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Pavel Shirshikov Wins PokerStars Championship Sochi Main Event

Russian Local Tops 387-Player Field To Win RUB 29,100,000 ($523,800 USD)

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Pavel Shirshikov has won the inaugural PokerStars Championship Sochi RUB 318,000 no-limit hold’em main event, defeating a field of 387 players to win the title and the top prize of 29,100,000 ($523,800 USD).

Shirshikov stormed through the final table. He came into the day in second chip position with six players remaining and managed to eliminate all but one of his five opponents. In the end it came down to a heads-up battle between Shirshikov and Vladimir Troyanovsky, who was by far the most accomplished live tournament player at the table with more than $4.6 million in career earnings prior to this event.

Shirshikov took more than a 2-to-1 chip lead into the final showdown over Troyanovsky. He got off to a good start and lever looked back. By the time the final hand arose he had roughly a 10-to-1 advantage. With blinds of 40,000-80,000 with an ante of 10,000 Troyanovsky limped in from the button. Shirshikov moved all-in with the AHeart Suit6Heart Suit and Troyanovsky called for his final million in chips with the KClub Suit7Club Suit. The board ran out 6Diamond Suit5Heart Suit4Heart Suit5Spade SuitJClub Suit and Shirshikov’s sixes and fives with an ace kicker was enough to secure the pot and the title. Troyanovsky earned RUB 18,450,000 ($332,100 USD) for his impressive run.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at this final table:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Pavel Shirshikov $523,800 1200
2 Vladimir Troyanovsky $332,100 1000
3 Seyed Ghavam $240,030 800
4 Dmitry Vitkind $194,130 600
5 Lavrentiy Ni $153,630 500
6 Timur Bubnov $118,260 400
7 Daniyar Aubakirov $88,020 300
8 Nadar Kakhmazov $63,720 200
9 Said Butba $51,570 100

Winner photo courtesy of PokerStars / Neil Stoddart.