Konstantin Puchkov

Russian-born Moscow resident Konstantin Puchkov is one of the older players in the live tournament circuit – but don't let that fool you. He has over fifteen years of live poker experience and a WSOP bracelet to his name. This big achievement came in 2010 when he won the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event for $256,820. The tournament had a large and experienced field for a mixed game event (there were over 800 entrants), with Puchkov's win proving that he can compete and even outmatch the best of them.

While the bracelet is his proudest accolade in poker, he is also known for being a former record holder for the most amount of cashes made in a single World Series at 11. Unfortunately for Puchkov, this record was surpassed by a number of different players in 2017. Though with a total of 51 WSOP/WSOPE cashes combined for a total of nearly $1,000,000, Konstantin shouldn't be feeling too sorry for himself.

His success has not been limited to North America, as Puchkov has caught a number of big scores in European events as well. His largest recorded tournament score actually came in 2010 at the €5,000 EPT Main Event in Barcelona. Finishing in third place for $410,038, Konstantin only fell two places short of the seven-figure offering for the winner. He also was in touching distance of an EPT trophy once more back in 2009, where he finished runner-up in the €5,000 Six-Handed event in Monte Carlo for $189,339. Fortunately for Konstantin, he eventually managed to get his hands on an EPT title – the first coming in 2012 at the €2,000 No Limit Hold'em Turbo Bounty event in Campione d'Italia. This opened the floodgates for more European titles, as he won two more of them in 2014 back in Italy – this time earning the €900 Open Face Chinese Unlimited Re-Entry title and the €200 Pot Limit 7 Stud Deepstack Turbo trophy as well. His ability to diversify the games and tournaments that he plays has enabled him to boost his total live tournament winnings to over $2,700,000 today.

Far removed from the world of poker, Puchkov is also a breeder and trainer of horses – though he ties his two passions together by allegedly naming his horses after commonly used poker terms. It seems that his WSOP bracelet in the H.O.R.S.E. event was a long time coming.