After racking up results in Europe, Russian pro earns his first big score on this side of the Atlantic
June 23, 2017 (Las Vegas, NV) - Over the course of his young poker career, Dmitry Yurasov earned several six-figure scores and over $1.2 million in career earnings, but they were almost exclusively at events in Europe. The pro from Moscow had only two World Series of Poker cashes until Friday night, when he notched a win in the $10,000 Six-Max No-Limit Hold'em Championship.
In what is generally considered by many as one of the toughest fields of the summer, Yurasov defeated a field of 332 players to win $775,923, which is the biggest score of his career, and his first WSOP bracelet.
"I've been playing expensive tournaments for a while," said Yurasov through Artem Metalidi, who finished in fourth place and acted as a translator. "But winning this bracelet has been like a special achievement for me."
The final day started with 24 players remaining and British pro Charlie Carrel leading the way, but as the field moved closer to a final table, it was Yurasov who began to separate himself from the pack.
With eight players remaining, Yurasov opened up a big chip lead on the field and he continued his dominance as they reached the final six players.
Shortly after reaching six players, they took a 60-minute dinner break. When the players returned from dinner and cards were back in the air, the Yurasov show continued. eliminating four of the final five players and finishing out his bracelet win in just over an hour.
When asked about his final table run, there were a few words of Russian before a common American phrase came out.
"Easy game," said Yurasov with a bunch of laughs from his supporters.
"No translation needed there," said Metalidi. "Easy game. I win."
The final table had a distinctly international feel to it. There were two Americans, a Canadian, a Ukranian, a Lebanese player and the eventual champion from Russia. In a six-max no-limit hold'em format, Yurasov feels that having easier access to online poker gives the international players an edge over their American counterparts.
"It helps because you always keep yourself in shape by playing online," said Yurasov through Metalidi. "So, it's kind of easy when you come back to live and you have so much experience playing short-handed games."
With most of his results coming from across the Atlantic, it's easy for many to think that Yurasov could fly under radar. Unfortunately for Yurasov, he was known to most players that were still fighting for the title on the final day.
"I think I'm pretty well-known here because people talk," said Yurasov.
Now that he's got a big score on American soil, he might try and make some more noise in the American poker world and win some of the events that take place in California.
"He wants to play some more in American," said Yurasov through Metalidi. "Maybe L.A. tournaments or something."
When the final seven players combined to one table, it was Yurasov with nearly double his closest competitor. Grayson Ramage was the short stack and was eliminated shortly after combining when he got all in preflop with his king-queen against Yurasov's ace-king.
After Ramage's elimination, the final six players played a several orbits before heading on dinner break. When they returned, it was more of the same as before - Yurasov running hotter than the sun.
In what was the only elimination at the final table that wasn't at the hands of Yurasov, two-time bracelet winner Kristen Bicknell hit the rail in sixth place when her couldn't outrun Tommy Chen's in a preflop all in battle.
Chen was the short stack with six players remaining, but he was able to double up a couple times and outlast the other players busting. He lasted all the way to heads-up play against Yurasov.
Yurasov sent Albert Daher packing in fifth place on the very next hand after Bicknell's elimination. With a completed a completed board of , Yurasov moved all in on the river and Albert Daher called.
Yurasov tabled , giving him a full house, and won the pot against Daher's , good for a flush.
Just eight hands later, Yurasov sent his future translator home. Metalidi got all in with pocket sevens against Yurasov's ace-queen. Yurasov hit a queen on the flop to take the lead and leave the table three-handed.
At the final table, Yurasov was on the right end of variance most of the day, but the one time he was behind, he was able to get there. Jacob Powers was all in with ace-king against Yurasov's ace-nine, but a nine on the flop eliminated Powers in third place for $308,783.
That left Chen heads-up with Yurasov and Yurasov holding a commanding 7-to-1 chip lead, which proved to be too much for Chen to overcome.
Yurasov got the last of Chen's chips in the middle on the turn with a board of . Chen showed and was in trouble against Yurasov's .
The river was the , which sent Chen home in second place and gave Yurasov his first major score on American soil.
Full Results
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Final Table Results:
1st: Dmitry Yurasov - $775,923
2nd: Tommy Chen - $479,561
3rd: Jacob Powers - $308,783
4th: Artem Metalidi - $204,128
5th: Albert Daher - $138,644
6th: Kristen Bicknell - $96,823