Monday, Apr 27, 2009 Yevgeniy Timoshenko is the new WPT Champion

21-year-old online pro Yevgeniy Timoshenko won the 2009 WPT Championship at the Bellagio. Scotty Nguyen finished in sixth place.

Timoshenko, Ukranian-born and raised in Washington State, won the 2008 APPT Macau main event, and he has done very well in online tournaments, with a victory in the PokerStars Sunday million as the biggest win.

He started the final table of the 2009 World Poker Tour championship as chip leader and he played a solid game all the way to the end.

The big names busted out one by one; Scotty Nguyen in sixth place, missing the chance to claim the number one spot on the all-time money list, Shannon Shorr in fifth, and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier finished third.

Timoshenko's heads-up opponent was Israeli amateur player Ran Azor. Despite his young age, Timoshenko was the most experienced player of the two by far, and he was in complete control of the game. He played patiently, wearing down Azor without taking any big risks.

In the final hand he held A-3 against Azor's Q-T. A queen on the flop gave Azor the lead, but Timoshenko caught a runner-runner Broadway straght to win the hand and the tournament.

The win gave Timoshenko $2,149,960 in prize money. Ran Azor got $1,446,265 for second place.

Final-table results:

1.Yevgeniy Timoshenko $2,149,960
2.Ran Azor $1,446,265
3.Bertrand Grospellier $776,245
4.Christian Harder $571,965
5.Shannon Shorr $408,550
6.Scotty Nguyen $285,985

Put your knowledge to use! Play at our favorite poker rooms

  1. HiLife Poker Start living the high life with HiLife Poker.
  2. Juicy Stakes Poker Take a bite of Juicy Stakes Poker
  3. Fugu Poker Watch your bankroll inflate with Fugu Poker

Not ready for the action quite yet? Read more about individual poker rooms like Colt Poker in our detailed poker room reviews.