Rodrigo Selouan Wins GGPoker Super MILLION$ for $323K – March 3, 2023

The latest Super MILLION$ final table saw nine of the best poker players gather to battle for a top prize of $323,184 on Tuesday night. When the dust settled, the Brazilian player Rodrigo Selouan won the title. This was his first win since his maiden victory in September of last year, for which he earned just under half a million dollars.

This week’s action featured a huge Polish name, but he would be first to leave the felt after a dramatic opening period carried through to the climax of the event.

Malinowski Mown Down

The Polish online superpower, and former multiple Super MILLION$ winner, Wiktor Malinowski, started the final table needing to improve his stack to have any hope of winning. That didn’t happen, as he shoved pre-flop from the button with queen-six, only to be called by the player in the next seat, Austria-based Bombacha Veloz, who had queen-jack. The J-T-T flop was a disaster for Malinowski. The turned five and river eight marked the end for Malinowski, who exited with $46,169.

Veloz crashed out next, losing with jack-ten when committed against the king-eight of Romanovskyi on a flop of K-9-7. A six on the turn and seven on the river sent Veloz out in eighth place, with his run worth $58,882.

The seven remaining players were reduced to six when the Russian pro, Ognan Dimov, busted for a score of $75,097. He was all-in with the worst of it after he shoved pre-flop with king-ten of diamonds. The only action he saw was from the eventual winner Rodrigo Selouan, who called with ace-queen. The eight-high board, bereft of diamonds, was not what Dimov needed. His hand failed to improve on the turn or river, which spelt the end of his run.

Romanovskyi Loses His Lead 

With half a dozen players remaining, the Ukrainian player Romanovskyi was the man to stop, having accrued a massive stack of 7.1 million chips. He was miles clear of his nearest challenger, ‘WOW WOJO’ from Austria. Romanovskyi had nearly as many chips as his opponents combined total.

The final table was almost two hours in and only five players had busted, showcasing the intensity and skill required in a poker game. Maltese player ‘Tourmination’ held jack-four on a board of K-J-7-5-7 and faced a bet on the river from the chip leader that would mean he had to call off his stack with second pair. After some time, he did so, but Romanovskyi had king-four and claimed another scalp. He improved his already colossal chip lead and sent the Maltese player home with $95,777.

The next player to go was Israel-based hopeful ‘GAL-y,’ who drew short and shoved with seven-eight of hearts pre-flop. Selouan has not had the career he has enjoyed without speculating to accumulate chips. He made the call with king-jack offsuit, surviving the 9-4-3-6-J board to make top pair on the river and send the Israeli to the rail for a score of $122,152.

Brazilian Brilliance Defines Closing Stages 

The final table was almost two hours in and only five players had busted. But unbeknownst to the table, only an hour of tournament play would remain, and the next victim would bust out soon after the previous one.

Selouan took over the chip lead as he took a few big pots off ‘WOW WOJO.’ Down to a short stack, ‘WOW WOJO’ was all in with a queen-nine against Romanovskyi’s ace-ten. A nine did hit the flop but was joined by an ace, and the Austria-based player hit the sidelines, taking home $155,789.

Down to three-handed play, it looked like a battle between the previously dominant Romanovskyi and the resurgent Selouan, who had the most recent momentum in big pots. Canada-based Theo Arnoldi needed a lot of help and had to make a move to push back into the event, but he got unlucky when he made the right move at the wrong time.

Losing with a dominating ace-high hand is always painful. When it happens three-handed, for a top prize of $323,184, it tends to be significantly more painful. Arnoldi was all-in with ace-four but lost to Selouan’s ace-three when the board presented a three on the flop, and no help came for Arnoldi thereafter. That pot was worth a whopping 5 million chips, bringing Selouans total to 7.1 million, a mite behind Romanovskyi with 8.4 million. It was enough to make the battle for the title a real scrap.

Heads-Up Heroics 

Overall, the heads-up lasted half an hour and went both ways at different times. Selouan made a brilliant call after a huge river bluff with a board showing K-7-2-Q-A. Selouan, who showed a five-deuce for bottom pair, took the pot from Romanovskyi’s six-four. This hand gave him the lead and the momentum. It was a superb call, and he used his newfound chips ruthlessly.

All the chips went into the middle on a tantalizing board of J-9-5-T. Romanovskyi believed he could force his way back into the match with his ten-five, not knowing that he was up against the jack-nine of Selouan. A bet on the turn for two-thirds of the pot was raised by the Brazilian. Romanovskyi reraised all-in and was insta-called. Only a five or a ten would save Romanovskyi on the river. An inconsequential six was dealt, knocking out the Ukrainian in 2nd and giving the Brazilian a well-deserved victory.

