GGMillion$ Won for $1.75 million by Dmitri Kravchenko
This week’s GGMillion$ was an absolute cracker as, after a week off, the final table chips were flying like never before. Jeff Gross was joined in the commentary booth by the popular Canadian professional and WSOP bracelet winner Sam Greenwood, and between them, they brought a stunning night’s poker to life. In the end, the Belarussian player Dmitri Kravchenko sealed an incredible comeback victory as the short stack at the start of play finished with all the chips and $1.75 million in prize money on GGPoker.
Kravchenko Hits Gold Early
As play got underway at the nine-handed final table, Albanian player ‘LALIBERTE’ led the field with 80 big blinds, less than half a big blind clear of Australian Michael Addamo also on 80 big blinds. Russian duo Arsenii Malinov (58BB) and Aleks Borovkov (43BB) were behind the top two, with German GGMillion$ legend Ole Schemion on 30 big blinds in fifth.
With the all-time GGMillion$ multiple title holder Artur Martirosian (29BB), Ukrainian Andrii Derzhypilskyi (27BB), Portuguese player Joao Vieira (22BB), and the Belarussian former winner Dmitrii Kravchenko (21BB) all having highly playable stacks, it was all to play for.
The first player to hit the rail was a surprise, as German GGMillion$ regular and high roller Ole Schemion lost his stack. His conqueror was also a shock, as the player at the bottom of the chip count at the start of play, a former winner Dmitrii Kravchenko, had built his stack to the point where he was ahead as the two men got their stacks in pre-flop. Once cards were on backs, it was no surprise, as while Schemion had four-bet with ace-king of spades, Kravchenko effectively shoved with pocket aces, and Schemion called to his doom, no cards came to help as he busted in ninth place for $205,661.
Addamo Wields the Axe
The next 50 minutes of play saw the chips traded around the table, eventually leading to a massive all-in and call pre-flop as the remaining eight players vied for position. The GGMillion$ record-holding multiple winner Artur Martirosian got it in good with pocket kings. He was ahead of fellow Russian Arsenii Malinov with pocket tens, but the flop of A-Q-T was unkind to the at-risk Martirosian, giving Malinov a set of tens. A jack on the turn, however, changed everything, giving Martirosian a Broadway straight, and once he faded the river, a vital double-up put him ahead of his countryman.
While some were recovering, others had plummeted from former positions of power. The chip leader at the start of play, Albanian player ‘LALIBERTE’, was down to just five big blinds when they shipped pre-flop with pocket jacks. Addamo called with king-eight of spades. After flopping two spades, a king on the turn gave the Aussie the better hand and left ‘LALIBERTE’ drawing to just one out. The Jack of Hearts didn’t come, and the overnight leader had busted out in eighth place for $267,317.
Soon, Addamo had another victim, as Andrii Derzhypilskyi busted in seventh place for $347,276. All-in with ace-ten of hearts pre-flop for eight big blinds, the Ukrainian was called by Addamo holdling king-queen. A flop of K-K-Q with two hearts meant only a Royal Flush would save the at-risk Derzhypilskiy. An offsuit eight on the turn, was followed by the eight of hearts on the river, which gave him the flush, but it wasn’t enough, as Addamo’s full house stayed ahead and reduced the field to six players.
Russian GGMillion$ legend Artur Martirosian’s run came to an end in sixth place for $450,970 as he lost a crucial coin flip to the always crafty Kravchenko. The Belarussian had pocket threes, while Martirosian called off his stack pre-flop with ace-king of spades. A flop of Q-T-7 with one spade kept some hope alive for the Russian GGMillion$ legend, with jacks added into backdoor flush outs. An offsuit four on the turn was no help, and the deuce of clubs on the river ended Martirosian’s hopes.
Addamo is Flushed Away
Just five players remained and after taking out Martirosian, Kravchenko was the king of chips, holding 41.4 million chips. Michael Addamo had 39.9 million, with Arsenii Malinov (13.4m), Aleks Borovkov (12.9m), and Joao Vieira (9.2m) all playing catch-up, with the blinds now at 250,000/500,000. Starting off as the short stack, things went with stack size initially, as Vieira was all-in pre-flop with ace-king, only to find out the bad news as he was well behind Malinov’s pocket aces. A board of A-5-2-J-3 gave Malinov an unnecessary set as he sent Vieira to the virtual rail with $585,446.
Malinov soon got his newly doubled stack in the middle pre-flop, but he was only flipping for his tournament life, holding queen-ten to Kravchenko’s pocket eights. Once again, the Belarussian’s luck was in, as he survived a dramatic board. The flop of J-9-8 gave Malinov a flopped straight, but after a meaningless six on the turn, the river was anything but, pairing the jack on board to give Kravchenko a full house, sending the Russian to the rail with $759,838.
Kravchenko and Addamo continued to climb, leaving Borovkov short-stacked. Shoving with ace-queen, he was in great shape to double against Kravchenko’s ace-jack, but a jack-high board landed to eliminate the last remaining Russian for a score of $985,997 in third.
It took just 2 hours to reach heads-up play, but it would be another hour before the winner would emerge. Starting heads-up, Kravchenko had nearly 60% of the chips but the battle was anything but a quick kill. Initially, the chips started flowing towards Kravchenko, but 10 minutes in, both men had an ace in their hand with one on the flop. Addamo went all in on the river and eventually was called. Thankfully for Addamo, his kicker played, which vaulted the Aussie into the lead. Play continued as the Belarussian was eventually able to grind back to level. Chips continued to travel back and forth, and an ill-timed bluff by Addamo lost when Kravchenko had another paired ace. Arguably the most pivotal hand played out when Addamo flopped a wheel straight and got all the chips in with Kravchenko holding top pair and a king-high flush draw.
With almost all the chips in the middle pre-flop, a three arrived on the turn to bring a pair, giving Kravchenko some full house outs to go with the flush draw. The ten of clubs on the river completed the flush to give Kravchenko 99% of the chips in play. Addamo doubled up in the next hand, but Kravchenko rivered a straight right after to mop up Addamo’s final chips to take the title in thrilling circumstances.
You can watch all the action as Dmitri Kravchenko won his second GGMillion$ title by defeating one of the best to ever do it in the company of Jeff Gross and Sam Greenwood right here:
GGMillion$ Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dmitrii Kravchenko | Belarus | $1,751,384 |
| 2nd | Michael Addamo | Australia | $1,279,288 |
| 3rd | Aleksey Borokov | Russia | $985,997 |
| 4th | Arsenii Malinov | Russia | $759,838 |
| 5th | Joao Vieira | Portugal | $585,446 |
| 6th | Artur Martirosian | Russia | $450,970 |
| 7th | Andrii Derzhypilskyi | Ukraine | $347,276 |
| 8th | ‘LALIBERTE’ | Albania | $267,317 |
| 9th | Ole Schemion | Germany | $205,661 |
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.