Oleksii Khoroshenin of the Ukraine Wins EPT Vienna for €578,392
Ukraine is celebrating its first ever EPT champion with Oleksii Khoroshenin’s €578,392 win in the EPT Vienna Main Event in the stunning imperial Hofburg Palace.
Khoroshenin, 27, an EPT regular who currently lives in St Petersburg, has now jumped from #20 in the Ukraine all-time money list to #7. He made a three-way deal with runner-up Anthony Ghamrawi from Austria and German pro Marko Neumann before taking down the €5,300 tournament. It’s by far his biggest live cash and more than double his lifetime tournament winnings to date.
Khoroshenin said: “People have been watching EPTLive in the Ukraine, and in St Petersburg where I'm living. I can't describe my emotions. It's an amazing feeling. I wanted to win it and I did it.”
1. Oleksii Khoroshenin, Ukraine, €578,392
2. Anthony Ghamrawi, Austria, PokerStars qualifier, €446,481
3. Marko Neumann, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, €638,127
4. Pablo Gordillo , Spain, PokerStars qualifier, €262,150
5. Timo Pfutzenreuter , Germany, PokerStars qualifier, €203,900
6. Simeon Naydenov, Bulgaria, €151,000
7. Frei Dilling, Denmark, €108,100
8. Rumen Nanev, Bulgaria, €77,000
Prior to EPT Vienna, Khoroshenin’s best cash came when he was runner-up in the EPT Barcelona €5k six-handed turbo in September. In addition to his EPT champion’s title and cash prize, Khoroshenin also receives a stunning watch worth more than €5,000 from luxury Swiss brand SLYDE, the Official Watch Sponsor for EPT Season 10 Main Events and High Rollers.
Anthony Ghamrawi, playing in his home city and hoping to become Austria’s first champion, snagged €446,481 for his runner-up finish. The 27-year-old student won his seat online in a €320 qualifier – one of four qualifiers to make the final, accruing more than €1.5 million between them.
German pro Marko “BriDge2PaiN” Neumann, 27, finished third but – as the overwhelming chip leader when the deal was made - took the biggest payout of €638,127. EPT newbie Pablo Gordillo from Spain (4th) and Germany’s Timo Pfutzenreuter (5th) also qualified online. Ghamrawi also won the Last Longer contest organised by Skrill, the official payment provider sponsor of EPT Season 10, so gets his €5,300 buy-in credited back in to his account.
A total of 265 players won their seats to the event, contributing to an overall field of 910 players from 59 countries. The prize pool was €4,413,500.
Bulgaria’s hopes of a second EPT champion (following PCA winner Dimitar Danchev) were thwarted when Rumen Nanev went out in 8th place for €77,000 and WSOP bracelet winner Simeon Naydenov bust in sixth for €151,000.
Among the 135 players who cashed was Team PokerStars Pro Johnny Lodden who fell in 15th place; it was the Norwegian’s 15th EPT Main Event cash and the seventh time he has gone this deep in an EPT. Also in the money were fellow Team Pros Marcel Luske (31st, €19,750), Alex Kravchenko (55th, € 14,600), Henrique Pinho (56th, €12,600) and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (119th, €9,550) as well as Team Online’s Marc-Andre Ladouceur (124th, €8,700). Full Tilt Professionals Viktor Blom and Gus Hansen were both in Vienna to take part in the promotional freeroll on Day 1a to celebrate the launch of Flipout tourneys on Full Tilt Poker. Both competed in the Main Event and both cashed - in 71st and 76th places respectively.
Other notables who enjoyed deep runs included Jude Ainsworth, Stephen Chidwick, EPT9 Player of the Year Jan Bendik and EPT9 Berlin runner-up Robert Haigh.
The EPT joined forces with the regional Eureka Poker Tour to create this season's mega 11-day, 40-event EPT Vienna Poker Festival (March 19-29) and more than 90 players managed to win seats for both the EPT & Eureka Main Events. It was the EPT’s third visit to Vienna and took place – for the first time - in the stunning Hofburg Palace. There were more than 8,700 entries in to tournaments with nearly 3,000 unique players taking part and more than €12 million awarded in prizes. Many of the events achieved record numbers including the Eureka Main Event, the Eureka High Roller and the EPT €10k High Roller.
Among the notable side event results was Fabrice Soulier, France’s #3 live tournament poker player, winning the EPT Vienna €10k High Roller for €392,900. Soulier, who also wins a SLYDE watch, beat a tough Season 10 record field. There were 181 entries (one more than in Barcelona) creating a €1,773,800 prize pool.
Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov took down the €2k Eureka High Roller event for €149,400 and Friend of PokerStars Natalie Hof won the EPT Vienna Women’s Event for €5,325. EPT9 Deauville runner-up Walid Bou Habib is taking €107,700 back home to Beirut after beating a 319-strong field in the €2k NL event.
