Ivan Demidov is the latest in a series of Russian natives finding incredible success at the WSOP. In 2007, Russian pro Alexander Kravchenko won the first bracelet in Russian history to go along with 6 other cashes, while last year saw Nikolay Evdakov obliterate the previous single WSOP record of 8 cashes by moneying in 10 events himself. Both Nikolay and Ivan Demidov are residents of Moscow, now the richest city in the world.
The 28 year old Demidov staged his coming out party at the 2008 WSOP, finishing 11th in the $1,000 NL Hold’em Re-buy event and banking a staggering $5,809,595 for succumbing to only Peter Eastgate in the Main Event. As a member of the inaugural “November Nine”, Demidov used the long layoff to acquire even more wealth by claiming 3rd in the WSOP – Europe for $608,995, giving him over $6 million in cashes for 2008.
Although he was significantly less successful at the 2009 WSOP, Ivan Demidov has firmly entrenched himself among the great young minds of poker and will be seen at the tables for years to come.