GGPOKER

GG World Festival 2026 | Episode 8: May 25 through May 28

The GG World Festival 2026 continues to deliver, with the GGPoker community showing up in force across every tier and every format as the series charges through its fourth week. Episode 8 of this series covers another six of the biggest global tournaments and three Ontario events spanning May 25 through May 28, a stretch that produced some incredibly compelling final table action. The $10K GGMillion Main Event result is in, and you can watch the final table play out as 9 of the best poker players battle it out for the top prize of $1.7m with regular host Jeff Gross and guest host Shaun Deeb in attendance. Watch it on GGPoker.tv! 

With less than two weeks remaining in the series, the leaderboard races are heating up in every tier. Here is how the week played out.

SUPER TIER

Event 225-S: $10,000 Monday Monster Stack Buy-in: $9,700 + $300 | No-Limit Hold’em | Super Tier

Sixty-one players pushed the $400,000 guarantee nearly 50% over the top, building a $591,700 prize pool before the final three agreed to call it a deal. The three-way chop was agreed to at the end of the event, which lasted 7 hours and 2 minutes and produced the kind of inverted payout order that has become the norm when a deal is made at the festival’s final tables. Pedro Padilha of Brazil technically finished second but walked away with the largest share at $114,494.73, while Leon Sturm of Austria claimed the title for $112,606.59 and P Lefrancois of Canada, returning to the Super tier final table after a win last week, collected $104,793.33.

🥇 1st — Leon Sturm (Austria) — $112,606.59
🥈 2nd — Pedro Padilha (Brazil) — $114,494.73
🥉 3rd — P Lefrancois (Canada) — $104,793.33 (Three-way ICM chop)

P Lefrancois now has back-to-back Super tier cashes in consecutive episodes, a strong argument for anyone watching this leaderboard race that this player is someone to take note of, particularly those at the top of the field.

Event 234-S: $10,000 Tuesday Classic Buy-in: $9,700 + $300 | No-Limit Hold’em | Super Tier

Forty entries produced a $388,000 prize pool, clearing the $250,000 guarantee by more than 55%, and Daniel Petersen of Austria needed just 5 hours and 13 minutes to put the tournament to bed. It was a clean, dominant performance that left no room for deals at the end.

🥇 1st — Daniel Petersen (Austria) — $127,396.15
🥈 2nd — Tamas Adamszki (Austria) — $90,616.28
🥉 3rd — Bruno Volkmann (Brazil) — $64,454.95

An all-Austrian top two is a fun wrinkle for a tournament with a global field. Petersen took the lion’s share, and Adamszki made it a strong day for the Austrian contingent, while Volkmann ensured Brazil kept its name on the podium.

Global Super Leaderboard

GREAGYPoker continues to build at the top of the Super standings, extending the lead over V Buldygin, who holds second. Andrii Novak stays in third as the podium remains unchanged from the past weekend.

🥇 GREAGYPoker (Russia) — 2,804.20
🥈 V Buldygin (Russia) — 2,712.55
🥉 Andrii Novak (Ukraine) — 2,482.39

HIGH TIER

Event 224-H: $525 Bounty Hunters Mega Main Buy-in: $250 + $250 + $25 | Bounty | High Tier | $1,000,000 Guarantee

Two thousand four hundred twenty-five entries built the prize pool to $1,212,500, running well above the $1,000,000 guarantee. PolskaMoc of Poland navigated 11 hours and 9 minutes of play and a deep field to take the title, with a bounty haul of over $50,000 pushing the combined payday well past the $100,000 mark.

🥇 1st — PolskaMoc (Poland) — $61,272.16 + $50,454.05 Bounty Rewards
🥈 2nd — Ultr4tight (Argentina) — $61,270.86 + $16,396.52 Bounty Rewards
🥉 3rd — crumbs (Panama) — $48,685.69 + $21,287.89 Bounty Rewards

The prize pool split between PolskaMoc and Ultr4tight was separated by just $1.30, making this one of the tightest money finishes of the festival. PolskaMoc’s bounty collection made all the difference, tripling Ultr4tight’s haul and turning a near-identical prize pool result into a commanding overall victory.

Event 250-H: $525 Bounty Hunters Daily Main [9-Max] Buy-in: $250 + $250 + $25 | Bounty | High Tier

One thousand three hundred sixty-seven entries sent the prize pool to $683,500, clearing the $600,000 guarantee. It was Joao Hayashi of Brazil who delivered one of the standout bounty performances of this episode. After 10 hours and 37 minutes, Hayashi walked away with $38,251.94 from the prize pool and an additional $55,789.25 in bounty rewards, a combined total of nearly $94,000 that dwarfed the rest of the final table.

🥇 1st — Joao Hayashi (Brazil) — $38,251.94 + $55,789.25 Bounty Rewards
🥈 2nd — Pablo Nazar (Argentina) — $38,251.14 + $7,980.48 Bounty Rewards
🥉 3rd — 4StrongManAllNP (Poland) — $30,394.23 + $4,820.32 Bounty Rewards

Hayashi’s bounty haul was more than seven times that of runner-up Pablo Nazar, which tells you everything about how that final table played out. The prize pool split between first and second was eighty cents, but the bounties were anything but close.

