Super MILLION$ Recaps: April 2023
Andriy Lyubovetskiy Wins Super MILLION$ for $1.1 million – April 12, 2023
There was a new winner of the GGPoker Super MILLION$ this week as the Ukrainian poker professional, Andriy Lyubovetskiy, took down the event for a score of $1.1 million. The Ukrainian, who won his first WSOP-E bracelet in 2021 when he won the €25,000-entry Platinum High Roller at King’s Casino in Prague added a Super MILLION$ title to his already impressive resume, beating a final table stacked with top talent Tuesday night.
Garagnani Begins in the Lead
Kicking off the action in the lead was the utterly dominant Brazilian and former world number one online player, Pedro Garagnani. He began the final day on an incredible stack of 128 big blinds, just short of 1/3rd of the chips in play and more than double his nearest challenger, the Dutch player Duco Haven with 62 big blinds. Garagnani was a former Super MILLION$ champion, but unlike last time out, where half the final table were former winners, the Brazilian was the only player to start the action with a previous title to his name.
Big name pros like Simon Mattsson (41BB), Ignacio Moron (28BB) and Joao Vieira (11BB) each had varying levels of chips with which to combat Garagnani’s dominance at the final table, but even with the chip disparity, it took half an hour for a player to bust. It was Moron who took that player out in ninth place for $149,722. The significant jump in pay from the usual range of 9th place payouts was due to this week’s edition of the GGPoker Super MILLION$ having an incredible $5 million guarantee. Moron’s ace-king was too good for the ace-queen of ‘ReCreatineMood’, who was all-in on a board of K-J-8-A. Moron had two pair and his Canadian opponent missed a Broadway miracle on the river.
Joao Vieira got it all-in on the next hand with jack-ten on a flop showing K-J-7 in diamonds. He needed a massive amount of help against Moron’s king-queen with the queen of diamonds. Drawing to just four outs, the off-suit jacks and 3 tens, Vieira was unable to hit on turn or river. The Portuguese player cashed for $193,608 in eighth place.
Moron Busted by Brilliant Brazilian Garagnani
Despite scoring two early scalps, Moron was out next. It took less than an hour to produce the third of the eight eliminations and Moron’s king-queen was good enough to call off his stack in the big blind for 14 big blinds. Unfortunately, Pedro Garagnani, who had shoved with eight-four of clubs in the small blind when the action folded around, got lucky. The flop of A-5-3 in clubs immediately gave the Brazilian the flush and left Moron without a way to win. Ignacio busted out in 7th, earning $250,521 as he became the victim of a 118-to-1 flopped flush.
Those odds were provided by Jeff Gross right off the top of his head, ably assisted as he was in the commentary booth this week by Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates. Gross called the next hand’s pre-flop action too, predicting that Garagnani would ‘rip’ with ace-three off-suit. This time, however, the aggression did not pay off. The Ukrainian player Andriy Lyubovetskiy called with pocket queens. The flop had a queen in the window and was followed by two fives, leaving Garagnani dead to running 5’s or A’s. It was a vital double-up for Lyubovetskiy, who jumped to 10.7 million chips. He was still way behind Garagnani with 35 million, but close enough to prevent the same pre-flop aggression being aimed at him.
Simon Mattsson was down to six big blinds when he raised pre-flop with jack-king and, after Garagnani’s ace-king raise, was all-in with the call. Mattsson called off his stack and found he’d need to hit. The board of 7-7-7-5-9 didn’t help Mattsson and the Swede cashed for $324,328.
It wasn’t long before he was joined on the rail by the player who started the final table second in chips. ‘CoronaMyAss’ was a non-believer in playing small ball, shoving pre with eight-deuce from the small blind. ‘Duco Haven’ made the right call with ace-jack, but the cards didn’t favor him. The board paired the eight on the turn and no cards came to help the Dutchman survive, sending him to the rail $420,044 richer.
Lyubovetskiy Lays the Ghost
‘Babsi3000’ was the next player to depart, cashing in fourth place for $544,171. Extremely short stacked, the Austrian player had only five big blinds to their name pre-flop and got it in with a dominating hand, holding queen-nine to the nine-for of their caller, ‘CoronaMyAss’. The flop of 6-5-2 opened up a gutshot possibility which came immediately with the three on the turn, concluding the hand with CoronaMyAss holding 27.3 million chips.
