Igor Kurganov

Education and a passion for math

In Dortmund, where the Kurganov family settled, Igor attended the local school and was active in sports and social activities. The boy was most interested in mathematics, a subject in which he excelled from a young age, regularly participating in Olympiads and solving complex problems. Over time, Igor realized that he was not interested in pure theory. A deeper dive into science showed that he preferred practical application of knowledge.

Co-founding Raising for Effective Giving

In 2014, Igor Kurganov co-founded Raising for Effective Giving (REG), a charity organization, together with poker players Liv Boeree and Phil Grussem. The main goal of REG is to raise funds for effective philanthropy and direct them to important social causes. REG focuses on funding projects that have a real impact, such as:

• Fighting Poverty;
• Animal Welfare;
• Elimination of the consequences of man-made disasters.

The Path to the Professional Game

After much deliberation, Igor decided to concentrate on poker. He dropped out of university and began to train seriously, devoting up to 14 hours a day to the game. However, he quickly realized that experience at the table was not enough to win at a high level. So Igor began to analyze his own and others’ hands, delve into theory and discuss strategies with other players.

First Successes in Live Tournaments

Serious results in live tournaments came in 2009, when Igor moved to London and started participating in major poker series. His first significant result was 15th place in the Asian Poker Tour tournament in Macau.

In the same year, Igor went to the EPT (European Poker Tour) series in Portugal, where he took first place. This success was an important milestone in his career and allowed him to make a name for himself on the international scene.

Big Wins and the EPT

Igor’s first big score ($182,560) came in 2011 when he finished second in the EPT High Roller Grand Final. A few months later, he finished runner-up again at another EPT where he was beaten by Philippe Grussey in the longest poker session. It was the EPT series that became an important milestone in the player’s poker career. It was at these tournaments that Igor won his first big money, including his first million dollars.

First place in the Grand Final 8 Max High Roller in Monte Carlo (2012) made Kurganov famous all over the world. A year later, he consolidated his triumph by finishing third at the AsiaMillions tournament in Macau with a prize of over a million dollars.

Live Poker Achievements

Below are some of his most notable Igor results in live tournaments:

• April 2012: Winning the €25,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller at the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Monte Carlo for €1,080,000;
• January 2013: Third place in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em Challenge at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia for $1,425,874;
• June 2013: Sixth place in the $130,000 GuangDong Asia Millions Main Event in Macau for $1,000,000;
• May 2014: Third place in the €100,000 No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller at EPT Monte Carlo for €1,128,300;
• June 2017: Winning the $10,000 Tag Team No Limit Hold’em Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas with Liv Boeree, $273,964 in prize money;
• April 2018: Second place in the €100,000 No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller at EPT Monte Carlo, winning €1,134,000;
• January 2019: Fifth place in the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em PCA Super High Roller in the Bahamas, $841,300 in prize money.

Online Poker Achievements

Igor Kurganov has focused his career primarily on live tournaments. His participation in online tournaments has been limited and no significant achievements have been recorded in this area.