The player known only as ‘Goofy‘ may have chosen to keep his identity hidden, but there was nowhere to hide from the spotlight today as he overcame some of poker’s biggest names to win the $10,400 Premiere at the Onyx High Roller Series for $1,000,000.
‘Goofy’ had to navigate a final table featuring Sergio Aido and Mikita Badziakouski, before facing the latter heads-up almost four-to-one behind. With $415,000 separating first and second, the pair even arrived wearing the same T-shirt, but it was ‘Goofy’ who eventually wore it best, fighting back to claim the biggest slice of the $4,765,800 prize pool.
For a player who wished to remain anonymous, there was no hiding the emotion afterward, especially with his family arriving in Northern Cyprus just a day before his victory.
“I feel shocked right now. It will take one or two days to understand what I’ve done, but I start to feel amazing,” ‘Goofy’ said. “My family just came yesterday, so for me to make the picture with the trophy with them, it’s like, what can I say? The dream came true.”
$10,400 Premiere Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goofy | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 2 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | $585,000 |
| 3 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | $375,000 |
| 4 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | Georgia | $260,000 |
| 5 | Sergio Aido | Spain | $190,000 |
| 6 | Damir Gabdullin | Russian Federation | $140,000 |
| 7 | Italo Modena | Italy | $110,000 |
| 8 | Artsiom Lasouski | Belarus | $89,800 |
| 9 | Ravid Garbi | Israel | $74,000 |
Go, Go ‘Goofy’
‘Goofy’ began the final table third in chips and was busy from the start, cold four-betting in the opening pot before later sending one of his closest friends, Ravid Garbi, to the rail in ninth place. The pair were also roommates during the series, but there were no hard feelings afterward.
“Ravid is my roommate and he’s a good friend of mine,” ‘he’ said. “I’m sure he’s happy for me. He’s a good player. You will see him again for sure in the final tables.”
While ‘Goofy’ had moved up the counts, the deck began to lean Badziakouski’s way. The Belarusian super-pro was on the right side of a cooler when his cowboys beat the two queens of start-of-day chip leader Damir Gabdullin, with Badziakouski turning quads to become the huge chip leader.
Artsiom Lasouski and Italo Modena were the next two players to fall, before another monster collision saw Gabdullin, again, get destroyed by the deck. Again he had queens, and again Badziakouski had him beat, this time with aces. Gabdullin was gone in sixth, leaving Badziakouski with a huge lead as five remained.
Two-time bracelet winner Aido was next to leave, also at the hands of Badziakouski, leaving ‘Goofy’, Giorgiy Skhulukhiya and Oshri Lahmani with the unenviable task of trying to beat Badziakouski and his castle of chips.
‘Goofy’s’ dream nearly came to an end with four left after he dropped to the bottom of the counts. He escaped against Skhulukhiya by chopping the pot before doubling with ace-king against Skhulukhiya’s pocket sixes. He was soon in danger again, but this time drilled the river to survive against Badziakouski.
Badziakouski continued to pile on the pressure and eventually removed both Skhulukhiya and Lahmani. In the biggest pot of the tournament, he rivered a two-outer to felt Skhulukhiya in fourth before making a backdoor straight to send Lahmani out in third, giving him a huge lead going into heads-up.
‘Goofy’: The Comeback Kid
‘Goofy’ began heads-up with a mountain to climb. Not only did Badziakouski hold a big chip lead, he also already had 18 seven-figure scores to his name, while ‘Goofy’ was chasing his first. However, he quickly started eating into the deficit and found a big double with ace-nine against king-seven to get himself right back in the match.
Badziakouski managed to pull away again, but ‘Goofy’ refused to go quietly. A river check-jam with trip eights earned him another huge pot, as Badziakouski paid him off with top pair. Then, a series of smaller pots saw him take the chip lead for the first time heads-up. A hero call with just bottom pair against a triple-barrel bluff then helped him move further ahead, with the title now in view.
“It was really tough. He is one of the best, and I knew that there was not going to be any deal with him,” ‘Goofy’ remarked. “He was like three-to-one in chips.”
Badziakouski wasn’t finished though. Down to around a quarter of ‘Goofy’s’ stack, he jammed king-three into pocket jacks, only to spike a king on the turn and bring the stacks almost dead even. With the blinds so big, the lead then switched back and forth almost every pot, but it was ‘Goofy’ who eventually took control and moved back into the driver’s seat.
Looking back at his battle with one of tournament poker’s end bosses, ‘Goofy’ knew exactly what he had been up against. “It’s something I thought a lot about. I’m going to give him a big fight. It was really, really tough. Really. It was really tough heads-up, and I’m really happy that it’s over.”
In the end, there was no huge cooler needed to decide it. Both flopped a pair, and all the chips went in, with Badziakouski the one needing help. This time there was no escaping the rail for the Belarusian. A clean turn and river brought the marathon battle to an end, leaving Badziakouski with $585,000 and ‘Goofy’ with the trophy, the cash, and the unforgettable memory of winning an Onyx event.
