THE DAILY SCOOP – GGMillion$ Season 2024 Episode 23
Montenegro’s Vlad Batrakov Wins First-Ever GGMILLION$ for $232,000
This week’s GGMillion$ hosted at GGPoker saw a thrilling finish as first-time winner Vlad Batrakov from Montenegro outdid Finnish GGMillion$ regular Samuel Vousden heads-up to claim the top prize of $232,516. At a talented final table that also featured players such as Mark Radoja, Ramiro Petrone, and Chris Nguyen, the finale was as exciting as it could be, with Jeff Gross and Benjamin Rolle commentating on the action.
LeBrunns on a Hot Run
Heading into the final table, some very evenly spread chips meant no one was running away with the title, and the short stacks were all still in contention. Russian player ‘LeBrunns’ led the way with 71 big blinds, a little more than Vousden, known as ‘€urop€an’, with 61 bigs.
Behind the top two, players such as Austrians ‘EEweedm99’ (55BB), ‘Audrii’ (24BB) and last week’s winner ‘Wardska_’ (18BB) all jockeyed for position, while Argentina’s Ramiro Petrone (49BB), German player Chris Nguyen (42BB), Montenegran Vlad Batrakov (29BB) and Canadian professional Mark Radoja (25BB) were all hoping this week would be their week.
The first player to bust hailed from Austria – there was a one-in-three chance – and it was ‘Audrii’. They shoved pre-flop with pocket tens only to lose to Vousden’s suited ace-king when a board of K-7-6-K-A gave the Finnish poker legend a full house. ‘Audrii’ left for a score of $32,171, with Vousden overtaking ‘LeBrunns’ to become chip leader.
Ten minutes later, Vousden had eliminated another player, winning another flip. This time, the Finn had the made hand, his pocket threes holding against Chris Nguyen’s ace-queen when a board of flop of Q-4-3 gave Vousden bottom set. An ace on the turn gave Nguyen a sweat but a ten on the river ended matters, the German leaving the table with $41,195 in eighth place.
Radoja Runs into Rockets
Shortly after Nguyen’s elimination, Canadian Mark Radoja picked the worst time possible to shove with pocket sevens. Moving all-in pre-flop, it was folded around to Ramiro Petrone who woke up with pocket aces, the best pre-flop hand in the game. A board of T-T-4-8-4 sent Radoja to the rail with a score of $52,749 in seventh place.
An exciting pot took place almost immediately afterward, as last week’s winner ‘Wardska_’, who had come into play as the short stack, ran out of luck. All-in with ace-eight on a board showing T-8-8-K with two diamonds, ‘Wardska_’ was up against Ramiro Petrone’s jack-seven of diamonds as the Argentinian hoped for his 32% to come good, and in spectacular fashion it did. A nine of spades on the river completed the straight for Petrone, who took the overall lead in the poker tournament as ‘Wardska_’ departed with $67,554 in sixth place.
Incredibly, it was Petrone who busted next, going from chip leader with five remaining to on the rail in fifth place for a score of $86,849. All-in the next hand with ace-king against Vousden’s pocket aces, Petrone could catch no luck at all on the board and dropped to the short stack. He managed to stave off elimination for some time but eventually succumbed when his jack-six lost to Vousden’s ten-eight.
Vousden Blows a Huge Lead
With four players left, Vousden had a vast amount of the chips in play. Sitting behind a stack of 6.95 million, he had over 60% of the chips in play. ‘LeBrunns’ (2.37m) was closest, as Vlad Batrakov (1.21m) and ‘EEweedm99’ (673k) trailed by a considerable margin.
All-in with ace-seven of clubs, ‘EEweedm99’ hoped for a miracle when up against the ace-jack held by ‘Lebrunns’. A board of K-4-3-4-8 let him down, and the last remaining Austria-based player of the three who made the final table was out in fourth place for $110,748.
Vlad Batrakov began his march to victory at this point. Down to just over half a million chips, he got a full double with pocket kings against Vousden’s ace-ten. He then watched with presumed glee as ‘LeBrunns’ shoved pre-flop with queen-eight offsuit, busting to Vousden’s king-nine of clubs when a board of A-J-4-5-T sent play heads-up, relegating the Russian to a third-place finish worth $141,810.
Heads-up, Vousden’s 8.2m chips were some way clear of Batrakov’s 3.0m, but the tables slowly turned over the next hour of play. Rivering quads helped Batrakov bump his stack up considerably before winning another important one with just middle pair on a flop of 7-4-2. Aggressive play from both men helped keep the stacks even for quite some time before Batrakov took the lead without his opponent seeing his cards.
The final hand played out when Vousden called off his stack with jack-queen of hearts, after Batrakov had three-bet shoved with ace-three. A nine-high board of 9-5-4-9-8 made sure of it for the Montenegran as he became a first-time GGMillion$ winner.
Watch all the drama play out on GGPoker’s YouTube channel as Jeff Gross and Benjamin Rolle talk you through the action right here:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Vlad Batrakov | Montenegro | $232,516 |
| 2nd | Samuel Vousden | Finland | $181,516 |
| 3rd | ‘LeBrunns’ | Russia | $141,810 |
| 4th | ‘EEweedm99’ | Austria | $110,748 |
| 5th | Ramiro Petrone | Argentina | $86,849 |
| 6th | ‘Wardska_’ | Austria | $67,554 |
| 7th | Mark Radoja | Canada | $52,749 |
| 8th | ‘Audrii’ | Germany | $41,195 |
| 9th | Ilya Anatski | Austria | $32,171 |
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.