THE DAILY SCOOP – GGMillion$ Season 2024 Episode 17
Rodrigo Sirichuk Wins GG MILLION$ for $394,000
The Brazilian poker professional Rodrigo Sirichuk claimed this week’s GGMILLION$ title, scooping up a top prize of $394,407 as he beat Ukraine’s Roman Romanovskyi heads-up for the win. At a final table featuring legends of the felt such as Sirichuk’s fellow Brazilian Bruno Volkmann, Bulgarian powerhouse Dimitar Danchev, and All-Time Tournament Money List leader Bryn Kenney, it was Sirichuk who was the star.
Lasouskii Loses in the First Hand
This week, regular host Jeff Gross was joined by Daniel Weinand in the commentary booth for the final table. Co-founder of Nutcase, the cashew nut-based milk drink he developed and, with the help of Ninja and Phil Hellmuth, sold out its first run, and the co-founder of Shopify has over half a million in winnings at the live tournament felt in poker already and he was a great addition on the comms all night.
The chip leader heading into the final was Bruno Volkmann from Brazil with 106 big blinds. His South American countryman, Rodrigo Sirichuk, was his closest challenger on 66 bigs. Ukraine’s Roman Romanovskyi began with 52 bigs, with Russian ‘kolayruss1978’ (47BB) not far behind.
Lower down in the chip counts another Russian, Nikita Kuznetsov (35BB) was well-placed, with Colombia’s ‘Iphxneloveschin’ (32BB), Bulgarian and former GGMILLION$ champion Dimitar Danchev (31BB), and the record holder with eight victories in this event, Australian Michael Addamo (26BB) were all hopeful of victory. The all-time money list leader Bryn Kenney (17BB) could not be ruled out of contention with his peerless record in poker across all formats, even with the short stack.
The first to leave the final table was the Russian player ‘kolayruss1978’. On just the third hand, he shoved pre-flop with pocket kings and would have been delighted to see Sirichuk call him with an offsuit ace-king. An ace on the flop was a nightmare for the Russian, however, and a four on the turn followed by a rivered queen ended the board and the tournament for the at-risk player. The Russian was sent home with a score of $56,343 as Sirichuk moved into the chip lead.
Addamo Ousted Early
Sirichuk had by far the best hand by the time the chips went into the middle again. The Brazilian also had the chip lead, having moved well ahead of his countryman Volkmann and was up to over 6.8 million at the end of the hand. On a flop of J-T-6 with two clubs, Michael Addamo ripped in his stack with ace-queen offsuit and was snap-called by Sirichuk with pocket aces. After a six on the turn, a king and only a king would save the king of the GGMILLION$. The eight-time champion Addamo couldn’t find assistance as a queen arrived on the river to send him home in eighth place for $71,859. Just six hands in, the table was down to just 7 players.
After the 2 quick knockouts, it was 45 minutes before the next player left the table. On a flop of 9-7-4 with two clubs, Bryn Kenney was all-in with an open-ended straight draw holding the eight and ten of diamonds. Two of the Long Islander’s outs were taken, however, with the ace-five of clubs held by Sirichuk blocking club draws. A seven of spades on the turn was no good, nor was the queen of the same suit on the river. Sirichuk scored another knockout and sent Bryn Kenney home with $91,647.
Soon, six became five as Bulgarian Dimitar Danchev busted for $116,884. All-in with ace-queen pre-flop, it was Rodrigo Sirichuk who once again had the best of it, this time holding pocket queens. A flop of 9-8-3 was safe for the Brazilian and following a seven on the turn, and a rivered four ended any hope for the Bulgarian serial winner and Sirichuk’s lead grew into a commanding one on 8.28 million, some way clear of Volkmann in second on 4.82m.
Heads-Up Heroics from Sirichuk
Russia-Ukraine all-in and call took place next. Former GG MILLION$ winner Nikita Kuznetsov was committed with pocket sixes but a long way behind Roman Romanovskyi’s pocket tens. The Ukrainian only had 492,000 chips behind but with just over 5 million in the middle, it was a crucial hold as the board came A-9-7-3-4 to send Kuznetsov to the rail with $149,072.
No sooner had Romanovskyi won that pot than he lost a couple of million chips, his pocket kings failed to hold against the ace-queen belonging to Colombia-based ‘Iphxneloveschin’. Better was to come for the Ukraine-based player, however, as 3 hands later, his pocket eights flopped gin, hitting a set against Bruno Volkmann. The Brazilian had flopped two pair on a flop of A-8-4 with ace-eight and led out on the flop. The bet was raised by Romanovskyi, then re-raising, before Romanovskyi popped it up again. Volkmann shoved, Romanovskyi snapped called and the Brazilian left after a nine on the turn and a six on the river sent him home with $190,122.
Barely 90 minutes had elapsed but a long period of play without an elimination followed. It ended when a bumper three-way all-in saw ‘Iphxneloveschin’ committed with eight-ten on a flop of T-7-2 only for Rodrigo Sirichuk, holding queen-jack, to hit the river queen after missing the turn 9. The Colombian exited with a score of $242,476.
Heads-up, Sirichuk’s lead was slim, with his stack of 11.4 million marginally ahead of Romanovskyi’s 9 million chips. The Brazilian steadily grew his lead into a 4:1 advantage before Romanovskyi limped with ten-seven and hit the J-T-7 flop. It had given Romanovskyi two pair and he threw out a bet but Sirichuk’s eight-nine had flopped the nut straight and he raised. Romanovskyi re-raised, and so did Sirichuk before the Ukrainian pushed all of his chips over the line. A six on the turn and a queen on the river confirmed the win for Brazil as Rodrigo Sirichuk claimed the top prize of $394,407, with Romanovskyi forced to settle for a score of $309,248.
Watch the action as it played out, in the company of Jeff Gross and Daniel Weinand right here:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rodrigo Sirichuk | Brazil | $394,407 |
| 2nd | Roman Romanovskyi | Ukraine | $309,248 |
| 3rd | ‘Iphxneloveschin’ | Columbia | $242,476 |
| 4th | Bruno Volkmann | Brazil | $190,122 |
| 5th | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russia | $149,072 |
| 6th | Dimitar Danchev | Bulgaria | $116,884 |
| 7th | Bryn Kenney | Canada | $91,647 |
| 8th | Michael Addamo | Australia | $71,859 |
| 9th | ‘kolayruss1978’ | Russia | $56,343 |
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.