Rafael Reis right here:

 

 

GGMillion$ Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Artur Martirosian	Russia	$252,073
2nd	Benjamin Rolle	Germany	$196,859
3rd	Diego Zeiter	Switzerland	$153,738
4th	Marius Gierse	Austria	$120,063
5th	Alexander Zubov	Russia	$93,764
6th	Simon Beckmann	Germany	$73,226
7th	Niklas Astedt	Sweden	$57,186
8th	Andrii Novak	Ukraine	$44,660
9th	Sergi Reixach	Spain	$34,877

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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.