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2017 PokerStars Championship Sochi
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It wasn't until after he had won, that Canadian Spin & Go qualifier Jamie Stephens realized what lay ahead of him. A native of Brantford, Ontario, Stephens is one of only three players from Canada to qualify for the PokerStars Championship Main Event here in Sochi, and it took an email response from PokerStars to discover what exactly the 37-year old had secured.
A regular morning for Stephens involves firing up a few $7 Spin & Go’s on PokerStars. One morning the $8 Sochi package Spin and Go caught his eye and he decided to register one and test his luck. Stephens wasn’t entirely sure what the package actually entailed and was happy to see when the wheel stopped rolling it had landed on the ticket. He initially assumed the ticket was for a satellite or some sort of feeder into a Main Event package.
It wasn’t until he noticed how weird and super tight his opponents were playing that he thought anything more of it. He decided to pump up the aggression and continued to push around his two tablemates.
Stephens recalls one particular hand where he got a player all-in but was way behind, holding pocket nines against his opponent’s monster pair. A nine on the river gave him a sizable chip lead as he got to heads-up play. Not long after, Stephens disposed of them as well and a congratulations window appeared showing he had won a Main Event package to the PokerStars Championship Sochi.
Still a bit confused, he googled the event and found some details. He immediately emailed PokerStars support and got a response indicating he indeed did win a seat in the Main Event.
Stephens, who plays occasionally at a local casino in Brantford, began to play more often in preparation for the event, even finding a few final tables in some daily events. Wanting a bit more practice, Stephens flew to Florida to play at the Hard Rock and found a final table in a daily event there. Stephens also scored his first win on the trip, playing at a poker room in St. Petersburg, FL. Taking down a $33 daily with about 60-odd runners.
Having the ability to bring someone with him, Stephens’ uncle also made the journey along with a friend, all of whom relished the opportunity to travel to Sochi.
Stephens has really been enjoying his time so far, saying: "PokerStars has been treating us really good."
At the “Meet and Greet” with PokerStars Team Pros, Stephens was able to have a lengthy conversation with Chris Moneymaker and was even able to share a story with Moneymaker about a prop bet one of Stephens’ poker buddies had won against Moneymaker in the Bahamas.
If Stephens can spin his package into a cash, it will be the first live-recorded tournament cash of his poker career and will give him a profile on the Hendon Mob. The self-employed event planner has aspirations of winning the World Series of Poker Main Event and getting PokerStars Team Pro and fellow Canadian Daniel Negreanu to fold a hand when they meet across the felt!
Just three weeks ago, Russian pro Maxim Panyak was denied his first PokerStars Spade trophy on one of poker’s biggest stages, ultimately falling in fourth place at the PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo Main Event. Panyak returned to action this week in his home country and found redemption capturing the PokerStars National High Roller at the Sochi Casino and Resort for RUB 3,400,000.
There were 116 entries in the RUB 132,000 event, generating a prize pool of RUB 13,502,400. Many of Russia’s top players and even an American pro and a Brazilian Team PokerStars pro stood in Panyak’s way but the native of Yekaterinburg would not be denied. Bagging the chip lead after Day 1 and holding it to go wire-to-wire, Panyak bested a final table that included Vladimir Troyanovskiy, Igor Yaroshevskyy, Jason Wheeler, and his heads-up opponent, Ivan Safarov.
| Place | Name | Country | prize (RUB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxim Panyak | Russia | 3,400,000 (approx. USD $59,820) |
| 2 | Ivan Safarov | Russia | 2,295,000 (approx. USD $40,378) |
| 3 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russia | 1,492,000 (approx. USD $26,250) |
| 4 | Dmitry Ponomarev | Russia | 1,236,000 (approx. USD $21,746) |
| 5 | Asker Aloev | Russia | 995,000 (approx. USD $17,506) |
| 6 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | 785,400 (approx. USD $13,818) |
| 7 | Alexandr Prigarnyi | Russia | 600,000 (approx. USD $10,556) |
| 8 | Jason Wheeler | USA | 452,000 (approx. USD $7,952) |
The latest PokerStars champion was thrilled to claim the title, especially coming on home soil. Panyak had this to say after the win; “After so many difficult years for poker in this country, winning a tournament here means freedom. I want to enjoy this important moment for my country, drinking and making a party!”
