Igor Kurganov: High Stakes Poker and Effective Giving
Igor Kurganov is a Russian-born professional poker player and philanthropist born in 1988. A familiar figure in the international high roller scene, he established his reputation through major results in Monte Carlo, Melbourne, Macau and Las Vegas. His career also includes a World Series of Poker bracelet and a prominent role in Raising for Effective Giving.
The Hendon Mob figures checked for this profile record 19.196.724 $ in live tournament earnings. His best recorded cash is 1.559.373 $, and the database places him second on Russia’s all-time money list and 82nd worldwide. Those figures reflect tournament cashes rather than personal wealth or net profit.
Born in 1988: From Saint Petersburg to Germany
Kurganov was born on May 5, 1988, in Saint Petersburg and moved to Germany with his family while young. He studied mathematics in Munich before making poker his profession. His background connects several countries: Russian origins, formative years in Germany and a later international tournament career.
The Hendon Mob lists his nationality as Russian and his residence as London, England. A database residence entry should be understood as a listed location rather than independent confirmation of a player’s current home. For Kurganov, the more useful career context is his long association with the European high stakes community.
Early Results on the European Circuit
Kurganov’s recorded live results extend back to 2009. His development accelerated in 2011, when he reached several European Poker Tour high roller final tables, including runner-up finishes in Madrid and London. These results preceded his first seven-figure tournament prize.
He became associated with a group of German-speaking professionals who regularly competed in the biggest buy-in events. The schedule demanded repeated decisions against experienced opponents, with substantial entry costs and relatively small fields. That environment became the setting for many of his strongest results.
2012: Beating Daniel Negreanu in Monte Carlo
Kurganov won the 25.000 € High Roller at the 2012 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo for 1.080.000 €. He defeated Daniel Negreanu heads-up in a tournament that attracted 133 entries, giving him a defining early title against one of poker’s best-known champions.
The final table also included Philipp Gruissem and Justin Bonomo. The combination of a major trophy, a seven-figure payout and strong opposition made this the clearest breakthrough of his early career. The Hendon Mob records the prize’s historical dollar equivalent as 1.425.874 $.
2013: Three Major Results at the Aussie Millions
At the 2013 Aussie Millions, Kurganov produced a remarkable sequence of high roller results. He finished second to Andrew Robl in the 100.000 AUD Challenge for 610.000 AUD, then placed fourth in the 250.000 AUD Challenge for another 500.000 AUD.
He completed the trip by winning the 25.000 AUD Challenge for 275.000 AUD, defeating Philipp Gruissem heads-up. Those three payouts totalled 1.385.000 AUD. The stretch demonstrated that his Monte Carlo breakthrough had been followed by further success across several expensive events.
Macau and Another Seven-Figure Cash
Kurganov added a sixth-place finish in the 2013 GuangDong Asia Millions Main Event in Macau. His prize of 8.300.000 HKD was recorded by The Hendon Mob as 1.069.137 $. The event was another important stop in the expansion of super high stakes tournament poker.
By this stage, his results were spread across Europe, Australia and Asia. That geographical range matters: his reputation was built through repeated appearances on the international high roller circuit, rather than through a single local festival or one unusually large championship run.
2014: His Largest Recorded Live Cash
Kurganov’s best recorded live cash came from third place in the 2014 EPT Monte Carlo 100.000 € Super High Roller. He received 1.128.300 €, recorded in The Hendon Mob as 1.559.373 $. Daniel Colman won the tournament and Daniel Cates finished second.
The final three agreed a deal before playing out the remaining places. Kurganov had started the final table as the shortest stack and recovered to reach the last three. His largest cash therefore came from a podium finish, while the 2012 event remains one of his most important outright victories.
2017: A WSOP Bracelet with Liv Boeree
Kurganov and Liv Boeree won the 2017 WSOP 10.000 $ Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em Championship, defeating 102 teams. The first-place prize was 273.964 $ for the team, and each player received a first WSOP bracelet. The prize should not be described as an individual payout of that amount to each partner.
