After playing in every single one of the 42 editions of the GGPoker Super MILLION$, high-stakes tournament superstar Adrian Mateos finally broke through in his fifth final table appearance to capture his first Super MILLION$ title and this week’s $428,624 first-place prize.
It has been a grind for Mateos who had not only never missed a week of this $10K tournament, but, in all of his previous efforts, had fired a total of 96 entries without locking up a win. However, this week it all came together for the Spanish pro. Mateos entered the final table as the chip leader, navigated a tough field that included Sam Greenwood, Joao Vieira, David Coleman, Art Papazyan, and last week’s winner (and current #1-ranked player in the world) Yuri Dzivielevski, and battled back from a significant heads-up chip deficit against Belarusian grinder Aliaksei Boika to take home the win.
After mounting a heads-up comeback of his own last week to win a Super MILLION$ title, Dzivielevski entered this week’s final table with the rare chance to go back-to-back. That opportunity came to an end thanks to an early final table clash with Mateos. When folded to in the small blind Mateos open-shoved his 
on a short-stacked Dzivielevski in the big blind with 
. Dzivielevski made the call and when the flop came 
, Mateos took the lead in the hand leaving Dzivielevski looking for one of the final two sixes in the deck. The turn came the 
and the river the 
, ending Dzivielevski’s final run and sending him home in ninth place for $53,578.
Pocket nines were just no good to Sam Greenwood in this event. First, Greenwood picked them up and promptly lost the majority of his stack to David Coleman who held 
in an all-in preflop confrontation. The very next hand Greenwood, now crippled, picked up pocket nines up again. When folded to in the small blind, Greenwood moved all-in with his 
and Joao Vieira made the call from the big blind with his 
. The 
flop kept Greenwood in the lead. And the 
was still safe but added some flush outs for Vieira. The river completed a straight for Vieira and sent Greenwood out in eighth place for $69,482.
Despite starting the day fourth in chips, Russia’s ‘RRomashka’ found themselves short on chips in the early going. They open-shoved their final five big blinds with 
and got called by ‘Nator’ on the button holding 
. The board ran out 
, holding up for ‘Nator’ small pocket pair and ending ‘RRomashka’s run in seventh for $90,107.
On the hand before the first break of the day, the current Online Player of the Year race leader Joao Vieira opened with the in late position. ‘Nator’ three-bet from the small blind with the 
. The flop came 
, giving ‘Nator’ a flopped full house. ‘Nator’ led with a bet and Vieira called with his flush draw. The 
turn brought in Vieira’s flush, which proved to his undoing. After ‘Nator’ checked, Vieira put out a bet and ‘Nator’ just called. The hit the river and ‘Nator’ checked his full house once again. Vieira took his time and eventually settled on quarter-pot bet, leaving himself with just three big blinds behind. ‘Nator’ promptly check-raised Vieira and after taking a few more seconds to think about it, Vieira called off, ending his tournament in sixth place for $116,854.
Play slowed down after Vieira’s elimination and nearly an hour later, Art Papazyan put in a raise under the gun with . It folded around to Coleman in the big blind who found himself with under five big blinds behind. Coleman made the call and the pair saw a flop of . Coleman then put the rest of his stack in the middle with his flopped pair and Papazyan made the call with his two overcards and backdoor flush draw. The turn was the , putting Papazyan in control. The 
river was no help for Coleman who adds another Super MILLION$ cash to his resume by finishing in fifth for $151,541.
Despite picking up the knockout, Papazyan wasn’t quite in the clear. The well-known cash game pro remained the short stack through most of four-handed play. When action folded to Aliaksei Boika in the small blind with 
, he decided to move all-in over Papazyan’s 12 big blind stack. Papazyan made the call holding 
and the pair watched as the flop came 
, giving Boika top pair. The 
turn and 
river didn’t improve Papazyan who, after entering the final table as the short stack, laddered up five spots and took home a $196,525 payday for fourth place.
On the very next hand, with just under 20 big blinds, ‘Nator’ raised from the small blind with . Mateos, in the big blind, made the call with 
. The 
flop gave Mateos both flush and straight outs to ‘Nator’s overcards. ‘Nator’ took the lead and bet out, after a couple of seconds Mateos simply shoved all-in. Going into the tank themselves, ‘Nator’ let a few seconds pass before making the call. The turn was the , bringing some ‘Nator’ some additional outs but the river was the , bringing Mateos a pair of threes and sending ‘Nator’ out in third for $254,861 in just their sixth Super MILLION$ tournament.
Boika started the heads-up match against Mateos with a nearly 2:1 chip lead. But over the first dozen hands, Mateos wrestled that away. Not finished, Boika battled back and chipped up. Eventually, it looked like Boika was going to wrap up the tournament with a more than 5:1 chip lead. The pair got it all-in with Boika holding and the short-stacked Mateos holding 
. Mateos flopped a flush draw, completed the flush on the turn and after that double up rode the momentum back into the chip lead.
On the final hand, Mateos raised on the button with the 
and Boika three-bet the big blind with the 
. After Mateos called, the flop came 
bringing both players a pair. Both players checked and the came on the turn, keeping Mateos in the lead, but bringing an open-ended straight draw for Boika. Boika put out a bet and Mateos flat called. The river was the 
giving Mateos top two pair and when Boika checked to him Mateos moved all-in. Boika, with only two seconds left in his timebank, was forced to make a quick decision. He called.
Boika ended up as the runner-up and took home $330,514 while Adrian Mateos, after 42 attempts, ended the day as the Super MILLION$ champion, earning $428,624.
Super MILLION$ Final Table Results (3/30)
1. Adrian Mateos – $428,624
2. Aliaksei Boika – $330,514
3. ‘Nator’ – $254,861
4. Art Papazyan – $196,525
5. David Coleman – $151,541
6. Joao Vieira – $116,854
7. RRomashka – $90,107
8. Sam Greenwood – $69,482
9. Yuri Dzivielevski – $53,578