Garagnani had only 12.5 million by that stage but the Brazilian overnight chip leader didn’t build his reputation for anything and battled back in style. Bluffing with just king-jack on a board of 7-9-9-4-5, Garagnani got ‘CoronaMyAss’ to fold seven-three and that left the Austrian player with considerably fewer chips than either of his opponents. His last chips went in with ace-three on the next hand, but Garagnani had a real hand this time, calling with ace-queen. He turned Broadway to seal the heads-up spot.
Going into the final duel, Garagnani led once more, holding 40.1 million to Lyubovetskiy’s 35.7 million. It was not toa decisive lead and Lyubovetskiy led by 60 million to 16 million thanks to a hero call on the penultimate hand. The final hand had the Brazilian shove with king-seven. Lyubovetskiy called with pocket fours and the flop of K-J-4 put him in control with bottom set.
After a nine on the turn and another jack on the river, Andriy Lyubovetskiy was pronounced the winner, getting his first-ever Super MILLION$ title and the $1.1 million top prize. Garagnani, who missed the chance to win his second Super MILLION$ title, had to make do with the $913,902 consolation prize.
You can watch the final table replay with Jeff Gross and Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates right below.
GGPoker Super MILLION$ April 11th 2023 Final Table Results: |
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| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Andriy Lyubovetskiy | Ukraine | $1,184,696 |
| 2nd | Pedro Garagnani | Brazil | $913,902 |
| 3rd | CoronaMyAss | Austria | $705,145 |
| 4th | Babsi3000 | Austria | $544,171 |
| 5th | Duco Haven | Netherlands | $420,044 |
| 6th | Simon Mattsson | Sweden | $324,328 |
| 7th | Ignacio Moron | Mexico | $250,521 |
| 8th | Joao Vieira | Portugal | $193,608 |
| 9th | ReCreatineMood | Canada | $149,722 |
Aleks Ponakovs Breaks Through in the Super MILLION$ for $376,000 – April 19, 2023
Latvian WSOP bracelet winner and high stake professional Aleks Ponakovs ended his Super MILLION$ famine last night as he took down the latest thrilling installment of the GGPoker series. Costing $10,300 to enter, the 2023 season of Super MILLION$ has already featured some big name winners, including Ole Schemion, but this week it was time for Ponakovs to finally earn his long wait for a title, winning $376,032 in the process.
Latvian WSOP bracelet winner and high stake professional Aleks Ponakovs ended his Super MILLION$ famine last night as he took down the latest thrilling installment of the online poker series at GGPoker.
Quickfire Start Sees Chess Grandmaster Call for Check
It didn’t take long for one of the nine final table players to crash out. Kicking off, the chip leader with 78 big blinds was the Latvian player Aleks Ponakovs, whose excellent record online didn’t include a Super MILLION$ victory. Others at the table did have previous wins, with ‘TouchSomeGrass’, who started with 63 big blinds, Ognyan Dimov (54 big blinds), and the Brazilian former online world number one player Pedro Garagnani, who was going for title number three.
Mexico-based Estonian chess grandmaster Ottomar Ladva also has a Super MILLION$ title to his name, but it was checkmate for the four-time Estonian chess champion as he began with a short stack and lasted just 13 minutes. Having two queens in chess is almost a guaranteed game over for your opponent, but all-in with pocket queens, Ladva needed to hold in a flip against Austrian player ‘Hazes’ who held ace-king of hearts. The king on the turn ended matters and sent Ladva home with $53,719.
There was a long to wait before the field was trimmed again. More than an hour later, it was Garagnani who bought it, all-in with pocket jacks pre-flop, and unluckily ran right into Ponakovs’ pocket queens. A queen slow rolling onto the river ended all hope for the Brazilian, who cashed for $68,511. The hand left Ponakovs on a stack of over 6.4 million chips, more than double his nearest rival.
Out next was the lone Argentinian player ‘sentimiento’, who woke up with pocket kings in the big blind. ‘TouchSomeGrass’, fresh from winning this event a few weeks ago, shoved from the button with ace-queen offsuit, and the Argentinian player made the easy call. An ace and a queen on the flop were enough to give the Austrian player top two pair. There was no miracle card coming to save ‘sentimiento’, who busted in seventh place for $87,377.
Thirty minutes later, or two hours of play into what would be an almost 3 hour stream, the field was finally reduced to five as the day of the Bad Beat continued. This time, the victim was ‘Hazes’, whose run came to an end with $111,439 being added to his wallet. Starting the hand short stacked with under 3 big blinds, ‘Hazes’ was all-in with pocket queens which were ahead of Ognyan Dimov’s ace-jack off suit, but it didn’t stay that way. With all the chips committed pre-flop, Dimov called it off and had the fortune to catch running jacks on both turn and river to eliminate the Austrian player, who can feel extremely aggrieved at having missed out on a vital double up.
