Chatting with a Champion: Yevgeniy Timoshenko Talks Life, Playing at Gardens, and his WPT Win

By Sean Chaffin

Players may have noticed a familiar face in the Gardens tournament area on Day 2 – and hoping he doesn’t end up at their tables. Yevgeniy Timoshenko (pictured) is among those looking to bring home a title in the WPT Gardens Poker Championship.

In Season VII, Timoshenko took down the WPT World Championship at Bellagio for $2.15 million and has $2.6 million in Main Tour winnings. With wins and big scores on tours all over the world, he’s amassed more than $7.7 million in live tournament winnings and millions more online.

Born in Ukraine, Timoshenko moved to Seattle, Washington, when he was 8-years-old and still lives in the area today. The 31-year-old pro is a fan of the property since jumping in the inaugural WPT Gardens Poker Festival last July after playing in the World Series of Poker.

“I really loved it,” he says. “That was my first time at the Gardens and it’s a beautiful facility. You can tell they really value the players here. They provide a very good playing experience. This is probably my favorite card room I’ve played in L.A. I really like it.”

In recent years, Timoshenko has been playing fewer tournaments and begun focusing more on playing cash games.

“I still really like poker, but I’ve come to the realization that it’s really hard to lead a balanced life if you are traveling for poker all the time,” he says. “So I’ve been spending more time in Seattle.”

That includes managing some investments and he also enjoys working out and practicing yoga. Like the poker table, Timoshenko is also competitive on the basketball court and was sporting a pretty nasty finger injury at the tables today at the Gardens.

When looking for some poker action, Timoshenko heads to some home games in the Seattle area and a few area casinos.

While he may have had some wins and major scores online before his WPT World Championship, Timoshenko believes the win vaulted him into the limelight in the poker world and added to his live tournament credibility after just turning only 21.

“It’s still probably my biggest and most meaningful win to date,” he says. “It was an awesome experience and I would say it put me on the map a little bit. I was probably just an online player before then. I did have some success live, but that was a very big win and I look back on it fondly – and I’d love to get a second one soon.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.

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