Eugene Katchalov is something of a phenomenon in the poker industry. He has enjoyed considerable success in the virtual felt under the moniker, MyRabbiFoo on PokerStars and has more than $6 million worth of winnings from live tournaments alone. Now, he has augmented his long list of achievements further by winning a Gold WSOP Bracelet by winning Event No. 2 $1,500 Seven-card Stud. He bested a tough field of 357 players, all of whom were hoping to be the one to win the first place prize. Katchalov won $123,000 from the event, in addition to the prestigious bracelet. His live winnings now amount to more than $7 million. 

The Road to the Top

There were eight people who went back for the final table, and the first one among them to exit was Vasili Lazarou. Quickly tailing him was Ali Eslami, exiting on seventh place. Next was Kai Landry, who was eliminated by Eric Buchman. Dennis Parker was next to go, once again eliminated by Buchman. Then it was Jonathan Spinks’ turn to go, also courtesy of Buchman. Then, unexpectedly, it was Buchman who was sent packing next, falling against Alessio Isaia. Finally, only Isaia and Katchalov were left to battle it out for the top spot. Isaia had a big chip lead at first, but Katchalov slowly but surely grinded back until they were pretty much even. Then, Katchalov won a big pot, putting Isaia on the defensive. At the final hand, Isaia went all in with a pair of kings. Katchalov managed to get a two pair at the river. By then, Katchalov had secured the win and earned his first ever World Series of Poker Bracelet.

Katchalov’s 2011

There are some players who simply have all the luck – couple that with a godly amount of skill and you’ve got a surefire recipe for success. Katchalov is one of those who know this recipe by heart, especially since he’s on a huge winning streak this 2011. He started off with a huge bang, winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller Event last January and winning himself a whopping $1.5 million. He also had two runner up finishes, particularly at the PCA no-limit hold’em turbo six-max high roller and also the NAPT Mohegan Sun No-limit hold’em high roller bounty shoot out. This WSOP bracelet of his is like the icing on the cake in regards to his 2011 achievements.