Dimov might have been feeling he could be the one to push Ponakovs, but the opposite happened as he crashed out in fifth 10 minutes later for $142,126. On a board showing T-5-2-6, Dimov bet with king-ten. Ponakovs was going nowhere, however, shoving with six-deuce on the rainbow board. Dimov made the call and couldn’t hit on the river of a four to reduce the field to the same number.
Ponakovs Ploughs Lone Furrow to Victory
With four players remaining, Ponakovs had a sizeable lead, having amassed 8.65 million chips, almost as many as his opponents combined. Chinese player ‘sutem’ was closest with 3.89 million and ‘TouchSomeGrass’ at 3.72 million wasn’t far behind him. ‘Hunter777’ was a little further back with 2.22 million chips.
Ponakovs was close to losing the lead when ‘sutem’ helped him pull further away from the field, as a frantic close to the event began. This week’s Super MILLION$ had been running for two hours and 15 minutes when the Chinese player shoved from the button with pocket sixes. Ponakovs had the simplest of calls with pocket queens and they held with ease as the board ran out 7-7-2-A-8, offering no help to ‘sutem’ as he headed to the rail with $181,264.
Ponakovs could have lost a chunk soon after, shoving with ace-three but ‘TouchSomeGrass’ folded ace-eight. Shortly after that hand, he had a decisive lead with approximately double chips of the other two players. ‘Hunter777’ shoved with pocket nines, and Ponakovs made the call with ace-queen. Neither player was aware that ‘TouchSomeGrass’ had folded queen-nine. It mattered not as an ace on the turn and a queen on the river for good measure meant one Latvian would go into the heads-up with a big lead, and the fellow Latvian would hit the rail for $231,180.
With a better than 3:1 chip lead, Ponakovs knew it was his title to lose. While ‘TouchSomeGrass’ caught up a little, the final hand wasn’t far off. The Austrian was ahead when the chips went in, holding ace-six of hearts to ace-four offsuit for Ponakovs, but the flop of A-7-4 immediately put Ponakovs into the lead. A deuce on the turn and a river three changed nothing and the Latvian had his first-ever Super MILLION$ title for $376,032, with ‘TouchSomeGrass’ winning the consolation prize of $294,841.
You can watch all the action in this three-hour replay of the final table with regular host Jeff Gross and Scottish Triple Crown winner Niall Farrell here:
GGPoker Super MILLION$ Tue 18th April 2023 Final Table Results: |
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| Place | Player | Country | Prize | |
| 1st | Aleks Ponakovs | Latvia | $376,032 | |
| 2nd | ‘TouchSomeGrass’ | Austria | $294,841 | |
| 3rd | ‘Hunter777’ | Latvia | $231,180 | |
| 4th | ‘sutem’ | China | $181,264 | |
| 5th | Ognyan Dimov | Russia | $142,126 | |
| 6th | ‘Hazes’ | Austria | $111,439 | |
| 7th | ‘sentimiento’ | Argentina | $87,377 | |
| 8th | Pedro Garagnani | Brazil | $68,511 | |
| 9th | Ottomar Ladva | Estonia | $53,719 | |
Super MILLION$ Won by Brazilian Melbi Lau as Former Winners Fall Short – April 27, 2023
The latest GGPoker Super MILLION$ final table saw a host of former winners eclipsed by Brazilian player Melbi Lau as he stood triumphant over the final table, winning $329,282 after seeing off stars such as Barak Wisbrod, Niklas Astedt, and Anatoly Filatov along the way. With well over $1.25 million awarded at the final table alone in the $10,000-entry weekly event, the high roller bragging rights went to South America yet again after the latest in a long line of victories for Brazil.
Hero to Zero for Chip Leader
Kicking off the final table in the lead was a South American, but it wasn’t the eventual winner. Argentinian player ‘sentimiento’ began proceedings with an impressive 96 big blinds, which was some way clear of Israel’s Barak Wisbrod (70 big blinds). Between the pair, they had three victories, with Wisbrod claiming the second of his two wins earlier this year. Melbi Lau began the last nine sitting third in chips with 58 big blinds as they looked to win their maiden title.
