Chess Grand Master Ottomar Ladva Captures a WSOP Super Circuit Ring and $311K

The big scores keep on coming at GGPoker as the $180 million guaranteed WSOP Super Circuit rapidly approaches its conclusion. Brazil-based Estonian chess ace Ottomar Ladva is the latest in a long line of grinders to pad their bankroll with a huge score during the GGPoker series, namely a cool $311,429.

Ladva was one of 345 entrants on the $5,250 Bounty High Roller NLH event, which sported a $1,725,000 prize pool. Half of that sum went on the heads of each entrant in the form of a progressive bounty, with the top 41 finishers sharing the other 50%. Ladva’s bounty haul was worth an impressive $193,789.

#15: $5,250 Bounty High Roller NLH Final Table Results

An all-star cast made up the nine-handed final table. None of the finalists would have looked out of place with this event’s ring adorning their fingers.

Nikita Kuznetsov‘s time at the final table was limited because they were eliminated in ninth-place, a finish good for $35,715, when including bounties. “kalashnikovvv” and “iN sis TenT” were the next pair of players to fall. They walked away with prizes of $31,485 and $51,014, respectively.

Slovenian superstars Blaz Zerjav busted in sixth for $93,068 before Sorel Mizzi, showing as being located in the UAE, ran out of steam in fifth. Mizzi received $63,082 for his efforts.

Fourth-place and $106,151 went to Alejandro “PapoMC” Lococo, with Fernando Olimpio coming unstuck one place later in third for $143,984.

Ladva and “JohanC-14” locked horns for the title and the final couple of bounties. Both locked in $117,640 from the main prize pool, but the final bounty payments would turn out to be huge. Ladva, as he so often does when he is heads-up, got the job done in the one-on-one battle. His victory came with $311,429 and a gold WSOP Circuit ring, while the runner-up headed into the night with $141,390 reasons to be happy with their performance.

Volkmann Finishes Second in the $1K Freezeout But Wins the Largest Prize

Freezeout tournaments are rare in the online poker world, especially those costing $1,050 to enter and guaranteeing a $2 million prize pool. The format proved popular, with 2,487 entrants in the $1,050 GGMasters Freezeout Championship creating a $2,487,000 prize that the top 360 finishers shared.

Scores of household names navigated to the money places but fell short of a final table appearance. Among those who did reach the final table were Pieter Aerts (7th – $67,054), Seu Joaquim (5th – $119,242), and Amit Ben Yacov (4th – $159,012).

Once Thailand’s “Gamba Di Legno” busted in third, Brazil’s Bruno Volkmann and Hong Kong’s “Lucky__Bear” battled heads-up. The heads-up duo struck a deal before Volkmann fell at the final hurdle and had to make do with second place. However, thanks to the aforementioned deal, Volkmann received $336,888, around $14,000 more than the champion.

#16: $1,050 GGMasters Freezeout Championship Final Table Results

*reflects a heads-up deal

GGPoker WSOP Super Circuit Ring Events Results

Seventeen of the 18 ring-awarded events are done and dusted, with only the $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller yet to crown its champion. Only nine of the 1,297 entrants remain in contention for this event’s title, which also comes with a $1,702,088 first-place prize.

Kirill Shcherbakov goes into the final table with a commanding lead, his 110.6 big blind stack almost double that of Checo Pacheco (62.7 big blinds) in second place.

Others still in the mix include Matheus Machado, Joshua McCully, Joao Vieira, Rayan “Beriuzy” Chamas, and Daniel Petersen, although the latter brings up the rear with a 15 big blind stack.

This event’s final table shuffles up and deals at 7:00 p.m. BST on March 31. You can watch it with cards-up coverage on a slight delay on the GGPoker Twitch and YouTube channels.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.