Before a card was dealt, many were backing ‘LLinusLL0ve’ to win the CoinPoker Cash Game World Championship (CGWC). But after a rollercoaster start, online high-stakes reg Artem Shaganov has tipped someone else to win the inaugural competition.
Speaking in a rare interview, Shaganov analyzed some live hands from the CGWC while also sharing his thoughts on the poker community, what the future holds, and whether or not he’ll be diving into the mega-money action over at CoinPoker.
You can see all of his in-game analysis in the full interview below.
If you’re not familiar with Shaganov, it’s understandable – he values his privacy and isn’t one to hog the spotlight. He’s also a feared Hold’em cash game player at the biggest stakes online, and one of the top winners of all time. So, since he’d be more than comfortable playing at the tables he’s commenting on, why not take part?
According to the man himself, he’s not “mentally ready,” having been away from the green felt for a couple of months. And that’s fair enough; it’s much better to recognize when you’re a little rusty than rush into an event just because it’s getting a lot of attention.
Shaganov Tips Kaladjurdjevic For Victory
But one man he does believe is ready is Dejan Kaladjurdjevic, who plays under the no-nonsense username ‘DKaladjurdjevic.’ The 37-year-old Yugoslavian is down more than $39,000 at the time of writing, but things change quickly at the nosebleed stakes.
When pressed on what made Kaladjurdjevic a potential winner, Shaganov cited his mental strength and tough strategy, stating that he wouldn’t choke under pressure and could even “beat half the players here easily.”
High praise when you consider the caliber of player he’s up against.
Of course, a nice runout always helps, and Kaladjurdjevic was on the receiving end of one particularly tasty flush during the live stream. At a $50-$100 table, Kaladjurdjevic found himself with the nut flush, but facing a massive river shove from ‘iWasOnly17’ on a paired board. Holding AQ
on the K
89
910 board, Kaladjurdjevic eventually made the call and claimed a 199 big blind pot against his opponent’s AK.
Shifting between hand analysis and questions about his poker career, Shaganov made it clear he doesn’t love the direction poker is going in terms of stables and poker schools. While he sees the appeal of being staked as you come up through the game, he compared this to risking your own money – and it’s clear which one he respects more.
Naturally, he said he has no intention of opening his own stable, and also claimed he only ever coaches for free. He’s old school.
Tony G Gets Splashy
Meanwhile, it was another old school player who was causing a ruckus at the CoinPoker tables in Tony G. Perhaps it was no surprise that he sat at one of the CGWC tables jubilantly pressuring his opponents into straddling “if [they could] afford it.”
Not content with that nor the $100-$200 blinds, he then channeled his inner Nanonoko and started pushing to open up a second table. The other players, quite content with concentrating on the extremely high stakes they were already playing for, politely declined.
But Tony G is a man of conviction. He was on a mission to play some mega pots, and that’s exactly what he did.
At the $50-$100 table, he held top pair K
Q on a 95K7 board and overshoved the pot. His opponent, ‘Freenachos,’ decided to make the call with the nut flush draw, but failed to hit on the river and shipped a 194 big blind pot across the table.
When a new player sits down at high stakes, most of us would take a cautious approach and try to figure out their game before getting into a massive pot. Instead, Tony G felt Q10 was perfect for a 69 big blind pre-flop raise from ‘hyxgog’ at $50-$100. As it turns out, it wasn’t actually the worst call – his opponent had A9 – but there was no help on the 83747 board. And there went a large portion of his earlier winnings.
Major Hands and Analysis
Another really interesting hand worth around $15,000 saw ‘ChrisNguyen’ lose out to ‘riggedeck’ when things spiralled on the turn. Holding 67, ‘riggedeck’ check-raised the turn on a 62Q5 board then hit the motherload on the 6 river. With less than a pot-sized bet remaining, he led for all of it and ‘ChrisNguyen’ paid off with Q7 for two pair.
Back on the mic, Shaganov was optimistic on the state of poker. He doesn’t agree with some of the doommongers who feel poker is running its course, and instead believes it is flourishing. This passion for the game clearly comes across when he gets stuck into hand analysis.
His in-depth perspectives in an engaging debate about whether or not ‘LLinusLL0ve’ should’ve triple-barrel bluffed his pocket twos, and other big talking points, caused the interviewer to change his stance on multiple hands. The question now is whether Shaganov will also change his mind, and show up at the high-stakes tables later this month.
How to Watch
Here’s how you can watch the CoinPoker CGWC:
CoinPoker uses the currency symbol for Tether (USDT), which has the same value as USD. If you see a ₮10,000 pot, it’s the same as a $10,000 pot.
Find out more about the Cash Game World Championship.