Katchalov misses Triple Crown

Eugene Katchalov narrowly missed out on joining poker’s elite group of Triple Crown winners this week, finishing in third place at EPT Barcelona.

With WPT and WSOP titles already to his name, Katchalov entered the final table at Barcelona hoping to emulate the successes of Gavin Griffin, Roland de Wolfe and most recently Jake Cody by claiming gold on all three of poker’s biggest tours.

But his hopes were dashed when his pocket sevens failed to outdraw Spaniard Dragan Kostic’s pocket nines three-handed. And once Katchalov had hit the rail, part-timer Martin Schleich stepped up to wrestle the title from Kostic for a life changing €850,000.

Katchalov pocketed €315,000 for his efforts, taking his live winnings this year to a staggering $2.5 million, but will undoubtedly be disappointed not to add Triple Crown winner to his ever-growing resume.

EPT Barcelona finished as follows:

1. Martin Schleich        €850,000
2. Dragan Kostic          €532,000
3. Eugene Katchalov    €315,000
4. Raul Mestre             €244,000
5. Tomeu Gomila         €185,000
6. Saar Wilf                 €145,000
7. Juan Manuel Perez   €105,000
8. Isabel Baltazar         €73,000