Vasiliy Tsapko has been crowned the winner of the first-ever 888poker LIVE Sochi Festival Main Event taking home the trophy, a $12,500 all-inclusive package to the 2020 World Series of Poker Main Event, and the 5,006,050 RUB ($75,779) first-place prize after a heads-up deal was made with runner-up Leonid Semenyuk.
589 players took their shot in the 62,160 RUB ($888 USD) Sochi Festival Main Event and at the beginning of Day 4, only 12 players remained with just eight of them securing a spot at the official final table.
Over the first couple of hours, Dmitriy Golovin (12th), Garik Tamasyan (11th), and Mikhail Gusev (10th) all hit the rail. When the unofficial final table of nine converged, Vartan Manucharyan was the second shortest stack and after his short stack shove with 
was picked off by Leonid Semenyuk’s 
he was to sent home in ninth place.
The first elimination of the official final table didn’t take long as Ravil Khamatgareev got his 10 big blind stack in the middle from late position with 
. From the small blind Tsapko moved all in over the top with 
prompting a fold from the big blind. The flop fell 
keeping ace high in the lead. The 
turn and 
river were no help to Khamatgareev who finished in eighth place for 704,900 RUB ($10,660).
Twenty minutes later Aleksandr Chernikov raised with and Tsapko put in a three-bet with the 
which Chernikov called. The flop came 
and the pair quickly got all of the chips in the middle with Chernikov holding just two big blinds more than Tsapko. The turn was the and the river fell shipping a huge hand to Tsapko and leaving Chernikov, who was one of the big stacks at the start of the day, with just a shoving stack. He got his two big blinds in on the very next hand and his 
fell to Tsapko’s 
who finished off his opponent with a turned spade flush. Chernikov finished in seventh place for 821,450 RUB ($12,426).
With six players left, the chips continued to fly as the players battled hard to stay in the tournament. It took nearly two hours before the next elimination took place.
Folded to Ivan Federov in the small blind he shoved holding 
and Semenyuk made the call from the big blind with the dominating 
. The 
brought a pair for both players. The hit the turn and the 
completed the board making it so Semenyuk’s kicker was in play. Federov made his way to the cage to collect his 1,024,100 RUB ($15,501) for sixth place.
The very next hand Anton Konovalov made his move. The 888poker qualifier got it all in the middle with the . Once again it was Semenyuk who made the call holding 
. The drama in this hand was over before it began as the flop fell 
, with Semenyuk flopping a full house. When the hit the turn the hand was over and Konovalov was collecting his things when the meaningless 
hit the river. Konovalov collected 1,330,000 RUB ($19,677) for his fifth-place finish.
The speedy eliminations continued. Ten minutes later, Tsapko put in a raise from the button with 
and the final 888poker qualifier in the field, Konstantin Lichagin shoved over the top for 10 big blinds with the 
. Tsapko made the call and the pair were off to the races. The flop came 
providing Lichagin some additional counterfeit possibilities. The turn was the but the river was no good for Lichagin who finished in fourth place for a career-high cash of 1,852,200 RUB ($28,032).
Then things began to slow down considerably. Three-handed play went on for an extended period of time which led to unsuccessful deal talks between the three remaining players. Once that broke down, they went on another break and as soon as they returned Maksym Lavrov found himself headed for the rail.
Semenyuk put in a raise from the small blind with 
and Lavrov made the call with the . The flop came 
and Semenyuk continued to bet but with his middle pair and a backdoor flush draw, Lavrov shoved the rest of his stack. Semenyuk out his chips in the middle and saw he made a good call. His pocket Jacks held through the turn and river. Lavrov busted in third place for 2,543,800 RUB ($38,504).
Right after the elimination of Lavrov, Tspako and Semenyuk negotiated again for a chop but this time they made an agreement. The pair agreed to an ICM split giving Tsapko 4,376,050 RUB ($67,324) and Semenyuk 4,148,200 RUB ($63,818) leaving a little additional money on the table for first and second place as well as the WSOP Main Event package.
Even with a deal for the majority of the cash in place, the final two battled back and forth for the extra value of a WSOP seat and the 888poker trophy.
On the final hand of the tournament, the shorter stack of Semenyuk was in the middle as he open-shoved his and was called by Tsapko’s 
. With Semenyuk at risk, the pair saw a flop of 
. The turn was the 
and Semenyuk needed an ace on the river to survive. The river came the bringing the tournament to a finish as Semenyuk fell in second place for a total of 4,463,200 RUB ($67,557).
Vasiliy Tsapko rose from the middle of the final table chip counts to take home the title of 888poker LIVE Sochi Festival Main Event champion, 5,006,050 RUB ($75,779) for first-place and a seat in the 2020 World Series of Poker Main Event.
888poker Sochi Festival Results
1. Vasiliy Tsapko – 5,006,050 RUB ($75,779) + $12,500 2020 WSOP Main Event seat
2. Leonid Semenyuk – 4,463,200 RUB ($67,557)
3. Maksym Lavrov – 2,543,800 RUB ($38,504)
4. Konstantin Lichagin – 1,852,200 RUB ($28,032)
5. Anton Konovalov – 1,330,000 RUB ($19,677)
6. Ivan Federov – 1,024,100 RUB ($15,501)
7. Aleksandr Chernikov – 821,450 RUB ($12,426)
8. Ravil Khamatgareev – 704,900 RUB ($10,660)