GGPoker Winter Giveaway Series – A New Year’s Poker Spectacular

As the Winter Giveaway Series (WGS) enters its third thrilling week, the competition has reached a fever pitch. With record-breaking prize pools, festive tournament formats, and an unparalleled spirit of camaraderie, GGPoker has delivered yet another unforgettable chapter in its signature poker series. Starting strong in December and rolling into the new year, the WGS continues to attract players from every corner of the globe, all vying for their share of the colossal $100 million in guarantees and the $5 million in added prizes.

This week has been nothing short of spectacular, with exciting twists, dramatic victories, and life-changing payouts captivating the poker community. Whether battling it out in bounty tournaments, enjoying fast-paced Flip & Go action, or chasing the thrill of mystery bounties, players of all skill levels have found their moment to shine. And with the series edging closer to its grand finale, the stakes—and the excitement—are higher than ever.

Let’s take a closer look at some of this week’s key highlights and celebrate the incredible performances that have set the stage for an unforgettable conclusion to the Winter Giveaway Series!

JOIN THE WINTER GIVEAWAY SERIES!

Event #16: Omaholic Mystery Ball 

Starting the week off in the best way possible was another Mystery Bounty event, this time in the great game of Omaha. Offering a guaranteed prize pool of $750,000, plus $37,500 added on, this $108 tournament attracted a total of 9,299 Omaholics to the tables. Of the starters, just 943 survived to the final day of the event to compete for a share of the $961,448.64 prize pool and hunt for the $75,000 top mystery bounty. 

The final day of this tournament took 8.75 hours to run through completion, and when it was done, ‘Lao Jian’ stood at the forefront, claiming $55,270.65 for the victory and $2,859 in bounties. Second place went to ‘LappyPoker’, who earned $39,939.25 and $1,178 in bounties, while ‘minhchautn’ placed third for a total of $34,353.67 which included $5,476 in bounty rewards.

The biggest winners in the event were not the top 3, although capturing a victory in any MTT is always a positive. Finishing in 110th position, ‘cafu88’ earned just $515.33 before moving on to what they had planned next. They also managed to find a few bigger bounties and earned an additional $71,476 from knocking out various opponents; however, even they were not the biggest winner of the tournament. That honor went to ‘SteveMandanda’ who earned $2,076.36 for finishing 16th but also found the biggest mystery bounty of the tournament and earned a total $78,186.36 from the $108 buy-in…quite the return on investment.

Event #17: Countdown Bounty Turbo

New Year’s Eve saw Event #17 run a bit earlier in the day so everyone could celebrate the end of 2024 in the best way. The $66 buy-in Countdown Bounty Turbo saw 2,234 players sign up for the $100,000 guarantee, with $5,000 added to create a total prize pool of $140,648.48. It took just under 6 hours to complete this No Limit Hold’em turbo tournament as the players battled for bounties and one of the top 330 spots that would finish in the money. When the tournament ended, ‘Bigbird_’ won first place and earned $5,520.59 plus $4,861.74 in bounties after defeating ‘aosikali’, who earned $5,5518.78 and an additional $3,307.55 from collected bounty rewards. The third and final podium spot was taken by ‘Say hello to GG’, who earned $5,369.37 which included $984.16 in bounties.

Event #18: The Year Begins

The very next day, the year would begin with Event #18: The Year Begins, a $25 buy-in tournament with a $200,000 guarantee, plus $10,000 added. This event had 11,560 players enter to determine who would have their year begin the best as they would play for the biggest share of the $275,880 prize pool.

Even with the massive number of players in the event, it only took just over 11 hours to complete, and when it was done, ‘iduzuku’ was the last one standing, earning $24,903 for the victory. Sitting in second place after losing the final heads-up battle was ‘Vortzah’, who earned $19,194.16. The third best in the first WGS New Year tournament was ‘IsheepIT’, who received a hefty $14,800.73 to celebrate the holiday.

Event #19: Crystal Ball [Mystery Bounty]

People have always tried to predict, and sometimes they get it right, but no amount of prognostication could have predicted the outcome of event #19, the Crystal Ball [Mystery Bounty] tournament. Guaranteeing $500,000 on a $108 buy-in with $25,000 added, this tournament closed late registration with 7,467 poker players in the mix to create a prize pool of $766,921.12.

