Lichagin Leads Final 12 Players of the 2019 888poker LIVE Sochi Main Event
After eight levels of 60 minutes each on the penultimate day of the 20019 888poker LIVE Sochi Main Event, the bubble of the 62,160 RUB (~ $888) buy-in at Casino Sochi in cooperation with Poker Club Management has burst and 12 players out of a field of 569 entries remain in contention for the lion's share of the guaranteed prize pool of 35,000,000 RUB (~$500,000).
They are all vying for the trophy and top prize of 5,745,250 RUB (~$88,388), and an additional $12,500 package for the 2020 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas will be awarded to the eventual champion courtesy of WSOP sponsor and event host 888poker. Best-positioned to lift the trophy on the final day is Konstantin Lichagin (3,515,000), however, Maksym Lavrov follows close behind with 3,430,000. Both ended the night on a high after sending Roman Gadzhiev and Nikolay Evdokimov to the rail.
Third in chips is Aleksandr Chernikov with 3,000,000, while Garik Tamasyan has 2,900,000 at his disposal. Lavrov (Ukraine) and Tamasyan (Armenia) are the only two non-Russian players that can avoid a home victory in the first-ever 888poker LIVE event on Russian soil. The remaining finalists include Ravil Khamatgareev (2,585,000), Vasiliy Tsapko (2,165,000), Dmitriy Golovin (2,040,000), Mikhail Gusev (1,660,000), Vartan Manucharyan (1,500,000), Ivan Fedorov (1,475,000), Anton Konovalov (1,375,000), and Leonid Semenyuk (1,315,000).
With upcoming blinds of 25,000-50,000 and a big blind ante of 50,000, it is still everybody's game and the bottom stacks have at least 26 big blinds worth when the action is set to resume on Thursday, August 15th, 2019 at 12 p.m. noon local time.
Seat Assignments for the Final Day
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 1 | Konstantin Lichagin | Russia | 3,515,000 | 70 |
| 33 | 3 | Ravil Khamatgareev | Russia | 2,585,000 | 52 |
| 33 | 4 | Anton Konovalov | Russia | 1,375,000 | 28 |
| 33 | 5 | Vartan Manucharyan | Russia | 1,500,000 | 30 |
| 33 | 6 | Aleksandr Chernikov | Russia | 3,000,000 | 60 |
| 33 | 8 | Ivan Fedorov | Russia | 1,475,000 | 30 |
| 34 | 1 | Garik Tamasyan | Armenia | 2,900,000 | 58 |
| 34 | 2 | Dmitriy Golovin | Russia | 2,040,000 | 41 |
| 34 | 3 | Maksym Lavrov | Ukraine | 3,430,000 | 69 |
| 34 | 4 | Vasiliy Tsapko | Russia | 2,165,000 | 43 |
| 34 | 7 | Leonid Semenyuk | Russia | 1,315,000 | 26 |
| 34 | 8 | Mikhail Gusev | Russia | 1,660,000 | 33 |
Action of the day
Only 87 players remained at the start of Day 3 and the money bubble was in sight. It still took almost 90 minutes to determine the bubble boy and former WPT champion Dmitry Gromov was among those to miss out on a payday. With 81 players remaining, Vitaliy Avanesyan and Artem Metelskiy were eliminated on separate tables and chopped the min-cash to secure a return on their investment.
What followed was a rush of eliminations and especially Pavel Vershinin went on a heater to send several opponents to the rail in order to become the dominating chip leader. Among his victims were Sergey Kudryavtsev, Eduard Barsegyan, Alexsey Gatsko, and Dmitrii Sukhorukov to vault Vershenin to more than four times the average stack. Arman Nugmanov was added to the list when his aces were cracked by ace-king soon afteer when four spades gave Vershinin the nut flush.
The rise of Konstantin Lichagin started soon after the bubble had burst with a double up and knockout shortly after, and he also got full value with a nut flush against Artur Osipov to enter the top five on the overall leaderboard. Vadim Gayduk was coolered by Garik Tamasyan, who slow-played aces for top full house on the flop and Gayduk turned an inferior full house with king-jack.
At dinner, only 28 players remained and the action remained fast-paced on all tables. Ernest Shakaryan jammed with ace-ten suited into the pocket aces of Lichagin, who picked up even more chips from Osipov soon after to take over the lead for the first time. A flip against Mete Ustuay on the last three tables highlighted the run-good of Lichagin when his ace-jack counterfeited the pocket sixes of Ustuay thanks to two higher pair on the board.
Until then, Vershinin was cruising along near the top but a bluff with seven-four suited against the aces of Garik Tamasyan sent him back into the middle of the pack. Suddenly, Vershinin was unable to hold up in all-in showdowns when getting it in ahead and it all came to a crashing end in 16th place when Vasiliy Tsapko turned broadway with ace-ten against the ace-king of the former dominator.
Evgeniy Golenko suffered the same fate - from big stack to out on the final two tables and the last few minutes of the night also saw Roman Gadzhiev and Nikolay Evdokimov on their way to the payout desk to reduce the field to a dozen hopefuls. They will be back in their seats in the Velvet theatre after a good night's sleep when the newest 888poker LIVE champion will be crowned here in Sochi.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (in CSU) | Prize (in Rubles) | Prize (~ in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 82,075 | 5,745,250 | 88,388 |
| 2 | 53,200 | 3,724,000 | 57,292 |
| 3 | 36,340 | 2,543,800 | 39,135 |
| 4 | 26,460 | 1,852,200 | 28,495 |
| 5 | 19,000 | 1,330,000 | 20,462 |
| 6 | 14,630 | 1,024,100 | 15,755 |
| 7 | 11,735 | 821,450 | 12,638 |
| 8 | 10,070 | 704,900 | 10,845 |
| 9 | 9,025 | 631,750 | 9,719 |
| 10-11 | 8,170 | 571,900 | 8,798 |
| 12 | 7,460 | 522,200 | 8,034 |
, one nine was not enough for a miracle and Evdokimov departed in 13th place for 522,200 RUB.
and Gadzhiev tabled 
for a pair of sevens.
. Gadzhiev was eliminated in 14th place and takes home 472,150 RUB.
flopm Gadzhiev called.
turn nor the 
changed that and Golenko was eliminated in 15th place for 472,150 RUB.
flop, but the 
turn gave Tsapko broadway and suddenly Vershinin needed a ten to chop. The river was the 
and ace-king high won it all for Fedorov, sending Nikolaev to the rail in 17th place. Once all current hands are completed, the remaining 16 players will redraw to the final two tables.
flop improved Chernikov, and the 
river brought no help for Ilyin, who departed in 18th place.
, Golenko paired his kicker on the turn and Osipov was eliminated in 20th place.