News
EUGENE KATCHALOV WINS 7-CARD STUD CHAMPIONSHIP
Jun 04 2011 07:06 PM EST
Las Vegas, NV (June 4, 2011) -- The first of two Seven-Card Stud (High) tournaments concluded today with the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud Championship, held at the 2011 World Series of Poker.
The new poker champion is Eugene Katchalov, from New York, NY. He earned $122,909 in prize money. Katchalov was also presented with the ultimate symbol of achievement in the game of poker -- the WSOP gold bracelet. This marked his first WSOP victory.
Katchalov is a 30-year-old poker pro, who is originally from the Ukraine. He immigrated to the U.S. at age ten. Katchalov previously worked as a day trader before taking up poker playing full time.
He enjoyed a remarkable year at last year's WSOP. Despite not quite getting a victory, he was the only player to make final table appearances in three $10,000+ buy-in events during the same year. In fact, that feat currently stands as a WSOP record. Accordingly, Katchalov's victory this year was highly-earned and well-deserved.
The runner up was Alessio Isaia. He is a 24-year-old professional poker player from Cuneo, Italy. He burst upon the poker scene only three months ago by winning one of the largest poker tournaments ever held in his home country. Isaia won a major event held in Venice, which included one of the longest heads-up matches in poker tournament history. Isaia’s match lasted more than eight hours. Isaia hoped to became the fifth Italian player in history to win a WSOP gold bracelet, but came up short by one spot.
Katchalov won the tournament in impressive fashion. He made two dramatic comebacks. The first momentum sift took place when play was 12-handed. Katchalov went on a rush and moved into contention as the final table began. Then, he overcame close to a 3-1 chip disadvantage heads-up and ultimately earned the victory.
The third-place finisher was a familiar face to those who watch the WSOP on television. Last year’s gold bracelet winner Eric Buchman, who also finished fourth in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, took third place in his best Stud finish ever.
This was the fifth official tournament event on this year’s WSOP schedule. The tournament attracted 357 entries.
Stay tuned to WSOP.COM for the complete official report of EVENT #5.
