WSOP -- Vitaly Lunkin Wins $40K Anniversary TournamentRussian Banks $1,891,012 For Victory |
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Winning a bracelet in the 2008 World Series of Poker was the highlight of Vitaly Lunkin’s career. The quiet, reserved Lunkin was able to wave the Russian flag with pride as he topped a field of 2,706 and picked up $628,417 along the way. But that memory was easily cast aside on Sunday night when he earned his second bracelet in one of the most prestigious tournaments in poker history.
Lunkin was easily the dark horse to take the title of the $40,000 anniversary event with more established and recognizable pros around him, but if he was ever intimidated, he clearly never showed it.
Despite being seated at a final table with the likes of Ted Forrest, Noah “fourUhaters” Schwartz, Dani “Ansky” Stern, Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis, Alec “traheho” Torelli, Justin Bonomo, Greg Raymer, and Isaac Haxton, Lunkin never lost sight of the ultimate prize, and he used his good instincts and tricky plays to come out on top and pocket $1,891,012.
His momentum started when he made a great call against Torelli in a blind vs. blind situation. Torelli bet the river, and Lunkin didn’t hesitate to make the call with king high, easily besting Torelli’s bluff attempt.
Amazingly, Lunkin continued to pick up chips, rarely showing down his cards, without ever taking out an opponent. The players continued to drop, but Lunkin never claimed a knockout until he was heads up with Haxton.
Though he started heads-up play down 2-1, Lunkin quickly took the lead with a big all-in bet on the river that forced Haxton to lay down his hand. He continued to grind away until he had Haxton all in and drawing for his tournament life. Lunkin slow-played pocket aces and got Haxton to commit his stack with K-10 on a king-high flop. Unfortunately, the play ended up hurting him when a 10 fell on the river.
Undeterred, Lunkin doubled up to take the lead back and once again decided to slow-play his aces. This time, Haxton’s flush draw and lower pair bricked out, sealing the victory for Lunkin.
Lunkin is riding a hot streak that includes a win at the Russian Poker Tour in Moscow last month for $433,741. Altogether, the Russian pro has earned over $3 million in the past two years alone.
Here are the final results:
1. Vitaly Lunkin — $1,891,012
2. Isaac Haxton — $1,168,566
3. Greg Raymer — $774,927
4. Dani Stern — $548,315
5. Justin Bonomo — $413,166
6. Alec Torelli — $329,730
7. Lex Veldhuis — $277,940
8. Noah Schwartz — $246,834
9. Ted Forrest — $230,317
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