Vladyslav Shovkovyi Tops Field of 3,989 in $600 Event at Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida hosted a $1 million, $600 buy-in guaranteed no-limit hold’em deep stack event over the weekend. A total of 3,989 entries were made before tournament registrations closed, which is part of the ongoing 2023 SH extension Poker challenge series. In the end, Ukrainian Vladyslav Shovkovyi emerged victorious from the sea of ​​entries with his first recorded live tournament title and first prize of $299,715.

“I think I still don’t understand what happened, but I’m happy and grateful,” Shovkovyi said Seminole Hard Rock tournament blog reporters after coming out on top.

The tournament was played over the course of five days, with six opening rounds held from April 20-22 before the field combined for day 2 on April 23. He slipped to the bottom of the leaderboard during day 2 action, but managed to right the ship and ended up sitting in second place in the leaderboard heading into the final day.

Shovkovyi went into the final table with the absolute lead. He faced stiff competition, including two-time bracelet winner Ari Engel (5th – $94,300) and Poker World Tour champion Darryll Fish (4th – $124,600). Shovkovyi eliminated all but one of his eight opponents at the final table, busting eighth place against runners-up (including Engel and Fish) en route to securing the title.

Engel increased his career earnings to over $8.3 million with the score, while Fish’s lifetime total surpassed $5 million.

“The level of some players here is very good,” Shovkovyi said in his post-win interview. “The guys at the final table had millions in winnings and I’m just starting out. So it was great to play with good players and put them under pressure.”

As a result of his knockout spree, he entered heads-up play against David Trager with a 5:1 chip lead going into the match. Trager doubled up early and then took the lead. After a scheduled break from the tournament, the two returned and began hammering out a deal. It didn’t take long before a ICM chop was settled based on their chip count (87 big blinds for Shovkovyi and 72 big blinds for Trager). The deal saw Shovkovyi secure the title, trophy and $299,715 in prize money, while Trager earned $288,485 as the runner-up.

Here’s a look at payments and POY extension points awarded at the final table:

Photo Credits: Seminole Hard Rock Poker Blog.