Ukraine’s Oleg Vasylchenko emerged victor in the partypoker WPT Prague Main Event last night after an action-packed final day and a rather short heads-up match. Vasylchenko’s share of the prize pool totalled €132,200, including a $15,000 package for the season-ending Tournament of Champions.
To celebrate his victory, the WPT also added his name to the Champions Cup that contains the names of all Main Tour Main Event winners throughout the tour’s fifteen seasons.
Vasylchenko entered into the Main Event’s final day first in chips and maintained a good position until the very last hand was dealt. Day 4 of the tournament started with the six finalists to be seated at the final table. A total of 122 hands were played throughout the day; the heads-up match lasted just 8 hands.
Eventually, Vasylchenko came face to face with Russia’s Anton Petrov to battle it out for the title and the lion’s share of the money. Vasylchenko began the two-handed duel with a stack of 3,115,000 in chips against his final opponent’s 1,895,000. Petrov had little chance to improve as his Ukrainian opponent defended his advantage as fiercely as possible. As mentioned above, it took just 8 hands for the winner to be determined.
Hand #122 was the final one to be dealt at Hotel Grandior, where the tournament was held. Petrov bet 115,000 and Vasylchenko called. The [10s][4c][7h] appeared on the flop to see both players check. The [Jc] came on the turn and Vasylchenko bet 315,000. Petrov shoved and his opponent called almost instantly.
Petrov turned [Jd][3d] for a top pair but Vasylchenko showed [10d][7d] for two pair. A blank [9s] was dealt on the river to confirm Vasylchenko’s victory. Hitting the rail in second place, Petrov took the consolation prize of €82,000. It should be said that the Russian had fantastic run in Prague, despite his falling short of the title. He emerged from a short stack at one point to one of the last two men standing, a deed worth paying attention to.
The partypoker WPT Prague Main Event started on December 2. Paying the buy-in fee of €3,300, players had the chance to enter the event during one of the two starting flights. A total of 167 entries were counted to have done this, thus creating a prize pool of €514,230.
Vasylchenko’s victory last night has been his best poker achievement since the player started playing in live tournaments. Including his first-place payout, the Ukrainian’s live poker earnings now amount to $207,936.
- Author
Harry Evans
