Konstantin Puchkov Takes the H.O.R.S.E. Bracelet in Event #31 ($256,820)
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
After another marathon Day 3 in the Amazon Room, Konstantin Puchkov has sent the spectators home for the night, winning the bracelet in Event #31 in one lonely corner of the otherwise empty room. This $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event began with a pack of 827 runners on Wednesday, and it finally culminated with a Russian victory tonight -- fittingly enough, by a man who drives horses with names like "Royal Fush" and "Freeroll" back home.
The final day of the tournament began with 24 players still with a shot at kissing the bracelet, but the early knockouts came fast. Jon "PearlJammer" Turner, Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy, Johannes Steindl, Allen Kessler, and Chip Jett were all deprived of a final table berth, and it took just a couple hours of action to set our final table of eight.
After that quick trip down to eight, the rest of the battle became arduous and tiring. It took about six hours to play down to a heads-up pairing between Puchkov and Al Barbieri, and another three and a half hours of heads-up dueling to crown a champion.
Barbieri and Puchkov exchanged body blows for round after round of poker, and Barbieri nearly had his first bracelet in his grips in the early stages of the fight. Puchkov hung tough, though, and, long after the clock had struck five, he finally took "Sugar Bear"'s final chip, ending the tournament as the last man standing.
So then, congratulations to Konstantin Puchkov and his Russian pals for their bracelet here tonight.