Home / Poker News December 2011 / WPT Prague – Pateychuk Wins
WPT Prague – Pateychuk Wins
Posted by: Randy Williams - Wed, 2011-12-07 10:04
The WPT’s Prague Main Event is history and the winner is Andrey Pateychuk, the Russian who took down the EPT’s San Remo Main Event a couple of months ago and who finished 15th in the WSOP’s Main Event. Pateychuk took down an impressive prize of €450k in Prague, thrusting his live tournament earnings for the year to around $1.5 million.
Stanislaw Kretz of Germany held the chip lead at the beginning of the final table action. Pateychuk was a mid-field resident, together with Benjamin Pollak and Adria Balaguer. As the action kicked off, the pressure was on the short-stacks. Faced with a do or die situation, both Sigurd Eskeland and Russell Carson fell to the
Holdem gods quite early.
They were followed to the rail by Benjamin Pollak who picked up €104k for his efforts. Thus, the three-handed stage of the event was set. At this point in the tournament, Kretz still had the largest stack, but soon, he dropped a massive pot to his Russian foe, one that would alter the course of the tournament for good.
The crucial hand saw the two players tangle a few times before the K,9,2 flop fell. Past the flop, they both checked to see an A drop on the turn. Kretz then pumped about a million more chips into the pot, which Pateychuk promptly called. The 3d fell on the river prompting Kretz to just check. Pateychuk followed suit and then tabled pocket Ks for the flopped set. The hand left the German crippled and he was bounced a couple of hands later by Pateychuk. He picked up €158k.
The heads-up stage between Pateychuk and Balaguer began on relatively even footings, but Balaguer soon took a massive lead. The Russian then began a phenomenal rebound, which saw him bounce from a 10-1 chip hole into the lead again before delivering the final blow and taking down the title.
The final hand of the event saw Pateychuk’s A,5o best Balaguer’s pocket Qs for the win.
