Darren Elias Wraps Up First Super Million$ Event of 2021

Darren Elias is no stranger to landing a Super Million$ event, and he has started 2021 with a bang by scooping the first Super Million$ event of the year. This event, run by GGPoker, could easily be the launchpad for a great year, and that becomes even more apparent when you consider the stellar field he beat at the final table.

A Cool Prize of Over $400k

Elias walks away with not only the title, but a payday of $448,842, and that’s not too bad for a game with a $10,300 buy-in. Of course, this high stakes game had numerous ups and downs, and he was up against bracelet winners and previous Super Million$ champions, so this was certainly a well-earned victory.

Superstars of Poker Fall Short

This final table had everything, and even from the start, it was clear that some big names would fall early on. Seth Davies was first to go, and he started the final table in sixth place. However, he just never got going with this table. He came up short in a big game against Aleks Ponakovs and never recovered.

Bert Stevens was next to go as he busted just a couple of hands later. That one came as a shock as his hand completely crumbled, leaving the table with seven in the blink of an eye.

Aleks Ponakovs was next to go. He had been building and moving into a healthy position until he came up in a battle with Camosci. Observers perceived that Camosci was bluffing, and Ponakovs felt the same only to be shown this wasn’t the case, and he was out.

This idea of people coming up short in surprising battles was a recurring feature in this table. Rui Ferrera managed to go from being top at one point on the chip count to crashing and burning in spectacular fashion. Losing hand after hand isn’t a cool way to play the game, but that’s exactly what he managed to achieve.

The Final Two

The final head to head was between Elias and Niklas Astedt. At one point, you also had Ami Barer in the mix as well until Elias sent them packing. That was a huge turning point in the tournament, but even then it was still Astedt who held the upper hand with the chip count going into the final two.

Turning around 14.1 million chips compared to 8 million is usually a huge ask, but a few important hands fell the way of Elias resulting in him closing the gap. Ultimately, the final hand saw Astadt raising 700,000 with the jam coming from Elias for 12,078,400. Astadt called and it led to Elias hitting a top pair on the turn to win not only the hand but the entire tournament.

This final table was fascinating for so many reasons, and it showcased a number of players at the top of their game while hosting a variety of battles. This win should mean a lot for Elias and give him a real confidence boost knowing he was able to sweep away so many top players.