The Final Table of the 2017 PokerStars Championship Sochi Main Event is Set
The 2017 PokerStars Championship RUB 318,000 Main Event (~$5,590) saw 16 players out of a 387-entry strong field return to the last two tables of the Sochi Casino and Resort, Krasnaya Polyana. After less than three hours, the unofficial final table was set and it took just one more hour to reach the official six-handed final table.
Lavrentiy Ni from Kazakhstan eventually came out on top and bagged up 2,949,000. Pavel Shirshikov, who led the field after Day 3 and Day 4 respectively, follows close behind with 2,914,000 while Iran's Seyed Ghavam is in third place overnight with 2,124,000. The other finalists include High Roller regular Vladimir Troyanovskiy (1,791,000) and Dmitry Vitkind (1,050,000), while Timur Bubnov (783,000) still has more than 30 big blinds for the final showdown.
Seat Assignments for the Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seyed Ghavam | Iran | 2,124,000 | 88 |
| 2 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russian Federation | 1,791,000 | 74 |
| 3 | Pavel Shirshikov | Russian Federation | 2,914,000 | 121 |
| 4 | Dmitry Vitkind | Russian Federation | 1,050,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Lavrentiy Ni | Kazakhstan | 2,949,000 | 122 |
| 6 | Timur Bubnov | Russian Federation | 783,000 | 32 |
The penultimate day started with a bang, as Mikhail Rudoy ran out of chips in the very first hand on the feature table. PokerStars Spin & Go qualifier Timur Bubnov opened and called the three-bet shove with pocket tens to see Rudoy turn over pocket fives. There was no surprise on a queen-high board and Rudoy became the first casualty of the day.
PokerStars Team Pro and 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker had to settle for 15th place. Coming into the day as one of the short stacks after losing a big pot at the end of Day 4, Moneymaker open-shoved for 10 big blinds with pocket sevens. Daniyar Aubakirov called in middle position with ace-ten while Pavel Shirshikov folded pocket tens in the big blind. Aubakirov turned a gutshot and rivered an ace to improve, and that was it for Moneymaker.
Junya Yamada followed soon after over on the feature table. The player from Japan three-bet all in with ace-eight and Dmitry Vitkind four-bet shoved out of the big blind to isolate successfully with ace-king. A king on the flop all but sealed it, and Yamada was drawing dead on the turn.
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was the second player to represent the red spade on Day 5 and the Frenchman scored an early double. However, his run would end in 13th place after a battle of the blinds with Dmitry Vitkind left him empty-handed. Down to seven big blinds, he shoved with king-nine and Vitkind called with queen-ten. A ten appeared on the turn and Elk'y open-ender and over card didn't show up anymore.
Within just five minutes, the field was suddenly reduced to just one table. A massive clash on the outer table saw Vitaliy Li six-bet shove with ace-king suited and Daniyar Aubakirov as four-bettor got out of the way. Pavel Shirshikov snap-called with pocket aces and an ace-king flop all but locked-up the massive pot, Li was drawing dead on the turn.
Moments later, Alexander Lakhov called all in with pocket eights after a raise and a shove by Timur Bubnov on the feature table, and the latter flipped over ace-king suited. A seven-high flop changed nothing just yet, but an ace on the turn and a seven on the river sent Lakhov out in 11th place.
Oleg Chebotarev, who holds an international chess master title, open-shoved with ace-queen suited on the outer tables from under the gun and a shove by Lavrentiy Ni king-queen suited in the small blind followed. Nadar Kakhmazov looked up both with ace-queen off suit from the big blind and held the biggest stack of the trio, only to see three spades appear on the board to give Ni the flush and a huge boost.
Unofficial Final Table Line Up
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadar Kakhmazov | Russian Federation | 279,000 | 14 |
| 2 | Seyed Ghavam | Iran | 1,096,000 | 54 |
| 3 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russian Federation | 1,595,000 | 80 |
| 4 | Said Butba | Russian Federation | 206,000 | 10 |
| 5 | Pavel Shirshikov | Russian Federation | 2,620,000 | 131 |
| 6 | Dmitry Vitkind | Russian Federation | 1,770,000 | 88 |
| 7 | Daniyar Aubakirov | Kazakhstan | 1,557,000 | 78 |
| 8 | Lavrentiy Ni | Kazakhstan | 1,600,000 | 80 |
| 9 | Timur Bubnov | Russian Federation | 890,000 | 44 |
All remaining nine finalists had RUB 2,865,000 locked up, which equals $50,693, and Said Butba had to settle for exactly that amount. In one of the first hands, he shoved for 10 big blinds with king-queen suited. Lavrentiy Ni called in the cutoff and tabled pocket eights, which held up on a ten-high board to reduce the field to the last eight hopefuls.
Soon after, the second short stack got it in and it was Nadar Kakhmazov who was at risk after four-bet jamming with pocket kings for 15 big blinds. Seyed Ghavam called with ace-queen and hit an ace and queen on the flop before two blanks followed on turn and river.
2017 WPT Amsterdam champion Daniyar Aubakirov lost a big portion of his stack without showdown against fellow Kazakh Lavrentiy Ni and fell down to less than 20 big blinds. The most active player of the last few days would eventually become the last casualty soon after when he three-bet shoved pocket queens. Seyed Ghavam called with pocket kings on the button and a king on the flop left Aubakirov with running clubs. One of them showed up on the turn, but a blank queen on the river changed nothing anymore.
There are 26:41 left in level 23 with blinds at 12,000/24,000 and a running ante of 4,000. The lion's share of the RUB 150,000,000 prize pool is still up for grabs, and all six contenders of the first-ever PokerStars sponsored event on Russian soil have 6,570,000 (~$116,249) locked up for their efforts. However, all eyes are however set on the RUB 29,100,000 first-prize (~514,893), trophy and bragging rights that come along with it.
Remaining Payouts PokerStars Championship Sochi Main Event
| Place | Prize (RUB) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29,100,000 | $514,893 |
| 2 | 18,450,000 | $326,453 |
| 3 | 13,335,000 | $235,948 |
| 4 | 10,785,000 | $190,829 |
| 5 | 8,535,000 | $151,017 |
| 6 | 6,570,000 | $116,249 |
The action will resume at 12.30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, May 31st, with the cards-up live stream on a security delay of 30 minutes and the PokerNews updates will be published accordingly.
. However the 
on the turn gave Aubakirov a flush-draw. However, the river was the 
. It gave Aubakirov a set but it was too little too late and he was eliminated in 7th place for $86,523.
and Ghavam had 
with an Ace in the window to shoot Ghavam into the lead where he stayed. 
board. Butba received zero help from the board and fell in ninth place for RUB 2,865,000 (approx. USD $50,693).
, giving Bubnov a pair of aces on the turn and Lakhov hit the rail in 11th place, earning RUB 2,370,000 (approx. USD $41,934).
river a formality. The stacks were counted and Shirshikov had 1,160,000, while Li was covered by just 10,000 to hit the rail in 12th place. Li receives RUB 2,055,000 for his efforts, which equals around $36,361.
giving Vitkind the lead. Grospellier still had some outs to a straight, but the 
on the river wasn't one of them and he was eliminated in 13th place for $36,361.
and Moneymaker imploered the dealer to keep the river under a nine.
