The latest big winner in the GGPoker World Series of Poker Circuit series is Swedish poker sensation, Niklas Astedt. Taking down the $10,000-entry Heads-Up event, Astedt claimed the top prize of $348,250 by beating Mirza Muhovic in the final duel.
Winning his first-ever WSOP Circuit Ring, Astedt put on a top performance and closed it out in style. The tournament, which had 94 entries and fell just short of its $1 million guarantee, saw some terrific players run deep, with players such as Wiktor Malinowski, George Wolff and Juan Pardo all making the quarter-finals.
Astedt’s win is perhaps all the more remarkable for the sheer calibre of player he beat along the way. With Luke Reeves, Guillaume Nolet and Timothy Adams all going down to the Swede, Astedt enjoyed a semi-final victory against Malaysia’s Cooper Li set up a final showdown with Muhovic.
In the semi-final in particular, Astedt had to pull out every trick in the book, with the match-up lasting 75 minutes. Astedt got off to a good start, but Li took down a bit pot with a straight and stole the lead. Li’s stack was hit, however, when Astedt hit a wheel straight to put himself 3:1 up in terms of stacks.
The final hand saw Li commit all of his remaining chips with pocket threes on a seven-high board by the turn, but Astedt held pocket nines and made the call to progress to the final.
Muhovic himself didn’t have it easy in the semi-final himself, with the Luxembourg-based player beating Canadian Ian Modder. Muhovic raced into an early lead, and never sacrificed it as he kept his foot to the floor for the rest of the contest. Modder eventually held a straight when he moved all-in with eight-six on a board showing 3-7-T-7-9, but Muhovic held jack-eight for a higher straight and that was all she wrote for the semi-finalists, both of them cashing for $99,500.
In the final, Astedt took the lead, but Muhovic battled back and doubled up after rivering a nut flush. Again, Astedt ground himself into a lead, but saw it pegged back again when Muhovic doubled up with ace-jack against Astedt’s king-ten.
An hour had passed, but it would be Astedt who won the day after calling Muhovic’s all-in. The Luxembourg player had moved all-in for just under 30 big blinds with ace-six, but Astedt held pocket tens and managed to fade an ace to move close to $6 million in tournament cashes on GGPoker.
A legend online, Astedt is starting to hoover up major titles on GGPoker and now in the World Series of Poker. One of poker’s biggest stars could reign supreme in 2021.
WSOPC #13: $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Last Eight Results:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | $348,250 |
| 2nd | Mirza Muhovic | Luxembourg | $199,000 |
| 3rd | Cooper Li | Malaysia | $99,500 |
| 4th | Ian Modder | Canada | $99,500 |
| 5th | Juan Pardo | Spain | $62,188 |
| 6th | George Wolff | United States | $62,188 |
| 7th | Oliver Weiss | Germany | $62,188 |
| 8th | Wiktor Malinowski | Russia | $62,188 |
