A few weeks ago, Ukrainian online poker player SallityUA(pictured) came away with the win in the iPoker Network $200,000 Guaranteed Sunday Special, which takes place on sites like Gala Poker. His reward for outlasting nearly 1,000 players was $34,000 and he edged out longtime PocketFiver Jeff YoungSupremacy Hakim heads-up. For his part, Hakim banked $25,000 and SallityUA told us, “After winning, I was really calm because I didn’t believe I had won.”

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Once he overcame his initial shock, SallityUA told PocketFives that he spread the good word to all of his relatives and planned a big get-together with his friends to celebrate his hallmark victory on the iPoker Network. He added that he has a few special purchases in mind for the money: “I will spend part of the money buying a new car and the other part of the money I will use for tournaments with higher buy-ins.”

A late-model Skoda Superb (pictured) is his ride of choice. We looked up a few pictures of the car and it looks pretty slick, so we’re fans of his purchase. Tournament-wise, he’ll target a few events that have a buy-in higher than $50. In the meantime, he has over 1,500 tracked in the money finishes to his name and is the top ranked player in his hometown of Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine.

Speaking of Ukraine, the European nation is #13 in the PocketFives Country Poker Rankings. The top 20 PLB point-earners from Ukraine have a combined score of 82,223 points. Ukraine is barely ahead of 14th ranked Austria on the leaderboard and is home to 446 registered PocketFives members.

The $34,000 iPoker $200K Sunday Special cash is the largest we have tracked for SallityUA. He final tabled a MiniFTOPS tournament earlier this year for $19,000 and plays on the virtual felts of PokerStarsunder the screen name Demjanenko.

He got into poker after hearing about the game on social networks. He then received a few dollars on Full Tilt Poker and began his poker career. “Unfortunately, I lost it,” SallityUA said of his initial bankroll on Full Tilt. “Then, when my rakeback of $14 came in, I started playing cheap sit and gos and gradually reached the level I am currently at.”

He closed by thanking his family, friends, and girlfriend for their continued support of his poker career. “Their belief in me usually helps me,” SallityUA said. “To all of my fellow players, I wish you patience and the ability to get over difficulties and downswings.”

See what else is brewing in our Ukraine pokercommunity. If you don’t already have an account at Gala Poker, which is on the iPoker Network, you can sign up through PocketFives’ links and make a deposit to get a 200% up to $2,000 Welcome Bonus, a VIP upgrade to Level 5, a $6.60 satellite token for the $200K, and one free month of PocketFives Training with the sign-up fee waived. Click here to get started.

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