GGPoker Spotlights Denys Chufarin’s Rise
The Online Poker Millionaires episode revisits his $65 start, his move to British Columbia after the Ukraine invasion, and the high-stakes play behind his bankroll.
Denys Chufarin is the focus of a new Online Poker Millionaires episode that includes an exclusive clip and revisits his climb from a $65 bankroll in 2009 to nearly $200,000 in ready funds on his online balance. The piece also says he can spend around $50,000 on buy-ins in a single day, according to poker.org.
Chufarin is a pro player, streamer and content creator. He says poker can be both an escape and a job, and he argues that money is not an end in itself after seeing people with millions who are unhappy and people earning $50,000 to $100,000 a year who are happy.
He also says poker gives “freedom of will” and “freedom of thinking.” In the same conversation, he says he has lost with 95% odds before, which is why he treats improbable events as part of the game.
The episode turns to the war in Ukraine. Chufarin says he thought there was a chance Russia would attack, putting the odds at 5%, then spent time in Thailand with his family after the invasion began and eventually accepted they would not be returning soon.
With the war still raging, he relocated permanently to British Columbia in Canada, where he can keep playing on the site he represents as an ambassador. The GGPoker piece frames that move alongside his play for huge prizes in the GG World Festival.
Chufarin, a recent GGMillion$ co-commentator, had already broken through in GGPoker’s own coverage earlier in November 2025, when he won his first GGMillion$ title in the Super High Roller event. He started the final table with 29 big blinds and 12.72-to-1 odds, then beat Ilya Anatski heads-up for $336,740, while Anatski collected $264,033 after starting as the 98-big-blind chip leader and 3.46 favorite.
The broader Online Poker Millionaires docuseries premiered on GGPoker’s YouTube channel on 12 November 2025 and was produced with POKERfilms. The debut episode featured Alex Theologis, who was described as a GGMillion$ and WSOP champion with more than $9 million in GGPoker tournament earnings.
