Endrit Geci Wins 2021 partypoker MILLIONS Online Main Event For $774,838The UK Resident Topped A Field of 1,084 Entries In The $5,300 Buy-In Event |
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The 2021 partypoker MILLIONS Online $5,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event drew a field of 1,084 entries to surpass the tournament’s $5 million guarantee and a $5,420,000 final prize pool that was paid out among the top 160 finishers. In the end the largest share was awarded to Endrit Geci, who took home $774,838 as the champion. This was the largest career score for the Manchester, UK resident, beating out the $223,978 he earned as the runner-up in a 2020 World Series of Poker Online $1,000 buy-in event.
Geci overcame a stacked final table on his way to the title, outlasting the likes of 2020 WSOP Online $25,000 high roller champion Christian Rudolph (6th – $146,300), Polish tournament star Dzmitry Urbanovich (4th – $276,128), and high-roller regular and bracelet winner Daniel Dvoress (3rd – $422,422).
The final day began with nine players remaining and Geci in the lead with 72 big blinds. The eliminations came fast and furious early on, with Jonathan Proudfoot being the first to fall. He lost. preflop race with AQ against the pocket tens of Hermogenes Gelonezi to finish ninth for $72,260.
Martin Brinkmann’s run in this event came to an end when his QJ clashed with the AA of Geci. The AK4 flop gave Brinkmann a royal flush draw while improving Geci to top set, but the K on the turn meant that Brinkmann would need to hit the 10 on the river in order to stay alive. The 6 on the end was no help and Brinkmann settled for $91,542 as the eighth-place finisher.
Richard Mullen began the final day as the shortest stack with just 11 big blinds. He managed to outlast two opponents, but ultimately hit the rail when his QJ failed to outrun the A9 of Christian Rudolph. Mullen earned $115,425 for his seventh-place showing.
Despite having just busted Mullen, Rudolph was the next to be eliminated. He ran AK into the pocket tens of Geci, who made a set on the river to lock up the pot. Rudolph cashed for $146,300 while Geci extended his chip lead heading into five-handed action.
Daniel Dvoress earned his first knockout of the day when he picked up pocket eights facing a three-bet shove from short stack Hermogenes Gelonezi. Dvoress called and found him up against a smaller pair in pocket sevens. Dvoress flopped a set and held from there to send Gelonezi home in fifth place ($189,320).
Dvoress overtook the lead during four-handed action, only to have Geci regain the advantage. Dvoress then turned the tables yet again by busting Dzmitry Urbanovich in fourth place. The Polish all-time tournament earnings leader got all-in with AQ against Dvoress’ pocket queens and has unable to come from behind. Urbanovich earned $276,128 for his latest deep run.
The two largest stacks ended up playing a massive pot during three-handed action, with Geci four-bet shoving 88 and receiving a call from Dvoress’ AK. It was a classic preflop race for just shy of 60 percent of the chips in play. The board ran out Q4224 and Geci’s superior two pair took down the massive pot. Dvoress was eliminated not long after when his pocket tens failed to hold up against the Q10 of Francisco Correia, who turned a queen-high straight to send Dvoress to the virtual rail in third place ($422,422).
With that Geci took 616,020,780 into heads0up play against Correia’s 467,087,462. Correia managed to battle his way into the lead, at which point the two struck a deal.
Correia locked up $731,960 while geci secured $724,838, with the two players setting aside the title and an additional $50,000 from the remaining prize pool to play for.
Geci was able to regain the advantage not long after the deal was struck. By the time the final hand was dealt, Correia was down to around just 12 big blinds. Geci limped in from the button with AK and Correia checked the 102. The flop came down A63 and both players checked. The 10 on the turn saw Correia check again and Geci bet 10,000,000. Correia called and the K completed the board. Correia checked a third time and Geci moved all-in. Correia made the call with his pair of tens, only to find that he was up against top two pair. Correia earned the $731,960 he negotiated in the deal, while Geci took home $774,838 as the champion.
Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:
Place | Player | Earnings |
1 | Endrit Geci | $774,838 |
2 | Francisco Correia | $731,960 |
3 | Daniel Dvoress | $422,422 |
4 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | $276,128 |
5 | Hermogenes Gelonezi | $189,320 |
6 | Christian Rudolph | $146,300 |
7 | Richard Mullen | $115,425 |
8 | Martin Brinkmann | $91,542 |
9 | Jonathan Proudfoot | $72,260 |
Geci photo credit: René Velli / Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.