EPT: Vadzim Kursevich Storms to Deauville Victory

Posted by Lasse Hamar 07/02/12

Monday night in Deauville was a good one for Belarussian poker pro Vadzim Kursevich. The 24 year old eliminated the last three players to capture the EPT Deauville title and win the €875,000 ($1,150,000 US) first place prize money.

Kursevich came into the final table sitting second in chips and was mostly a spectator during the early eliminations. Mick Graydon was the first to go when his A 9 couldn’t beat the A K of Paul Guichard. Luca Pagano, who was making his record seventh EPT final table appearance, finished seventh after being eliminated by Vuong Than Trong. Despite the final tables record Pagano is still without an EPT title.

Guichard then picked up his second scalp of the night when he sent Olivier Rogez home in sixth place before Trong busted Bruno Jais in fifth. With four players remaining Kursevich went to work. He first busted Yorane Kerignard in fourth place. He then doubled-up off of Trong to take sizable chip lead before busting Trong in third. When heads-up play between Kursevich and Guichard started Kursevich had over 90% of the chips in play.

The two played heads-up for nearly 45 minutes with Guichard battling back to almost even before the final hand of the night. Guichard three-bet from the big blind to 1.25 million and Kursevich called. The flop came J 7 5 and a call from Kursevich after Guichard bet 625,000. The 9 on the turn was the key to the fireworks. Guichard bet 1.325 million and Kursevich responded by moving all-in. Guichard quickly called and tabled 5 5 for a set while Kursevich showed 6 3 for a 14-out draw. The 8 on the river completed Kursevich’s straight draw.
“I can’t really believe it,” said Kursevich. “It’s like a dream. A lot of times, you finish 28th, fifth, even second – and you think ‘What do I have to do to be the champion’ but when you are, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

EPT Deauville Final Table Payouts

Vadzim Kursevich – €875,000 ($1,150,000 US)
Paul Guichard – €557,000 ($731,000 US)
Vuong Than Trong – €328,000 ($430,000 US)
Yorane Kerignard – €260,000 ($341,000 US)
Bruno Jais – €200,000 ($262,500)
Olivier Rogez – €155,000 ($204,000 US)
Luca Pagano – €110,000 ($145,000 US)
Mick Graydon – €67,200 ($88,200 US)