Seven Russian poker players who have permanently written their names into the history of the game

Russian players have traditionally held the status of some of the strongest in the global community. For years they've been among the elite of high-stakes online cash games, and at the biggest live series from Las Vegas to Cyprus they regularly battle for prestigious titles. In this piece, we've put together the best Russian poker players.

Ivan Demidov — the man who launched the poker boom in the CIS

For Russian poker, Ivan Demidov became what Chris Moneymaker was for the world. In 2008, a professional StarCraft and Warcraft esports player, he pulled off a historic breakthrough that still stands as an unbroken record for Russian-speaking players. Ivan finished second in the WSOP Main Event, earning $5.8 million. That same year he made the final table of the WSOPE Main Event in London and finished third. Demidov became the first poker player in history to reach the top 3 of both of the world's major Main Events within a single calendar year. Over his entire live tournament career he banked $6.8 million in winnings.

Timofey Kuznetsov — the strongest all-rounder of the high-stakes era

One of the most enigmatic and technically flawless players of the modern era. A math genius and graduate of the Mechanics and Mathematics Department at Moscow State University, he burst onto the most expensive online limits in the early 2010s. For four years he maintained complete anonymity under the nickname Trueteller, earning more than $5 million on PokerStars and Full Tilt alone. Kuznetsov revealed his identity only in 2015, when he sat down to play a high-stakes tournament at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

Although Timofey specializes exclusively in closed cash games, he regularly puts up strong results in live tournaments as well, with his total official winnings exceeding $8.6 million. His key offline results include a fourth-place finish in the 2015 Super High Roller Bowl, worth $2,150,000, as well as a win in the short-deck poker event at the Triton Poker series in Jeju, where he earned $1,724,185.

The global community recognizes Kuznetsov as an all-rounder capable of adapting to any conditions. Popular American pro Doug Polk once noted that if an entirely new form of poker were invented tomorrow, the last person he'd want to meet across the table would be Trueteller. Russia's standing offline was also confirmed by Gus Hansen, who, in his account of the closed Bobby's Room at the Bellagio, included Timofey among the tight circle of old-school American elite alongside Doyle Brunson.

Artur Martirosyan — leader of the new wave

Artur Martirosyan tops the official ranking of the most successful players in the history of Russian poker. A pro from Voronezh, known online under the nickname mararthur1, he pulled off one of the most rapid rises in the industry. In just a few years, he went from microstakes to regularly playing high roller tournaments with buy-ins of up to $250,000.

To date, Martirosyan's total live tournament winnings exceed $35.2 million. In the summer of 2026 at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Artur won his fourth career gold bracelet, taking down a 6-max No-Limit Hold'em high roller event. That win earned him $1,286,285 in prize money. The largest payout of Martirosyan's career remains the $3,271,666 he collected for second place in a super high roller at the 2023 WSOP. He's also among the strongest players on the planet both at live series like Triton Poker and the EPT, and at the virtual tables, where his online winnings exceed $26 million.

Igor Kurganov — high roller and philanthropist

Igor Kurganov held the record for total live tournament winnings among Russian players for many years. Igor was born in St. Petersburg but spent most of his life in Germany and the UK. Over his career, Kurganov banked more than $18.7 million. A key achievement of his career was winning a World Series of Poker gold bracelet in 2017, when he and his partner Liv Boeree won the Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em event. The largest payout of Igor's career remains the $1,425,874 he earned for third place in a super high roller event at the EPT Monte-Carlo series.

Kurganov's significance in world poker lies in his public and charitable work. Together with Liv Boeree and German high roller Philipp Gruissem, he founded the international foundation Raising for Effective Giving. This organization brought together professional poker players who committed to regularly donating a fixed percentage of their tournament winnings to effective global charitable causes.

Igor's mathematical approach to charity led him to collaborate with Elon Musk. Between 2021 and 2022, the head of Tesla and SpaceX entrusted the Russian poker player with managing the charitable arm of his foundation. Kurganov was responsible for auditing and distributing grants totaling up to $5.7 billion.

Anatoly Filatov — the face of media poker

Anatoly showed the entire CIS community how to successfully combine professional play with public visibility. He was at the roots of Russian-language poker streaming, running vlogs from live series that drew hundreds of thousands of views, and actively engaging with his audience. At the same time, his media presence never got in the way of delivering strong, consistent results. Over his live tournament career, Anatoly has earned more than $11.3 million, making him one of the most successful Russian poker players in history.

In the fall of 2021, playing under his famous nickname NL_Profit, he finished second in the WSOP Online Main Event and collected $3,281,859 in prize money. Just a month later, Anatoly backed up that success by winning his first official World Series gold bracelet in the Bounty Championship high roller event, which brought him another $1,192,238.

Alexander Kostritsyn — a legend of mixed games

In 2008, Alexander wrote his name into the poker encyclopedia by becoming champion of the Aussie Millions Main Event in Australia, beating none other than Erik Seidel heads-up. But joiso's true element isn't Hold'em tournaments — it's high-stakes cash games across every existing discipline, including limit games, stud, and triple draw. Online, he was one of the few Russian-speaking players willing to sit down at mixed-game tables against Phil Ivey and Viktor Blom.

In the summer of 2026, at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Alexander won his first career gold bracelet in a H.O.R.S.E. event, earning $872,052 in prize money.

Vladimir Troyanovsky — the leading veteran of domestic high stakes

Vladimir Troyanovsky is rightfully considered a key figure and the leading veteran of the Russian high roller scene. Unlike most modern pros, Vladimir represents the old school of players who honed their skills offline back at the turn of the 1990s–2000s. Over his long live tournament career, Troyanovsky has banked more than $8.1 million in winnings, which has kept him in fourth place on the all-time ranking of Russia's most profitable poker players for many years.

Global recognition came to Vladimir in 2013. At the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure festival, he finished second in the $100,000 Super High Roller event and collected $792,180 in prize money. Just a few days later, Troyanovsky backed up that success at the same series, finishing seventh in the $25,000 High Roller event and adding another $257,580 to his bankroll. These results brought him over a million dollars in total in just one week and made the international community take notice of a formidable Russian opponent, known online by the nickname vovtroy.

The stories of these players prove that the path to the top of high stakes is open to anyone, and that with discipline, persistence, and solid work on one's mindset, any goal becomes achievable. To turn theory into the skill of winning, systematize your foundational knowledge, and put it into practice, start your free training on the interactive FF Start course.