Global High Leaderboard

Tom_Poker_BR keeps extending a lead that is starting to look unassailable at the top of the High standings. E Narmontas and R Romanovskyi hold second and third as the podium stays intact for a third consecutive episode.

🥇 Tom_Poker_BR (Austria) — 4,906.35
🥈 E Narmontas (Norway) — 4,406.01
🥉 R Romanovskyi (Ukraine) — 4,364.26

MEDIUM TIER

Event 233-M: $55 Bounty Hunters Daily Main [Deepstack] Buy-in: $25.60 + $25 + $4.40 | Bounty | Medium Tier

Seven thousand eight hundred sixty-five entries drove the prize pool to $397,969, comfortably past the $300,000 guarantee, and D Todavchik of Russia was the last one standing after 10 hours and 3 minutes. The Russian collected $17,611.59 from the prize pool and added $13,737.21 in bounties for a combined payday of over $31,000 in a $55 event.

🥇 1st — D Todavchik (Russia) — $17,611.59 + $13,737.21 Bounty Rewards
🥈 2nd — Impinadordekomb (Brazil) — $17,607.77 + $2,101.46 Bounty Rewards
🥉 3rd — poker!ma (China) — $13,991.09 + $1,906.43 Bounty Rewards

Todavchik’s bounty haul was more than six times that of runner-up Impinadordekomb, a gap that reflects just how dominant the eventual winner was in eliminating opponents throughout the field.

Event 242-M: $55 Bounty Hunters Daily Main [6-Max] Buy-in: $25.60 + $25 + $4.40 | Bounty | Medium Tier

Seven thousand six hundred ninety-seven entries produced a $389,468.20 prize pool, nearly 30% above the $300,000 guarantee, and Augusto Magalhaes of Brazil claimed the title after 9 hours and 48 minutes of six-max action. The shorter table format tends to accelerate play and inflate bounty rewards, and Magalhaes took full advantage, collecting $9,455.26 in bounties on top of an $18,203.94 prize pool score.

🥇 1st — Augusto Magalhaes (Brazil) — $18,203.94 + $9,455.26 Bounty Rewards
🥈 2nd — Jacopo Olivieri (Austria) — $18,198.91 + $2,337.48 Bounty Rewards
🥉 3rd — Julio Cabrera (Peru) — $13,792.19 + $3,679.28 Bounty Rewards

Brazil picks up another title in the Medium tier this episode, and Magalhaes’s margin over Olivieri in the prize pool was barely $5. Cabrera’s third place bounty haul of $3,679.28 outpaced Olivieri’s $2,337.48, making the podium a genuinely competitive finish across the board.

Global Medium Leaderboard

Bowrot- continues to hold the top spot, but the big story here is ANTON BARDZIYAN moving up to second, displacing Armanus, who drops to third. The Dutch duo is no longer running the podium unchallenged.

🥇 Bowrot- (Netherlands) — 6,450.95
🥈 ANTON BARDZIYAN (Belarus) — 5,584.48
🥉 Armanus (Netherlands) — 5,579.61

LOW TIER

Event 225-L: $25 Monday Monster Stack Buy-in: $23 + $2 | No-Limit Hold’em | Low Tier

Five thousand five hundred forty-four entries pushed the prize pool to $127,512, clearing the $100,000 guarantee by more that 25% as the tournament ran over 10 hours and 31 minutes. Pepegaus of Austria took the title in a clean, straightforward finish with no deals at the end.

🥇 1st — Pepegaus (Austria) — $13,554.92
🥈 2nd — cutiecorn (Finland) — $10,448.44
🥉 3rd — woain!n (China) — $8,056.85

Finland has not appeared on the podium often in this series, so cutiecorn’s runner-up finish is worth noting. Pepegaus, meanwhile, turned a $25 investment into nearly $13,500 and a title.

Event 251-L: $25 Thursday Throwdown [Bounty] Buy-in: $13 + $10 + $2 | Bounty | Low Tier

Eight thousand seven hundred fourteen entries produced a $200,422 prize pool, easily clearing the $175,000 guarantee. It then took FLPvemtranquilo of Brazil 10 hours and 1 minute to top the field, collecting $9,779.99 from the prize pool and $3,820.51 in bounties for a combined total approaching $13,600.

🥇 1st — FLPvemtranquilo (Brazil) — $9,779.99 + $3,820.51 Bounty Rewards
🥈 2nd — Wangd1 (China) — $9,775.96 + $883.15 Bounty Rewards
🥉 3rd — nogueira17 (Brazil) — $7,767.95 + $1,069.84 Bounty Rewards

Brazil claims both first and third on this podium, with FLPvemtranquilo’s bounty haul more than four times Wangd1’s despite the near-identical prize pool split. nogueira17 rounds out a strong episode for Brazilian players across the Low tier.

