Event #14: $3,250 High Roller

Igor Kurganov is the champion of Event #14 at Bally’s Las Vegas. Kurganov defeated a pro-heavy field of 101 players in the $3,250 High Roller event, winning $90,899 and his first gold ring. The victory also netted him 50 points in the season-long race to claim one of the at-large seats in the WSOP Global Casino Championship.

The champ is a 27-year-old pro from St. Petersburg, Russia, though he now makes his home in London. In the middle of an extended poker trip in the United States, Kurganov dropped into Bally’s to play the week’s biggest buy-in. Despite a long list of poker accomplishments, this WSOP Circuit territory is still a bit unfamiliar to him. “It’s hard to chase these people,” he said complimentarily. “They usually have seven rings or something.” He glanced down at his own ring to finish the thought. “This is a start, though.”

Kurganov entered Day 2 with a below-average stack, but he found an early double when his ace-king beat an opponent’s pocket kings. “I was right on the cusp where I would catch my flight if I busted,” he said. “So it was kind of like a win either way. But then I won the hand, so that was a real win. From then on, I had a very playable stack.”

A short while later, Kurganov took the chip lead in a big cooler of a confrontation against Tom Kearney. Kurganov was dealt ace-queen and Kearney pocket sixes, and the ace-queen-six flop brought plenty of action. Another queen on the turn gave Kurganov the lead with queens full, and Kearney paid off two more streets of value before seeing the bad news at showdown.

From then on, it was pretty much “smooth sailing throughout,” as the winner said in his postgame interview. Kurganov entered the final table with more than one third of the chips in play, and just about 90 minutes later, it was all over. Arkadiy Tsinis was the last man standing between Kurganov and the victory, but he was unable to overcome the 10:1 chip disadvantage he faced entering the final duel.

While his poker accomplishments are certainly an integral part of his life, Kurganov emphasized the need for balance too. “I’ve been traveling a bit much lately,” he said. “I’ll be spending more time at home over the next couple months. It’s something I’m craving after so much travel.”

When asked to elaborate on that craving, Kurganov was quick to explain. “It’s hard to do other things when you’re on tour. When you’re home, you can educate yourself on all the other amazing things that there are in life. I just try to learn as many things as I can about business, finance, philanthropy…”

Kurganov’s desire for the deeper things in life has led him down a charitable path over the last few years. As the co-founder of a movement called Raising for Effective Giving (REG), Kurganov is part of a team spearheading the notion of effective altruism in poker. He was more than happy to explain the thought process that started him down this path of charity:

“Most of us like to see our relatives or friends receive a gift and see the smile on their face,” he said. “Everyone has it to some degree. I’ve always felt quite a bit of empathy for people in bad situations. The thought of effective altruism really motivated me when I stumbled on it. It was the first thing in charity that I saw to be along my lines of thinking. It’s a lot of mathematics and scientific process.”

There’s a balance and a sense of well-roundedness evident in his words, both of which can be rare traits among poker players. It didn’t always come easy, though. “I found balance by not having it,” he remembered. “In 2010 and 2011, I was playing as much as possible. At some point, you catch yourself enjoying it less or being burnt out or not finding the motivation anymore. You desensitize yourself from winning and losing. It doesn’t mean that much emotionally anymore. When that's the case, you need to find other motivation.”

He must be doing something right. Kurganov has been playing poker professionally for less than a decade, but he’s already amassed more than $10 million in career earnings, with huge results scattered all across the globe. This latest win is his first career cash on the WSOP Circuit, and it comes with a piece of gold jewelry and more than $90,000 in cash.

Barry Hutter open-shoves the button for about 430,000, and Igor Kurganov calls in the big blind.

Hutter:   
Kurganov:   

The     flop gives Hutter a momentary lead with a pair of aces, but the turn   swings the pendulum right back to Kurganov, who has the only club. Hutter is still drawing live to a full house, but the river   seals his fate as the third-place finisher.

Igor Kurganov - 2,770,000
Arkadiy Tsinis - 260,000
Barry Hutter - Eliminated in 3rd place

Igor Kurganov opens the button to 35,000, and Tom Kearney three-bet shoves for 296,000 in the small blind. Kurganov appears to do some quick math, then calls to put Kearney at risk.

Kurganov:   
Kearney:   

The first four cards are clean for Kearney on the      board, but the river   gives Kurganov the knockout with a pair of kings.

Igor Kurganov - 1,900,000
Tom Kearney - Eliminated in 4th place

Bryn Kenney moves all in for 48,000, and action folds to Igor Kurganov. "Let's run it," Kenney prods, and Kurganov obliges him with the call.

Kenney:   
Kurganov:   

There's a six on the flop, and the       board seals Kenney's exit.

It's going to be hard to beat Kurganov today from the looks of it. He's collected a few more of the chips in play, reducing the field to five players with that knockout.

Igor Kurganov - 1,350,000
Bryn Kenney - Eliminated in 6th place

Arkadiy Tsinis opens with a raise to 30,000 under the gun, and Jeff Coburn three-bet shoves for about 175,000 in the big blind. Tsinis calls quickly, and it's aces versus queens once again.

Tsinis:   
Coburn:   

The board runs out      , and Tsinis earns the knockout with aces full.

Arkadiy Tsinis - 545,000
Jeff Coburn - Eliminated in 7th place

Tom Kearney opens to 25,000 in early position, and Igor Kurganov defends his big blind.

The flop is    , and Kurganov check-calls a continuation bet of 22,000. Both players check through the   turn, and the river brings the  . Kurganov checks for the third time, and Kearney bets 26,000. After just a moment, Kurganov announces, "All in," on a check-shove.

Kearney shakes his head. "I knew that was coming too," he says. A couple seconds later, he slaps his cards into the muck, and Kurganov takes the pot.

Igor Kurganov - 1,310,000
Tom Kearney - 270,000

Barry Hutter opens the button to 21,000, and Jeff Coburn three-bets to 47,000 in the small blind. Michael Collins calls all in for 31,000 in the big blind, and Hutter calls the remainder to create action on the side.

Both live players check through the     flop, and the turn is the  . Coburn checks again, then folds to a bet of 24,000 from Hutter.

"You have the king?" Collins asks. He's at risk, and Hutter nods to confirm the bad news.

Hutter:   
Collins:   

The river is the blank  , and Collins is eliminated.

Barry Hutter - 380,000
Michael Collins - Eliminated in 9th place