The name Vladimir Minko might not mean much to fans of live poker, but he mixes it with the best online and came out on top of a stacked GGMillion$ High Rollers on Tuesday night.
Minko, a Russian pro who is also an International Master at chess, found himself up against the likes of Michael Addamo, Justin Bonomo, and David Peters in GGPoker’s weekly $10,000 buy-in.
With almost $40k locked up, the final nine from 131 starters were looking at the $284,669 top prize, with Aussie crusher Addamo out front in chips, closely followed by Bonomo.
Bonomo took out short-stacked Dimitar Donchev on the very first hand, and then Minko cut the contenders to seven minutes later with kings against jacks...
It took another hour for our next casualty, and once again it was Minko delivering the KO; this time it was Canada’s Amichai Barer who was behind and at risk in the button vs. big blind pre-flop, all-in showdown.
Pretty soon it was Bonomo, Joao Vieira and Matthew Stumpf who were short and in trouble, and it was the number two on the all-time money list who bowed out in sixth, blind-on-blind versus Minko. Bonomo’s Q-8 couldn’t catch Minko’s K-3 when the flop brought a king, and he had to settle for $82,695.
Vieira and Stumpf soon followed in what was turning out to be a rapid final table, leaving Minko facing the high-stakes crusher duo of Addamo and Peters, though with more chips than the pair combined.
The two high-stakes gunslingers got the money in the middle, with David Peters flipping badly against Addamo’s A-8.
Minko boasted a 2:1 chip lead as heads-up began, and it only took two hands for him to win the lot despite stacks of 86 and 45 big blinds.
Addamo made it 2x on the button, and Minko’s call saw both players hit top pair on the flop. Addamo had the better kicker, but a brutal turn card gave Minko two-pair and decided the destination of the GGMillion$ High Rollers title.
GGMillion$ High Rollers results
- Vladimir Minko: $284,669
- Michael Addamo: $222,314
- David Peters: $173,618
- Matthew Stumpf: $135,589
- Joao Vieira: $105,889
- Justin Bonomo: $82,695
You can watch the full final table with commentary from Jeff Gross and Mario Mosboeck.