Romanovskyi earned over a quarter of a million dollars for coming second, banking $253,404. The top prize, $323,184, and the bragging rights of being this week’s GGPoker Super MILLION$ winner went to Brazilian poker professional Rodrigo Selouan.

You can watch all the final table action right here with weekly host Jeff Gross and this week’s guest co-commentator Lukas Robinson:

GGPoker Super MILLION$ 28th February 2023 Final Table Results:
Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Rodrigo Selouan	Brazil	$323,184
2nd	‘R Romanovskyi’	Ukraine	$253,404
3rd	Theo Arnoldi	Canada	$198,690
4th	‘WOW WOJO’	Austria	$155,789
5th	‘GAL-y’	Israel	$122,152
6th	‘Tourmination’	Malta	$95,777
7th	Ognyan Dimov	Russia	$75,097
8th	Bombacha Veloz	Austria	$58,882
9th	Wiktor Malinowski	Poland	$46,169

Ravid Garbi Wins Latest Super MILLION$ Final Table for $323,000 – March 8, 2023

This week’s stunning Super MILLION$ final table, hosted by the Voice of GGPoker, Jeff Gross and guest commentator, Antonio Esfandiari, saw decisive drama, an early exit for the only former winner, and a climactic finish that would make the WSOP Main Event proud. German player Christoph Vogelsang had no chance to slow play as he lost out heads-up after just a few hands, leaving Ravid Garbi to claim his first win in the Super MILLION$.

Early Levels See Astedt Fall 

The action got underway with only one man having previously won a Super MILLION$ title, and he was quite the player to stand in the way of his opponents. Niklas Astedt, playing under the alias ‘Lena900’, is quite the online phenomenon and came into the final table with a slightly below-average stack of just 34 blinds, he was short, but not the shortest. As play got underway, the Brazilian player Pedro Padilha was the man in front, holding 92 big blinds, with his countryman Rodrigo Sirichuk joining him in the ranks with 35 big blinds.

The first player to leave the action was Cypriot Christodoulos ‘P0t RippeR’ Christodoulou. He moved all-in on the turn of a board showing J-5-2-A while holding ace-five. Rodrigo Sirichuk called with jack-seven for a flush. ‘P0t RippeR’ didn’t improve on the river and was sent home with $46,169.

In a final table surprise just five hands later, Astedt busted out, crashing out in eighth in a very unlucky fashion. Getting it all-in pre-flop with pocket queens, Astedt fell to Ravid Garbi’s ace-queen as the board ran out 9-9-5-K-A scuttling the Swedish superstar, with the Israeli sending him to the rail for a score worth $58,882 that would be of little consolation.

Boika Bounces Out 

The remaining seven players continued to play, passing chips around the table for over an hour before Belarusian Aliaksei Bokia was eliminated. Boika was bounced after shoving all-in with ace-ten of clubs on a rainbow Q-9-2 flop. Called by Ravid Garbi with king-nine of the same suit as Boika’s. The offsuit six on the river was not the card Boika needed, and he slid out of contention in seventh for $75,097.

The bust-outs came thick and fast and Rodrigo Sirichuk was the next victim, shoving from the button with ace-ten only to run into Garbi’s pocket queens. A board of K-T-7-5-7 sent Sirichuk home and the Brazilian pinged up the ‘crying’ emoji as he settled for a score of $95,777, the last five-figure prize of the event.

Suddenly, the chips were flying. Two hands later, Barak Wisbrod decided he’d laddered for long enough and got it in short-stacked but with two live cards. His five-four of hearts was in horrible shape pre-flop as he was up against the pocket sevens of ‘tacofiesta’, but on the A-J-9 flop with two hearts, he was suddenly hopeful for a flush. The six on the turn was not a heart and the river paired him with an insignificant five. Wisbrod was out, cashing for $122,152 and narrowly missing out on the final four.

Garbi Goes for the Gold 

With four players remaining, it looked like it was already Garbi’s to lose. The Israel-based player had a monster stack of over 9 million chips – 90 Big Blinds – with ‘tacofiesta’ the closest to him with 2.5 million chips. Christoph Vogelsang was just behind ‘tacofiesta’ with nearly 2.4 million while the overnight chip leader, Pedro Padilha, was in the short stack with a fraction under 1.9m. Play continued through the rest of the level and the next, 60,000/120,000, while the chips bounced back and forth between the players until level 35 and blinds of 70,000/140,000.

