Eugene Katchalov Net Worth, Bio, & Biggest Poker Wins (2024)

(Featured image: courtesy of WPT)

The US is home to millions of poker players, including Eugene Katchalov who originally hails from Kyiv, Ukraine. He lived in the United States since he was 10 when his family decided to settle in New York for good. He is one of the best card players of his generation.

He once was ranked 2nd on the Global Poker Index, which was his highest rank so far. Unlike many other players who decided to pursue poker at a young age, he was able to finish his degree in business at New York University.

He didn’t start young, but his skills are really amazing that he even had several cashes at different WSOP tournaments just 4 years into his professional career. Just like many others, he started with home games and eventually harnessed his potential, then became one of the best players in the community until today.

Full Name: Eugene Katchalov
DOB: February 21, 1981
Birthplace: Kyiv, Ukraine
Profession: Pro poker player
Wife: Has wife, name unknown
WSOP Bracelets: 1
Net Worth & Career Earnings: $16+ million

Table of Contents

Eugene Katchalov Bio

Katchalov was born in Kyiv, Ukraine. When he was 10, his family moved to the US and they lived in Brooklyn, New York. Despite being on American soil for most of his life, he still brings the name of his birth country during tournaments. Plus, he also visits Ukraine from time to time.

As a child, he was focused on his studies. If other players were exposed to the game early by family members, it wasn’t the case with Eugene. He went on to college and got a business degree at NYU.

It wasn’t until he was 20 years old that he started playing. His friends taught him how to play, and he eventually just got better and better. As usual, he started with home games with small stakes. But when he finally learned some winning strategies, his professional career was very well in clear view.

He didn’t stop at playing home games. He also started playing poker online with a small bankroll. He played at PartyPoker back then, earning at least $25 dollars per day on average. He was fond of Sit and Go games, but later went on to conquer other variations.

In 2022, Eugene Katchalov had to escape Ukraine with his family after the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical conflict and the war the followed. He was sharing his entire escape journey on Twitter.

Poker Career

By the time he was 20, Katchalov was already starting to get into the online poker scene. But in 2004, he started playing in live tournaments where he eventually made it big.

One of the most notable highlights in his career was winning the largest single payout for a non-championship game during the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic event. He got a whopping $2,482,605 in prize money. That’s just one hell of a win!

That wasn’t the only WPT win he had. In fact, he ranked 9th during the 2009 WPT championship event. And, he had several cashes on other World Poker Tour events.

In 2011, he got his first WSOP bracelet, ultimately winning a little over $122,000. Overall, he had 40 cashes for WSOP tournaments including 9 final tables.

In the same year, he became part of the Team PokerStars Pro. He used the name E.Katchalov while he was on the team. He stayed with them for five years and went his own way thereafter.

He was also able to beat Daniel Negreanu during the first PCA Super High Roller event for a $100,000 buy-in. He got a prize money of $1.5 million for this tournament.

In 2016, he decided to go into E-sports with his friend Luca Pagano. They played Hearthstone and created the team known as QLASH.

Right now, Katchalov is said to be Ukraine’s all-time money/poker leader, followed by Yevgeniy Timoshenko (who has 35 WSOP cashes and has over 7.5 Million dollars net worth).

Personal Life & The Escape from Ukraine

There is not much information about Eugene’s personal life. He is a very private person and has managed to keep his personal affairs as quiet as possible.

As we all know, in March 2022, the geopolitical conflict that arose between Russia and Ukraine, and the ongoing war that followed forced thousands, if not millions, of Ukrainians to escape their mother land trying to survive.

The Ukraine’s all-time winning tournament player, Eugene Katchalov has been sharing the news and his journey on Twitter, how he’s trying to escape with his family to a safer location/country.

He also talked to PokerNews podcast/YouTube about getting out of Ukraine during Russia’s invasion. Check out the video below on what happened and how it all went down: