Aces Crushed in Thrilling GGMillion$ Finale – January 2, 2025

It was a stunning finish to end the poker year on GGPoker. This week’s GGMillion$ tournament saw a top prize of $317,086 won by the overnight chip leader ‘Come2Brazil’ – ironically playing from Canada. Although the chip leader went into the action with a strong advantage in chips, a lot happened between the start and finish to leave everything in doubt right to the conclusion.

Early Exit for Kulev

This week, Jeff Gross was joined in the commentary booth by Mike Sowers, an American who has won over $3.8 million at live poker, to provide insights on the players at the virtual felt. The final nine in the $10,00-entry weekly tournament on GGPoker were led by the Canadian player ‘Come2Brazil’ on 95 big blinds, with a big gap back to British player Andrew Wilson (61BB) in second place. 

Others chasing the title included three Russians, with ‘kolayruss1978’ (49BB), Vladimir Minko (40BB) and Aleks Borovkov (22BB) all in pursuit. Borovkov was the short at the final table where everyone started with a decent stack, such as Pablo Silva (44BB), Spain’s Juan Dominguez (40BB), German player Alexander Tkatschew (35BB) and Alex Kulev from Bulgaria (24BB) all hunting down the win. 

The first player to lose that hope was Kulev, who three-bet shoved from the cut off for 23 big blinds with pocket sixes only to run into the pocket kings of Wilson in the big blind. No drama came on the board to save the Ireland-based Bulgarian as a J-T-4 flop was followed by a seven on the turn and eight on the river to send Kulev home with $45,298 in ninth place.

Russian Roulette 

Wilson seemed to hold whenever he had a pair and soon had another victim. Calling off Tkatschew’s shove, pocket tens held against the German’s king-queen of diamonds, a board of J-5-4-8-5 with only one diamond landing to send Tkatschew home with $57,771 in eighth place. Vladimir Minko wasn’t happy – he’d folded two hearts and missed out on a lucrative flush!

The short stack at the start of play, Borovkov, waited for the right time to move all-in and thought he’d found it with pocket kings in the big blind. Running into Juan Dominguez’s pocket aces under-the-gun was not part of the plan, however, and after a ten-high board fell, the Russian Borovkov was out in seventh for a score of $73,680. 

One Russian had departed and another soon followed. All-in for a total stack of just under 12 big blinds with king-jack on a flop of K-J-4, Vladimir Minko’s shove for the second half of his stack was called by Juan Dominguez with ace-queen. A ten on the turn immediately rewarded the Spaniard by making him a Broadway straight and he faded full house outs on the river as a three landed to deliver Minko’s hopes to the rail for a score of $93,970. 

It took almost on time for five to become four, as Pablo Silva busted to Andrew Wilson. All-in pre-flop with king-ten offsuit, the Brazilian started and ended his final hand behind Wilson’s ace-nine of clubs as the board landed Q-8-6-2-5 to reduce the field to four and send Silva home with $119,847.

 

Rockets Sunk at the Death 

As the final four raced to the line, it was the Spanish player Dominguez who led with a pile of 6.58 million chips in front of him. The overnight leader ‘Come2Brazil’ was his closest challenger on 4m chips, with Andrew Wilson (3.7m) and ‘kolayruss1978’ (2.07m) a little further behind. 

True to the chipcounts, it was the Russian who felt under the most pressure and by the time he shoved for 1.1m chips with jack-ten of diamonds, it was a stack worth just 11 big blinds. Andrew Wilson called with pocket jacks and held with ease, a board of Q-J-2-3-5 leaving the Russian player drawing dead to the river and leaving with $152,850 with fourth place.

 

Three-handed play saw Andrew Wilson run into two crushing hands to go from second in chips to out in third place for $194,941. First, his ace-five was a complete bluff running into Come2Brazil’s flopped full house, then ace-king was no good against Juan Dominguez’ ace-seven as a board of 9-7-7-4-8 saw the British player lose another massive chunk of his chips. Eventually Wilson lost his last chips with ace-seven to Come2Brazil’s ace-ten after an ace on the flop prompted action. 

Heads-up, the Canadian had a slight chip lead with 8.9 million chips to Dominguez’ stack of 7.37m. That lead grew bigger when the Spanish player dropped a few chips on a board where he flopped a flush draw that never came in. Come2Brazil turned top pair and scooped a pot that gave him a near 3:1 chip lead.

The end, when it came, was swift and brutal. The stacks were roughly the same when Dominguez woke up with pocket aces and slow-played the board of T-6-2-Q-6 all the way to the river whereupon he shoved 2.9m chips into a pot of 3.3m. Unhappily for him, the overnight chip leader Come2Brazil had gone all the way to fifth street with six-four and was rewarded with trips to seal a memorable wire-to-wire title. 

Watch all the action with Jeff Gross and Mike Sowers as it played out over three thrilling hours on the GGPoker YouTube channel: 

 

GGMillion$ Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	‘Come2Brazil’	Canada	$317,086
2nd	Juan Dominguez	Spain	$248,622
3rd	Andrew Wilson	United Kingdom	$194,941
4th	‘kolayruss1978’	Russia	$152,850
5th	Pablo Silva	Brazil	$119,847
6th	Vladimir Minko	Russia	$93,970
7th	Aleks Borovkov	Russia	$73,680
8th	Alexander Tkatschew	Germany	$57,771
9th	Alex Kulev	Bulgaria	$45,298

                                          

Volkmann Victorious in GGMillion$ After Thrilling Climax to Weekly Tournament – January 9, 2025

Bruno Volkmann stunned Barak Wisbrod heads-up as a huge final hand decided the destiny of this week’s GGMillion$ title. Joining regular host Jeff Gross in the commentary box was Brazilian professional Marcelo Tadeu Aziz, who, with over $4.8 million in live winnings and $4.6m in online earnings, is one of the most successful players in recent times in both the online and live arena combined.

The talented Aziz came second in the recent WSOP Paradise Super Main Event at Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas for $4.6 million and is third on the All-Time Money List for Brazil. He also finished 162nd in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas and he was a natural on the mic as he brought the action to life alongside the always lively Gross.

All-Russian Clash Ends One Star’s Chances Early

Last week’s winner was—ironically—named ‘Come2Brazil’ despite playing from Canada. This week, two Brazilians were part of the last nine at the final table for their countryman Aziz to commentate on. Bruno Volkmann (63BB) and Bruno Bernardino (38BB) both started with playable stacks, but it was Barak Wisbrod from Israel who led the field with 77 big blinds.

Russians Anatoly Filatov (69BB) and Vladimir Minko (49BB) both had very good chances of victory, while Bulgarian player Yulian Bogdanov (21BB), Estonia’s Ottomar Ladva (19BB), Israel’s Ravid Garbi (16BB) and a third Russian Viktor Ustimov (15BB) a little shorter in their race for glory. The first player to leave the party was the victim of an all-Russian clash as Viktor Ustimov raced with pocket nines against the ace-king of hearts belonging to his countryman Anatoly Filatov. A flop of A-Q-6 immediately vaulted Filatov into the lead, and after a deuce on the turn and a seven on the river, doomed pocket nines to ninth place for Ustimov who earned $51,105.

Eight Seven Remain…

Eight soon became seven, as Israel’s Ravid Garbi committed his stack pre-flop for just under seven big blinds. All-in with queen-nine of clubs, Garbi started and ended his final hand behind Filatov’s off-suit king-jack as a board of K-9-7-7-5 sent the Israeli home with a score of $65,178. 

Filatov, with 16% of the chips in play, had started his assault on the title like a runaway train but was forced to switch tactics when his initial under-the-gun pre-flop raise with ace-jack and subsequent calls caused him to give back some chips on a board showing Q-5-2-6 by the turn. Two others were involved, as Volkmann bet with pocket eights and Ottomar Ladva called with ace-nine to put himself at risk for his final few chips, having put 95% of them in the middle pre-flop. A five on the river didn’t help the at-risk Estonian as he lost his chips to Volkmann, and the Brazilian drew level with Filatov at the top of the chip counts. Ladva cashed for $83,127 in seventh place.