That situation changed quickly as soon as the new level hit. On the third hand, the former chip leader Padilha got it all in with Q-J against Garbi’s suited 5-3. The flop came down A-T-A giving Padilha the head, but it was the 5 on the turn that doomed him and the river 3 offered no help. The overnight leader Padilha was out of the tournament in fourth having earned $155,789 for his efforts.

It was ‘tacofiesta’ who was next to depart, busting to Garbi in an important pot just 4 hands later. The Mexican shoved pre-flop with ace-six off-suit, only to be called by pocket eights belonging to Garbi. The Israeli stayed ahead on the T-9-5 flop, which came in clubs, putting Garbi on a flush draw. A seven on the turn gave Garbi an open straight draw and ‘tacofiesta’ a gutshot with an 8. ‘tacofiesta’ was drawing to just five outs on the river and missed them all.  A blank three landed, sending him to the rail for $198,690.

Garbi Gets the Gold

Heads-up, Ravid Garbi’s stack of 11 million was well ahead of Christoph Vogelsang’s pile of 4.8 million, but no one was ruling out the German pro.

“I never beat the guy in one hand. He’s such a good player.” special guest co-commentator Esfandiari said about Vogelsang earlier in the show.

“The hoodie is not what I’d call good for poker, but it’s hard to argue with the results – he gets it done.” agreed regular host Jeff Gross, the Voice of GGPoker.

Vogelsang bluffed some of that stack away not long after getting to heads-up leaving himself short-stacked. And in less than 10 minutes, it was all over. Vogelsang having jack-five managed to see a board of Q-J-9-5, giving him a hidden two pair.

Vogelsang got it all in on the turn only to discover the bad news, he was being crushed by Garbi’s flopped straight. The four of spades on the river announced Garbi as the winner. He claimed his first ever Super MILLION$ title and the top prize of $323,184. The German professional was left to collect the runner-up prize of $253,404 as Gross lost out to Esfandiari on a side bet to leave dinner on the regular host.

You can watch all the action from a frenetic final table right here:

GGPoker Super MILLION$ 7th March, 2023 Final Table Results:
Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Ravid Garbi	Israel	$323,184
2nd	Christoph Vogelsang	Germany	$253,404
3rd	‘tacofiesta’	Mexico	$198,690
4th	Pedro Padilha	Brazil	$155,789
5th	Barak Wisbrod	Israel	$122,152
6th	Rodrigo Sirichuk	Brazil	$95,777
7th	Aliaksei Boika	Belarus	$75,097
8th	Niklas Astedt	Sweden	$58,882
9th	Christodoulos Christodoulou	Cyprus	$46,169

‘TouchSomeGrass’ Wins Super MILLION$ for $1.3 million – March 22, 2023

This week, the GGPoker Super MILLION$ returned and in a dramatic conclusion, gave one player their first-ever title in the tournament series as well as a WSOP circuit ring. After an epic four-hour finale, it was the Austrian player ‘TouchSomeGrass’ who banked the top prize of $1.35 million, as the Austrian-packed final table played out in dramatic fashion.

Early Elimination Precedes Lengthy Stand-Off

Play started tight and tense but exciting. Phil Gruissem, the German high roller, was Jeff Gross’ special guest, with the legendary player admitting his return to poker in January was partly inspired by having his own stable of players. His co-commentary was on point throughout the broadcast, especially when discussing his instinctive play.

Some intuitive poker took place on the felt, with one fine example that cost the first player their seat at the table. Hungarian player Andras Nemeth shoved for ten big blinds with ace-six of spades, and he was called by Russian professional Anatoly Filatov with pocket nines. The flop of 4-3-2 was a worry for Filatov, giving Nemeth a wheel straight draw, but a nine on the turn didn’t help him, only improving Filatov’s hand to top set. A king on the river did nothing to change Nemeth’s chances and he left in ninth place for a cash of $169,257.

There was a long time before anyone else busted. The final table took just over four hours to complete, didn’t see another eviction for two hours. The lack of eliminations was affecting every player at the final table except the runaway chip leader, ‘TouchSomeGrass’, who had accumulated 36 million chips, good for 72 big blinds. Everyone else had a lot fewer, with five players sitting with less than 20 big blinds. The shortest of these stacks, ‘HansBadReg’ who started the day as chip leader, went out in eight when his pocket sevens lost to the chip leader’s queen-ten when a jack spike on the river to fill in a gutter ball straight, eliminating the Chinese player for $219,384.

