A Look at Some of the Most Accomplished Platinum Pass Winners - Part I

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Nov 17, 2018 14 min read Last updated Nov 20, 2018

At the end of last year, PokerStars promised to give away 300 Platinum Passes valued at $30,000 each to what promises to be the richest $25,000 buy-in event in poker history, the Players No Limit Hold'em Championship (PSPC).

PokerStars is on track to deliver on their promise with already more than 270 Platinum Passes awarded to a wide spectrum of amateur and professional players alike. Players can win Platinum Passes through a variety of paths including winning designated live and online events, completing challenges, and playing in all-in shoutouts.

In this series, we will take a look at some of the biggest names that have won Platinum Passes thus far. Among the first 50 players to win Platinum Passes, eight have earned more than $1 million in live tournament cashes. Here is a look at those players:

Platinum Pass #1: Mihai Manole Bubbles the PSC Prague

Romania's Mihai Manole and Poland's Andrejz Tomasz Siemieniak were the first two players to win Platinum Passes almost a year ago in December 2017 after they bubbled the €5,300 PSC Prague Main Event. Although both players went out on the bubble, they were able to split a min-cash prize to collect €4,350 ($5,126) each and both collected much extra value in the form of Platinum Passes.

While Siemieniak isn't exactly a household name, Manole is a well-known European player and is ranked in second place on The Hendon Mob's Romanian all-time money list with $2,496,270 in earnings. He has amassed seven six-figure scores in live poker tournaments led by a fourth-place finish in the 2009 EPT Barcelona €5,300 Main Event for €250,000 ($357,654).

The Romanian has also performed well on the big stage in Las Vegas with two final table runs in WSOP side events in 2008 and 2010.

Mihai Manole Poker Stats

Twitter: @MihayManole

Platinum Pass #3: Andrea Benelli Wins Italian Poker Open Last Longer

Italy's Andrea Benelli became the first person to win a Platinum Pass in 2018 when in January he won a last longer contest with a runner-up performance in the PokerStars LIVE Italian Poker Open €550 Main Event for which he earned €134,000 ($161,360).

The cash was the third biggest in Benelli's poker career but could turn into the most memorable one if he manages a deep run in the PSPC with the Platinum Pass he'll be using in January.

Benelli has logged $1,589,484 in cashes with his two biggest scores in fourth-place finishes in EPT Main Events. In 2009, the Italian finished fourth in the EPT Deauville Main Event for €219,800 ($291,462). Five years later, in 2014, he finished in fourth in the EPT San Remo Main Event for €166,700 ($231,421).

Andrea Benelli Poker Stats

Platinum Pass #12: Maria Lampropulos Wins PCA Main Event

Argentina's Maria Lampropulos became a household name after she won the partypoker MILLIONS Nottingham £5,300 Main Event for £1,000,000 ($1,255,004).

However, it was her second seven-figure win in less than a year that earned her a Platinum Pass which she got for winning the PCA $10,300 Main Event for $1,081,100.

These two scores make up a big part of Lampropulos' $3,003,065 in live tournament earnings, which is good enough to rank her third on Argentina's all-time money list, just behind Ivan Luca (first - $ 6,103,886), and Jose "Nacho" Barbero (second - $3,777,193).

Maria Lampropulos Poker Stats

Twitter: @MLampropulos

Platinum Pass #13: David Peters Wins PCA Main Event Wild Card Drawing

Lampropulos wasn't the only big name to secure a Platinum Pass at the PCA. David Peters is one of the biggest names not only in the first 50 to win a Platinum Pass, but among all the winners so far and poker as a whole. The proven tournament pro won a pass not with his skill but with luck, winning the PCA Main Event Wild Card drawing.

Peters should be in his comfort zone in the PSPC with his vast experience, having played in a plethora of tournaments with five-figure buy-ins and up. His $27,815,921 in live tournament earnings ranks sixth in the world and includes seven cashes of over a $1 million, and he has a WSOP gold bracelet to his credit.

Peters is also one of online poker's most successful players. According to his PocketFives profile, he has amassed $5,972,994 in online tournament results.

David Peters Poker Stats

Twitter: @dpeterspoker17

Platinum Pass #15: Fintan Gavin Wins Megastack Ulster Main Event

Fintan Gavin is one of Ireland's most successful live tournament players with $1,611,804 in earnings to his credit. A significant chunk of that came more than a decade ago when he took fourth place in the EPT Barcelona €8,250 Main Event for €792,000 ($1,129,750).

Gavin is currently better known for his poker commentary. Most recently he was at King's Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic hosting the live stream action at the 2018 WSOP Europe.

The Irishman still finds time for small buy-in tournaments and one of these led to him winning a Platinum Pass after he won the PokerStars Megastack Ulster €170 Main Event for €19,060 ($22,851) in January.

Fintan Gavin Poker Stats

Twitter: @fintangavin

Platinum Pass #20: Kalidou Sow Wins PSF London Main Event

France's Kalidou Sow shipped the PSC Prague Main Event for €675,000 ($795,456) for his largest cash to date, but there was no Platinum Pass for the winner. Sow didn't have to wait too much longer to get his hands on one though. In February, Sow claimed a Platinum Pass after he won the PokerStars Festival London £990 Main Event for another six-figure score of £121,803 ($170,239).

Sow continued his destruction as a month later in March he shipped the Winamax Poker Tour Paris €1,500 No Limit Hold'em High Roller for €100,000 ($123,144). After a few smaller cashes this year, Sow now has $1,616,659 in live tournament earnings and is ranked 64th on the Global Poker Index.

Kalidou Sow Poker Stats

Platinum Pass #31: Alvan Zheng Wins MPC Red Dragon Main Event

China's Alvan Zheng might not be a household name, but he's a known force as a regular tournament player in Macau.

Zheng earned a Platinum Pass after he shipped the MPC Red Dragon HK$15,000 Main Event for HK$3,055,000 ($390,631) in February. This represents the largest score in his poker career that includes $1,179,321 in live tournament cashes.

Alvan Zheng Poker Stats

Platinum Pass #33: Mikita Badziakouski Wins Macau Poker Cup High Roller

With $20,742,707 in winnings, Mikita Badziakouski is top of the charts out of players from Belarus. He is currently one of the most feared players in the world with a ninth-place ranking on the Global Poker Index.

In February, Badziakouski won a Platinum Pass after taking down the APPT Macau Poker Cup HK$80,000 High Roller for HK$2,324,000 ($297,198).

While this earned him a seat in the big show in the Bahamas, this was by far not the Belarussian's biggest recent cash. Badziakouski has amassed five different seven-figure scores since November 2017. His biggest score came when he won the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju Super High Roller HK$2,000,000 Main Event for HK$41,250,000 ($5,257,027) in July 2018.

Mikita Badziakouski Poker Stats

All 271 Platinum Pass Winners So Far

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