The $5,300 BetMGM Poker Millionaire Championship at the Borgata Big Big Buy-In Series was built for drama, and it delivered in every way. What began with a $3,000,000 guarantee and the promise of $1,000,000 for first place turned into a 670-entry battle that pushed the prize pool to a massive $3,350,000.
Day 2 saw the bubble burst after a marathon grind, and 31 players advanced to Day 3. The roster was loaded with talent, including Matt Glantz, Chance Kornuth, Soheb Porbandarwala, Aaron Pinson, Mike Leah, Daniel Buzgon, Andrew Porter, Edward Leonard, and even former WSOP Main Event champion Greg Merson.
Kurshumi’s breakthrough moment
By the time the dust cleared on Day 3, the final table was set, and it was as tough as advertised. Porbandarwala started the day as the chip leader and carried momentum into the finale, joined by Glantz, already with one trophy in this series, and Kornuth, the longtime high-stakes crusher.
Veterans like Leah, Leonard, and Porter were all in the mix, making it a final table stacked with experience and firepower. And yet, despite all that talent, it was Ardit Kurshumi who emerged as the standout.
He is certainly no slouch when it comes to tournament poker, with over $1 million in live tournament earnings, according to his Hendon Mob profile, but the self-proclaimed cash specialist said this was the breakthrough he had been chasing.
“I’ve had so many close calls, but I always fell short,” he said. “This time, I just knew it was my tournament. Sometimes you can feel it, and I felt it from the start.”
Kurshumi gets lucky to crack aces
Sitting in the middle of the pack to start the final table, he put together a run of knockouts that propelled him into three-handed play, where a massive hand quickly unfolded.
Facing Porbandarwala in a massive five-bet pot, Kurshumi’s AJ cracked aces after he flopped trips, sending the former chip leader to the rail and giving Kurshumi an overwhelming advantage heading into heads-up play. It was a brutal exit for Porbandarwala, especially given the final payouts.
From there, only Kornuth stood in the way. The two agreed to a deal to lock in payouts, but both insisted on playing for the trophy. “I told Chance I was going to close him out before midnight to win on my dad's birthday,” Kurshumi said. “And I won at 11:56pm.”
This one's for my dad
For Kurshumi, the victory carried more meaning than money. “Today was my dad’s 75th birthday,” he explained. “Last year around this time he was diagnosed with stage four esophagus cancer. My dad is one of the toughest guys I know. He went through chemo, and now today he’s completely cancer-free. To win this one for him, on his birthday, it just means so much.”
The headlines may have belonged to the million-dollar prize pool, but the story belongs to Kurshumi. “The money’s great, but my life won’t change,” he said. “What matters is my family. We’ll celebrate together once I'm back home.”
The victory marks the most significant cash of Kurshumi's career, and he picked an incredibly special tournament and day to pull off that feat.
BetMGM Poker Millionaire Championship results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ardit Kurshumi | $772,280* |
| 2 | Chance Kornuth |
$634,720* |
| 3 | Soheb Porbandarwala | $247,900 |
| 4 | Andrew Porter |
$206,025 |
| 5 | Matt Glantz |
$167,175 |
| 6 | George Rakitzis |
$130,650 |
| 7 | Mike Leah |
$102,175 |
| 8 | Edward Leonard |
$75,400 |
| 9 | Frayser Flores |
$51,925 |
*Denotes heads-up chop
