THE DAILY SCOOP – GGMillion$ Season 2023 Episode 20
Juan Dominguez Wins Second GGMillion$ Title for $263k
An exciting final table saw the Spanish poker professional Juan Dominguez deliver his second GGMillion$ title, beating Jans Arends heads-up and denying the Dutchman that same achievement. Both men sat down at the final table with the same number of big blinds, but the Spanish player came out on top after a rollercoaster final table.
First-Timers Run Into Early Bad Luck
The drama got underway with ‘Picasso98’ from Montenegro, leading significantly with 136 big blinds as they went for their third GGMillion$ victory. Behind them, Tony Lin (63BB) was going for his first, but other chasers were looking to add to their GGMillion$ haul. Dutchman Jans Arends and Juan Dominguez were both seeking a second victory, starting with 40 big blinds, and ‘SmilleThHero’ followed with only one fewer big blind, chasing title #3.
Matthew Stumpf (35BB) was also going for a third win, while ‘yyyyy96’ was going for a second title, in with 28 big blinds. Also starting with 28 big blinds was ‘M@rllorye,’ while ‘shanghai666’ had ten big blinds, the latter two players each holding the dream of winning their maiden title.
Although holding on for some time, ‘shanghai666’ was the first player to bust, the Chinese player calling from the big blind with a suited eight-five of hearts, but put to the test by ‘Picasso98’ with king-jack of clubs.
The China-based player drew thin after the K-8-3 flop with two clubs, and the nine of hearts didn’t help on the turn. The queen of spades fell on the river and was not the two-outer ‘shanghai666’ needed. They bowed out in ninth place for $36,381.
Panamanian player ‘M@rllorye’ was out in eighth place, winning $46,585 when they shoved under-the-gun for five big blinds with pocket jacks. ‘SmilleThHero’ was in the next seat with pocket aces and their call didn’t induce any more action, leaving them to mop up the pot after a king-high board with no jacks in sight, condemning the Panama-based player to the rail.
Picasso Paints a Picture
Seven remained and ‘Picasso98’ was in control. After an hour of action and only two bust-outs, the Montenegrin chip leader sat with 4.8 million chips, more than double anyone else’s stack. Shoving from the small blind with ten-nine, ‘Picasso98’ was behind when ‘yyyyy96’ called from the big blind with a king-ten. Catching a nine on the flop and turn meant that the rich only got richer, and ‘yyyyy96’ busted for a score of $59,651.
Out next was the unfortunate Matthew Stumpf, who fell short of a third GGMillion$ victory when his pocket kings were crushed by ‘Picasso98’s pocket aces. The money going into the middle on a board showed 6-T-Q-Q. No king came to the rescue on the river and Stumpf departed with a sixth-place result worth $76,382.
Austrian player ‘SmilleThHero’ fell four places short of a third GGMillion$ title when they cashed out in fifth place for $97,806. Three-bet shoving pre-flop with king-jack offsuit, Jans Arends called with ace-queen in the big blind and through a board of 8-8-2-Q-5, the Dutchman defeated his European opponent, catapulting himself back into contention.
Dominguez Dominates Final Stages
With four players remaining, the stacks were leveling out after that most recent bust-out. Arends sat on 2.16 million chips, a fraction more than Spaniard Juan Domingue’s 2.11 million. With 2.55 million, Tony Lin was closest to the chip leader, but ‘Picasso98’ still held a formidable lead with 5.65 million chips.
Dominguez was the player to chip up during the next period, while Tony Lin’s stack went in the opposite direction. When Lin four-bet shoved pre-flop with ace-jack, he must have hoped he was ahead, but he didn’t even have two live cards, Dominguez having three-bet with ace-king. The board of 8-7-6-T-4 sent Lin home with a score of $125,238, and another potential first-time winner crashed out.
Dominguez had timed his run perfectly and, in a pivotal hand, timed his cards perfectly too. On a board of 5-4-2-A-T, Dominguez shoved with queen-three for a turned straight, and ‘Picasso98’ saw his hopes crumble as he made the call with ace-seven, busting in third place for $160,365.
Heads-up, Dominguez had an 11:1 chip lead over Jans Arends, and the Dutch player could not climb the mountain. All-in with queen-nine, Arends started ahead of Dominguez’s jack-three, but the board of 3-2-A-2-5 condemned Arends to a runner-up finish worth $205,344, while it was the Spanish pro Dominguez who earned his second GGMillion$ title and the top prize of $262,938.
You can watch all the final table action as it played out in the company of Jeff Gross and special guest Nikita Luther right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlcOhSVWWZk
GGPoker GG MILLION$ Tue 25th July 2023 Final Table Results: |
|||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Army034 | Russia | $943,582 |
| 2nd | youngmoney23 | Lebanon | $728,706 |
| 3rd | focus_nik | Belarus | $563,017 |
| 4th | No-Ola | Hong Kong | $435,253 |
| 5th | LemonHouse | Mexico | $336,734 |
| 6th | Karma is a Cat | Canada | $260,765 |
| 7th | Mike Watson | Canada | $202,185 |
| 8th | Dmitry Grinenko | Kazakhstan | $157,014 |
| 9th | Linus Hjulstrom | Norway | $122,182 |
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.