Oleksii Kovalchuk

Ukrainian poker phenom Oleksii Kovalchuk is a real prodigy of the game. At the age of just 21, he won the first ever live tournament that he cashed – the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em Main Event of the Russian Poker Tour in Kiev – for $123,456. Less than 6 months into the year, he won his first WSOP bracelet by taking down the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em 6-Max event for $689,739. Not deterred by a challenging line-up that included huge online winner Chris Moorman, recent WSOP Main Event success Benjamin Pollak and talented German Davidi Kitai, Oleksii became one of the youngest players to ever win a bracelet. Before his first recorded year of live tournament poker played out, he won an IPT event in Nova Gorica for $217,407 and came seventh in the PTPT €8,500 Main Event in Cannes for $218,346. In one of the most impressive opening years to the world of tournament poker, Kovalchuk bagged over $1,200,000 in this 12-month run with three titles to show for it.

2012 saw Oleksii win back-to-back WSOP bracelets, this time in the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event for $228,014. To win a second bracelet at the age of just 22 is impressive in its own right, but to do it in a mixed game event is something else. This achievement made Kovalchuk the first Ukrainian to hold multiple WSOP bracelets. Before the year closed out, he earned himself another IPT title – this time at the €2,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event in Sanremo for $226,479. In less than two years on the live poker scene, Oleksii went from having 0 tournament cashes to being a two-time WSOP bracelet winner and earning more than $1,800,000 in the process.

According to his recent social media updates, Oleksii has now retired from full-time poker and is working in the data analytics industry.