GGPOKER

Fabiano Kovalksi Wins Debut GGMillion$ Title – GGMillion$ Season 2026 Episode 40

This week’s GGMillion$ final table saw nine of the best online poker players in the world gather to compete for a top prize of $464,794. Players including Laszlo Bujtas, Hannes Jeschka, Fabiano Kovalski and Alisson Piekazewicz all battled for the glory on GGPoker. With regular host Jeff Gross joined by German WSOP Online champion Benjamin Rolle in the virtual commentary booth, the action was red hot from the first flop as Fabiano Kovalski played power poker on his way to the top.

Pre-Match Betting Odds

The pre-match favorite was a big one, with Hungarian professional Laszlo Bujtas sitting behind a huge pile of 112 big blinds, and was available at odds of just 3.24. Second in chips was the GGMillion$ regular Hannes Jeschka, the German sitting on 62 big blinds at odds of 5.64 in the GGPoker client. The Ukrainian player Andrii Derzhypilskyi was next in line on 59 big blinds, and was a 7.28 shot at glory. 

Behind the three leaders, the Spanish player Jon Vallinas (52BB/7.96) was closely followed by our tip for the top this week, the Brazilian player Fabiano Kovalski, who, with 46 big blinds, looked great value at odds of 7.38. Kovalski’s fellow Brazilian Alisson Piekazewicz (29BB/10.40) was a distance back in the field. 

The three shortest stacks all had reasons to believe in their own chances of success, with plenty of recent underdog winners in the GGMillion$. Ukrainian Dimitrii Kravchenko (25BB/13.90) needed to get off to a good start, while both Brazilian Jesse Cesar (15BB/23.04) and the shortest stack, Émilien Pitavy (12BB/31.90), were looking to spin up their stacks and fight back for the win.

Key Moments from the Felt

As the action got underway, the chip leader was in full control of the final table with almost double the stack of his nearest challenger. The same could not be said for Frenchman Émilien Pitavy, who slid out in ninth place for $58,099 when he moved all-in pre-flop with ace-nine only to run into Andrii Derzhypilskyi’s ace-queen. A safe run-out for the Ukrainian saw him river the nut flush, sending the French player home. 

Another dominated ace sent Jesse Cesar home in eighth place, as his shove from the cut-off with ace-eight ran into Alisson Piekazewicz’s ace-queen. The all-Brazilian clash saw a ten-high board send Cesar home as he cashed for $75,345. 

After over an hour without any eliminations, another South American showdown left only one Brazilian standing. The chip leader was Fabiano Kovalski by this stage, and his shove with pocket sevens was called off by Alisson Piekazewicz holding ace-deuce. The at-risk Piekazewicz was praying for an ace, but a deuce, along with a K-J, on the flop gave him a 22% shot at survival. A second king on the turn reduced that to 18% as he chased a jack, ace or deuce on the river. Instead, a three came to send him home in seventh place for a score of $97,711.

Ukrainian pro Andrii Derzhypilskyi was the next to go, cashing for sixth place and $126,715. (2:32:44) A raising war went wrong for him as he shoved with king-queen pre-flop and ran into Jon Santos’ ace-queen, which flopped a queen. That pot was worth a massive 5.1 million and boosted Santos into second in chips at a crucial time.

Soon, five became four as Dmitrii Kravchenko joined his fellow Ukrainian on the rail for $164,329. (2:38:57) Kravchenko min-raised from second position and saw Jeschka call with pocket eights. Both Jeschka and Kravchenko had a heart, so the flop of K-4-3 all in hearts caused plenty of interest. 

A c-bet from Kravchenko was called, and the turn brought the eight of diamonds into play. With 1.3m chips in the pot, Kravchenko shoved for 1.85m more, with Jeschka check-calling instantly. No heart came on the river, and Jeschka’s brilliant play saw him with the biggest stack on 7.70m, just ahead of Santos on 7.67m. With Kovalski close behind on 6.4m, only the overnight leader Bujtas was looking isolated on 3.0m.

Everyone seemed to have an ace two hands later, (2:43:09) with Jeschka min-raising from the button with ace-four. In the small blind, Bujtas felt it was the right time to shove for 26 big blinds with ace-five offsuit. Sadly for him, Kovalski was sitting in the big blind with not one ace but two and although the Brazilian took his time calling in an attempt to induce more action from Jeschka, the German wisely stepped to one side and was relieved when he saw the hands turned over. No help came for Bujtas and the Hungarian, who led the field with nearly double his nearest rival’s chips at the start of play, hit the rail for $213,019 in fourth place.

