Malinowski Walks Away With His Second Super MILLION$ Title
Wiktor Malinowski bulldozed his way to a GGPoker Super MILLION$ title in May 2021 and reeled in a $394,852 score. Almost exactly 13 months later, Malinowski came out on top of a 151 strong field to become a two-time Super MILLION$ champion. This latest victory added $306,923 to the Polish high-stakes specialist's bankroll. Again, he smashed his way through the field.
Malinowski sat down at the final table third in chips with a healthy 65.7 big blind stack before leaving a trail of elite professional poker players in his wake as he marched on to glory. Here is how the final table's action went down.
GGPoker Super MILLION$ Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wiktor Malinowski | Macau | $306,923 |
| 2 | Lev "LevMeAlone" Gottlieb | Mexico | $240,654 |
| 3 | Samuel Vousden | Finland | $188,693 |
| 4 | Mike Watson | Canada | $147,951 |
| 5 | Aleks Ponakovs | Latvia | $116,006 |
| 6 | Bruno Volkmann | Brazil | $90,958 |
| 7 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | $71,319 |
| 8 | Juan Dominguez | Andorra | $55,920 |
| 9 | Conor Beresford | Thailand | $43,846 |
Former Super MILLION$ champion Conor Beresford saw his tournament end abruptly in ninth place after having pocket kings cracked. Beresford min-raised to 80,000 from the cutoff with his pocket kings, and instantly called off the 793,740 he had behind when Lev "LevMeAlone" Gottlieb three-bet all-in for more than 4.8 million on the button, doing so with ace-nine of clubs. Gottlieb's gutsy play was rewarded with an ace on the turn, and Beresford was history.
A battle of the blinds with Malinowski resulted in Juan Dominguez bowing out. Dominguez limped in from the small blind for 50,000 with queen-ten of spade, and Malinowski checked in the big blind with ace-nine. A queen-high flop saw Dominguez check-call a 50,000 bet. Dominguez check-called a 200,000 bet when a nine landed on the turn before check-calling all-in for 794,407 when a second nine completed the board and improved Malinowski to trip nines.
Seventh place went to Artur Martirosian who laddered from last place, improving his take-home pay by almost $30,000 as a result. Martirosian was down to a shade over two big blinds when he moved all-in from the button with ace-trey. Malinowski called in the big blind with king-five. A king on the flop and a five on the turn ended Martirosian's latest deep run.
The in-form Bruno Volkmann was the next player eliminated, and it was Malinowski who did the damage again. The action folded to Volkmann in the small blind and he open-shoved for 1,129,052, or almost 20 big blinds, with ace-six of diamonds. Ordinarily, this would have won the blinds and antes but Malinowski woke up with suited ace-king and instantly called. Volkmann picked up a flush draw on the turn but ultimately missed and lost to Malinowski's superior kicker.
Another battle of the blinds involving Malinowski resulted in Aleks Ponakovs bowing out in fifth place. With blinds of 35,000/70,000/8,500a, Ponakovs jammed for 1,368,488 with nine-eight suited from the small blind, and Malinowski called with ace-ten of diamonds. An ace on the turn left Ponakovs drawing dead.
The final four became three when Mike Watson lost his chips to seemingly unstoppable Malinowski. From the button, Malinowski opened to 200,000, just under three-times the big blind, then called off the additional 508,860 when Watson three-bet all-in from the big blind. Watson flipped over ace-five of diamonds and Malinowski the pocket threes. An ace on the flop looked to have saved Watson's skin, but a three on the river gifted Malinowski a set and the rich became richer.
Heads-up was set when Samuel Vousden crashed out after a clash with Lev "LevMeAlone" Gottlieb did not go to plan. Gottlieb min-raised to 160,000 with pocket aces, Vousden three-bet to 640,000 from the blind with ace-queen, leaving only 1,507,236 behind. Gottlieb smooth called, setting a trap with his bullets. The trap worked like a dream with the flop coming down ace-high. Vousden led for 200,000, and Gottlieb called. A jack on the turn was greeted by a 640,000 bet from Vousden and a call from Gottlien. The nine of hearts river put three hearts on the board but Vousden only had 667,326 chips behind and the pot had swelled to 3,030,000. Vousden ripped it in, Gottlieb beat him into the pot with a call, and it was game over for the flying Finn.
Stacks were relatively even going into heads-up with Malinowski holding a slender lead. It took almost 90-minutes to reach heads-up and another hour of one-on-one battling to conclude the event. The final hand occurred during the 100,000/200,000/25,000a level and saw Gottlieb open to 600,000 with ace-six. Malinowski three-bet all-in with ace-nine, and Gottlieb called off the 3,969,024 chips he had behind. The board did not improve either player, and Malinowski's nine-kicker came into play, busting Gottlieb in second place and securing a second Super MILLION% title for the Macau-based Pole.
