Aleksandr Shevliakov Wins the EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event

Within the film Rocky IV, Russian boxer Ivan Drago is educated to be a strong, impassive combating machine, exhibiting no mercy in direction of his opponents. Aleksandr Shevliakov did his finest impersonation of his fictional compatriot at present on the last desk of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte-Carlo Main Event held at Sporting Monte-Carlo.

Shevliakov, barely cracking a smile or displaying any trace of the strain of the second, seized the chip lead early and powered by way of the remainder of the ultimate desk on his technique to hoisting the Golden Shard trophy and taking house the €1,000,000 first prize after defeating Ukrainian novice Khossein Kokhestani heads-up and conquering the 1,195-player discipline.

Closing Desk Outcomes

“Ran good, after all. Simply good,” Shevliakov mentioned, characteristically brief on phrases after the largest second of his poker life when he grew to become the primary Russian to win an EPT title exterior of his house nation since Andrey Pateychuk took down San Remo in 2011.

Poker is only a interest for the 37-year-old Saratov, Russia native, who now works in IT in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It’s been fairly a profitable one, as Shevliakov got here into the ultimate desk with greater than $1 million in stay earnings. He completed second within the Excessive Curler at EPT Paris in 2023, and in addition made the ultimate desk of the identical occasion in Barcelona that yr. His lone prior EPT Primary Occasion money got here from the 2023 Barcelona pageant, the place he got here in 116th place.

Regardless of the title, Shevliakov doesn’t count on it to influence his poker profession an excessive amount of. He nonetheless plans to deal with it as only a interest, even when he has just a few different titles he desires to verify off on his resume. “I don’t know. Possibly I’ll play some excessive curler tournaments, however I don’t assume it would change,” he mentioned. “WSOP can be nice as properly, Triton too, however let’s begin with this.”

Shevliakov’s win wasn’t with out some controversy, nevertheless. In a second that can be remembered in EPT lore lengthy after all the pieces else that occurred at present is forgotten, and threatened to cloud his triumph within the eyes of many within the poker group, Shevliakov obtained concerned in a pot with Jamil Wakil early on the last desk. Wakil had opened from below the gun, and Shevliakov, within the small blind, didn’t discover and tried to make his personal increase. The match ground compelled him to make a authorized min-raise as motion went again on Wakil, who shoved all in. Shevliakov had the products, ace-king suited. Wakil stood up from his seat and leered throughout the desk at Shevliakov. If seems may kill, Wakil would’ve been charged with homicide. The board ran out clean for Wakil, and the Canadian excessive curler busted below suspicious circumstances.

Shevliakov afterwards continued to insist it was simply an sincere mistake. “Simply verify the published. As a result of I open-raised from the small blind, after which I spotted that Jamil had open-raised it. So it wasn’t an angle shoot or something like that,” he mentioned. “I’m very unhappy for Jamil, however it’s what it’s. It’s my mistake, however he’s a sufferer. I’m very sorry.”

Closing Desk motion

The remaining six gamers from the second-largest EPT Monte-Carlo in historical past returned to Sporting Monte-Carlo at 12:30 p.m. to play all the way down to a champion. A well-recognized title stood atop the leaderboard. Boris Angelov had the chip lead going into the ultimate desk of this occasion for the second straight yr as he tried to get redemption for his runner-up end a yr in the past.

The controversy between Shevliakov and Wakil darkened the temper of the ultimate desk early. Wakil raised to 270,000 below the gun as motion folded round to Shevliakov within the small blind. Shevliakov, turned away from the desk to take a sip of his tea, didn’t discover, and tried to lift to 350,000. The ground needed to be referred to as over, and it was dominated Shevliakov needed to make it 420,000. Wakil then moved all in for 3,895,000, and Shevliakov snap-called with ace-king suited. Wakil had queen-jack however couldn’t join with the board as he busted in sixth place.

Shevliakov overtook Angelov for the chip lead with that pot, however Angelov narrowed the hole when he hero-called a wager of 800,000 on the river with only a pair of fours as Shevliakov was caught bluffing. Angelov, although, slid down the leaderboard over the course of three arms.

