Poker Writer
GGPoker has permanently banned two players, one of whom had an account at the $10,300 GGMillion$ final table, after an account-sharing violation. GGPoker was forthcoming about the ghosting violation and made it known that its security team identified the poker cheating prior to the Tuesday final table.
In an official release, GGPoker explained that on Day 1 of the GGMillion$ tournament, which took place Nov. 9, security identified that someone other than the account holder was playing under the ‘Hinaru’ ID. Ghosting is a direct violation of GGPoker’s terms and conditions. Hence, it prompted a swift ban. GGPoker listed the actions taken:
- Hinaru’s account was locked before the final table began
- The player who used Hinaru’s account was also permanently banned
- Both parties are barred from GGPoker and all affiliated platforms
The only hope either player has of returning to GGPoker is via the operator’s Olive Branch program.
Final Table Chip Leader Blinded Out
Hinaru was the chip leader of the tournament heading into the streamed final table, but GGPoker took action and banned the user prior to play. That meant Hinaru did not play any hands at the final table and simply blinded out. GGPoker said it will redistribute $115,752.22 from the prize pool to affected players.
Final table commentator Jeff Gross explained the situation to viewers of the final table stream.
We want to mention that the chip leader is being blinded out for game integrity reasons. It’s a first for me where a player at a final table is blinded out. And it’s the chip leader not like a small stack that people will just wait to be eliminated.
Gross discussed the dynamics of the unique situation with guest co-commentator Alexandros Theologis, a Greek high-stakes pro.
“The thing is, the stacks are pretty deep and his stack is pretty infinite,” said Theologis in reference to Hinaru’s 69 big blinds, slightly ahead of the second-largest stack of 64 big blinds. Theologis predicted Hinaru would blind out into the top five, which proved correct as Hinaru eventually finished in fifth after more than two hours.
GGPoker did not reveal the player’s real name or the identity of the other banned party. Some players requested that GGPoker release the identities of both players involved to prevent any future incidents. GGPoker did not respond to such requests or an email from PokerScout requesting further comment and clarification on the matter.
GGPoker Ambassador Recently Disqualified
Mid-tournament bans are an unusual course of action in poker, but not completely unheard of. A somewhat analogous situation recently occurred involving GGPoker ambassador Ren Lin.
Lin had been caught providing coaching advice to a friend while he played in a GGMillion$ final table in mid-October. The Chinese high-stakes player was then removed from an affiliated $5,300 live tournament on Day 2. Lin would later explain his side of the story, accept a suspension from GGPoker, and apologize.
That situation shook out a bit differently, as GGPoker uncovered the evidence after the unfairly played final table had concluded.
The banning of Hinaru took place between Day 1 and the final table. The security team must have quickly come to a very strong conclusion in order to take such swift and decisive action.
