Vasiliy Tsapko Wins the 2019 888poker LIVE Sochi Main Event
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The first-ever 888poker LIVE Main Event champion on Russian soil has been crowned and it was Vasiliy Tsapko that lifted the trophy for the winner shots after coming out on top of a 569-entry strong field at the stunning Casino Sochi.
Before the heads-up duel in the 62,160 RUB (~ $888) buy-in started, Tsapko cut a deal with fellow countryman Leonid Semenyuk to share the lion's part of the 35,000,000 RUB prize pool, leaving some money and the trophy up for grabs.
For his victory, Tsapko was rewarded with a payday of 5,006,050 RUB (~$77,016) while Semenyuk walked away with 4,463,200 RUB (~$68,665) for his efforts.
Prior to the event, Tsapko had nearly $200k in cashes on the live circuit and he also received a package worth $12,500 for the 2020 WSOP Main Event courtesy of WSOP sponsor and event host 888poker for his efforts. The trip to Las Vegas may well bring sweet memories back to the mind of the Russian, as the online grinder finished 131st in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.
2019 888poker LIVE Sochi Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in CSU) | Deal (in CSU) | Prize (in Rubles) | Prize (~ in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasiliy Tsapko | Russia | 82,075 | 71,515 | 5,006,050* | $77,016* |
| 2 | Leonid Semenyuk | Russia | 53,200 | 63,760 | 4,463,200* | $68,665* |
| 3 | Maksym Lavrov | Ukraine | 36,340 | 2,543,800 | 39,135 | |
| 4 | Konstantin Lichagin | Russia | 26,460 | 1,852,200 | 28,495 | |
| 5 | Anton Konovalov | Russia | 19,000 | 1,330,000 | 20,462 | |
| 6 | Ivan Fedorov | Russia | 14,630 | 1,024,100 | 15,755 | |
| 7 | Aleksandr Chernikov | Russia | 11,735 | 821,450 | 12,638 | |
| 8 | Ravil Khamatgareev | Russia | 10,070 | 704,900 | 10,845 | |
| 9 | Vartan Manucharyan | Russia | 9,025 | 631,750 | 9,719 |
*ICM deal of the last two players
Tsapko and Semenyuk Dominate
The inaugural 888poker LIVE festival in Russia was held in cooperation with Poker Club Management and included more than three dozen events throughout eight days at the luxurious Casino Sochi in the mountains of Krasnaya Polyana. The equivalent of more than $1 million in cash prizes was awarded and the biggest portion of that came from the Main Event.
That Tsapko and Semenyuk would end up battling for the title came as no surprise, both dominated the action at the tables. Semenyuk may have started the day last in chips out of the remaining 12 remaining contenders, but two early double-ups vaulted him back into contention. He then cracked the aces of Mikhail Gusev on the outer table to enter the final table as commanding chip leader and remained near the top until the conclusion.
Tsapko started in the middle of the pack and the early stages of the final day were a rollercoaster ride. But as soon as the last nine hopefuls combined to one table, he started to climb the leaderboard. One key hand on his road to victory was certainly a double through Aleksandr Chernikov when he flopped top pair and the nut flush draw with ace-king suited in a three-bet pot. Chernikov got it in with king-queen suited got a gutshot and second nut flush draw, but found no help. One hand later, Tsapko finished the job he had started and that established his role as the joint big stack.
888poker Qualifiers Run Deep
Among the last 12 hopefuls heading into the final day were also two 888poker qualifiers. Konstantin Lichagin held the chip lead while Anton Konovalov was among the shorter stacks. Lichagin was one of the most active players throughout the day and experienced several setbacks to drop into the middle of the pack, Konovalov grinded his short stack for an extended period of time and doubled twice when he was about to drop into the danger zone.
Once the always dangerous and fast-playing Chernikov was felted in 7th place, a spell of 15 minutes reduced the field from six to the final three. In consecutive hands, Leonid Semenyuk sent Ivan Fedorov and Konovalov to the rail. First, he held up with ace-seven versus five, then he flopped a full house with tens against king-jack. Lichagin created the third all-in showdown in a row when he jammed into Maksym Lavrov, but came up short to drop to the bottom of the leaderboard.
A few minutes later it was all over for Lichagin and that left Lavrov with a mountain to climb against the two big stacks. The Ukrainian put up quite a fierce fight and even pulled ahead of Semenyuk, but ultimately bowed out in third place to ensure a Russian victory on home soil.
Once the heads-up deal was cut, the chips were flying between Semenyuk and Tsapko. Both traded double-ups and it was Tsapko that had the better end for himself when his king-jack flopped best against ace-seven to seal his victory.
To read back all about this tournament, check out the PokerNews live reporting section for detailed live coverage.
