Two mill for Timoshenko

04/27/2009

Yevgeniy Timoshenko, the 21-year-old poker ace who cut his teeth on Internet tourneys, added a whopping $2 149 960 to his bank account this week at the Bellagio in Las Vegas when he took down the 2009 Five-Star World Poker Classic WPT Championship after a marathon eight days of poker action in the world's gambling mecca.

His epic win in the seventh WPT season joins a glittering career c.v. that includes significant results in the Irish Poker Open, Paris Open, the Aussie Millions and most notably the 2008 APPT Macau main event.

Of Ukrainian extraction but Washington state residency, the youthful live and internet poker star has also achieved final table appearances at the World Series of Poker Europe and the EPT Barcelona.

Respected for his courtesy and modesty, Timoshenko said: "I wasn't expecting to win. I hoped to win, but in tournaments you can't expect anything. Especially at a final table as tough as this one. I just hoped to play my best and come out ahead and luckily that's what happened."

Timoshenko's victory was made memorable by the sheer talent and quality of the final table, which he led with a more than 2 to 1 chip lead over nearest rival and fellow Internet whizz Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. Also facing him were veteran player Scotty Nguyen, Shannon Shorr, Christian Harder and Ran Azor.

Grospellier's elimination in third place set the scene for the heads up between Timoshenko and Ran Azor, but it was the "Jovial Gent" (Timoshenko's Internet handle) who triumphed, taking the multi-million dollar main prize to add to his already considerable career winnings from several six-figure cashes in major tourneys. The win was also Timoshenko's third live victory, following wins at the Irish Poker Open and the APT Macau main event.

Azor's very creditable second placing was rewarded by a $1 446 265 payday, and every member of the final table took home at least six-figure checks.

Timoshenko's next big game is the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo...and he has plans for this year's World Series of Poker action, too.