First, he bumped into Kokhestani’s pocket tens and paid off a wager of 900,000 on the river. He then wager into Mariusz Golinski’s full home for 535,000 on the flip earlier than checking again on the river. Lastly, he misplaced one other massive chunk of his stack in a three-bet pot towards Enrico Coppola, who turned a ten to beat Angelov’s ace-king.

Angelov was all in for 1,600,000 from the small blind with two sixes, and Shevliakov referred to as with queen-ten. Angelov survived the flip to double up, then doubled up once more, this break day Coppola, when each gamers hit prime pair of queens on the flop however Angelov’s ace-kicker performed.

Golinski then shoved for 3,775,000 with ace-nine, and Shevliakov wakened with the identical hand he used to bust Wakil, ace-king suited. The flop gave him a straight, whereas the flip improved him to the nut flush to safe the pot as Golinski busted in fifth place.

Quickly afterward, Coppola moved all in for two,725,000, and Shevliakov referred to as with a pair of sixes. Coppola had been caught making a transfer with simply jack-high and missed the board because the Italian lodge proprietor grew to become the fourth-place finisher.

Shevliakov climbed above 20,000,000 with that pot, greater than his two opponents mixed, as he started to play some energy poker. He obtained an enormous bluff by way of Angelov when he three-bet the flop to 1,700,000 with simply queen-high, then wager one other 1,500,000 on the flip as Angelov lastly gave up his hand. Angelov received one other flip towards Shevliakov to double up as soon as extra, however final yr’s runner-up quickly had his unbelievable run come to a sudden finish. Heads-up on the flip, Kokhestani moved all in and Angelov burned by way of a number of time banks earlier than calling for his final 4,725,000 with ace-high and a straight draw. Kokhestani had a pair of tens, and Angelov missed the river, sending him to the rail one spot in need of his end a yr in the past.

Kokhestani’s bustout of Angelov catapulted him above Shevliakov to start heads-up play, with Kokhestani holding a small 18,250,000 to 17,450,000 chip lead. The 2 opponents had been nonetheless greater than 70 massive blinds deep and primed for a protracted heads-up duel that had the potential to final deep into the evening right here in Monte-Carlo.

The lead modified arms a number of instances over the course of the battle. Shevliakov moved in entrance when he rivered two pair and obtained paid on a 1,500,000 river wager. He was then compelled to fold a king-high flush on a double-paired board as Kokhestani moved again in entrance. The lead flipped once more when Shevliakov flopped two pair and obtained three streets of worth from Kokhestani’s pocket threes, together with an enormous wager of three,000,000 on the river as he went forward 26,100,000 to 9,600,000.

Kokhestani drew nearer by going for worth with a wager of two,000,000 on the river holding only a pair of eights on a king-high board. Shevliakov referred to as with a pair of threes and surrendered the pot. Kokhestani then crammed up on the river as he put in a increase to three,500,000 on the river. Shevliakov removed a smaller full home, and Kokhestani took the pot to attract practically even as soon as extra.

In one other boat-over-boat scenario, Shevliakov was on the precise facet of it this time and retook an enormous lead as Kokhestani paid off a river wager of 4,500,000. On the following hand, Kokhestani limped in, Shevliakov jammed, and Kokhestani referred to as for his final 9,570,000 with ace-six. Shevliakov had king-deuce and paired his deuce on the flop to take the lead as Kokhestani couldn’t catch up, sending the Hamburg dentist to the rail in second place.

Shevliakov took down the title with cool effectivity. Even when hoisting aloft the gold-plated trophy that capped off his victory, he needed to be reminded to let loose a smile. For the IT specialist, used to coping with computer systems and impassive expertise each day, it was like one other day on the workplace. What began with a boiling controversy ended with a chilly, calculating triumph for the Russian.

That concludes PokerNews protection of EPT Monte-Carlo. The EPT subsequent heads to Barcelona from August 18-31, adopted by additional stops this yr in Malta, Cyprus, and Prague.