Andrey Pateychuk Wins WPT Prague


Tuesday December 6,2011 : RUSSIAN VICTORY AT WORLD POKER TOUR PRAGUE
 
Four days to best 571 entrants
 
The Euro 3,500 buy-in WPT Prague attracted 571 entrants this week, and proved to be another successful competition for 22-year-old Russian player Andrey Pateychuk, who in the last five months has finished 15th in the World Series of Poker main event to earn $478,174; scored again in the EPT San Remo for $937,530; and has now won the WPT Prague for Euro 468,200 and a $25,000 seat in the WPT Championship next year.
 
The young Russian did not have an auspicious start, arriving late to find his 120 000 starting stack being steadily blinded away in his absence, but he settled in with a low key, disciplined approach that saw him rise through the pack until he reached a final table and faced Adria Balaguer, Stanislaw Kretz (chip leader at that point), Benjamin Pollak, Sigurd Eskelund and Russell Carson.
 
That final group played for 10 hours of at times scintillating poker before Pateychuk managed to turn his third spot stack into victory, carrying off the lion's share of the prize money.
 
Before he reached that happy stage, the Russian had to beat his heads up opponent Adria Balaguer of Spain against seemingly formidable odds, with the Spaniard holding a 14 to 1 chip advantage. Yet he was able to do it in around 2 hours of hectic back-and-forth action, and bring himself within striking distance of a triple crown if he can win a WSOP bracelet.