A who’s who of online poker superstars had a seat at the final table of this week’s GGPoker Super MILLION$ where Austria’s Claas Segebrecht toppled the 123-entry field to earn his first Super MILLION$ title and the $263,285 first-place prize.
Although Segebrecht started the day with the chip lead, to earn the victory, he would have to face off against some of the biggest names in the game. Two-time Super MILLION$ winner Joakim Andersson was in the top third of chip counts and was closely followed by Uruguay’s Ramiro Petrone, former #1-ranked online crusher Simon Mattsson, current #2-ranked Bruno Volkmann, high-stakes pro Sergio Aido, and the current top-ranked player in the world, Yuri Dzivielvski.
Dzivielevski must have known that it was going to be an uphill battle when he started the day with fewer than 10 big blinds. In the early going, with blinds at 17,500/35,00 (4,500 ante) Dzivielevski found a spot to try and pick up some chips when the action folded to him on the button with 
. Dzivielevski shoved for just over 180,000 and Segebrecht, with the chip lead, made the call holding 
. The flop came 
, keeping Dzivielevski’s dominating hand in the lead. However, the turn came the 
and turned the tables, leaving the Brazilian looking for one of the last queens in the deck. The river was the 
and Dzivielevski exited in ninth place for $36,982.
Roughly ten minutes later the blinds were up to 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante) when a short-stacked Ramiro Petrone opened the action in mid-position to 200,00 with 
, leaving himself 1/5th of a small blind behind. From the cutoff Joakim Andersson three-bet to 360,000 with 
. When it got back to Petrone he quickly committed the rest of his chips and the pair saw a flop of 
, giving Andersson top pair and leaving Petrone looking for help. The turn was the 
, bringing Petrone an extra out with a gutshot straight draw, but the river was the 
ending Petrone’s run in eighth place for $47,355.
It wasn’t long before another short stack took their shot at doubling. When the action folded to Sergio Aido on the button he shipped his eight big blind stack with 
. Andersson was in the small blind with 
and three-bet enough to cover Bruno Volkmann in the big blind, who quickly folded leaving Andersson heads-up against Aido. The flop came 
and while technically Aido still had the best hand, he was quickly an underdog with Andersson’s pair and nut flush draw. The turn was the 
, bringing some extra chop possibilities for the pair, but the shipped the pot to Andersson and shipped Aido out in seventh place which was good for $60,637.
The blinds were up to 25,000/50,000 (6,000 ante) when ‘meow41’ opened from under the gun to 100,000 with 
and Sweden’s Simon Mattsson on the button, with 16 big blinds left, put in a three-bet to 450,000 with . After the blinds folded, ‘meow41’ four-bet for more than Mattsson’s whole stack. Mattsson made the call with his tournament on the line and the flop came out 
, leaving Mattsson to look for runner-runner help. The turn was the , and Mattson was drawing dead to the 
river. Mattsson, who won the Super MILLION$ earlier in July, settled for a sixth-place finish and added $77,645 to his more than $17.6 million in recorded lifetime earnings.
With the blinds at 30,000/60,000 (7,500), a classic cooler brought about the end for the next to exit. Andersson had wrestled away the chip lead from Segebrecht by a slim margin and was looking to add on when he picked up and raised to 132,600 from under the gun. The action folded to Segebrecht in the big blind who put in a three-bet to 564,000 with . Andersson flat called and the pair took a flop of 
. Segebrecht led for just over 286k prompting Andersson to raise to over 771,000. Segebrecht just called and the turn came the 
. Segebrecht checked it over to Andersson who bet for over 777,000. After taking some time, Segebrecht check-shipped his stack of more than 1.9 million and Andersson made the call. The river was the giving Segebrecht a massive chip lead and leaving Andersson with just two big blinds which he lost two hands later which his 
couldn’t outrun Segebrecht’s . The two-time Super MILLION$ champ finished in fifth place and collected $99,422 as a consolation.
Segebrecht was back to cooling people off when, at four-handed, the blinds went up to 35,000/70,000 (8,500) ante. Folded to the small blind, Segebrecht put in a raise to 175,000 with the and Chris Puetz, with roughly 15 big blinds, defended from the big blind holding 
. The flop came 
and Segebrecht checked it over to Puetz who checked it back. The turn came the giving both a gutshot straight draw with any ten. Segebrecht checked again and after taking some time, Puetz bet 203,000 which Segebrecht called. The river was the giving both a straight, but giving Segebrecht the nut straight. Segebrecht checked for a third time and Puetz shipped his final ten big blinds which Segebrecht snap-called. Puetz was sent to the rail in fourth place where he picked up $127,308.
With three players remaining, the dynamics began to shift. Volkmann, who was sitting on a short stack, won some key hands and took over the chip lead from Segebrecht. When the blinds climbed to 50,000/100,000 (12,500), Volkmann put in a raise to 200,000 on the button with [sq]
. Then from the small blind, ‘meow41’, put in a massive raise to 2.5 million with , leaving himself with just five big blinds behind. But in the big blind, Segebrecht woke up with and shipped his stack of 3.6 million. Volkmann folded and ‘meow41’ put the rest of his chips in the middle. The board ran out keeping Segebrecht’s aces ahead the entire time and ending Canada’s ‘meow41’ run in third place. ‘meow41’ got into this week’s Super MILLION$ on a $1,000 satellite and left it with a $163.016.
Segebrecht kicked off heads-up play against Volkmann with the chip lead, but Volkmann quickly took it back. From there the pair battled, passing the chip lead back and forth. Eventually, the momentum returned for Segebrecht and he built a chip lead he wouldn’t surrender. In Level 35, with the blinds at 70,000/140,000 (17,500 ante), Volkmann had lost many hands in a row leading up to the tournament’s final hand. Segebrecht flatted the button holding and Volkmann raises to 525,125 off his 20 big blind stack with 
. Segebrecht called and the flop came . Volkmann led for just over 271,000 and Segebrecht made the call. The turn was the , giving Segebrecht top pair. Volkmann fired again, this time for 476,000, and Segebrecht, again, just called. The river was the and when Volkmann checked, Segebrecht shoved. With plenty of draws having missed, Volkmann tanked and eventually called off for it all and was shown the winner. Volkmann finished up as the runner-up and received $208,738 while Claas Segebrecht scored his first Super MILLION$ title and the $267,285 first-place prize.
Super MILLION$ Final Table Results (7/27)
- Claas Segebrecht – $267,285
- Bruno Volkmann – $208,738
- ‘meow41’ – $163,016
- Chris Puetz – $127,308
- Joakim Andersson – $99,422
- Simon Mattsson – $77,645
- Sergio Aido – $60,637
- Ramiro Petrone – $47,355
- Yuri Dzivielevski – $36,982