Super MILLION$ Main Event $10,300, $10M Gtd.
Day 3 Completed
Super MILLION$ Main Event $10,300, $10M Gtd.
Day 3 Completed
The 2021 GGPoker Super MILLION$ Week has officially concluded with the completion of the $10,300 Super MILLION$ Main Event. Even though it fell short of the $10 million guarantee by 24 entries, the 976-entry strong field was the biggest the flagship High Roller tournament on GGPoker has ever attracted.
After just two and a half hours, the final table wrapped up and the UK's Ben Ward defeated 2019 WSOPE Main Event champion Alexandros Kolonias in a short-lived heads-up battle. Both players collected seven-figure paydays as Ward earned the top prize of $1,242,332 while Kolonias walked away with $1,000,991.
Javier Gomez turned the second-shortest stack at the start of the final table into a third-place finish for $818,576. The Spanish pro was one of four players who bowed out in the span of just 15 minutes as the tournament raced to a rapid conclusion.
Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ben Ward | United Kingdom | $1,242,332 |
2 | Alexandros Kolonias | Greece | $1,000,991 |
3 | Javier Gomez | Spain | $818,576 |
4 | Sebastian "Weizen" Gaehl | Germany | $669,403 |
5 | Shankar Pillai | United States | $547,414 |
6 | Krasimir Yankov | Bulgaria | $447,657 |
7 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | $366,078 |
8 | Benjamin "Geraaaard" Chalot | France | $299,366 |
After the elimination of Ole Schemion on the final table bubble and the departure of Wei Zhao in the final hand of the night, only eight players remained. Ben Ward was the narrow chip leader ahead of Krasimir Yankov and Alexandros Kolonias while the four players at the bottom of the leaderboard were separated by a mere 12 blinds.
The first hour was very tense and no all-in showdown took place. Shankar Pillai won a big three-way pot with a flopped set of fives to take over the lead for a few hands. However, the American subsequently was not able to keep up the momentum and dropped back into the bunch of short stacks.
Upon returning from the first break, Benjamin "Geraaaard" Chalot was the lowest in chips and eventually got it in with ace-ten against the pocket tens of Thomas Muehloecker. No ace or sufficient broadway cards appeared and Chalot became the first casualty. Muehloecker jumped into third place but he would be the next player to go. In a pivotal flip that set the pace for the remainder of the final table, the Austrian came up second-best with ace-king against the queens of Ward.
Ward assumed control and it took another half an hour for the next elimination. Yankov, who started second in chips, never got much going and lost a flip to Kolonias. The Greek then also knocked out Shankar Pillai and Sebastian "Weizen" Gaehl within the next few minutes to get almost even in chips with Ward.
Javier Gomez had navigated his short stack masterfully until then to not only ladder up but mostly stay out of trouble. When Ward jammed blind-on-blind, he called with ace-queen only to see Ward's queen-jack get there thanks to a jack on the flop.
Heads-up lasted just over ten minutes in total and Kolonias won just four pots. He eventually four-bet jammed pocket nines into the ace-king suited of Ward and there was an ace in the window to seal the victory for the current Mexico resident.
The final table action was also live-streamed on the GGPoker.tv Youtube and Twitch channels with cards-up coverage and commentary by Randy "nanonoko" Lew and Kevin "RotterdaM" van der Kooi. That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting from the high-stakes festival on GGPoker.
The action started with a button min-raise to 1.6 million by Alexandros Kolonias and Ben Ward three-bet to 5.2 million. Back on Kolonias, he moved in for 30.2 million and Ward called with the superior stack.
Alexandros Kolonias:
Ben Ward:
It was a flip that would leave Ward with 36.5 million in chips if he were to lose, still plenty of big blinds. However, the flop vaulted the Brit into the lead and he remained there throughout the turn and river.
Kolonias' bid for another major title ended with a runner-up finish, sweetened by the $1,000,991 consolation prize. Ward collects the far biggest single prize of the entire festival worth $1,242,332.
A recap of today's action is to follow.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ben Ward |
97,245,218
30,377,410
|
30,377,410 |
|
||
Alexandros Kolonias | Busted | |
|
Alexandros Kolonias raised to 1.6 million and was called by Ben Ward in the big blind. On a flop of , Ward check-raised from 800,000 to 3,800,000 and Kolonias folded.
Ward then raised to 1,840,000 and Kolonias called. The flop was checked and so was the turn. Kolonias checked the river and paid off a bet worth 1,940,000 by Ward.
He was shown the for trips kings by the Brit, which Kolonias could not beat with for kings and jacks.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ben Ward |
66,867,808
7,180,000
|
7,180,000 |
|
||
Alexandros Kolonias |
30,377,410
-7,180,000
|
-7,180,000 |
|
Level: 44
Blinds: 400,000/800,000
Ante: 100,000
Ben Ward raised to 1.61 million and Alexandros Kolonias made the call.
The flop was checked and Kolonias bet the turn for 1,118,700. Ward raised that up to 4,480,000 and earned a call.
They then checked the river and Kolonias' won the pot, as Ward's were no longer the best hand.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ben Ward |
59,687,808
-4,174,602
|
-4,174,602 |
|
||
Alexandros Kolonias |
37,557,410
3,695,000
|
3,695,000 |
|
Heads-up kicked off with a very dominant display by Ben Ward, who raked in all but one pot during the battle one-versus-one.
They were all medium-sized pots that either ended preflop or post-flop.
The only hand Kolonias won was a limped pot on which Ward check-called the flop for 700,000. No action followed on the turn and Ward bet the river for 700,000. Kolonias called with and was good versus .
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ben Ward |
63,862,410
4,739,602
|
4,739,602 |
|
||
Alexandros Kolonias |
33,862,410
-4,260,000
|
-4,260,000 |
|
Once Alexandros Kolonias folded on the button, Ben Ward simply pushed from the small blind and he was instantly called by Javier Gomez out of the big blind. The Spaniard had some 15.6 million behind and was in prime shape for a double.
Javier Gomez:
Ben Ward:
Ward, however, paired up on the flop and retained his lead on the turn and river. Gomez was eliminated in 3rd place and has earned a payday of $818,576.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ben Ward |
59,122,808
15,722,220
|
15,722,220 |
|
||
Alexandros Kolonias |
38,122,410
785,000
|
785,000 |
|
||
Javier Gomez | Busted |
Three-handed play started in a very aggressive way and Javier Gomez chipped up through Ben Ward.
Ward got those chips back shortly after when he took on Alexandros Kolonias.
The Brit min-raised to 1.4 million and Kolonias defended the big blind. On a flop both checked and Kolonias bet the turn for 2,247,300. Ward raised to 6,160,000 and that won the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ben Ward |
43,400,588
3,032,300
|
3,032,300 |
|
||
Alexandros Kolonias |
37,337,410
-5,217,300
|
-5,217,300 |
|
||
Javier Gomez |
16,507,220
2,185,000
|
2,185,000 |
Sebastian "Weizen" Gaehl had chipped up with a jam that got through and up next, it was Alexandros Kolonias that shipped it in from the small blind. Gaehl had 6.4 million behind and called out of the big blind.
Sebastian "Weizen" Gaehl:
Alexandros Kolonias:
The board ran out and the queen on the turn sent Gaehl out in 4th place.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alexandros Kolonias |
42,554,710
6,574,820
|
6,574,820 |
|
||
Ben Ward |
40,368,288
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
||
Javier Gomez |
14,322,220
-500,000
|
-500,000 |
Sebastian "Weizen" Gaehl | Busted |