Seat 1: Mykhailo Ostash, 25, Lviv, Ukraine – 9,870,00
Mykhailo Ostash is a bona fide wild card on this star-studded final table, giving little away even in his pre-game media interview. The 25-year-old from Lviv is playing his first EPT Main Event.
Ostash had never appeared on the tour before coming to Malta, and, strangely enough, he did not give any specific reason why he chose this stop for his debut. "I just felt like it," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
It’s been a fine debut for Ostash, whose previous live tournament earnings totaled just under $20,000 and will now balloon to six figures. He plays mostly online, though, and gives poker his all. "No other hobbies, only poker," he said.
Sporting the Ukraine Poker Federation hoodie, Ostash may become the nation's second EPT winner. Only Oleksii Khoroshenin has previously gone all the way, and that was back at EPT Vienna in 2014.
He’ll want to emulate Khoroshenin rather than the four other Ukrainians who have finished runner-up, including Amir Kokhestani earlier this year in Monaco.
Player profiles courtesy of Jan Kores/Florence Mazet/Howard Swains