The winner of the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low championship was Alex Kravchenko, from Moscow, Russia. He is a 36-year-old businessman originally from Archangel, USSR. He has been playing poker for about eight years.
Kravchenko became the first Russian citizen in history to win a WSOP gold bracelet. Russian immigrants have won previously at the WSOP, including Ralph Perry last year. But Kravchenko's victory is clearly a milestone.
Kravechenko has an impressive history of poker tournament wins in Europe . He won the Austrian Masters Pot-Limit Championship in 2001. He also won the Russian Pot-Limit Championship that same year. His most recent win before this was a Limit Hold'em title at the Helsinki Frezeout in 2002. He has cashed over 30 times in what is becoming an illustrious poker career.
This was Kravchenko's third time to cash at the WSOP (twice last year). He won $228,446 for first place.
It wasn't easy. This was the largest Omaha High-Low turnout in the 38-year history of the WSOP. This year's event attracted 690 entrants. The previous best was 670 for last year's turnout.
