THE DAILY SCOOP – GGMillion$ Season 2024 Episode 45
GGMillion$ Won for Quarter-Million Top Prize with Explosive Ending
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 |
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.