button in SafariBrazilians Dominate GGMillion$ Event; Collectively Bank $1.3M at the Final Table
The latest $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller event online at GGPoker was a little different from the norm. As usual, it attracted an all-star cast among its 197 entrants and a huge $2,010,000 prize pool, but six of the nine finalists all hailed from Brazil.
When the dust finally settled, and Carlos Ribeiro emerged victorious, five Brazilians had finished in the top six, and the Samba stars had helped themselves to more than $1.3 million of the $1.67 million that was still on the table.
The final table got underway with Alisson Piekazewicz (5,568,994 chips) leading from Bernardo Soares (3,264,487) and Ribeiro (3,172,871), and ended with the same trio in the top three, albeit in a different order.
Ribeiro had only played in the GGMillion$ 14 times before and had cashed twice. It is quite remarkable that his first final table appearance ultimately resulted in a victory.
$10,000 GGMillion$ High Rollers Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Ribeiro | Brazil | $406,521 |
| 2 | Alisson Piekazewicz | Brazil | $318,747 |
| 3 | Bernardo Soares | Brazil | $249,924 |
| 4 | Max Buschmann | Austria | $195,962 |
| 5 | Brunno Botteon | Brazil | $153,650 |
| 6 | Fabio Wagner | Brazil | $120,475 |
| 7 | Alexandros Theologis | Austria | $94,462 |
| 8 | Biao Ding | Japan | $74,066 |
| 9 | Dalton Hobold | Brazil | $58,074 |
Dalton Hobold sat down at the final table with the shortest stack, and he was the first of the nine finalists heading into the night. Piekazewicz opened from the hijack with nine-seven of clubs, and Hobold defended his big blind with king-queen of diamonds from a 12 big blind stack. Hobold checked the nine-deuce-deuce flop but check-raised all-in after Piekazewicz fired a continuation bet. Piekazewicz called, the turn and river didn't improve Hobold, and he bowed out in ninth place.
A huge pot was created as Biao Ding busted in eighth place. Wagner min-raised under the gun with pocket eights, Soares responded with a three-bet with pocket queens in the cutoff, with Biao four-betting all-in with ace-king from the big blind for 18 big blinds. Only Soares called. Biao spiked an ace on the flop, but Soares hit a two outer on the turn to leave Biao drawing dead.
Seventh place and the last five-figure prize went to Alexandros Theologis. He ran a bluff against Botteon that cost him all but half of a small blind at a time when Botteon had pocket aces that had improved to a set on the turn. It's worth noting that Theologis' play was GTO Wizard-approved based on the solver pop-ups on the GGPoker stream. Unsurprisingly, Theologis couldn't make a comeback from such a perilous position.
The second of the six Brazilian finalists to crash out was Wagner. He had run his luck, first cracking Max Buschmann's queens with ace-eight, then Piekazewicz's aces with king -queen. Wagner was done and dusted after he three-bet all-in for 18 big blinds with ace-six from the big blind after Buschmann opened, then called on the button with ace-jack of hearts. A king-high board was enough to eliminate Wagner.
Botteon led for a short time during five-handed play, yet he was still the next player heading into the night. He lost 21 big blinds with pocket eights against Soares' pocket kings, then lost another chunk after Buschmann backed into a flush.
Botteon's final action in this week's GGMillion$ was to three-bet with queen-jack of diamonds after Buschmann had opened under the gun. Ribeiro flat-called Botteon's three-bet on the button with pocket tens, which folded out the blinds and Buschmann. The flop fell king-queen-five, Botteon checked, Ribeiro bet enough to set his opponent all-in, and Botteon called off his last seven big blinds. A ten on the turn improved Ribeiro to a set, and Botteon busted when the river bricked.
The final table became an all-Brazilian affair after Buschmann's exit. The stacks of the final four were all almost equal until Buschmann started slipping behind over the course of the hour-long four-handed battle.
Buschmann committed his paltry 1.5 big blind stack with queen-deuce in the small blind, and lost to the five-four of Ribeiro courtesy of two five landing on the flop.
It took less than half an hour for the tournament to conclude once three-handed play was reached.
Soares busted in third when he three-bet shoved 17 big blinds with ace-six in the big blind after Piekazewicz opened with ace-jack on the button. Piekazewicz called and spiked an unnecessary jack on the river to send the tournament into the heads-up stage.
Ribeiro held a 58 big blind to 45 big blind advantage over his fellow Brazilian, Piekazewicz, at the start of heads-up play, although the latter quickly reversed those stacks. The chip lead changed hands several times, with neither player able to gain complete control of the one-on-one battle.
Something had to eventually give, and it did so when Ribeiro limped with ace-five, Piekazewicz raised with pocket queen, and then quickly called when Ribeiro shoved his stack into the middle. An ace on the flop put the ball in Ribeiro's court, and although Piekazewicz turned a flush draw, Ribeiro's hand ultimately held.
Ribeiro banked an impressive $406,521, plus a $10,000 package, for the live edition of the GGMillion$ to be held at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise festival later this year.