It took 11 hours and 45 minutes to finally complete the tournament, which ended with ‘Alex Zev’ taking the top spot and earning $43,397.80 plus $6,762 in bounties as a reward. The runner up, ‘Ram Anna’, earned $32,538.23 for finishing second and $1,462 in collected bounties. The third place player was ‘Ladies Night’, who earned a very respectable $24,400.22 which was boosted by $2,985 in bounty rewards.

As is the case in most Mystery Bounty tournaments, finishing atop the field does not equate to being the biggest winner. That honor went to ‘focuschicken’ who earned $264.19 for finishing 226th, did find the biggest Mystery Bounty and closed out the tournament with a total score of $59,326.19.

Event #20: TGIF Super Hyper Turbo [6-max]

The first weekend of the new year offers so many parties, and to accommodate that, the TGIF Super Hyper Turbo ran incredibly fast. Event #20 offered a $100,000 guarantee with a $5,000 added prize boost for a buy-in of just $50. This offering was tempting enough that 3,232 poker players joined to create a total prize pool of $153,672.

So incredibly fast and furious was the competition that the event ended in just 4 hours and 20 minutes. When the final card came down, ‘Yao Jie’ claimed the victory and $17,245.27 for the hard work. Finishing just short of the victory was ‘konnichiwa!’ who earned $12,790.95 for the second place finish, while ‘Ivan Orlov’ earned $9,488.79 for finishing in third place. 

Event #21: Omaholic 5-Card Bounty

What could be more exciting than an Omaha bounty tournament? How about a 5-card Omaha Bounty tournament! One of the newest editions to the GGPoker list of games is 5-card Omaha, and what better way to celebrate the new year than with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool in this high action game.  The $25 buy-in for event #21 had 2,348 sign up to capture the victory and the biggest portion of the $56,504 prize pool, which included the $2,500 added as part of the WGS. 

The tournament ran for just over 7.5 hours before ‘EasyShips’ claimed the victory, $2,591.80 for first place and an additional $2,730.94 in collected bounty rewards. ‘backspace01’ took second place after losing the heads-up battle and earned $2,590.46 for the efforts and collected $581.89 in bounties along the way. Finishing up the podium was ‘MarioPro’ who earned $1,963.20 to go along with bounty rewards totaling $412.22.

Event #22: Bounty Hunters Holiday Roller

The last WGS main event of the week was event #22, a $215 buy–in Bounty Hunter tournament. The tournament carried a guarantee of $1,225,000 and with the added bonus, promised an extra $61,250 into the pool. A total of 7,591 players came out for this celebratory event and built the prize pool to a massive $1,562,749.80. With that many players hunting that much money, it should not be a surprise that it took nearly 12 hours of intense tournament play to declare a winner. 

Once everything was settled and the chips and cards put away, ‘sebesQuee’ took it down to win $46,911.30, which was a nice addition to the bounties they collected along the way—$63,112.36 in bounties. Second place went to the deserving ‘ROLLINGDR0NE’, who put up a good fight but, in the end, had to be consoled by the $46,906.31.05 runner-up windfall plus $4,332.43 in bounty rewards. The final place on the podium was earned by ‘H2O_’, who earned $37,271.64 for the finish and $7,240.63 for bounties. 

Greg and Kevin…

One Week to Go in the GGPoker Winter Giveaway Series.

As we close out an exhilarating Week 3 of the Winter Giveaway Series, the excitement continues to build for the grand finale. From breathtaking Mystery Bounty surprises to lightning-fast turbo tournaments, this week showcased the diverse and thrilling action that has defined the WGS. Players across the globe have turned modest buy-ins into monumental wins, proving once again that GGPoker delivers the ultimate poker experience.

With just one week left in this incredible series, the stakes are higher than ever. The final events promise to bring even more drama, unforgettable stories, and life-changing payouts. Whether you’re chasing your first big score or aiming to add another title to your poker resume, now is the time to go all in and seize the moment.

The stage is set, the chips are ready, and the anticipation is palpable. Let’s make this last week one for the history books—good luck at the tables, and may your Winter Giveaway dreams come true!