PokerStars Team Pro Felipe Ramos was able to check-off the Russian flag from the list of countries the Brazilian has found a cash in. Ramos made Day 2 but fell early, busting in 13th place for RUB 243,000. Just 17 players made the money.
With the win, Panyak has climbed to USD $1,348,134 in career live-recorded tournament earnings, his best cash coming from his final table appearance in Monte Carlo mentioned earlier.
Panyak is back in action today, taking a seat in the PokerStars Championship Sochi Main Event Day 1b. To say he would be confident in his game right now would likely be an understatement. Only time will tell if Panyak will be able to carry any sort of momentum he may be feeling into another final table appearance and perhaps a major championship title.
Yesterday Russian professional poker player Georgy Philippovich outlasted a 756-entry field in the RUB 66,000 PokerStars National Championship in the Sochi Casino and Resort. The 26-year-old from Yekaterinburg took home RUB 6,313,500 (approx. $112,172) for his efforts after a three-way deal.
Reflecting on his victory, Philippovich, who enjoys riding his bike or playing table tennis and football in his spare time, said that it was an incredible result for him.
“I’m so proud of winning an event at the first Russian PokerStars Championship after so many legally difficult years for poker here in Russia."
Coming into the PokerStars National Championship, Philippovich had won less than $30k in live tournaments, but with a solid online background, dozens of five-figure cashes earned on PokerStars and a podium spot in a Sunday Million, he successfully transitioned his skills from the virtual realm to the live felt.
"I tried the play the same way I usually play online and it worked out," Philippovich revealed his winning strategy.
When Philippovich is away from live or online tables, he likes riding a bike or playing table tennis and football.
Philippovich beat the start-of-day chip leader Vitaly Avanesyan heads-up to add the extra RUB 700,000 left for the champion. Avanesyan secured himself RUB 5,495,000 while the third-place finisher Viktor Kudinov took home RUB 5,151,500 in the aforementioned three-way deal.
Runner-up Avanesyan (RUB 5,495,000)is a recreational player from Ulyanovsk, and already owns a ring from WSOP Circuit Georgia where he beat a 96-entry field in the $220 PLO Event for a $5,760 payday.
Third-place finisher Kudinov (RUB 5,151,500) also celebrated his career-best result today, as did Andrey Soloviev (fourth for RUB 2,710,000) and the only non-Russian in the field 38-year-old Sergey Em from Kazakhstan who laddered from shortest stack to 5th (RUB 2,150,000).
Dmitry Chop was the first player to leave the table on the final day, busting in sixth place for RUB 1,625,000. Chop had already had a win from Sochi to his name. He took down the partypoker Millions Main Event here in Krasnaya Polyana just two months ago for $225,000.
The RUB 66,000 PokerStars National Championship drew 756 entries (551 unique players plus 205 re-entries). The top 111 finishers shared pieces of the RUB 43,999,200 prize pool. Among the notable players who cashed were Nacho Barbero (ninth for RUB 630,000), Andrey Kotelnikov (tenth for RUB 515,000), Timofey Vekshin (11th for RUB 515,000), Aleksandr Denisov (12th for RUB 458,000), Harry Lodge (23rd for RUB 281,000), Sergei Chantcev (32nd for RUB 180,500), Josef Snejberg (37th for RUB 180,500), Alexander Lakhov (44th for RUB 158,000), Nikolay Fal (52nd for RUB 158,000), Dmitry Ponomarev (70th for RUB 139,000), Alexander Moiseev (77th for RUB 121,000) and Mikhail Korotkikh (91st for RUB 121,000).
