Born in Kiev, Eugene Katchalov is a Ukrainian poker pro who spent his formative years in Brooklyn, having moved to the States with his family when he was 10. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the Stern School of Business at NYU, majoring in Finance and International Business, before moving on to become a stock market trader. He’d been a casual poker player since graduation, and turned poker pro in 2003.
Eugene’s live tournament record is one of the most impressive of any player in recent years, with huge cash finishes at most of the world’s biggest tournaments, in particular at PokerStars events. He’s cashed on the European Poker Tour (EPT) four times so far, including a 3rd place finish in the High Roller tournament at the London leg in 2009 for $307,247. He also scored a huge win at the first-ever $100,000 Super High Roller event at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), beating Daniel Negreanu heads-up for prize money of $1,500,000. Amazingly, Eugene also cashed twice more at the same festival, including a 2nd place in the $10,000 6-Max tournament for another $131,920.
Eugene has also made the money several times at the World Series of Poker*, including five final table appearances and a top 40 finish in the 2009 Main Event. His best WSOP* result so far came with a 3rd place finish in the $10,000 HORSE event in 2010 for a cash of $248,831. He’s also performed well on the World Poker Tour (WPT), with a consistent run of cash finishes since 2004. Highlights include a massive win at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2007, where Eugene bested the 664-strong player field to take the title and $2,482,605, one of the biggest payouts in WPT history, and the biggest prize of his career so far. There have also been deep runs and victories at various other events around the US and beyond, bringing Eugene’s total live earnings to more than $6,000,000. Eugene has also won big online, taking down a World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Heads-Up event in 2009 for $170,000, and can regularly be found playing PokerStars biggest tournaments and mixed cash games.
Already one of the most successful live poker players of all time, and a legend of the game in his native Ukraine, Eugene looks destined for more success in the years to come, and will be hitting the tournament scene harder than ever before now that he’s playing for the world’s largest poker site.
Career Highlights
| Event | Date | Position | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellagio Cup III $5,000 No Limit Hold’em | June 2007 | 1st | $118,785 |
| WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic | December 2007 | 1st | $2,482,605 |
| 2008 WSOP $10,000 Championship Omaha Hi/Lo | June 2008 | 6th | $110,450 |
| WPT $25,000 Championship Main Event | April 2009 | 9th | $130,735 |
| 2009 WSOP $10,000 Championship Main Event | July 2009 | 39th | $178,857 |
| PokerStars WCOOP No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up | September 2009 | 1st | $170,000 |
| EPT London £20,000 High Roller | October 2009 | 3rd | $307,247 |
| 2010 WSOP $10,000 HORSE Championship | June 2010 | 3rd | $248,831 |
| 2010 WSOP $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed | July 2010 | 6th | $194,559 |
| PCA $100,000 Super High Roller | January 2011 | 1st | $1,500,000 |
| PCA $10,000 High Roller - 6 Max | January 2011 | 2nd | $131,920 |
| 2011 WSOP $1,500 Seven Card Stud | June 2011 | 1st | $122,909 |
| EPT Barcelona €5,300 Main Event | September 2011 | 3rd | $453,812 |
| PokerStars WCOOP $10,300 8-Game | September 2011 | 2nd | $140,000 |
