GGPOKER

Super MILLION$ Won by Brazilian Melbi Lau as Former Winners Fall Short 

The latest GGPoker Super MILLION$ final table saw a host of former winners eclipsed by Brazilian player Melbi Lau as he stood triumphant over the final table, winning $329,282 after seeing off stars such as Barak Wisbrod, Niklas Astedt, and Anatoly Filatov along the way. With well over $1.25 million awarded at the final table alone in the $10,000-entry weekly event, the high roller bragging rights went to South America yet again after the latest in a long line of victories for Brazil.

Hero to Zero for Chip Leader 

Kicking off the final table in the lead was a South American, but it wasn’t the eventual winner. Argentinian player ‘sentimiento’ began proceedings with an impressive 96 big blinds, which was some way clear of Israel’s Barak Wisbrod (70 big blinds). Between the pair, they had three victories, with Wisbrod claiming the second of his two wins earlier this year. Melbi Lau began the last nine sitting third in chips with 58 big blinds as they looked to win their maiden title.

Others vying for victory included Anatoly Filatov, the Russian who was going for title number two holding 36 big blinds to start. Another superstar hoping to make it a Super MILLION$ double was the Swedish player and former online world number one Niklas Astedt but he was a little short on 23 big blinds, just ahead of two-time winner ‘spaise411’ at 21 big blinds.

Despite starting with a convincing chip lead, ‘sentimiento’ showed that in No Limit Hold’em, no lead is ever protected from the vicissitudes of the game’s unique format. Slipping down the ranks, the Argentinian called off his stack in the big blind with queen-four offsuit, but Barak Wisbrod’s shove from the small blind with pocket fives held across the K-T-8-A-6 board. And the Argentine player cashed for $47,040 in ninth place.

Russian Roulette Sees Champions Fall

The Russian player ‘spaise411’ was the next to bust, cashing for $59,993 in eighth place. All-in with pocket tens, he couldn’t survive against Melbi Lau’s ace-king. A flop of J-8-7 was safe enough, but a king on both the turn and the river reduced the field to seven players and further strengthened the chip leader’s dominance.

Austrian player ‘EzzzGame’ bet half his stack with king-queen and called off the rest when Wisbrod shoved. Unfortunately for the former, the Israeli player had pocket aces, and they held with ease through the K-T-7-8-J board after something of a sweat from the flop. ‘EzzzGame’ cashed for $76,514.

Twenty minutes later, the final table – which lasted only two hours in its entirety – was reduced to just five players. Anatoly Filatov moved all-in with king-deuce of spades, and ‘Supertutu’ made the call with pocket sevens. Melbi Lau had ace-eight, and elected to call too, but it was a ‘Supertutu’ hold and more than double up as Filatov fell for a cash worth $97,584. It wasn’t long before the Russian was joined on the rail by ‘Supertutu’, who won $124,457 in fifth place when their seven-eight of diamonds lost to Astedt’s ace-queen of clubs, on the board of 9-8-2-A-4 sending play four-handed to the finish.

Astedt and Wisbrod Unable to Win Through Frantic Finale 

Both Niklas Astedt and Barak Wisbrod were going for another trophy in two Super MILLION$ careers that have been stunning to behold. Neither were successful in sealing the deal, however, as Lau became a first-time winner. The Croatian player ‘M0FF0’ moved all-in with four-five of clubs, but Lau’s pocket sixes held on the A-9-7-7-2 board as Lau strengthened his chip lead, holding 11.7m to Astedt (2.6m) and Wisbrod (1.5m) with their comparatively small stacks. ‘M0FF0’ could only head to the virtual rail, collecting $158,729 for finishing in fourth.

Astedt couldn’t last much longer, raising with ace-ten offsuit, then calling Lau’s shove with the suited king-jack of hearts. The flop looked good for the Swede, coming as it did with an ace. But a jack on both the turn and the river saw Astedt’s hopes of a second Super MILLION$ title sunk in spectacular fashion. Instead, he took home $202,438 for finishing third, leaving Wisbrod and Lau to contest the title.

Heads-up, the eventual winner started with a big lead, with over five times the chips of his opponent. Despite that, Wisbrod – a two-time former winner – battled bravely, even taking the lead at one point. Unfortunately for him, he lost a pivotal pot when Wisbrod’s queen-nine of spades failed to overtake Lau’s ace-three as the chips went all in on a board showing J-3-3-T with two spades. The river was the deuce of clubs and that gave Lau almost all the chips. Two hands later, it was all over, as king-six lost to ace-ten suited as a board of Q-8-2-4-A ended matters with top pair on the river to give the Brazilian player Melbi Lau their first title and the $329,282 top prize. Wisbrod came oh so close to winning his third Super MILLION$, but fell just short, claiming $258,185 in second place.

All the action was brought to life by Jeff Gross and guest co-commentator Lucas Greenwood on the GGPoker YouTube channel.

GGPoker Super MILLION$ April 25th, 2023 Final Table Results:
Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Melbi Lau	Brazil	$329,282
2nd	Barak Wisbrod	Israel	$258,185
3rd	Niklas Astedt	Sweden	$202,438
4th	M0FF0	Croatia	$158,729
5th	Supertutu	Hong Kong	$124,457
6th	Anatoly Filatov	Russia	$97,584
7th	EzzzGame	Austria	$76,514
8th	spaise411	Russia	$59,993
9th	sentimiento’	Argentina	$47,040

2023 Week 7                                             2023 Week 9

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.