When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, Eugene Katchalov, his wife, and a group of friends formed a caravan to flee the capital city of Kyiv. The group spent two days driving through western Ukraine and the Carpathian Mountains to reach the country's border with Hungary.
The former poker pro who still occupies the top spot on Ukraine's all-time earnings list has returned to the felt more than two years later with a visit to the European Poker Tour stop in Cyprus.
A lot has happened since Katchalov escaped the capital city in the war's early days. The immediate danger is gone, for now, and he has since returned to Kyiv after living outside of Ukraine for six months after the war broke out.
"My wife and I spent about maybe half a year in the Czech Republic," Katchalov told PokerOrg at EPT Cyprus. "My wife's business is in Ukraine. She has a clothing brand and she has stores in Kyiv and Kharkiv (about 500km east of the capital) so at some point we needed to come back to check up on it."
'We missed it'
The threat of an invasion had subsided for Kyiv and Katchalov has been living in the capital city ever since.
"We missed it and it was actually okay by that point. It was well-defended to a degree and we just decided to stay. I like to look at things statistically, and it's highly unlikely anything happens specifically to you. But it is definitely nerve-racking when there's a missile attack."
Katchalov is weathered by the war — a level of anxiety and violence he had never experienced — but some stability has returned since the conflict's early days.
"There was a lot of confusion. We didn't know what was going on. We didn't know where we're gonna live. We couldn't foresee an ending to the war. Everything just kept expanding and expanding and expanding."
Katchalov was born in 1981 in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Social Republic, a part of the USSR. He left for the United States when he was very young and gained citizenship in 1991. When the war broke out, Ukrainian males over 18 were prevented from leaving the country, but Katchalov's US citizenship allowed him safe passage.
Ukraine's uncertain future
Ukraine now faces a new reality, wrapped up in global politics and the uncertainty of the war's outcome. Katchalov says there will be no return to normalcy. "Because what is normal? Because I don't think, even if the war ends tomorrow, I don't think Ukraine returns to normal, at least not to any normal sense. I actually think things will get much more difficult in Ukraine."
"I'm hopeful that this thing is coming to an end in some way because having seen the reality of war to a degree — I mean, I obviously haven't been to the front lines — but I know people who died. Walking around Kyiv, the most noticeable thing is in certain areas you'll see 25-year-old guys without an arm, without a leg, or just in wheelchairs, clearly veterans. And it's just really sad because, you know, a whole generation of men are disappearing."
The front-line fighters are now returning home and they're dealing with heavy loss, PTSD, and a host of wartime problems. "Like right now, at least there's one common enemy in the face of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. When that somehow dissipates, everyone's going to come home and start looking for problems internally. There are a lot of problems internally. So there's some fear in terms of what's going to happen internally in Ukraine, and that's really unclear."
Katchalov also points to high levels of corruption in his home country, a problem exposed even more by war and social destruction.
"Only poor people are the ones who are fighting. No one who has money is doing any fighting. Anything can be bought. Rules don't apply to wealthy people. I think this situation made it clear for me that there are no angels in Ukraine. It's all shades of grey. It's a very complex situation. To me, it seems like there are people up high who are playing these games, but unfortunately, the regular folk are the ones who are dying. My concern is not about land, my concern is about people. I worry about people, I worry about Ukrainian men."
Back on the felt
The Ukrainian pro has now returned to poker, though not in a professional sense. Perhaps it's an attempt at finding some shred of normalcy, but he mostly just misses it.
"I do miss the game. What I think I don't miss is I don't miss playing professionally. I don't want to play for a living. I love the game actually, but just to play for fun, to play recreationally. I think those are the best parts, those are my best memories of the game. I mean, playing professionally is great, but it just requires a lot of work."
Katchalov is now more focused on the recreational side of the game, both on and off the felt. He has spent the last years building his esports business and he is currently developing a product that will bridge the growing gap between recreational players and solver-studying professionals.
"I'm more focused on playing with as many recreational players as possible, just because I think you can have more fun and do things you normally can't do with pros and do more exploitative things and just kind of play around more, which I really enjoy about the game."
Shaking off the rust
The return has been a success so far with a cashing finish in the $2,200 Eureka High Roller. It's the first recorded cash for Katchalov since a brief return to the WSOP in the summer of 2022. "I'm definitely rusty for sure."
"Yesterday I felt like I played well, there was like one spot that I think I screwed up, I don't remember exactly what it was. But today I'm noticing it more in the Main Event, like I'm missing certain bluffs — big bluffs that I couldn't pull the trigger on. So, I'm like, 'Oh man, I'm rusty, I'm trying to make hands instead of actually picking on weakness and stuff'. So, I'm trying to remember that. There's just so many little things that I've forgotten."
Katchalov plans on returning to Las Vegas in December for the WPT Championships, and likely the World Series of Poker in 2025. "I don't know how much I'll play, but I'll definitely come in for some of it. I definitely want to come back and start networking again and seeing people."
Images courtesy of Danny Maxwell/PokerStars