 

And Finishing in Sixth

One feature the GGMillion$ stream brings to the viewer is the Mystery Hand, where the hosts try to figure out what to do when faced with action and seeing only 1 player’s hand. This time, they were playing with Volkmann as the Brazillian min-raised from the button with 8-9 of hearts. One caller, Vladimir Minko, came with Volkmann to see a flop of A-J-2 with 2 hearts as it was checked to the aggressor, who bet one-quarter pot. The turn came down seven of hearts as Minko checked to Volkmann again. Holding a flush and needing an elbow card for a straight flush, Volkmann bet out 301K, just over half the pot, which was again called. The board landed a brick on the river with a nine of spades, and again, Minko checked to Volkmann who put out a bet of 794K into a pot of 1,151K. Minko went into the tank for nearly a full minute as Gross and Aziz discussed the possibilities before calling off the bet for half his stack. Minko lost with 2 pair to Volkmann’s flush, leaving him with just 13 big blinds.

Vladimir Minko never really recovered and, before the level went up, pushed his last 10 big blinds into the middle with ace-ten offsuit. Unfortunately, he ran into Bruno Bernardino holding pocket queens, which held with ease through the board of K-Q-Q-8-A, of course, it always looks easy when you flop quads. Minko was sent home in sixth with $106,018.
A Very Mysterious Mystery Hand

Soon, there was an even bigger mystery hand, as Filatov woke up with sevens on the button. fell in a sensational ‘Mystery Hand’ where Barak Wisbrod’s cards were hidden until the river from viewers. Wisbrod doubled the blind from under the gun as everyone except Filatov folded. The flop came down J-J-7, giving him a full house as both players checked it through. A 9 on the turn prompted Wisbrod to bet 1/4 pot, which Filatov quickly called. A king on the river allowed for a possible straight as Wisbrod let out again with a 1/4 pot-sized bet. Filatov raised it up to 1.2M, which brought the pot to 2.425M. Wisbrod paused before eventually raising all-in, covering Filatov. It took Filatov a moment before calling, only to see his flopped full house was counterfeited by the J-9 of Wisbrod on the turn. Filatov went to the rail in fifth, earning $135,212.

A March to Victory

Four players remained, one of whom was in complete control. Barak Wisbrod’s dominant stack of 10.5 million soared above nearest challenger Bruno Volkmann (4m) and the two short-stacks Bruno Bernardino (2m) and Yulian Bogdanov (1.7m). Three hands later, Bogdanov doubled through Bernardino, and three hands after that, Bernardino was all in pre-flop with A-J in an all-Brazilian race against Bruno Volkmann with pocket fives. The board ran out clean, and Bernardino came out on the wrong side, leaving Volkmann with 4.8M while Bernardino settled on the rail with $172,446.

An extended period passed without any eliminations and the stacks had not changed drastically. Barak Wisbrod was dealt a premium hand and shoved with his offsuit ace-ten only to find he was on the wrong side of the odds when he was called by Bogdanov with ace-king. Wisbrod got lucky, a flop of Q-T-4 catapulting his hand into the lead, leaving Bogdanov drawing nearly dead to a king or running spades. The three of spades was revealed on the turn as his chances improved to 35%. An offsuit eight on the river did nothing to help Bogdanov, and he busted in third place for $219,933. 

Seven to Three…Not Enough

Wisbrod’s had a 7:3 chip lead when heads-up play began, but over the next 25 minutes, the Brazilian Volkmann ground his way level. The chip lead went back and forth for a while, with both players taking turns in the lead right until Volkmann rivered two pair, taking a slim lead into what would be the final hand. Wisbrod four-bet all-in with pocket tens, and Volkmann called it off with ace-king. A flop of K-J-9 that paired Volkmann’s king was followed by another jack on the turn and a three on the river to see Wisbrod fail to catch a gutshot straight and crash out in second place for $280,497 as Volkmann claimed the $357,739 top prize. 

