Chess Grandmaster Ottomar Ladva Spins $530 Into $525K Payday!
The massive MILLIONS Online #11 6-Max Super High Roller concluded on Wednesday with Estonia's Ottomar Ladva taking home the gold and banking $525,089 in the process. Ladva overcame a stacked field of 70 players to claim the biggest prize of his career.
A well-known poker player in his home country, Ladva has been making a name for himself on the international level as well. Even more impressive is the Estonian qualified into the tournament for just $530.
Before getting into the action on Day 1, Ladva turned a $530 feeder into a $2,650 direct satellite, then subsequently won the satellite before shipping the Super High Roller itself. Talk about ROI!
The event was live broadcasted on the partypoker TV Twitch and YouTube channels. Check out the YouTube video below for full final table action.
partypoker tweeted the following clip of the final hand of the night.
From chess grand master to defeating one of the best in the world after multiple hours heads up. Congratulations to… https://t.co/U43qwXleUn
— partypoker (@partypoker)
As mentioned, Ladva's well-known in his home country, but it's not (yet) for his poker ability. The Estonian is a four-time Estonian Chess Champion and a Grandmaster since 2015. Needless to say, his transition into poker has been paying dividends, and his incredulous victory sparked comments from notables around the poker world.
Among those to respond was Mike McDonald, who shortlisted Ladva as a possible candidate for best chess & poker player combined.
With the massive windfall, it's all but certain that Ladva will be making a splash in some big events down the line.
MILLIONS Online #11 6-Max Super High Roller Final Table Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ottomar Ladva | Estonia | $525,089 |
2 | Justin Bonomo | Canada | $327,468 |
3 | Jason Koon | Canada | $212,835 |
4 | Bujtas Laszlo | Hungary | $152,275 |
5 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | Estonia | $114,839 |
6 | Brock Wilson | Mexico | $90,589 |
7 | Amichai Barer | Canada | $75,781 |