Seat 4, Eugene Katchalov, 32, Team PokerStars Pro, Ukraine, 3,280,000 chips
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated in Finance and International Business and was then a stock market trader before becoming a poker pro in 2003. He has already come close to an EPT title before – third at EPT8 Barcelona for $453,812 – and is thrilled to make another final table. He said: “I am just so happy to get another chance at an EPT title, considering I didn’t get one in Barcelona two years ago.”
His live tournament record is one of the most impressive of any player in recent years, with huge cash finishes at most of the world’s biggest tournaments. He already has a WPT victory and WSOP bracelet so an EPT victory would award him the coveted Triple Crown. He already has several cashes on the European Poker Tour including third EPT6 London High Roller for $307,247 and third at EPT8 Barcelona for $453,812. He also scored a huge win at the first-ever $100,000 Super High Roller event at the 2011 PCA, beating fellow Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu heads-up for $1,500,000.
In 2011, Katchalov won the WSOP $1,500 Seven Card Stud event for $122,909 and but his biggest cash was third in the 2010 $10,000 HORSE event for $248,831. He won the 2007 WPT’s Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $2,482,605, one of the biggest payouts in WPT history, and the biggest prize of his career so far. His total live earnings already total more than $7 million and in 2011 he was Bluff Player of the Year. Eugene also has two WCOOP titles - the Heads-Up event in 2009 for $170,000 and Stud Hi/Lo in 2012 for $24,588.