Watch all the highlights of the action right here in the company of host Jeff Gross and special guest co-commentator Marcelo Tadeu Aziz:

 

 

GGMillion$ Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Bruno Volkmann	Brazil	$357,739
2nd	Barak Wisbrod	Israel	$280,497
3rd	Yulian Bogdanov	Poland	$219,933
4th	Bruno Bernardino	Brazil	$172,446
5th	Anatoly Filatov	Russia	$135,212
6th	Vladimir Minko	Russia	$106,018
7th	Ottomar Ladva	Estonia	$83,127
8th	Ravid Garbi	Israel	$65,178
9th	Viktor Ustimov	Russia	$51,105

GGMillion$ Won by ‘Sir Watts’ as Mike Watson Stars in Late Show – January 22, 2025

The Canadian poker legend Mike ‘Sir Watts’ Watson took down this week’s GGMillion$ event on GGPoker for over $390,000 as some of poker’s finest gathered to battle for glory and bragging rights on GGPoker. Regular host Jeff Gross was joined in the commentary box by the Greek poker professional Alexandros Theologis. With over $3.6 million in winnings and an online WSOP bracelet in the 2021 $25,000-entry event, as well as some large cashes in other WSOP and Triton events, Theologis was a vibrant voice on the action as a dramatic final table played out.

Early Action Trims the Field

As play began, there was a very even chip distribution across the leaderboard. Russian pro ‘RRomashka’ led with 70 big blinds, but they were closely followed in the chip counts by Chris Nguyen of Germany on 68 bigs. Another German, Leon Sturm (57BB) was next in the rankings, followed by British player Andrew Wilson (52BB), who was just behind the leaders at the final table. 

Other big names followed in the counts, with Canadian powerhouse Mike ‘Sir Watts’ Watson (50BB) starting as the middle pin and Romania’s Ilia Cabaniuc (34BB) next in line. Two Russians were a short distance behind, with Vladimir Minko (27BB) marginally ahead of Aleks Borovkov (26BB). The short stack was an American playing from Canada, as Leo Taffe (17BB) started play with the most catching up to do. 

The first player to bust was the Russian Borovkov. He got it all in on the third hand with jack-nine after a flop of J-9-8 with two spades only to be called by ‘RRomashka’. Borovkov was ahead, but ‘RRomashka’ had the nut flush draw with ace-five of spades. The meaningless king of clubs fell on the turn, but the six of spades camel on the river to send Borovkov home in ninth place with $55,751.

Leo Taffe had laddered one place and got a much needed double-up when his ace-eight flopped trips against the ace-three of Leon Sturm. Down to less than 10 big blinds, Taffe was ahead when he moved all-in in a few hands later with ace-ten and was called by the German Chris Nguyen, holding an offsuit king-queen. This time, luck wasn’t on the American’s side. The flop came down safely with 9-9-2, which was followed by a meaningless eight on the turn. Unfortunately, a king popped on the river, devastating the American and sending him to the virtual rail with $71,103.

All-German Clash Sees Nguyen Win

With seven left, an all-German clash from early positions made sure only one player from the country would remain in the final six. Leon Sturm four-bet shoved with pocket sevens and was called by his countryman in the next seat Chris Nguyen with ace-king offsuit. A board of T-5-2-4-3 gave Nguyen a wheel straight as players reacted with a series of stunned avatars, and the field was trimmed to six, with Sturm taking away $90,684 for his deep run. 

Romanian player Ilia Cabaniuc cashed for $115,656 in sixth place after getting his chips in when well behind. He moved all-in with ace-ten in a 3-way race against the ace-jack of ‘RRomashka’ and the jack-queen of spades for Chris Nguyen. The two bigger stacks checked it down to the river as the board ran out K-7-7-9-T to give Nguyen a straight and another massive pot, putting him clearly out front with a big lead. 

Andrew Wilson had begun the night with a stack that could challenge for the win but left it all behind in fifth place for $147,504. All-in with pocket nines, he ran into the pocket jacks of Vladimir Minko. The poker gods were in fine form but chose to not spare the British player, as a board of K-T-7-Q-Q gave him the hope of either a straight or flush draw with the turn card, but dashed that hope on the river with a second queen.

Cowboys Shot Down with Rockets

That last pot for Minko made him a big favorite with just four players remaining. He held a solid chip lead, sitting behind just over 9 million chips. Closest to him was Mike ‘Sir Watts’ Watson, with 6.48 million. The two players at the bottom of the chip counts were Nguyen (2.4m) and ‘RRomashka’, the original chip leader, who had just 2.1 million chips remaining.

