Russia’s Artur Martirosian has lifted the prestigious WSOP Heads-Up Championship bracelet after defeating Belarus’ Aliaksei Boika for the $500,000 top prize.
The $25,000 buy-in, 64-player tournament saw a traditional WSOP mix of legends and relative unknowns start out on the mano-a-mano battle (with Kristen Foxen the one exception).
By the end of day one we had seen Alex Foxen fell Phil Ivey but he too would fall, at the hands of Frenchman Thomas Eychenne in the round of 16.
Eight players made the money, Patrick “pads” Leonard among them, with Chance Kornuth and Martirosian as the other big names. The latter pair clashed in the quarter-finals, the Russian pulling back a huge chip deficit to win…
Chance Kornuth: A♥ 9♣
Artur Martirosian: K♠ 10♠
Kornuth bet out pre- and all three streets afterwards, only to receive the bad news…
Flop: 10♣ A♠ 6♠
Turn: 9♠
River: 5♦
The semi-finals saw Martirosian-Leonard as the marquee match, and the Englishman had to fight hard to stay in the game as the deck hit his opponent straight in the face.
The final hand was no different, however, as Leonard committed his remaining 15 bigs after a 4-bet and once again found himself behind…
Leonard: A♦ J♦
Martirosian: A♥ Q♠
Flop: K♥ 10♣ 6♠
Turn: 2♠
River: 6♥
Third place for Leonard, and a $180,000 payday to soften the blow, the same as for David Chen who couldn’t deal with Boika’s aggressive play.
The final between the Russian and Belarusian neighbours had a $200,000 pay gap to play for, and of course the WSOP gold bracelet.
The final match of the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship is live at 8P ET/5P PT on https://t.co/pGPDDvq818. Martirosian will be up against Aliaksei Boika for the $500,000 first-place prize and, of course, the gold bracelet. #WSOP2025 pic.twitter.com/XXV2dlChaz
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 1, 2025
Playing 50BBs deep, Boika got off to a fast start but he handed a chunk back when he 3-bet pre then continued into a flopped boat. When Boika allowed Martirosian spike a rivered set, the writing was on the wall.
The final hand saw Boika snap off Martirosian’s 3-bet shove for almost 30 bigs…
Aliaksei Boika: K♥ Q♥
Artur Martirosian: A♦ 6♣
Flop: K♦ Q♦ 7♣
Boika was well ahead with two pair on the flop…
Turn: 4♦
…but the turn gave Martirosian flush outs and sure enough…
River: 9♦
…the river sealed the deal. Martirosian had bagged his third WSOP gold
Final results
1 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | $500,000 |
2 | Aliaksei Boika | Belarus | $300,000 |
3= | Patrick Leonard | England | $180,000 |
3= | David Chen | USA | $180,000 |
5= | Thomas Eychenne | France | $86,000 |
5= | Chance Kornuth | USA | $86,000 |
5= | Harvey Castro | USA | $86,000 |
5= | Mike Shi | USA | $86,000 |
Martirosian won the online Heads-Up bracelet back in 2023 and was runner-up in the live version last year. This time round he defeated, in order: Jeremey Ausmus, Faraz Jaka, Keviin Rabichow, Chance Kornuth, Patrick Leonard and finally Aliaksei Boika.
The Russian crusher explained after last night’s victory. “It’s my favourite tournament, so I come earlier to play this event. Last year I was unlucky in the semifinal, so I’m happy to finally win it.”