Global Low Leaderboard

Mala_Ale_Farsa extends the lead at the top of the Low standings. KingOfAllins climbs back up to second after dropping to third last episode, while Survivor39 of Russia makes a first appearance on the podium in third, pushing Quokka off entirely.

🥇 Mala_Ale_Farsa (Poland) — 6,347.25
🥈 KingOfAllins (Belarus) — 5,710.07
🥉 Survivor39 (Russia) — 5,526.50

GG ONTARIO FESTIVAL

HIGH TIER

Event 160-H: $525 CN Tower Superstack Buy-in: $500 + $25 | No-Limit Hold’em | High Tier

Fifty-two Ontario players pushed the $15,000 guarantee nearly 73% over the target, building a $26,000 prize pool in just 4 hours and 26 minutes of play. StackWrecker lived up to the name, topping the field and collecting $6,654.92 for the win. It was a brisk, high-energy tournament that rewarded aggression and stack management in equal measure.

🥇 1st — StackWrecker — $6,654.92
🥈 2nd — OsoSpecial — $5,158.59
🥉 3rd — Canadian Psycho — $3,998.73

The CN Tower Superstack is one of the more distinctive events on the Ontario schedule, and this edition delivered a field that more than backed up the guarantee. Canadian Psycho’s third place finish rounds out the all-Ontario podium that reads like a bracket from a local live event.

Ontario High Tier Leaderboard (through May 28)

Baqr extends the lead at the top. HaveALaugh holds second. Ekman34 makes a first appearance on the Ontario High podium in third, pushing Katy Perry off the podium as they slip to fifth.

🥇 Baqr — 1,554.42
🥈 HaveALaugh — 1,456.17
🥉 Ekman34 — 1,237.24

MEDIUM TIER

Event 149-M: $105 Bounty King Ontario Buy-in: $50 + $50 + $5 | Bounty | Medium Tier

Three hundred sixty-nine entries built a $36,900 prize pool, running nearly $7K above the $30,000 guarantee, and KoKoKianna delivered the standout performance of the Ontario Medium slate this week. After 8 hours and 9 minutes, KoKoKianna walked away with $2,542.69 in prize pool money and a dominant $3,624.85 in bounty rewards, a combined total of over $6,100 that reflected a final table performance built on relentless aggression. Mandyy ran second for $2,542.43 plus $1,851.36 in bounties, and JonnyJamz rounded out the podium with a modest but respectable $259.37 in bounties alongside a $2,020.21 prize pool score.

🥇 1st — KoKoKianna — $2,542.69 + $3,624.85 Bounty Rewards
🥈 2nd — Mandyy — $2,542.43 + $1,851.36 Bounty Rewards
🥉 3rd — JonnyJamz — $2,020.21 + $259.37 Bounty Rewards

Ontario Medium Tier Leaderboard (through May 24)

Ontario Medium: 3BetPunts leads, but TacobellPoos is right on their heels, closing to within 48 points. Katy Perry holds third, maintaining a presence near or on two Ontario leaderboards heading into the final stretch.

🥇 3BetPunts — 2,400.08
🥈 TacobellPoos — 2,352.10
🥉 Katy Perry — 2,154.55

LOW TIER

Event 149-L: $15 Bounty King Ontario Buy-in: $7.25 + $7 + $0.75 | Bounty | Low Tier

Five hundred ninety-three entries produced a $8,450.25 prize pool, slightly above the $7,500 guarantee, and the final two players struck a heads-up deal that produced a familiar inverted payout order. vievieArch claimed the title but actually took home marginally less from the prize pool than runner-up pokerpoolgolf, with the ICM chop doing what ICM chops do. The full 6 hours and 35 minutes of play came down to two players who were evenly matched enough that a deal made more sense than a flip.

🥇 1st — vievieArch — $544.06 + $633.40 Bounty Rewards
🥈 2nd — pokerpoolgolf — $544.27 + $297.37 Bounty Rewards (Heads-up ICM chop)
🥉 3rd — Dedok94 — $432.21 + $136.85 Bounty Rewards 

Ontario Low: Hicks19 stays out front with a comfortable lead. TacobellPoos holds second as JonnyFav stays in third, keeping the same podium intact from the weekend.

🥇 Hicks19 — 2,298.48
🥈 TacobellPoos — 2,087.46
🥉 JonnyFav — 2,068.38

LOOKING AHEAD

The GG World Festival 2026 is entering its final two weeks and the stakes are only getting higher. The $1,500 GG World Championship on June 1 is the next marquee $10M GTD event on the calendar, and with the series consistently running 20% or more above guarantee across every tier, that prize pool could push well beyond the number. Satellites are available in the GGPoker client right now. The leaderboard battles are tightening fast, with TacobellPoos threatening to overtake 3BetPunts in the Ontario Medium standings and GREAGYPoker building what looks like a decisive lead in the Global Super tier. Tune back in for the next issue on Monday to see who makes their move.

Episode 7                                                Episode 9