There was a lot of movement in the next level, as ‘RRomashka’ went from zero to hero, and there was a huge flush over flush which helped recovere Minko at the expense of Watson. The Canadian then got fortunate, winning with ace-seven against the pocket tens of the Russian player ‘RRomashka’. 

As the clock closed in on three hours of gameplay, four still remained, but a frantic final  15 minutes would complete the action. Nguyen was the first to misstep, going all-in and at risk with ace-ten of diamonds against the pocket kings of Watson. The last remaining German couldn’t catch up, cashing for $188,123 in fourth.

Elementary My Dear Watson

Soon after, Watson bet ‘RRomashka’ off a pot where the Russian rightly folded second pair, which had the unwanted side effect of leaving the overnight leader very short. Just a few hands later, Watson woke up with pocket aces in a dream scenario for both him and the super-short ‘RRomashka’, as Minko had pocket kings. Minko five-bet all-in only to see the bad news as Watson snapped it off. The aces held against the kings across a ten-high board to send play heads-up with Watson holding a nearly 18:1 lead, and Minko cashed for $239,927 in third. 

Heads-up began with a swift double-up for ‘RRomashka’, but soon after, it was all over. The Russian was a stranger to fortune when he shoved with pocket nines, and Watson called with king-deuce. A deuce on the flop added some outs, but it was a king on the river that landed to end it all. One of Canada’s finest taking the title and $390,260, the overnight leader having to settle for $305,997 as runner-up.

Watch all the thrilling action on GGPoker in the company of Jeff Gross and Alexandros Theologis right here:

 

GGMillion$ Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Mike Watson	Canada	$390,260
2nd	‘RRomashka’	Russia	$305,997
3rd	Vladimir Minko	Russia	$239,927
4th	Chris Nguyen	Germany	$188,123
5th	Andrew Wilson	United Kingdom	$147,504
6th	Ilia Cabaniuc	Romania	$115,656
7th	Leon Sturm	Germany	$90,684
8th	Leo Taffe	United States	$71,103
9th	Aleks Borovkov	Russia	$55,751

Barak Wisbrod Wins Miraculous Second GGMillion$ Title – January 29, 2025

This week’s GGPoker GGMillion$ saw a thrilling finale as Israel’s Barak Wisbrod conquered the final table after being down to just over one big blind with five players remaining. Wisbrod’s success – his second victory in the GGMillion$ series of $10,000 weekly online tournaments – came at the expense of Tony Lin, who dominated much of the final table only to lose at the last moment. 

Radoja Run Out of Town

This week, regular host Jeff Gross was joined by legendary poker streamer Steve Enriquez, the GGPoker Ambassador, who also presents poker as a television host, describes himself by saying, “I was going to be a soccer player, but I came across a deck of cards.” Leading the field when play began was the Chinese player Ding Biao, who had accumulated 88 big blinds. 

Despite having a huge stack of chips in front of him, Biao had only a slight lead over his nearest challenger, GGMillion$ final table crusher Barak Wisbrod from Israel (85BB), and a decent lead over third in chips, the American Jesse Lonis with 73 bigs. Sitting significantly further back from the top 3 was Chinese player Tony Lin (38BB), Spain’s Juan Dominguez (37BB), Brazil’s finest, Yuri Dzivielevski (27BB), Portuguese player Joao Vieira (25BB), and Canada’s Mark Radoja (17BB), all of whom had a massive mountain to climb. 

The short stack at the nine-handed final table was ‘spaise411’ with just 15 big blinds, but it wasn’t the Russian player who would be the first to leave. All-in with nine-eight of clubs after falling to the bottom of the chipcounts, Canada’s Mark Radoja needed help against the queen-nine of hearts belonging to chip leader Ding Biao. A flop of J-5-2 with two hearts was bad news for the Canadian, but an offsuit ten on the turn gave him an open-ended straight draw. Needing a queen or a seven to make that straight, Radoja was blocked by Biao’s queen and the heart flush draw. In the end, a fifth heart in the form of a six spoiled Radoja’s night, seeing him leave for $55,751.