Others vying for victory included Anatoly Filatov, the Russian who was going for title number two holding 36 big blinds to start. Another superstar hoping to make it a Super MILLION$ double was the Swedish player and former online world number one Niklas Astedt but he was a little short on 23 big blinds, just ahead of two-time winner ‘spaise411’ at 21 big blinds.
Despite starting with a convincing chip lead, ‘sentimiento’ showed that in No Limit Hold’em, no lead is ever protected from the vicissitudes of the game’s unique format. Slipping down the ranks, the Argentinian called off his stack in the big blind with queen-four offsuit, but Barak Wisbrod’s shove from the small blind with pocket fives held across the K-T-8-A-6 board. And the Argentine player cashed for $47,040 in ninth place.
Russian Roulette Sees Champions Fall
The Russian player ‘spaise411’ was the next to bust, cashing for $59,993 in eighth place. All-in with pocket tens, he couldn’t survive against Melbi Lau’s ace-king. A flop of J-8-7 was safe enough, but a king on both the turn and the river reduced the field to seven players and further strengthened the chip leader’s dominance.
Austrian player ‘EzzzGame’ bet half his stack with king-queen and called off the rest when Wisbrod shoved. Unfortunately for the former, the Israeli player had pocket aces, and they held with ease through the K-T-7-8-J board after something of a sweat from the flop. ‘EzzzGame’ cashed for $76,514.
Twenty minutes later, the final table – which lasted only two hours in its entirety – was reduced to just five players. Anatoly Filatov moved all-in with king-deuce of spades, and ‘Supertutu’ made the call with pocket sevens. Melbi Lau had ace-eight, and elected to call too, but it was a ‘Supertutu’ hold and more than double up as Filatov fell for a cash worth $97,584. It wasn’t long before the Russian was joined on the rail by ‘Supertutu’, who won $124,457 in fifth place when their seven-eight of diamonds lost to Astedt’s ace-queen of clubs, on the board of 9-8-2-A-4 sending play four-handed to the finish.
Astedt and Wisbrod Unable to Win Through Frantic Finale
Both Niklas Astedt and Barak Wisbrod were going for another trophy in two Super MILLION$ careers that have been stunning to behold. Neither were successful in sealing the deal, however, as Lau became a first-time winner. The Croatian player ‘M0FF0’ moved all-in with four-five of clubs, but Lau’s pocket sixes held on the A-9-7-7-2 board as Lau strengthened his chip lead, holding 11.7m to Astedt (2.6m) and Wisbrod (1.5m) with their comparatively small stacks. ‘M0FF0’ could only head to the virtual rail, collecting $158,729 for finishing in fourth.
Astedt couldn’t last much longer, raising with ace-ten offsuit, then calling Lau’s shove with the suited king-jack of hearts. The flop looked good for the Swede, coming as it did with an ace. But a jack on both the turn and the river saw Astedt’s hopes of a second Super MILLION$ title sunk in spectacular fashion. Instead, he took home $202,438 for finishing third, leaving Wisbrod and Lau to contest the title.
Heads-up, the eventual winner started with a big lead, with over five times the chips of his opponent. Despite that, Wisbrod – a two-time former winner – battled bravely, even taking the lead at one point. Unfortunately for him, he lost a pivotal pot when Wisbrod’s queen-nine of spades failed to overtake Lau’s ace-three as the chips went all in on a board showing J-3-3-T with two spades. The river was the deuce of clubs and that gave Lau almost all the chips. Two hands later, it was all over, as king-six lost to ace-ten suited as a board of Q-8-2-4-A ended matters with top pair on the river to give the Brazilian player Melbi Lau their first title and the $329,282 top prize. Wisbrod came oh so close to winning his third Super MILLION$, but fell just short, claiming $258,185 in second place.
All the action was brought to life by Jeff Gross and guest co-commentator Lucas Greenwood on the GGPoker YouTube channel.
GGPoker Super MILLION$ April 25th, 2023 Final Table Results: |
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| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Melbi Lau | Brazil | $329,282 |
| 2nd | Barak Wisbrod | Israel | $258,185 |
| 3rd | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | $202,438 |
| 4th | M0FF0 | Croatia | $158,729 |
| 5th | Supertutu | Hong Kong | $124,457 |
| 6th | Anatoly Filatov | Russia | $97,584 |
| 7th | EzzzGame | Austria | $76,514 |
| 8th | spaise411 | Russia | $59,993 |
| 9th | sentimiento’ | Argentina | $47,040 |
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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.
Edited by Shawn A.
