Mikalai Vaskaboinikau Turns Late Entry Into Onyx Title
He rushed in with about two minutes left to register, then beat Alexey Borovkov heads-up for $450,000 after an 18-entry finale in Northern Cyprus.
According to PokerNews, Mikalai Vaskaboinikau won the $50,500 Onyx High Roller Championship at Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Northern Cyprus, beating Alexey Borovkov heads-up for $450,000. The 18-entry event generated an $864,000 prize pool and paid only the top three spots, with Borovkov taking $250,000 for second and Rob Yong earning $164,000 for third.
This one came back for its final day with nine players left, and Borovkov was the chip leader on 1,289,000, ahead of Yong on 1,019,000 and Vaskaboinikau on 770,000.
The final table resumed at 1 p.m. local time with three hands left in Level 11. Blinds were 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 big blind ante, and the table was scheduled to play 16 hands per level until there was a champion.
Vaskaboinikau almost did not make it in at all. He said he realized late registration was about to close and found he had around two minutes left to enter, then made a dash to get into the tournament.
The bubble was brutal because only three players were getting paid. Mikita Badziakouski ended up as the bubble boy when Yong called his shove and Badziakouski’s king-high lost to pocket eights on the flop, leaving the remaining trio all safely in the money and locked into at least $164,000.
Yong then doubled Borovkov before taking his shot at Vaskaboinikau, only to finish third for $164,000. Vaskaboinikau had ace-ten against king-nine and paired his ten, which sent Yong out and set up a heads-up match where he started with a near three-to-one chip lead.
Borovkov did manage to double early in heads-up play, but Vaskaboinikau chipped away again until Borovkov was short. The final hand saw Borovkov shove king-six and Vaskaboinikau call with ace-eight, then watch an ace come on the flop and another on the river to give Vaskaboinikau trips and the title.
Afterward, Vaskaboinikau called the win and the trophy “an amazing achievement” and said he does not play much, usually “maybe four or five series per year.” He also joked that his support crew was made up of “all professionals,” and added that Merit Royal Diamond’s “food for free” is a nice way to save money.
