Andrey Zhigalov has taken down the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, outlasting 731 entries to win his first-ever gold bracelet and the $202,787 first-place prize.
“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 16,” Zhigalov told WSOP reporters. He is preparing hard and dreaming of winning the main event, but he has his focus on mixed games as of now. “It’s boring for me. When I get only two cards, I think ‘Where are the others?”, he added.
The 29-year-old Russian poker player has cashed in a wide variety of mixed game events at the WSOP series, but this win was his largest cash. With this victory, he has earned enough points to move to the 188th place in the Player of the Year standings to be presented in 2018 by Global Poker.
Zhigalov survived to the final table as one of the shortest stacks, but he was able to win some big pots and make a strong comeback. By the time, the play was halted for the night at day 3 end, he held a slight lead over his final opponent Tim Frazin. Later on, things went quickly and the final hand arose where Frazin got his last chips in on third street playing Razz. The hands ran as follows:
Andrey Zhigalov: (A-4)9-2-4-Q-(8)
Timothy Frazin: (6-2)7-J-K-6(J)
Zhigalov made a 9-8 low to win the pot and the title. Frazin earned $125,336 for his runner-up finish. Some notables who made money in this event included Matt Woodwar (4th – $62,379), Scott Clements (7th – $24,531), Ismael Bojang (9th – $14,240) and Brian Hastings (15th – $7,120).
Representing India in this event was the Indian-origin poker player Sandeep Vasudevan who played really well but ended up finishing 6th for an impressive $32,971 for his efforts.
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) |
| 1 | Andrey Zhigalov | $202,787 |
| 2 | Tim Frazin | $125,336 |
| 3 | Bradley Smith | $87,769 |
| 4 | Matt Woodward | $62,379 |
| 5 | Nicholas Derke | $45,006 |
| 6 | Sandeep Vasudevan | $32,971 |
| 7 | Scott Clements | $24,531 |
| 8 | J.W. Smith | $18,541 |