THE DAILY SCOOP – GGMillion$ Season 2024 Episode 42
Paulius Plausinaitis Wins Latest GGMillion$ for $315,000
The latest GGPoker GGMillion$ ended with one of the most incredible runouts in recent memory, as Lithuanian player Paulius Plausinaitis triumphed in spectacular fashion. Commentating on the action were high roller legend Lucas Greenwood and regular presenter Jeff Gross, who once again handed out prizes to GGPoker fans on the stream and brought the action to life as another thrilling final table played out.
Kenney Gets an Early Kill
Heading into the final table of nine, Dutchman Duco Haven led the field with 79 big blinds. Behind him, however, was the all-time live tournament earning record holder, Bryn Kenney, on 61 big blinds. Behind the top two were Israeli player Oshri Lahmani (57BB) and Mexico-based Ignacio Moron (50BB), both threatened deep runs.
Other players in contention included the passionate Lithuanian player Paulius Plausinaitis (49BB), Danish poker titan Daniel Petersen (33BB), Russian regulars Viktor Ustimov (32BB) and Denis Zelenkin (27BB), with German poker coach and long-time tournament crusher Benjamin Rolle, with a very playable 18 big blind as the short stack.
The first player to leave was Zelenkin, who added to his live results worth $250,000, with another online cash, this time for $57,401, as he hit the rails in ninth place. All-in with pocket fives on a flop of J-8-6, Kenney called him, holding two over cards, a king-queen. A nine on the turn was safe for Zelenkin, but a queen landed on the river to reduce the field to eight players.
Cold As Ice
Ignacio Moron busted in eighth place for a score of $57,401 when he ran into a freezing cold deck. All-in pre-flop with ace-king, he lost out to Ben Rolle’s pocket kings as the German slow played the ‘cowboys’ perfectly. All the chips were in the middle before the flop which had the case king win the window. A meaningless nine came down on the turn and Moron was drawing dead. Rolle took the overall lead after scooping a valuable pot.
Russian player Viktor Ustimov cashed in seventh place for $73,208 when he ran out of time to make a move with his short stack. All-in with pocket queens, he looked to have found the perfect time to push his stack in from the small blind and was called by Lithuanian player Paulius Plausinaitis with ace-jack in the big blind. A safe flop of 8-4-2 left Ustimov hopeful of a valuable double to 13 big blinds, but it was not to be. An ace fell on the turn and a seven on the river to close out the Russians’ time in the tournament.
An entertaining cooler took out the Danish professional in sixth place for a result worth $93,368. On a board showing A-J-T-8, Peterson’s bet of 385,000 chips into a pot of 677,280 was raised all-in by Plausinaitis. Peterson called with ace-ten for two pair on the flop, but he was behind the Lithuanian’s ace-jack. The river of a deuce ended the hand and Peterson’s tournament.
Five became four shortly after Peterson’s departure. Two damaging hands against the same player took out Benjamin Rolle. After dropping some chips to Plausinaitis, Rolle was behind when he four-bet shoved pre-flop with ace-king. Plausinaitis called with pocket queens. A dead ace and a dead king left Rolle with just 4 outs, meaning he needed a lot of help. The board came down 8-7-4, all clubs, on the flop which was good news for Rolle, who had the ace of clubs. The heart four and diamond nine came on turn and river to see the German exit in fifth place for $119,079.
Bye Bye Bryn
The final four featured three players who had never won the GGMillion$ before and the overnight chip leader, Duco Haven. Top of the pile was the Lithuanian Plausinaitis holding 5.9 million chips, with Haven (4.2m), Oshri Lahmani (4m), and the short-stacked Bryn Kenney (1.9m) as the chasing pack. It took very little time to reduce the field further as Kenney called off his stack from the big blind with king-ten after Plausinaitis shoved with pocket fours. A flop of 9-8-4 made the Lithuanian chip leader a 95% favorite, and a queen on the turn meant only a jack would save Kenney. A deuce came on the river to send play three-handed as the Long Islander busted for $151,870.
Play went heads-up when Oshri Lahmani shoved with king-six of hearts, and Haven called with pocket fives. It was a big flip with the flop of Q-7-2, but with no hearts, it didn’t help the at-risk Lahmani. An ace on the turn was similarly unhelpful to the Finn, and an eight on the river confirmed his exit in third for $193,691.
Heads Up Not A Safe Haven
Heads-up, the overnight chip leader Duco Haven started with 5.4 million as he made a bid to win his fifth GGMillion$ title. He was facing off against the potential first-time Plausinaitis, who started the final duel on 10.7m chips. Haven had to bide his time but dominated his way into the lead when his ace-king conquered Plausinaitis’ ace-nine, a flop coming K-8-2-7-T to flip the script.
The stacks were almost level for a long time before a board of K-T-8-7-A with three hearts changed everything. Plausinaitis shoved the river with jack five of hearts for the turned flush, and Haven called it off with king-seven for just two pair. Suddenly, the Lithuanian had almost a 3:1 chip lead, which he would never lose.
When Plausinaitis shoved with pocket eights, Haven, with no time left on his shot clock, called it off with ace-six of diamonds, calling with a millisecond to spare. A flop of Q-7-3 with two diamonds kept Plausinaiti in the lead but gave Haven a shot at the nut flush. That shot came in on the turn with the eight of diamonds, giving Haven the nut flush and leaving Plausinaitis drawing to a full house. A seven landed on the river, pairing the board and ending the poker tournament in the Lithuanian’s favor in incredible fashion.
“It was a great final table, in the end the guy who played the best poker won.” Said co-commentator Luc Greenwood.
Watch all the action from the final table right in the company of him and regular host Jeff Gross:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paulius Plausinaitis | Lithuania | $315,054 |
| 2nd | Duco Haven | Netherlands | $247,029 |
| 3rd | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | $193,691 |
| 4th | Bryn Kenney | United States | $151,870 |
| 5th | Benjamin Rolle | Germany | $119,079 |
| 6th | Daniel Petersen | Denmark | $93,368 |
| 7th | Viktor Ustimov | Russia | $73,208 |
| 8th | Ignacio Moron | Mexico | $57,401 |
| 9th | Denis Zelenkin | Russia | $45,007 |
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.