Alexander Kravchenko

Alexander Kravchenko

  • Name: Alexander Kravchenko
  • Current Residence: Hull, U.K. Moscow, Russia
  • Born: 1971
  • Birth Place: Arhangelsk, USSR

Kirill Gerasimov eat your heart out. At the 2007 World Series of Poker Alex Kravchenko proved there was more than one talented poker player in Russia when he took home a gold bracelet from the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo championship and made the Main Event final table.

Though he is still a relative unknown in North America, the Moscow, Russia, man has been playing poker for eight years and has a string of notable European final table results and a couple WSOP cashes to his credit.

But those all pale to the newest distinction held by Kravchenko: the first Russian citizen to win a WSOP event.

The record and the gold bracelet failed to faze the Russian, as he told PokerListings.com shortly after his event win.

"I can say that I wanted to win it, but I wanted to win any big tournament," Kravchenko said. "It was my dream."

Though Omaha Hi-Lo isn't his best game - Kravchenko favors Stud and plays a lot of Hold'em - he managed to outplay 689 entrants to win the $228,446 first prize.

Kravchenko took another shot at greatness in the Main Event as well, making it all the way to the final table and finishing in fourth place. For that he earned his spot in the WSOP millionaires club, taking home more than $1.8 million. 

It might have been his largest cash to date, but his results in Europe are also impressive. Apart from final tabling many tournaments, Kravchenko has wins at the Austrian Masters, the Winter Tournament in St. Petersburg, the Helsinki Freezeout, and the Pacific Poker Open in the U.K.

At the 2006 World Series, Kravchenko cashed more than $10,000 in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em and the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha events, then followed up his 2007 bracelet win with a $16,000 cash for 27th place in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em championship.

The self-described semi-pro has no plans of racking up his air miles on the tournament circuit any time soon though; he will continue living in Russia, where he works in business.

Trivia

  • Holds a WSOP bracelet for winning the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo championship in 2007
  • Was the first Russian citizen ever to win a WSOP gold bracelet
  • Fourth-place finisher in the 2007 WSOP Main Event

Notable Tournament Cashes

Tournament Place Winnings
2009 WSOP, Event 56 - $5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em 83rd $9,159
2009 WSOP, Event 38 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em 35th $4,902
2009 WSOP, Event 34 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em 165th $2,945
2009 WSOP, Event 27 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 5th $53,881
2009 WSOP, Event 18 - $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship 16th $26,921
2009 WSOP, Event 5 - $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha 52nd $4,284
EPT Season 5, EPT Grand Final 38th $52,000
EPT Season 5, EPT San Remo 112th €5,800
EPT Season 5, EPT Budapest 23rd €10,640
2008 WSOP, Event 30, World Championship Limit Hold'em 27th $20,492
2008 WSOP, Event 14, World Championship 7-Card Stud 13th $29,704
EPT Season 4, EPT Scandinavian Open 36th 12,312 DKK
EPT Season 4, EPT Baden Classic 17th €12,860
2007 WSOPE, Event 1, HORSE 5th £17,850
2007 WSOP, Event 55, World Championship No-Limit Texas... 4th $1,852,721
2007 WSOP, Event 51, S.H.O.E. 43rd $3,521
2007 WSOP, Event 26, H.O.R.S.E. 9th $14,438
2007 WSOP, Event 20, 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or-Better 22nd $5,879
2007 WSOP, Event 13, World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em 27th $15,900
2007 WSOP, Event 9, Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-Better 1st $228,446
WPT Season 6, Mandalay Bay Poker Championship 13th $21,860
2006 WSOP, Event 32, Pot-Limit Hold'em 20th $10,660
2006 WSOP, Event 26A, Pot-Limit Omaha 36th $2,508