Artur Martirosyan wins 2021 European Poker Tour Sochi Main Event
The European Poker Tour will return to Casino Sochi in October for a brand new series.
The live poker tournament held at Casino Sochi, with the buy-in the equivalent of $2,350 USD and was the first live European Poker Tour event of the year. All others leading up to this point were postponed due to COVID-19, along with most events last year.
Artur Martirosyan has won the 2021 PokerStars European Poker Tour Sochi no-limit hold’em main event. The 23-year-old Russian poker pro overcame a field of 852 total entries to secure his first EPT main event title and the top prize of $325,370 USD. This victory increased Martirosyan’s recorded tournament earnings to just shy of $1.5 million. He is just the sixth player from Russia to win an EPT main event.
“I have always wanted to win the EPT title,” Martirosyan told EPT reporters after coming out on top. “The trophy has such a cool design – it was one of the reasons why I did not think of cutting a deal.”
EPT Sochi was a massive hit in Russia, where most of the 852-entries reside. Only two members of the eight-player final table — Mukhtar Taysi from Turkey and Vladimir Bozinovic from Serbia — hail from different countries. Taysi ended up in third place for $139,352. Bozinovic busted in seventh place, good for $43,356.
This year’s EPT Sochi had 215 more entries than last year’s version, which took place right before the coronavirus became an international problem.
Of the 127 players who cashed in the 2021 EPT Sochi Main Event, 106 were Russians.
The payouts at the final table:
Place Player Earnings
1. Artur Martirosyan $325,370
2. Vladislav Naumov $197,570
3. Muhtar Taysi $139,376
4. Fanis Khafizov $104,536
5. Yuriy Brechalov $82,383
6. Anton Smirnov $61,671
7. Vladimir Bozinovic $43,364
8. Roman Gadzhiev $30,484
The first player to hit the rail was Roman Gadziev, and he was followed by the first non-Russian player, Vladimir Bozinovic, from Serbia. The sixth place was reserved for Anton Smirnov, and Yuriy Brechalov left the game soon after that as a fifth-placed player.
Fanis Khafizov left in the fourth place, and the last player to leave the game before the heads-up was Mukhtar Taysi from Turkey, the second non-Russian player in the heads-up.
Martirosyan’s heads-up opponent was Vladislav Naumov, who had to settle for the consolation prize of $197,570.
The European Poker Tour will return to Casino Sochi in October for a brand new series. Details and the full schedule for that event aren’t yet available.
