Eugene Katchalov now a Team PokerStars Pro

(PRESS RELEASE) -- PokerStars is excited to announce that Eugene Katchalov has become the latest member of Team PokerStars Pro. The 29-year-old pro, who was born in the Ukraine but now lives in New York, will begin wearing the PokerStars patch at the Russian Poker Series Kiev event from March 26 to April 3.

Katchalov has been one of the most consistent players of the past 12 months, the highlight of his year coming in January 2011 when he won the $100,000 Super High Roller event at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $1.5 million, after defeating Daniel Negreanu heads-up. Katchalov almost followed it up with another win in the $20,000 High Roller 6 Max event a few days later at the PCA, but eventually finished second for $131,920.

A delighted Katchalov said: “I feel very fortunate in having the opportunity to represent PokerStars. It is the largest and, in my opinion, the best-run poker site in the world, with a great team of pros. I look forward to continuing my great run in poker and helping PokerStars successfully expand and evolve within the ever-changing world of poker.”

Daniel Negreanu commented: “Eugene has always flown under the radar, but among his peers, his game is well respected and he is considered one of the best in the world, both in tournaments and cash games. I’m thrilled to see Eugene as part of the team. He’s a great guy and an excellent poker ambassador.”

Career highlights

Katchalov made a name for himself in 2007 when he won nearly $2.5m at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, and he has since cemented his credentials as one of the world’s top players by coming third at the EPT London in 2009 for £193,000 and final-tabling three World Series events last summer.

Katchalov now has live tournament career earnings of more than $6.1 million, which puts him inside the top 40 on the all time tournament money list. His biggest cashes include:

· January 2011 – PCA $100,000 Super High Roller – 1st, $1,500,000

· January 2011 – PCA High Roller 6 Max – 2nd, $131,920

· September 2009 – EPT London High Roller – 3rd, £193,000

· December 2007 – Five Diamond World Poker Classic – 1st, $2,482,605

Online success

Katchalov has also had a lot of online success. Playing under his screen name of “MyRabbiFoo”, he won a PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) heads-up event in 2009 for $140,000 and has racked up more than $500,000 of cashes in PokerStars online tournaments.

Katchalov will now play under the screen name “E. Katchalov” on PokerStars.