Caught In Their Own Trap

Portuguese poker star Joao Vieira went from starting with a comfortable stack to out on the rail in eighth place for $71,103. All-in with a premium hand of pocket queens, Vieira was only flipping against the ace-king of Diao. A flop of T-5-5 kept the Portuguese player safe, but a king on the turn changed all that and left him looking to hit a two-outer on the river. A four landed on the river, and that was all for Vieira, as Biao solidified a strong lead at the top of the charts.

Russian player ‘spaise411’ was caught in a trap of his own design in seventh place, as he took home $90,684. On a board showing A-A-T-7-3, ‘spaise411’ bet small with ace-jack and got a shove from Jesse Lonis. The Russian called with flopped trips, but he was behind Lonis, who held the case ace and a queen for a better kicker to reduce the field to six players. For ‘spaise411’, it was a heartbreaker and the 21st time he had made the final table of GGMillion$ without winning the title.

Brazilian poker superstar and long-time world online poker #1 Yuri Dzivielevski was the next player to leave the action after calling off his stack pre-flop. All-in from the big blind with a suited king-jack of spades, the Brazilian was behind Tony Lin’s ace-six, and no help came on the board to save the former GGMillion$ winner as Lin chipped up at his expense, sending Dzivielevski home with $115,656.

A Slight Imbalance of Power

Two hours into the final table, five players continued to battle towards the latest title in the $10,300 entry GGMillion$. The table had turned into a case of the haves and have-nots, with some players, such as Tony Lin, having a huge stack while others, like Israel’s Barak Wisbrod, had next to nothing. Spanish player Juan Dominguez tried to double his way back into contention with ace-ten but couldn’t win against Jesse Lonis’ pocket nines. An eight-high board was no help to the Spanish player, who left in fifth for $147,504. 

Four remained, and Tony Lin was in charge with over 11.8 million chips, more than his 3 opponents combined. Jesse Lonis had fired himself into second place in the chip counts with 4.3m, while Ding Biao (3.4m) and perennial GGMillion$ threat Barak Wisbrod (543K) were in the hunt from the back of the pack. 

Ding Biao was the next player to leave, losing a coinflip with ace-jack against Lin’s pocket three. The board of 8-6-4-3-7 left Biao drawing dead on the turn as the overnight chip leader left with $188,123 and only three players remained.

A Chip and a Chair

Play was sent heads-up soon after as a shove from Lonis with jack-ten ran into Wisbrod’s ace-jack. Things looked good for Lonis on the J-T-6 flop. A queen on the turn was not fatally damaging, but the king that followed on the river completed the runner-runner for the Israeli, who hit a straight as the American left for $239,927. 

Going into heads-up, Lin still had a chip lead to be reckoned with, as his stack of 13.5 million was doubling Wisbrod’s pile of 6.7m. An almost 2:1 chip lead was eradicated early, however, as Wisbrod, so often a big name at the GGMillion$ final table, once again proved his durability at this level. Building his own way into a lead where he had double Lin’s stack before the final triumphant hand, which played out in dramatic fashion.

All the chips went in from Wisbrod with ace-four and Lin called with king-deuce. A flop of A-6-2 landed, and after a ten on the turn, a nine on the river gave Wisbrod the victory while Lin earned $305,997.

Wisbrod, who was down to 1.25 Big Blinds with 5 players remaining, had completed one of the most difficult achievements in poker, coming back from a chip and a chair. “I’ve done over a hundred streams, and this is the most memorable, for sure.” Jeff Gross admitted in the final stages of a thrilling final table.

Watch it all play out as it happened right here:

 

GGMillion$ Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Barak Wisbrod	Israel	$390,260
2nd	Tony Lin	China	$305,997
3rd	Jesse Lonis	United States	$239,927
4th	Ding Biao	China	$188,123
5th	Juan Dominguez	Spain	$147,504
6th	Yuri Dzivielevski	Brazil	$115,656
7th	‘spaise411’	Russia	$90,684
8th	Joao Vieira	Portugal	$71,103
9th	Mark Radoja	Canada	$55,751

« December 2024  |  February 2025 »

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.

---

Edited by Shawn A.