Tournament Trail Q and A -- Ivan DemidovThe Main Event Runner-Up Talks About His WSOP Experience This Fall |
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Ivan Demidov has accomplished what is arguably the most impressive poker feat of 2008. He made the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold'em world championship main event in July, and then he also made the final table of the World Series of Poker Europe main event in October. Demidov finished in third place in London to take home £334,850 in prize money, and this gave him a lot of confidence heading into November for part one of the WSOP main event final table. Many were picking Demidov to make the heads-up match and possibly win the world championship, and Demidov lived up to the expectation. He made the final heads-up battle with Peter Eastgate, eventually finishing in second place, to win $5,809,595.
Demidov became a poker superstar in the span of a few short months, and he accomplished a record that may never be matched in the process. Card Player caught up with Demidov after the main event final table in Las Vegas at the post-final-table press conference. Here is what he had to say:
Question: Are you satisfied with the way you played tonight?
Ivan Demidov: It’s hard to say; probably not, but I really had no idea how he was going to play at that point. He had more experience than me, so maybe sometimes I made some bad calls when I should have just folded, but I was thinking he was going to bluff … and I made a few big bluffs at the wrong time.
Q: You were the aggressor yesterday and early on in the heads-up match. What stalled that and turned the tables in your battle against Peter Eastgate?
ID: I just hit a few hands early on and thought I played them well … and after that, it was the other way around. I wasn’t able to win any big pots, and I wasn’t able to pick up any big hands, and that was it.
Q: How much did your experience at the World Series of Poker Europe main event final table add to your confidence and calm nature at this final table?
ID: It just boosted my confidence level … I didn’t really learn anything new at the table from just one final table, and it didn’t really change something in my game, but it definitely helped me to feel confident and not as nervous here.
Q: What did you think of this big setup on the stage and 1,000 fans watching it live here in Las Vegas?
ID: It was very special, especially for an online player like me; I could never really think of so many people watching me play. It’s a new experience for me.
Q: Did the 117-day break affect you?
ID: No, I don’t think it made a big difference. I was able to gain some life experience, and I was definitely more confident coming in because of my results after July.
Q: This heads-up match between you and Peter Eastgate, two European players, comes at a time when a lot of the growth in high-stakes tournament poker is taking place in Europe. Do you think that this will inspire even more young players in Europe to start playing poker?
ID: Yeah, I think so, definitely. In the past few years, there are a lot more European players, especially Russian players that I can speak of, who are coming to play in the World Series and other big events. It has been mostly U.S. players who have done well. Now it is going to change, and we’re going to see a lot of European, South American, and Asian players doing it, as well. Poker is growing.
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