Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov Reflects on His First EPT Grand Final
Prior to the 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final, Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov, who placed 18th in the tournament way back in Season 1, talked about his first-ever EPT main event.
You can read the full interview by clicking here, but here is a sample on what he had to say:
How did you come to play your first EPT? Was it a buy-in, satellite, or something else?
Katchalov: EPT Monte Carlo was one of my first major events and my first EPT main event at the time. I was already playing cash games quite a bit and had some small successes in tournaments, so I had the confidence and bankroll to risk playing a big main event like that. I had a friend who took half of my action in the event and I was able to buy the other piece for myself. I had an amazing run and it was certainly one of those memorable events that inspired me to play more in the future.
You finished 18th in that event. At the time, was that disappointing or a great accomplishment?
I remember being disappointed and happy at the same time. It felt great to go so deep and even make a little profit, but of course there is always a bit of disappointment when the "big" money was just a little further away. Either way, I remember having a great time and had a lot of confidence and inspiration to take away for future tournaments.
Do you remember how you were eliminated? If so, care to share?
Surprisingly, I actually do remember how I was eliminated in that event and even by whom. I remember I was a bit short from 30 people on down, but then accumulated a pretty good stack and got moved to a new table. After about an hour or so of being card dead and losing the few hands I would play, I finally picked up 
and got into a preflop raising war with Antony Lellouche who had 
. He had me slightly covered and won the flip to crush my dreams.
What's your best EPT Monte Carlo memory from any season?
I think my best memory is actually from that first time that I played an EPT in Monte Carlo. I vividly remember getting cashed out after finishing 18th and having all the cash laid out in front of me with each bill separated. It all seemed quite crazy at the time and I was just amazed that I could make so much money in such a short time. It was of course also somewhat bittersweet considering that the pay jumps were just about to become big.