Final Table Player Profile Seat 5: Aliaksandr Shylko
Aliaksandr Shylko, 26, has been a professional poker player for six years. After starting out playing cash games, he turned to hold’em tournaments and now specializes exclusively in them, both live and online.
From Minsk in Belarus, Shylko has racked up a string of cashes on the international circuit since 2016, including winning the €2,200 Eureka High Roller in Rozvadov last year for €75,332. Shylko described his four-day journey to the final table as “smooth for the most part,” but the last day proved much harder.
“I had some very tough spots against Sam Grafton and another English player – I made four hero folds which weren’t easy.” Without them, he admits he may not still have a shot at the PSPC 2023 title.
One hand from Day 4 that stood out as “the biggest hand” for him involved his holding ace-king off vs. ace-king suited and ace-queen suited. A queen in the window looked like it would spell the end of his tournament, but when the king of diamonds appeared, he thought, of the final table – and possibly the title – “I might just get there.”
Of the PCA, which Shylko’s attending for the first time, he says, “It’s great – but crazy pricey. I had a $7 chocolate bar. In Belarus you can get a decent dinner for that!”