Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.
Niklas Astedt, the former worldwide #1-ranked pro and one of the most decorated online poker players in history, captured this week’s GGPoker Super MILLION$ title, the third of his career, and added the $337,599 first-place prize to his more than $22.4 million in career recorded online earnings.
Astedt fought through this week’s field of 171 entries to reach a record-extending thirteenth Super MILLION$ final table. A favorite in any field, the winner of the PocketFives #1 NumberOne award was, once again, faced with top-tier competition en route to the win. Newly minted PokerStars pro Benjamin Rolle, Canada’s #1-ranked Mike Watson, 2019 WSOP Main Event finalist Dario Sammartino, and the start of day chip leader Kahle Burns all made the final nine, but in the end, it was Astedt that became just the second player in Super MILLION$ history to record more than two victories.
On the very first hand of the final table, with the blinds at 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante) current worldwide #5-ranked pro Mike Watson opened to 88,000 from the cutoff with 
. After ‘Neel’ called from the button holding 
, Astedt three-bet to 332,500 from the small blind. When the action got back to Watson, he moved all-in for just over 1 million in chip and when ‘Neel’ released his hand, Astedt quickly called putting Watson at risk. The flop came 
, leaving Watson looking for help to survive. The turn was the 
, opening the door for a gutshot straight if he could catch one of the two remaining kings. But the river came the 
and Watson’s day was over in just one hand as he exited in ninth place for $52,486.
While Watson was felted quickly, the rest of the table had a mind to stick around for a while. The eight players passed chips around for more than an hour and twenty minutes before the next player hit the rail. The blinds were up to 35,000/70,000 (8,500 ante) and Dario Sammartino found himself sitting on the short stack with fewer than 10 big blinds left. The action folded to him in the small blind and he shipped all-in for just over 550,000 with 
and Benjamin Rolle, in the big blind, made the call with a dominating 
. The 
flop offered Sammartino some chop opportunities to go along with his outs. The turn was the 
, keeping kickers in play. The river was no help to Sammartino and the former 2019 WSOP Main Event final tablist added another $66,235 to his bankroll for an eighth-place finish. After the hand, Rolle, who started the day ninth in chips, has climbed to third overall.
With the blinds at 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante), Eelis Parssinen woke up with 
in the small blind. With the table folding to him, he put in a raise to 200,000 and a short-stacked ‘oldfishing’ decided to defend his big blind with the 
. The 
flop gave ‘oldfishing’ a pair and a flush draw and when Parssinen bet 120,000 into him with his aces ‘oldfishing’ went with his hand and moved all-in. Parssinen quickly called and the pair saw a turn of the 
, sending ‘oldfishing’s two pair into the lead. However, the river came the 
, giving Parssinen a better two pair and ending ‘oldfishing’s run in seventh place for $83,585.
India’s ‘Neel’ found themselves slipping in the chip counts and when the blinds hit 60,000/120,000 (15,000 ante) he was looking for a spot to pick up some chips. When it folded to him in the cutoff, he put in a raise holding 
to 900,000, leaving himself with roughly 5 big blinds behind. On the button, Astedt looked at and put in a raise to 2.2 million, more than enough to put everyone left in the hand all-in. The blinds both folded and when it came back to ‘Neel’, he eventually shipped all-in. The flop came 
, giving ‘Neel’ outs to a gutshot straight. The 
turn changed nothing and when the 
river hit, Astedt picked up the healthy pot and increased his chip lead to roughly double the next closest player. ‘Neel’, who won his way into this week’s Super MILLION$ on a $525 satellite, parlayed that seat into a $105,482 payday for his sixth-place finish.
After ‘Neel’ departed, Brazil’s Rodrigo Selouan was firmly in last place with roughly six big blinds in his stack. Four hands later, Rolle opened the button to 240,000 with his and after Astedt folded his small blind, Selouan defended his big blind with the 
. The 
flop gave both players a pair and when Selouan checked it over to Rolle, the new PokerStars Pro put in a bet of 120,000. Selouan check-shipped his stack of just over 500,000 and Rolle snap-called. The and completed the board sending Selouan out in fifth for $133,113.
Six hands later it was Parssinen’s turn to be all-in. During the same level, Astedt opened first-to-act to 240,000 with 
. Four-handed, and on the button, Parssinen three-bet shoved his 14 big blind stack holding 
. When the action returned to Astedt, he made the call and the flop came 
, giving Parssinen top pair but providing Astedt with additional flush outs and backdoor straight outs. The turn was the giving Astedt open-ended straight outs as well. Parssinen couldn’t dodge all of Astedt’s outs as the river gave Astedt the flush and the hand. Parssinen, who started the day second in chips, wrapped up in fourth place which was good for $167,983.
Three-handed play lasted twenty minutes with start-of-day chip leader Kahle Burns looking up at both Rolle and Astedt, each of which had more than three times his stack. The blinds were up to 80,000/160,000 (20,000 ante) when Burns completed his small blind holding 
and Rolle checked his option in the big blind with . The 
flop brought a pair for Rolle and the action checked through. The turn was the 
and again, the action went check-check. The hit the river pairing both, but improving Rolle to two pair. Burns led the river for 462,000 and after a few moments, Rolle moved all-in. Burns took just a few seconds before making the call for the rest of his stack and seeing the bad news. Burns took home $211,988 for his third-place finish.
Heads-up play between Rolle and Astedt started with Rolle having a 10 big blind chip lead. Astedt quickly clawed back the chip lead and was on the verge of closing it out a number of times until Rolle turned the tides once again. It became an entertaining back and forth affair with both players finding themselves on the brink of elimination multiple times.
After Astedt picked off a river bluff attempt by Rolle with the blinds up to 200,000/400,000 (50,000 ante) – one of the longest Super MILLION$ in recent history – Rolle found himself left with fewer than 10 big blinds as Astedt continued to apply maximum pressure. The final hand had Rolle shipping nearly 3 million on the button with 
and Astedt making the quick call in the big blind with his . The 
flop looked good for Rolle, giving him flush and straight outs to go along with pair possibilities. The turn was the and Rolle was left looking for one of his 17 outs. The was not one of them and Rolle, who rose up from the shortest stack at the start of the day, bowed out as the runner-up and collected $267,520.
Niklas Astedt picked up $337,559 for his third Super MILLION$ victory. The former worldwide #1-ranked pro joins Michael Addamo as the only two players to win a Super MILLION$ in both Season One and Season Two.
Super MILLION$ Final Table Results (8/24)
- Niklas Astedt – $337,599
- Benjamin Rolle – $267,520
- Kahle Burns – $211,988
- Eelis Parssinen – $167,983
- Rodrigo Selouan – $133,113
- ‘Neel’ – $105,482
- ‘oldfishing’ – $83,585
- Dario Sammartino – $66,235
- Mike Watson – $52,486