THE DAILY SCOOP – GGMillion$ Season 2023 Episode 22
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Peters Taken by the Red Pill as Debut GG MILLION$ Win Earns $1 million
This week’s GG MILLION$ saw the return of everyone’s favorite $10,300-entry high roller tournament after a fortnight’s brief hiatus. There was an astronomical $998,294 up for grabs as top prize with a prizepool of over $6.5 million battled for between some of poker’s biggest online superstars. The final table was a fast one, with just two and half hours needed to find a winner, as David Peters just missed out on a debut victory.
Delgado and Ding Chase Second Victory
Heading into the last day showdown, two players with previous wins in their resume were shooting for title number two. Spanish pro Vicente Delgado led the field with 68 big blinds, and just behind him was Biao Ding from China with 66 big blinds. Spanish player Juan Dominguez started in third place on the leaderboard as he fought for his third title, with 62 big blinds.
Behind the leaders, David Peters (52BB) ‘redpillgame’ (48BB) and ‘fluid_solid’ (45BB) were all going for their first-ever GG MILLION$ title, but a trio of former winners with eight victories between them started as the three shortest stacks. Sven Andersson (32BB) was firing for a record-equalling fifth title, Russia’s Konstantin Maslak (24BB) was going for a second win, while fellow Russian Arsenii Malinov (11BB) was going for title #4.
The first bust-out took some time to come, as players fought for close to an hour without anyone losing their stack. When they did, it was a Russian, but not the man who began in ninth place but eighth. Maslak made a move with ace-ten in the hijack, shoving for nine big blinds, but David Peters woke up with ace-king on the button and his call was the only one, the board of 9-6-4-K-6 meaning Maslak was drawing dead by the turn, cashing for $128,760.
Record Attempt Falls Short
Heading into the action an hour earlier with 32 big blinds, the signs looked good for Swedish player Sven Andersson to win his fifth title. That didn’t happen, however, as he slid down the pecking order and cashed in eighth instead, banking $165,634. Putting in half his stack pre-flop and under-the-gun with king-ten of diamonds, he called off the rest of his stack when second-in-chips Biao Ding three-bet with pocket eights. Andersson called off the rest and couldn’t win the flip, an eight on the flop and no diamonds meaning the Swede was drawing dead very quickly.
That pot gave Ding the outright lead, but an awful period of the game saw the Chinese player lose a lot of his chips as Russian Arsenii Malinov went from shortie to a big leader, piling up 15 million chips when no-one had above 9.3 million. The shallow blinds and aggressive pre-flop betting meant dramatic pre-flop moves were commonplace. One such example saw Canadian player ‘fluid_solid’ raise with pocket nines and David Peters call on the button with king-queen.
Vicente Delgado called his stack off from the small blind with nine-ten of hearts in a move that saw raised eyebrows from presenter Jeff Gross and co-commentator Robbi Jade Lew. The flop of A-T-2 saw both players check, but a king on the turn vaulted Peters into the lead in the hand. Both players checked to the seven river and beyond, with Peters taking a big pot to put himself among the leaders. Delgado was ousted in seventh place for $213,452.
Ding Flips Out, Peters Chips Up
A crucial part of winning any poker tournament, be it online or live, is winning your flips and Chinese player Biao Ding did exactly that to take out the previously mentioned ‘fluid_solid’. If the Canadian player was hoping their scientific name might see their dreams transformed into victory, they were to be disappointed. Their hopes evaporated as a shove with pocket eights ran into Ding’s ace-king which hit an ace on the turn to convert hope into despair, the all-in player going home with $275,465 in sixth place.
Ding needed that pot to survive almost as much, having just a shade over the player he had taken out. Still short, he watched as Juan Dominguez managed no such fortune, going out with pocket sevens to redpillgame with ace-queen. A cruel board of A-9-5-T-3 offered Dominguez the hope of a flush draw from the flop to save himself, but no more hearts came and he busted in fifth for $355,886.
With four players left, redpillgame had timed their run to the lead to perfection, sitting on 28.7 million chips. David Peters (14.4 million) and Arsenii Malinov (13.5m) were close by, but Ding (8.25m) needed help if he was to threaten the title in the latter stages of the tournament. Sadly for him, it wasn’t to be. All-in with king-ten of spades, he still needed to improve against the ace-eight of diamonds held by redpillgame. Possibly a player name borne from the iconic film The Matrix, there was to be no Hollywood ending for the Chinese player, a seven-high board sending him home with $460,178.
Peters Bluffed Off Huge Late Pot
Arsenii Malinov was the next to leave, cashing for $595,430 in third place, just missing out on the heads-up for the title. Down to around 16 big blinds, he shoved with ace-six and was called by redpillgame with king-queen. The flop of J-7-5 kept the at-risk player ahead, as did another jack on the turn, but a devastating king on the river catapulted the Canadian player into a 3:1 heads-up lead, with Malinov unlucky at the last to lose out.
The final duel took just 20 minutes of action to conclude, as David Peters failed to get any traction. A flush draw from the flop looked set to cost him money, but a miraculous of-suit jack on the river gave him a bigger pair and provided a lifeline to his chip stack. Potentially, Peters could have been a 4:1 dog if he’d lost the hand. Instead, he was almost level after a value bet was paid off. Peters, on 30 million to redpillgame’s 33 million, was suddenly back in the game.
The crucial hand came when neither player had a hand, as a massive pot of 18.1 million was in the middle on a board showing K-T-2-K. A big bet of 8.4 million was laid out by redpillgame with just ace-four of hearts with no hearts on board. Peters, holding ace-jack of clubs with only one club on the board, couldn’t make the call or bet with the bigger hand and dropped back to having just half of his opponent’s stack.
A short time later, it was all over. A board of Q-8-7-K had seen redpillgame trap the American, as Peters shoved with queen-six. The Austrian player called with pocket king for top set on the turn and Peters, drawing dead, was defeated before the ineffectual river of a six. Peters claimed the runner-up prize of $770,829, but it was the Austrian ‘redpillgame’ who emerged victorious, winning just under a million dollars after a terrific bluff heads up helped him to the win.
You can watch all the action in the company of Jeff Gross and Robbi Jade Lew right here on the GGPoker YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvtC1x4D7cY
GGPoker GG MILLION$ Tuesday August 22nd Final Table Results:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | ‘redpillgame’ | Austria | $998,294 |
| 2nd | David Peters | United States | $770,829 |
| 3rd | Arsenii Malinov | Russia | $595,430 |
| 4th | Biao Ding | China | $460,178 |
| 5th | Juan Dominguez | Spain | $355,886 |
| 6th | ‘fluid_solid’ | Canada | $275,465 |
| 7th | Vicente Delgado | Spain | $213,452 |
| 8th | Sven Andersson | Sweden | $165,634 |
| 9th | Konstantin Maslak | Russia | $128,760 |
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.
