Meet our second qualifier for the Drive the Dream live final

We’re excited to introduce the second player to make it through to the live final of our poker promotion for petrol heads, Drive the Dream. Meet Stanislav Savchenko, a 43-year-old professional chess player from Ilvichevsk in Ukraine.

Read the profile of the first winner, Marek Sosnowski, here.

Savchenko’s route to the final table started when he bought into one of our qualifiers for just 25 PartyPoints.

“Qualification to the final game didn’t cost me anything,” he smiles, looking back on the hard-fought poker that’s taken him to within touching distance of the first prize: a 2010 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe.

The whole family was behind him as he played his way to victory. “My reaction and that of the people close to me… was the strongest delight. My son was next to me during the whole tournament, rooting for me, and we were the first who felt this joy.”

No slouch at the tables

Although he’s obviously no slouch at the tables, Savchenko’s never taken down a huge score. “This is my biggest poker win online; offline I played only with my friends,” he says.

His place in the final has given him his first chance to visit London since a trip in 1994, but Savchenko really has his eye on on the main prize. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a car yet… the Aston Martin is the dream of every person – and the legend from James Bond!”

Having said that, the Ukranian is taking a pragmatic approach to the possibility of owning one of the world’s most desirable motors: “If I won the car… maybe I will take the cash”. Phlegmatic perhaps, but we’re sure that if he gets behind the wheel for even a second, he’ll be travelling from London to Ukraine in higher style than he enjoyed on the journey out.

Drive the Dream runs until 12th September, so there’s still time for you to win your seat in the live final; there are six places still up for grabs. As well as the main prize, you could also win the chance to drive a Ferrari, Porsche and a Lamborghini plus loads of big cash prizes. Find out how to qualify today.