Pocket sixes lost chips to ace-jack when a flop of J-J-3 was in Kovalski’s favor, as Hannes Jeschka bled away some of his stack. Soon, it was all gone, as he shoved pre-flop with king-queen offsuit. What he didn’t know was that Santos had the same hand, only suited, and that between the two of them, Kovalski sat with pocket sevens. The Brazilian re-shoved to isolate, and while Jeschka picked up a Broadway draw on the turn to leave him a 22% shot to the river, he bricked out in third place for $276,368.

Heads-up was close to even when it began, and a titanic tussle ensued as both Santos and Kovalski battled for what would be their first GGMillion$ victory. For Kovalski, it was his ninth time at the final table of the tournament, and without a victory to that point, the pressure was on, according to Jeff Gross, who spoke about the psychological side of not winning in a particular format.

If that was true, Kobalski took advantage of the reverse side of that coin, making a huge semi-bluff shove with a flush draw on the turn of an inflated pot a few hands later. While Benjamin Rolle questioned the play, Santos made the fold with a low pair, and Kovalski flipped the script to grab the chip lead once more. A crucial aspect of the GGMillion$ is the shot clock; however, with over 90 seconds remaining in his, Kovalski started putting more pressure on Santos. One board where both players missed saw Kovalski’s king-six behind Santos’ king-jack, but when the Brazilian made a big bet on the river, Santos simply didn’t have the time to give it more than a brief processing, with his five-second clock per hand meaning he threw away the hand and missed the chance to level the chip counts.

Kovalski had a 2:1 chip lead when the final hand went down, and what a hand it was. (3:38:50) Kovalski limped into the pot with five-four of diamonds, and Santos checked with king-eight. A flop of Q-8-5 with two diamonds saw Kovalski bet, and Santos called. Another eight on the turn saw Santos lead for three-quarters of the pot, and the Brazilian made the call. A six of diamonds on the river saw Santos shove, and Kovalski made the call to win his first GGMillion$ title and a top prize of $464,794 as Santos ended as runner-up for $358,405.

This Week’s GGMillion$ Results – October 27th, 2026

Fabiano Kovalski’s first GGMillion$ victory was hard-earned as he came from the middle of the pack to reign supreme at long last after many near misses. Jeff Gross applauded the South American after his win.

“Big congrats to Fabiano, a dramatic first win at his ninth final table. Three Brazilians came into play and knocked each other out apart from one.”

“There weren’t a lot of crazy hands,” said Benjamin Rolle. “Overall, it was a very interesting final table, Not the most aggressive, but they gave us a really good show and was really fun to watch!”

“Fabiano really made some big shoves, and he came to win today,” said Jeff. “He was willing to go for it. When you accumulate chips, you get that opportunity to drive the action.”

Here’s how everyone finished at this week’s GGMillion$ final table.

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Fabiano Kovalski	Brazil	$464,794
2nd	Jon AV Santos	Spain	$358,405
3rd	Hannes Jeschka	Germany	$276,368
4th	Laszlo Bujtas	Hungary	$213,019
5th	Dmitrii Kravchenko	Ukraine	$164,329
6th	Andrii Derzhypilskyi	Ukraine	$126,715
7th	Alisson Piekazewicz	Brazil	$97,711
8th	Jesse Cesar	Brazil	$75,345
9th	Émilien Pitavy	France	$58,099

Changing Lead Benefits the Table Bully

As Laszlo Bujtas began with a big lead, every other player was playing catch-up. That situation changed early in the proceedings, as the Hungarian wasn’t able to dominate as he would have liked. Instead, Kovalski rose through the ranks before Hannes Jeschka won some big showdowns to take the lead. Both Bujtas and Jescka demonstrated strength, but their timing was off, and too often each man tried to dominate short stacks. 

While picking on the low-hanging fruit can be profitable as chip leader, sometimes those short stacks have nothing to lose and an element of risk creeps into their game. What set Kovalski’s periods as chip leader apart was the Brazilian’s ability to put pressure on the middle stacks. Even three-handed, his shove to isolate with pocket sevens was a strong play directed at a particular goal, and that focused energy is why the South American finally ended his long wait for GGMillion$ glory on his ninth attempt.

Watch all the action in the company of Jeff Gross and WSOP Online Main Event winner Benjamin Rolle right here:

2026 Week 39                                          2026 Week 41

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.

* The pre-game pick is the sole opinion of the author. It in no way reflects or affects the outcome of the final table.

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Edited by Shawn A.