In poker, some losses hurt a lot more than others. For Krzysztof Grubka, losing out on a WPT Global bonus at the Dublin Poker Festival could be the worst heads-up moment he ever endures.
The Polish player finished second in the €700 European Deepstack Championship at the Dublin Poker Festival, winning €34,860. While that would normally be cause for celebration, a first-place finish would have given Grubka a €55,065 and a €100,000 bonus from WPT Global.
That means Grubka lost a €120,205 heads-up match. Absolutely brutal.
WPT Global promotion
The promotion was simple: If you qualified for the €700 European Deepstack Championship by winning your seat through WPT Global, the website would give you a €100,000 Live Champion Bonus for winning the tournament. Feeder satellites started from just 88 cents, though you could buy directly into the final satellite for $88.
No backroom deal
Given the size of the bonus relative to the payouts, it would have only made sense for the players to discuss a backroom heads-up deal, where both players end up making a ton of money.
Ireland’s Gavin McGrath was a 6-to-1 chip leader at the time and had already smashed his career-high score.
According to PokerNews, McGrath and Grubka discussed a deal where both players could get a piece of that $100,000 bonus, but the pair couldn’t come to an agreement. Ultimately, McGrath would come away with the €55,065 top prize and the championship belt. McGrath’s previous career earnings were just $14,201.
It’s worth remembering that this could have been classified as collusion and is clearly against standard TDA rules. Both McGrath and Grubka could have faced potential short and/or long-term sanctions from all event organizers, including WPT Global.
Nearly another Millionaire Maker
Of course, a backroom deal involving a huge WPT-branded promotion happened during the 2025 WSOP $1,500 Millionaire Maker, when Jesse Yaginuma and James Carroll got past 11,996 runners to get heads-up.
Though Carroll went in with more than a 9-to-1 chip lead and looked to be a lock to win the title and the bracelet, Yaginuma was eligible to win a ClubWPT Gold “Gold Rush” promotion that entitled him to a $1,000,000 bonus if he were to win one of a number of selected events, including the Millionaire Maker.
With less than $250,000 separating first and second place, it was only logical, from a financial point of view, that the two players do whatever they could to funnel the chips over to Yaginuma.
Over the course of 59 hands, one of the most obvious cases of chip dumping ever occurred, and Yaginuma eventually won the tournament and, momentarily, his fourth WSOP bracelet.
However, WSOP eventually took action, chopping up the prize money and rescinding the bracelet, awarding both players an official second-place finish. In addition, Carroll and Yaginuma were both handed indefinite bans from the World Series of Poker and all Caesars properties. Given that the two players have nearly $12 million in cashes between them, it’s possible that the two may be regretting that decision.
WSOP tweeted the following statement:
“The investigation into WSOP Event 53 has been completed. We have concluded that in order to uphold the integrity of the game and to uphold our official WSOP Tournament Rules, no winner will be recognized and no bracelet will be awarded for this year’s tournament. The remaining prize pool will be split between the final two players.”
While there was speculation over whether or not ClubWPT Gold would honor the $1,000,000 promotion in the wake of the WSOP decision, Yaginuma (and presumably Carroll) ended up getting paid.
It’s doubtful that they’d be invited back to play any of the 2026 WSOP schedule.
Dublin Poker Festival €700 European Deepstack Championship final table results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gavin McGrath | Ireland | €55,065 |
| 2 | Krzysztof Grubka | Poland | €34,860 |
| 3 | Michal Havavka | Slovakia | €25,000 |
| 4 | Audrius Daugvilavicius | Lithuania | €19,860 |
| 5 | John Ward | Ireland | €15,560 |
| 6 | Adam Green | Ireland | €12,200 |
| 7 | Annette O’Carroll | Ireland | €9,160 |
| 8 | Marcus McHale | Ireland | €6,520 |
| 9 | Kenneth Crowley | Ireland | €5,200 |
