The first ever PokerStars European Poker Tour Kyiv event had its share of chaos but nevertheless the event saw a good turnout of 296 players from over 30 countries competing for the first ever title. The event was moved from its original destination of Moscow to the Ukraine and by the final day of play eight players returned to the Sport Palace to see who would win the title and the first place prize.
The atmosphere was that of celebration and support as fans gathered to watch the final table unfold. Many of the spectators were dressed in blue and yellow in support and celebration of the Ukrainian Flag Day which was the same day.
The Kyiv event was a filmed event so just after midday the final table began competing and the cameras began rolling. It would take almost an hour before the first player would be eliminated. The first to go would be Vadim Markushevski when he put his pocket kings up against Alexander Dovzhenko’s pocket aces.
Just a half hour later the next player, Torsten Tent, would be eliminated. Tent had the better cards but when his opponent paired both his cards it was over and Tent exited in seventh place. Maxim Lykov would do much of the eliminating as he got rid of Tent and then Ad Schaap in sixth.
It would then be a few hours before the next player would go. Out in fifth would be Lucasz Plichta and then Arthur Simonyan in fourth and Vitaly Tolokonnikov in third. This would leave Alex Dovzhenko and Maxim Lykov to compete in heads up play.
When heads up play began, Lykov held an almost 2 to 1 chip lead after earning a good bit from the last elimination. Lykov would play very aggressively and this would prove to be Dovzhenko’s downfall. On the final hand both would check and see the flop of 4spades Jack diamonds and 7 spades. The turn brought a 4 clubs and Dovzhenko would bet 400,000 and Lykov would check raise to 1 million. Dovzhenko would then go all in and Lykov would call.
Dovzhenko would turn over J clubs 10 hearts which gave him two pair, while Lykov flipped over 4 hearts and nine hearts which of course equal trip fours. A blank Ace on the river gave no help to Dovzhenko and he was out in second place giving Lykov the win.
Final Results:
1. Maxim Lykov (Russia) – €330,000 (approximately $473,000 U. S.)
2. Alex Dovzhenko (Ukraine) – €220,000
3. Vitaly Tolokonnikov (Russia) – €140,000
4. Arthur Simonyan (Russia) – €100,000
5. Lucasz Plichta (Poland) – €80,000
6. Adrian Schaap (Holland) – €60,000
7. Torsten Tent (Germany) – €45,000
8. Vadim Markushevski (Belarus) – €30,000
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.