Alex Kravchenko Takes Down Event #9 Bracelet

The final table of the $1,500 Omaha eight-or-better event began just after 3 p.m. this afternoon with eight players vying for the first-place prize of $228,466. In the end, it was a stout Russian against a former card dealer who is all too familiar with the final table pressure and glory that the World Series of Poker is all about.

Here is how things looked when the players took their seats:

Seat 1: Alex Kravchenko
Seat 2: John Varner
Seat 3: Bryan Andrews
Seat 4: Yueqi "Rich" Zhu
Seat 5: Bryan Devonshire
Seat 6: Jordan Morgan
Seat 7: Jeff Calkins
Seat 8: J.R. Reiss

Everyone held tight for the first hour, and not one person was eliminated. This created many short stacks and, after the first break, things got rolling in a hurry. Jeff Calkins, Rich Zhu, and Jordan Morgan were eliminated in rapid succession. They all left the table within 10 minutes of one another.

A group of railbirds began to gather with five players left, and Bryan Devonshire definitely played to them. "We gotta make this feel like a World Series final table," said Devonshire as he liberally spread high-fives to fans down the edge of the "No-Limit Lounge." The lounge supplied a birds-eye view of the action. Layne Flack (who scaled the side of the lounge to get to its perch), Brandon Cantu, and Jeff Madsen were among those present to sweat Devonshire at various points of the tournament. While all this was happening away from the action, at the table J.R. Reiss, Bryan Andrews, and John Varner were eliminated in fifth, fourth, and third places, respectively, over the next hour. Action was now heads up, and here is how it played out in the CardPlayer.com event logs:

Alex Kravchenko: $2,005,000
Bryan Devonshire: $695,000

Devonshire Fights Back

A few hands into the match, Devonshire was able to pull off a $250,000 swing and grew his stack to $880,000. Kravchenko still held $1,065,000, but Devonshire had started his climb back into contention. The crowd applauded with every pot he took down, the volume adjusting accordingly to the size of the pot.

Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

The two players in the heads-up match could not have been much more different unless they tried. Devonshire is your all-American nice guy, a little goofy, but a jovial spirit that chats as much with the crowd as he does with the players at his table. Kravchenko is a quiet man, with a stern demeanor. You wouldn't call him the mad Russian or anything, but it's a safe bet that you can count the number of times he smiles in a given day on one hand.

Devonshire had been able to close the gap during the first part of their heads-up match. That would all change, though, with a board of K 10 2 A on the table. Devonshire bet $80,000 and Kravchenko raised to $160,000. The 5 was peeled off the deck on the river. Each player had $435,000 committed to the pot at this point. Kravchenko then fired out $80,000 more and Devonshire said, "So sick." He then made the infamous crying call that plagues many a poker player at night and Kravchenko flipped over K Q J 2. Devonshire mucked his hand and Kravchenko now had an overwhelming lead.

Devonshire was now in all-in mode with only $220,000. He was able to survive many hands by taking either the high or the low hand. Devonshire was able to double up when he was all in for $175,000. He scooped a pot with J 5 4 4 in his hand, on a board of Q 8 4 9 A. The crowd of railbirds broke into applause. Cantu called out to Devonshire after the hand. "Here we go, this is the time," said Cantu. "I need a line of horseshoes," said Devonshire with a smile.

Devonshire was all in on every hand he decided to play by this point and he shoved all his chips into the middle on a flop of Q Q 4 4. He then flipped over A A 8 5. Kravchenko showed A 10 9 4, though, and the 8 on the river was no help. Devonshire finished in second place, and took home $140,336. Kravchenko won the gold bracelet for the $1,500 Omaha eight-or-better event and $228,446.