button in SafariPoker Photographer Katerina Lukina Wins Florida Tournament for $42,434
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One of the top photographers in poker put her camera down to make some picture perfect plays at bestbet Jacksonville to win a $100,000 guaranteed tournament on Sunday.
Katerina Lukina, who has worked many events behind the camera for PokerNews, including at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), took down the $500 No-Limit Hold'em event in Northern Florida for $42,434, her fifth career live tournament victory, according to The Hendon Mob.
Photographer Makes Picture Perfect Plays
The tournament at bestbet Jacksonville attracted a field of 521 entries, with 64 players being paid. Final results showed $217,320 in the prize pool, more than doubling the guarantee.
Lukina, who resides in Florida but hails from the Czech Republic, earned the biggest share of the prize pool after defeating Safik Chawdury heads-up for the title. The runner-up collected $28,290 as a consolation prize.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katerina Lukina | $42,434 |
| 2 | Safik Chawdury | $28,290 |
| 3 | Blake Ellinghaus | $20,869 |
| 4 | Saleem Yakoubi | $15,562 |
| 5 | Aja Owens | $11,733 |
| 6 | Andrew Difeo | $8,945 |
| 7 | Ewan Leatham | $6,897 |
| 8 | Dallas Whitaker | $5,378 |
| 9 | Brian Seibler | $4,196 |
Blake Ellinghaus finished in third place for $20,869, Saleem Yakoubi took fourth place for $15,562, and Aja Owens rounded out the top five with a $11,733 payday.
Lukina, who has had success in multiple roles within the poker industry (player and photographer), now has over $300,000 in live tournament cashes, none bigger than the score she earned this past weekend at bestbet Jacksonville.
The recent poker tournament champion wrote on X that she is "grateful for the run and ready for the next one."
The bestbet Jacksonville poker room is considered one of the best on the East Coast. Previously a Home Depot store, the card room is an annual World Poker Tour (WPT) host and has some of the juiciest cash games in Florida.
Lukina isn't the only member of the PokerNews family to win a poker tournament recently. Liam Gannon, a WSOP live reporter for us since 2021, captured his second World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) ring last week in a $600 No-Limit Hold'em event for $19,625, beating out 152 players at Grand Victoria in Elgin, Illinois.
