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Ivan '(orky)Soul' Demidov Profile

Ivan "(orky)Soul" Demidov is a Russian poker professional with successful roots in the StarCraft and WarCraft 3 worlds where he played as "(orky)Soul". In poker, he is most well known from being one of the original 'November Nine', having made the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2008. He finished runner up to Peter Eastgate for $5,809,595. In October of 2008, he also reached the final table of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in London, finishing in third place for $609k. He is a PokerStars Team Pro. Demidov's live poker tournament winnings exceed $6,751,370. Demidov was born in Russia in 1981 and resides in Moscow, Russia.
Things you might not know:
  • Demidov was a member of the same clan as the well-known (orky)Asmodey.
  • Demidov was known for being one of the best random players, doing quite well with both Human and Orc.
  • Demidov was an accomplished RTS gamer.
  • Demidov represented Russia three times in the World Cybergames, in 2003 and 2004 for StarCraft and in 2002 for Age of Empires.
  • Demidov made a run in professional StarCraft in Korea finishing with a 5-5 pro record and becoming known for his victory in AMD PG Challenge.
  • Demidov graduated in 2004 from Moscow State University with a degree in Math.
  • Demidov started playing online poker in 2005 and live tournaments in 2006.
  • Demidov's first real cash was in the 2006 PLO event at the Russian Poker Championships on Moscow where he finished in fifth place.
  • Demidov made his first international final table in a side event of the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for 3rd place and $21,710.
  • Demidov became the first player in history to reach the final table of both WSOP Main Events in the same year. This feat was matched in 2009 by James Akenhead and Antoine Saout.
  • Demidov only other cash at the 2008 WSOP was a 11th place in a $1,000 no limit Texas hold 'em with rebuys WSOP event.
  • Demidov admits that luck played a part in his 2008 Main Event run being all in with 9's versus 10's of David "Chino" Rheem and hitting his two outer for a 18.5 million chip pot.
  • Demidov had a famed Russian high stakes player back him for his 2008 WSOP tournament series which required he give his backer a greater percentage of his $5.8 million prize than he earned.
  • Demidov considers himself a math based player, but enjoys making the occasional "soul read."
  • Demidov enjoys extreme sports like white water rafting, skiing and scuba diving in his free time.
  • Demidov is dating fellow Russian poker pro Lika Gerasimova.

Ivan "(orky)Soul" Demidov is a soft-spoken and modest player who is widely regarded as Russia’s Chris Moneymaker. His impressive WSOP performance, along with Alex Kravchenko's strong play at the WSOP as well, has inspired many in Russia to play some poker and causing a Russian poker boom.

Demidov video interview after busting from the WSOPE, aggressive play with a combo draw and a PokerStars profile:


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