PokerStars National Championship Sochi final table results:
1st - Georgy Philippovich, Russia, RUB 6,313,500 (approx. $112,172) *
2nd - Vitaly Avanesyan, Russia, RUB 5,495,000 (approx. $97,630) *
3rd - Viktor Kudinov, Russia, RUB 5,151,500 (approx. $91,527) *
4th - Andrey Soloviev, Russia, RUB 2,710,000 (appox. $48,149)
5th - Sergey Em, Kazakhstan, RUB 2,150,000 (approx. $38,199)
6th - Dmitry Chop, Russia, RUB 1,625,000 (approx. $28,871)
7th - Van Thach Vu, Russia, RUB 1,166,200 (approx. $20,720)
8th - Rudolf Babayan, Russia, RUB 798,000 (approx. $14,178)
The final table is set for the PokerStars National Championship in Sochi. Just six players will return to the Sochi Casino and Resort on Thursday afternoon to play for a top prize of RUB 8,310,000 (approximately USD $147,000). The man with the best shot at claiming the title right now is chip leader Vitaly Avanesyan.
The Russian player will start Day 4 with 5,450,000, having a slight chip advantage over his competitors. Fellow countrymen Viktor Kudinov (4,320,000) and Andrey Soloviev (4,065,000) are the closest to catching Avanesyan and will have position on the chip leader for the remainder of the event.
| Seat | Name | County | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | Andrey Soloviev | Russia | 4,065,000 |
| Seat 2 | Viktor Kudinov | Russia | 4,320,000 |
| Seat 3 | Georgy Philippovich | Russia | 2,800,000 |
| Seat 4 | Sergey Em | Kazakhstan | 690,000 |
| Seat 5 | Dmitry Chop | Russia | 1,500,000 |
| Seat 6 | Vitaly Avanesyan | Russia | 5,450,000 |
Avanesyan considers himself a recreational player, mostly playing in the live scene. He is already guaranteed his best live score but isn’t a stranger to hoisting hardware. The 26-year old captured a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring after taking down a 96-player $220 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the WSOP-C Georgia stop for USD $5,760.
Though he enters the final table sitting in fifth position, the most notable player has to be Dmitry Chop. Chop has amassed almost a million US dollars in live-tournament earnings including a victory in this very same room just two months ago where he claimed the partypoker Million title for USD $225,000.
Former PokerStars Team Pro Nacho Barbero had his deep run come to an end on the final table bubble. The Argentinian busted ninth for RUB 630,000. Other notables to hit the rail were Andrey Kotelnikov (10th - RUB 515,000), Timofey Vekshin (11th - RUB 515,000), Aleksandr Denisov (12th - RUB 458,000), Harry Lodge (23rd - RUB 281,000), Sergei Chantcev (32nd - RUB 180,500) and Josef Snejberg (37th - RUB 180,500).
Day 4 kicks off at noon local time and will play down until the latest PokerStars National Champion is crowned.
A bit more than three years ago, hundreds of thousands of people flooded into Sochi to witness the spectacle of the 2014 Winter Olympics. An estimated $50 billion was spent around the area leading up to and throughout the games, leaving quite a city in its wake.
In the summer of 2014, a few months after the Olympics closed, Russian President, Vladimir Putin signed a law, legalizing gambling operations in two new areas; Sochi and Crimea. The government hoped to boost the economies of both areas, adding investors and creating new jobs.
Russian gambling received a heavy crackdown in 2009, with major cities shutting down all of their card rooms, gaming halls, and casinos. The industry was exiled to just four economic regions across the country. One of which will be shut down in 2019, leaving Sochi as the only gaming city in that region.
On January 5, 2017, the Sochi Casino and Resort opened its doors for the first time. Rejuvenated by the Olympics and the prospect of hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix event, Sochi’s tourism industry had been flourishing, making it an easy choice.
Around 40,000 people are expected to walk through Sochi Casino and Resort each month, taking advantage of the 70 gaming tables and almost 600 slot machines. The resort cost $66.3 million to build and covers over 165,000 square meters.