Kravchenko Latest Addition to Team PokerStars Pro
PokerStars has officially announced the latest addition to its vaunted Team PokerStars Pro lineup in prominent Russian star Alex Kravchenko. The signing solidifies a relationship between the two that had been growing for some time and represents another step forward for one of Eastern Europe's best known poker players.
Kravchenko was a business investor in Russia before discovering that he enjoyed the casino life, and with his introduction to poker in the late '90s he quickly began to hone his skills, notching notable cashes as early as 1999. It wasn't until the 2007 WSOP, however, that the Russian broke through in a big way, first by capturing the bracelet in that year's Event #9, $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split 8 or Better, for $228,446, then following that performance with a run to fourth in last year's Main Event, behind only Raymond Rahme, Tuan Lam and the eventual winner, Jerry Yang. That showing was worth $1,852,721 and easily surpassed the rest of Kravchenko's career tournament winnings to date. His career total of more than $2,500,000 puts him at the top of all Russian players at the present time.
Kravchenko has also garnered major cashes at the 2007 Moscow Millions, the 2007 WSOP Europe £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, and at the 2007 WPT Mandalay Bay stop. His addition to Team PokerStars Pro swells that group's lineup to 30 members.
