Korea’s Sung Joo ‘ArtePokerTV’ Hyun earned his first GGPoker Super MILLION$ this week after topping the 241-entry field for a $487,256 payday.
Prior to this week, Hyun, a WSOP online bracelet winner, had very little experience in this event. His only other time firing the tournament he cashed for just over $22,000. But that didn’t seem to be a problem for Hyun, who started the day in the bottom half of the chip counts but fought his way up the leaderboard against tough opposition including Rui Ferreira, Daniel Dvoress, Aleks Ponakovs, and eventual runner-up Dario Sammartino.
It took nearly an hour for the eliminations to begin as Daniel Dvoress, who started the final table third in chips, saw his stack dwindle and with the blinds at 35,000/70,000 found himself on the bottom of the chip counts. After Aleka Ponakovs opened from the hijack to 175,000 holding the 
, it folded to Dvoress in the big blind holding 
and he opted to defend. The flop came 
, giving Ponakovs middle pair but Dvoress picked up the nut flush draw and backdoor straight opportunities. Dvoress checked it over to Ponakovs who put out a small bet of 98,000. Dvoress then jammed all-in and Ponakovs made the call. The turn was the 
and the river came the 
and Dvoress was out in ninth place for $60,907.
The blinds were at 40,000/80,000 when ‘joyeux’ open shipped their final six big blinds with the 
. It folded around to Rui Ferreira in the big blind with 
and the Brazilian pro made the quick call. The flop came 
giving ‘joyeux’ some additional outs by flopping middle pair. But the turn came the 
, improving Ferreira to a set and leaving ‘joyeux’ looking to drill a gutshot straight. But the river was the , sending ‘joyeux’ out the door in eighth place for $78,986.
Two hands later, ‘pitrasyan’, who had been clinging to short stack themselves, put their final 337,000 in the middle with the 
. It nearly got through, but when ‘ProbierEs’ woke up with 
in the big blind they made the call putting ‘pitrasyan’ at risk. The board came 
keeping the ace-ten of ‘ProbierEs’ ahead the entire time and ending ‘pitrasyan’s run in seventh place for $102,433, their first-ever cash in a Super MILLION$ event.
Six-handed play lasted the better part of three levels and with the blinds at 80,000/160,000. After ‘ProbierES’ was eliminated in sixth place by Ferreira for $132,839. Ponakovs, found himself with a little over 12 big blinds and looking for a spot to climb back up the chip counts. When it folded to Korea’s Sung Joo ‘ArtePokerTV’ Hyun in the small blind with 
, he raised to 464,000. Ponakovs picked up 
in the big blind and moved all-in for just over 2 million. Hyun, who had recently doubled through Ferreira, made the call putting Ponakovs at risk. It was basically a coin flip until the flop came 
, putting Hyun way ahead. The turn was the , leaving Ponakovs looking for one of the final two fours in the deck. The river was the and Ponakovs’ day ended in fifth place which was good for $172,271.
Four-handed play lasted into the 100,000/200,000 level and as the stacks began to get shallow Russia’s ‘spaise411’ found themselves sitting on just eight big blinds. From under the gun, ‘spaise411’ moved all-in holding the 
. Next to act, Hyun flatted the 1.6 million on the button, and both Ferreira and Dario Sammartino let go of the blinds. The flop came 
, giving Hyun top pair but that didn’t change ‘spaise411’s situation. The 
turn was no help and when the completed the board, ‘spaise411’ hit the rail in fourth place for $223,408.
With the final three, essentially, even in chips the battle began. They passed the chip lead around but eventually, Hyun took control of the tournament. With the blinds up to 150,000/300,000, Hyun called in the small blind with and Ferreira, in the big blind, checked his option holding the 
. The flop came 
, the action checked through to the 
turn. Hyun then led for nearly 900,000 and Ferreira called with his pair of deuces. The 
river gave both players a full house and Hyun led once again, this time for more than enough to put Ferreira all-in. Ferreira went into the tank letting nearly a minute of his time bank go by before making the call and seeing Hyun’s bigger full house. Ferreira finished in third place and collected $289,724 as a consolation.
Hyun started heads-up play with a better than 3.5-1 chip lead but Sammartino heated up and took over the chip lead. But that lead didn’t last long. Sammartino raised the button to 600,000 with the 
and Hyun quickly three-bet to 1.85 million with the 
which Sammartino called. The flop came 
giving Sammartino top pair. Hyun led for just under 1 million. Sammartino raised to 2.1 million and with no time left in his time bank, Hyun called. The turn was the , giving Hyun some additional outs. Hyun checked it over to Sammartino who checked it back. The river was the 
bringing in the backdoor straight for Hyun, who then moved all-in. Sammartino was also out of extra time and with just five extra seconds to act, made the call. Giving Hyun the pure double up and sending him back in control of the chip lead.
The final hand took place moments later when Sammartino shipped his final eight big blinds in the middle with the and Hyun called for it all with the . The board ran out 
, giving Hyun the tournament when the ace came on the river. Sammartino settled for second place and a $375,726 payday while Hyun collected $487,256 as the winner.
GGPoker Super MILLION$ Final Table Results (2/15)
- Sung Joo ‘ArtePokerTV’ Hyun – $487,256
- Dario Sammartino – $375,726
- Rui Ferreira – $289,724
- ‘spaise411’ – $223,408
- Aleks Ponakovs – $172,271
- ‘ProbierEs’ – $132,839
- ‘pitrasyan’ – $102,433
- ‘joyeux’ – $78,986
- Daniel Dvoress – $60,907