Russian Players Beat 637 Entries To Win $ 212,914 USD – Bogdanov becomes the fifth player from Russia to win an EPT main event title, joining the likes of Maxim Lykov, Vladimir Geshkenbein, Andrey Pateychuk, and Arseniy Karmatskiy.

The European Poker Tour has been awarded the title of the first major event since the COVID -19 outbreak began. The EPT Sochi 175,000 RUB no-limit main event drew a total of 637 entries to Casino Sochi, and after six days of action it was Ruslan Bogdanov who emerged victorious. The Russian native was awarded 15,984,500 RUB ($ 212,914 USD) for winning the event.

“I am very happy. There are many important moments that have worked out with success, ”said Bogdanov in a Russian-language video interview after being top of the list on kaspoker.

As well as the title and money, Bogdanov also earned 840 Player of the Year Card points for the win. This is his first POY qualifying score, but that alone is enough to see him move up the 14-way match for 93rd place in the standings for the 2020 POY race, sponsored by Global Poker.

The final day of the event kicked off with Gleb Ershov leading the remaining eight players, while Bogdanov sits on fourth chips. Ershov eventually fell in third place ($ 110,723 USD), setting up a head-up showdown between Bogdanov and Viktor Tkachenko. They eventually struck a deal during the head-up play to redistribute the remaining prize pools, but played to determine champions.

In the final hand, Bogdanov summoned an all-in from Tkachenko with pocket sixes. He fought two overcards in the J-9, but was able to hold his way through the river to secure the pot and trophy. Tkachenko took home $ 193,007 USD as runner-up finisher.