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Kliment Tarmakov Turns Short-Stack Grind Into WSOPC Playground Birthday Win
- Kliment Tarmakov wins $481,500 at WSOPC Playground Main Event.
- Secures his first WSOP Circuit ring on 38th birthday.
- Plans to prioritize family over full-time poker career.
Image Credit: Poker.org
Kliment Tarmakov marked his 38th birthday with a WSOPC Playground Main Event win worth $481,500. He survived a short-stack battle and surged heads up to secure his first WSOP Circuit ring.
Kliment Tarmakov celebrated his 38th birthday with a $481,500 win in the WSOPC Playground Main Event. He secured his first WSOP Circuit ring after topping a field of 1,483 entries in the venue’s latest marquee event.
The result arrives more than six years after his last recorded live cash. His first cash came at this venue in 2015 for $510. The finish completes a full circle moment for the player from Toronto.
Tarmakov described the moment as surreal. He had played several events without coming close to a finish like this and said he never thought winning one was possible.
Final Table Pressure Builds
His route to the title followed a smooth start across the early days. He said he avoided tough decisions before the final table and saw cards fall into place. His bluffs held. He did not face major folds. The deep run felt controlled until the closing stages.
Once the final table began, he relied on the second-place stack he carried into the session. His stack lost momentum as play tightened.
By the time four-handed play arrived, he found himself short and forced into one-street poker. His approach was to fold or move all in while waiting for a shift in the standings.
He saw that shift when Ricardo-Cermeno Sandoval, second in chips, exited after a major confrontation. The pot moved to David Quang, who took a strong lead.
Tarmakov believed Sandoval’s wide range gave him a chance to ladder, even with fewer chips. The prediction held as Sandoval fell, and Tarmakov stayed alive while avoiding large confrontations.
Behnam Patros then exited in third place. With no eliminations credited to him, Tarmakov advanced to heads up trailing 55,000,000 to 18,000,000.
Momentum Begins to Shift
Tarmakov said his run of strong hands arrived only after reaching heads up. His focus stayed on survival until then. Once the cards turned, he picked up enough hands to close the gap. He moved into a narrow lead before it swung back to Quang.
The key hand arrived when Tarmakov doubled through with pocket sevens against Quang’s pocket fours. The pot created a near 3 to 1 lead. He applied steady pressure from that point forward.
Quang’s stack declined and the event ended with Tarmakov holding pocket fours, the same hand that cost Quang earlier.
A Win with Family Focus
The victory brings a payout worth more than ten times his previous largest score. Yet Tarmakov does not see it as the start of a full-time poker path.
He noted he played more often between 2015 and 2020, but family responsibilities now guide his choices.
The winnings will support his two children. Occasional poker trips remain possible, but a career revival seems unlikely.
2025 WSOPC Playground Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilment Tarmakov | $481,500 |
| 2 | David Quang | $320,700 |
| 3 | Benham Patros | $226,300 |
| 4 | Ricardo Cermeno-Sandoval | $162,100 |
| 5 | David Orlando | $117,900 |
| 6 | Charanjeev Malhotra | $87,100 |
| 7 | Matthew Desaulniers | $65,300 |
| 8 | Jamie Sequeira | $49,800 |
| 9 | Shaan Siddiqui | $38,607 |
| 10 | Louise Francoeur | $30,350 |
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