Filatov and Rudolph Miss Out  

Almost two rotations later, Anatoly Filatov shoved for three big blinds with ace-ten but was dominated by the Bulgarian, Alex Kulev, with ace-queen. The initial raiser ‘Hazes’ folded his pocket eights. The board ran out clean as the Bulgarian busted the Russian as he earned $284,414 for the work.

Six players remained, as ‘TouchSomeGrass’ was no longer the only one in control. The chips balanced over the next while with ‘TouchSomeGrass’, ‘Hazes’ and Alex Kulev trading the majority of chips back and forth, all three hovering in the 25-30 million chip range. More than 30 minutes later, with just 5 bigs remaining, ‘Overpaid’, the lone Canadian, was unable to live up to their nickname when he went all-in with ace-ten. ‘TouchSomeGrass’ held queen-nine of diamonds. A queen on the flop did the damage needed. A meaningless ten on the turn only provided false hope for the Canadian, who slid out in sixth place for $368,734.

Five remained, and ‘TouchSomeGrass’, who had regained the chip lead on the last hand, was determined to keep their foot on the gas. Pushed to the test by German Chris Rudolph, who shoved from the small blind with king-three, ‘TouchSomeGrass’ called with ace-five and was rewarded when the board came out J-6-2-Q-2, allowing the ace-high hand to play. Rudolph cashed for $478,085 but missed out on the final four.

Coming up just short of the podium was ‘gebgeb’, another Austrian. All-in with king-seven on the river of a board showing K-K-5-4-8, ‘gebgeb’ had the second best hand behind the king-queen of ‘Hazes’. The almost 50 million chip pot went to ‘Hazes’ as he took the chip lead. The at-risk player ‘gebgeb’ cashed for $619,894.

Kulev Falls Late in Double Bid 

With the only remaining former winner, Alex Kulev, sitting shortest with about half of either of his opponents’ stacks, the Bulgarian chose to move all-in. Three-bet shoving with king-jack from the small blind, he ran into the pocket aces of ‘Hazes’. The turn came down offering hope in the form of a gutshot to Broadway but failed to materialize on the river. Kulev’s 3rd place finish was worth $803,798. The two players remaining had their sites set on seven-figure sums. ‘Hazes’ held the chip lead with 59 million chips over ‘TouchSomeGrass’ holding 46 million. The heads-up confrontation lasted 40-minute during which the lead changed on multiple occasions.

The two players were almost level when ‘Hazes’ woke up with pocket kings and over the top of a raise from ‘TouchSomeGrass’ with ace-five, ‘Hazes’ three-bet and then snap-called the four-bet shove. The flop of 7-5-5 immediately gave ‘TouchSomeGrass’ the better hand and with a jack on the turn and queen on the river, almost all the chips were sitting in front of ‘TouchSomeGrass’.

“Ace-five versus kings for all the money!” said Phil Gruissem on the commentary, and a few hands later, it was all over, jack-nine beating queen-ten, giving ‘Hazes’ $1,042,292 and ‘TouchSomeGrass’ the top prize of $1,351,651 and the World Series of Poker circuit ring in style.

You can watch the final table in full right here with regular host Jeff Gross and special guest commentator Phil Gruissem:

GGPoker Super MILLION$ March 21st, 2023 Final Table Results:
Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	TouchSomeGrass	Austria	$1,351,651
2nd	Hazes	Austria	$1,042,292
3rd	Alex Kulev	Bulgaria	$803,798
4th	gebgeb	Austria	$619,894
5th	Chris Rudolph	Germany	$478,085
6th	Overpaid	Canada	$368,734
7th	Anatoly Filatov	Russia	$284,414
8th	HansBadReg	China	$219,384
9th	Andras Nemeth	Hungary	$169,257

Ole Schemion Wins Second Super MILLION$ Title for $353,000 – March 29, 2023

This week’s Super MILLION$ final table featured eight players rather than nine, but with half the field having already won a title, the quality of poker was going to be higher than ever. When the battle was over, it was the German high roller Ole Schemion who had grabbed his second-ever Super MILLION$ title and the top prize of $353,673.

Eight Kick Off as Four Former Winners Push for Glory 

At the start of the action, eight players, rather than the usual nine, were in the seats. The unusual start was due to Simon Mattsson busting in ninth place on the previous evening, leaving Brazilian chip leader ‘Freedom35’ with only seven opponents to outlast before putting his hands on the coveted crown. The issue with that ambition was the sheer quality of player remaining on the virtual felt. Previous winners Ole Schemion, Christoph Vogelsang, Matthew Stumpf, and Christian Rudolph were all standing in the way.

Christian Rudolph was in the best shape to double up when he had ace-jack in the big blind, calling Ole Schemion’s small blind shove with king-six. He was in good shape to turn 20 big blinds into 40 but that didn’t transpire as the all-German clash of the titans went the way of Schemion. A king headlining the K-Q-5 flop was followed by a deuce on the turn, and a six on the river. Rudolph was drawing to an ace or ten for Broadway on the river but couldn’t hit the high notes this week and exited in eighth place for $64,437.

Schemion continued the dominance while the rest of the table slowly leaked their chips, showcasing the high stakes and strategic depth of online poker. It was another clash of the blinds as the chip leader ‘Freedom35’ shoved from the small blind with pocket kings and Rolle called it off from the big blind with ace-six. The board of Q-4-2-2-Q was no help at all to the luckless Rolle as he was rolled to the rail and a cash of $82,182.

Vogelsang Fights Back 

Four hands later ‘Freedom35’ bet pre-flop from first position with jack-ten and Ottomar Ladva reraised from the next seat with ace-queen. Christoph Vogelsang woke up with pocket kings in the cut-off and moved 90% of his chips into the middle, prompting a fold from ‘Freedom35’ and inducing the shove from Ottomar Ladva and completed with an insta-call. The  Q-9-5 flop gave Ladva top pair, but he needed more help. A three on the turn and ten on the river, left him wanting and with a short stack, but doubled up the German high roller specialist.

Soon afterward, Ladva found his way to the rail. The Estonian made the right call when Ole Schemion shoved on a flop of J-7-3, with Ladva holding king-three. Schemion was bluffing with ace-nine. The deuce on the turn didn’t help, but an Ace on the river was the killer spike that sent Ladva home with a score of $104,813, the first six-figure prize of the event. Schemion continued the dominance while the rest of the table slowly  leaked their chips. The next victim to be scalped by Schemion, at 2 hours 25 minutes into the table, was the overnight leader. ‘Freedom35’ fell when his ace-ten was dominated by Schemion’s ace-king. The Brazilian earned $133,676 for his efforts.

Schemion Uses His Stack

With four remaining, that pot gave Ole Schemion an impressive chip lead of 10.8 million chips, some way clear of his three opponents, ‘s0s0s0’ with 3 million, Matthew Stumpf with 2.1 million and Christoph Vogelsang with 1.3 million. It was Stumpf, the lone Canadian, who busted first. Finding pocket tens and sitting with just 11 Big Blinds, Stumpf bet out, and was raised by the chip leader. Stumpf shoved only to find the bad news, he was facing pocket aces. Unbeknownst to him, there was only one ten remaining in the deck and sadly no help came for the Canadian, who cashed in 4th for $170,486.

Vogelsang who was sitting short stack, went soon after, going all-in with an offsuit queen-nine, and called by Schemion holding an ace-five. The Turn brought a 3 that matched well with the 2-J-4 flop, as Schemion hit a wheel and the German went home with the $217,434 third-place prize. We were now heads up with Schemion holding 12.5 million, and ‘s0s0s0’ on just 4.7 million.

A couple of early pots went the German’s way heads-up, and the Brazilian found himself down to just 2.67 million chips. The final hand ended up a coin flip with the ace-nine offsuit of  ‘s0s0s0’ needing to hit against Schemion’s pocket threes. An Ace in the window of an A-7-4 flop gave hope and the lead to ‘s0s0s0’. A five landed on the turn, giving the German eight more outs and a six on the river gave Schemion a straight and the second Super MILLION$ title of his career.

With Brazilian player ‘s0s0s0’ taking the runner-up prize of $277,310, it was Ole Schemion who won the $353,673 top prize after almost three hours of terrific action. You can watch all the action in an instant replay of the full final table, with commentary from Jeff Gross and guest co-commentator Andy Hedley right here:

GGPoker Super MILLION$ March 28th, 2023 Final Table Results:
Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Ole Schemion	Germany	$353,673
2nd	‘s0s0s0’	Brazil	$277,310
3rd	Christoph Vogelsang	Germany	$217,434
4th	Matthew Stumpf	Canada	$170,486
5th	‘Freedom35’	Brazil	$133,676
6th	Ottomar Ladva	Estonia	$104,813
7th	Benjamin Rolle	Germany	$82,182
8th	Christian Rudolph	Germany	$64,437

April 2023 »

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.