Maksim Skripkin Wins the 2021 WPTDS Sochi Main Event (₽8,400,000 / $114,187)

Maksim Skripkin

The S19 WPTDeepStacks Sochi Festival has crowned a winner in the flagship ₽119,000 Main Event. Maksim Skripkin entered the final table with a comfortable lead and ultimately accumulated all the chips. It was not a smooth ride throughout the day as he conceded the top spot on two occasions. However, when the final river card was dealt, it was Skripkin that came out on top after defeating Vitaliy Pankov in heads-up.

Both Skripkin and Pankov have been playing poker for 12 years. The favorite game of Skripkin is Omaha but he had to settle for two cards in every hand this time. Thanks to the victory, he has recorded his biggest cash on the live poker circuit for ₽8,400,000 / $114,187 while runner-up Pankov had to settle for a consolation prize of ₽5,670,000 / $77,076.

Narek Arsenyan finished in third place after starting the day with just nine big blinds and further notable finalists included Vitaliy Li, well-known online grinder Artem Vezhenkov, and Mustafa Biz.

The Eight Main Event Finalists

The roles at the start of the final table were clearly outlined. Skripnik held the lead ahead of Yuriy Salikaev and three short stacks were under immediate pressure. Narek Arsenyan was able to escape from the bottom of the leaderboard while Mustafa Biz went on a roller-coaster ride. Ultimately, Biz became the first casualty when his ace-jack ended up second-best to the red-hot running Arsenyan, who rivered a flush with queen-jack suited.

In the second level of the day, three eliminations in rapid succession reduced the field to the final four. Artem Vezhenkov ran with ace-king into the pocket kings of Arsenyan, who continued his rise towards the top of the leaderboard. Vitaliy Li also got it in with ace-king, facing the ace-king suited of Vitaliy Pankov. Two clubs on the flop and the third on the river sealed Li’s fate in cruel fashion. The elimination of Artsiom Prostak came in coin flip fashion, once again it was Arsenyan who dealt the final blow.

Four-handed play became a stalemate of more than three hours. Yuriy Salikaev appeared to be a cat with many lives as he doubled with a short stack three times. Ultimately, the fourth time was no charm when Arsenyan scored yet another knockout. Three-handed play carried on for a while to then see Arsenyan with a risky move on a gutshot, which failed to get through against the top pair of Pankov.

Heads-Up Play

Heads-up play lasted for more than an hour and the lead swung back and forth several times. Skripkin had the fortune on his side when he was at risk with ace-queen versus ace-king. The queen appeared on the turn to vault Skripkin into a commanding lead. Pankov doubled once but eventually lost a classic flip to finish as the runner-up.

The Main Event attracted a total of 413 entries and the top 53 finishers earned a slice of the ₽42,432,670 (~$576,815) prize pool. Two non-Russian players reached the eight-handed final table but the trophy will remain on home soil thanks to the victory of Skripkin.

Final Result 2021 WPTDS Sochi Main Event

1st Place: Maksim Skripkin (Russia) – ₽8,400,000 / $114,187
2nd Place: Vitaliy Pankov (Russia) – ₽5,670,000 / $77,076
3rd Place: Narek Arsenyan (Russia) – ₽4,165,000 / $56,618
4th Place Yuriy Salikaev (Russia) – ₽3,115,000 / $42,344
5th Place: Artsiom Prostak (Belarus) – ₽2,350,600 / $31,953
6th Place: Vitaliy Li (Russia) – ₽1,792,000 / $24,360
7th Place: Artem Vezhenkov (Russia) – ₽1,382,570 / $18,794
8th Place: Mustafa Biz (Turkey) – ₽1,078,000 / $14,654