EPT Kiev: Maxim Lykov crowned champion
After taking the chip lead on Day 3, Maxim Lykov never looked back as he took his big stack all the way to the final two. He then defeated Alexander Dovzhenko to take down the title.
The inaugural Kiev leg of the PokerStars European Poker Tour has ended after 5 grueling days of play. 21 year old Russian Maxim Lykov beat 295 players to the first place prize.
Lykov had been the chip leader since the end of Day 3 and took full advantage of his big stack to take home the €330,000. Local hero Alexander Dovzhenko could not get the better of Lykov in Heads-Up play and had to settle for the €220,000 second prize.
"It was a hard contest, but I did believe I could do it and I was very focused," said Lykov after his win. "I am very proud to win this. Ukraine and Russia are very close so I feel I have won for both countries."
Local hero comes up just short
Despite going into the Heads-Up match behind in chips, Dovzhenko was no push-over in front of his home crowd. The two men traded jabs with Lykov being the more aggressive of the two. In the end, Lykov found a little bit of luck to win the final hand.
Both player checked the flop of 
after action pre-flop had developed a 440,000 pot. With 
showing on the turn, Lykov checked and Dovzhenko made an almost pot-size bet of 400,000. Lykov announced a raise to 1 million before Dovzhenko quickly pushed all-in.
Shrugging his shoulders, Lykov made a quick call. Dovzhenko showed 
for two-pair, but to his dismay, Lykov had made trips with 
. Dovzhenko needed another J to avoid elimination but it was not to be as 
was dealt on the river.
With that win, Lykov earned himself the title of EPT Kiev Champion, the first place prize money, a beautiful etched glass trophy and a seat at the EPT Final in Monte Carlo.
The top 8 finishers for EPT Kiev are:
| EPT Kiev Results |
||
| Rank | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Maxim Lykov | €330,000 |
| 2nd | Alexander Dovzhenko | €220,000 |
| 3rd | Vitaly Tolokonnikov | €140,000 |
| 4th | Arthur Simonyan | €100,000 |
| 5th | Lucasz Plichta | €80,000 |
| 6th | Adrian Schaap | €60,000 |
| 7th | Torsten Tent | €45,000 |
| 8th | Vadim Markushevski | €30,000 |