Boeree played most of the opening day, while Kurganov handled much of the later action. Their final heads-up opponents were the team of Ankush Mandavia and Joe Kuether. The victory gave a shared championship moment to two players who had already achieved major individual tournament success.
Barcelona Adds Another High Roller Title
Later in 2017, Kurganov won the 50.000 € Super High Roller at PokerStars Championship Barcelona. He outlasted 86 entries and defeated Bartlomiej Machon heads-up, with Koray Aldemir finishing third. The result brought another prize of approximately 1.08 million euros.
The event reinforced the distinction between his career’s two major tracks. The WSOP tag-team victory supplied a bracelet and a shared title, while Barcelona was another individual win in the expensive open tournaments that accounted for much of his earnings.
Further High Stakes Results in Las Vegas
Kurganov continued to reach major final tables after his bracelet year. At the 2019 WSOP, he finished fourth in the 100.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for 840.183 $. Keith Tilston won that event ahead of Daniel Negreanu and Nick Schulman.
Such finishes form a substantial part of a high roller record even when they do not produce trophies. In Kurganov’s case, the combination of outright victories and large final-table payouts is more informative than counting bracelets alone. His one WSOP title represents only one part of his tournament career.
Raising for Effective Giving
Kurganov co-founded Raising for Effective Giving in 2014. The organisation encourages evidence-based charitable giving, with an emphasis on identifying causes and interventions where donations can have substantial impact. Its founding group brought together figures from the poker community, including Liv Boeree, Philipp Gruissem and Stefan Huber.
His involvement connected poker’s emphasis on evaluating uncertain outcomes with decisions about philanthropy. After their 2017 WSOP victory, Kurganov and Boeree committed half of their joint winnings to REG. The charitable element was therefore part of the championship story itself, rather than an unrelated later project.
Selected Tournament Milestones
| Year | Event and result | Recorded prize |
| 2012 | EPT Grand Final 25.000 € High Roller — 1st | 1.080.000 € |
| 2013 | Aussie Millions 100.000 AUD Challenge — 2nd | 610.000 AUD |
| 2013 | Aussie Millions 250.000 AUD Challenge — 4th | 500.000 AUD |
| 2013 | Aussie Millions 25.000 AUD Challenge — 1st | 275.000 AUD |
| 2013 | GuangDong Asia Millions Main Event — 6th | 8.300.000 HKD |
| 2014 | EPT Monte Carlo 100.000 € Super High Roller — 3rd | 1.128.300 € |
| 2017 | WSOP 10.000 $ Tag Team Championship — 1st with Liv Boeree | 273.964 $ — team prize |
| 2017 | PokerStars Championship Barcelona 50.000 € Super High Roller — 1st | Approximately 1.08 million € |
| 2019 | WSOP 100.000 $ High Roller — 4th | 840.183 $ |
PokerStars and a Shared Life in Poker
Kurganov joined Team PokerStars Pro in February 2017 and left the sponsored roster in November 2019. Before using his own name as a sponsored player, he was known online as lechuckpoker. His public role combined high stakes competition with an interest in the wider poker community.
He and Liv Boeree married in 2025 after a long relationship. Their careers have intersected through tournament travel, charitable work and their WSOP tag-team title. The shared bracelet remains the most direct competitive link between their individual poker records.
A More Selective Recent Tournament Record
Kurganov’s recent recorded schedule is much lighter than during his busiest high roller years. The Hendon Mob lists an eighth-place finish worth 75.000 $ at the 2025 National Heads-Up Poker Championship and a 13th-place finish for 51.713 $ in the 2026 WSOP 10.000 $ Six-Handed Championship.
These results show continued tournament participation without supporting a claim that he still follows a full high-volume circuit schedule. His reputation rests chiefly on the sustained international high stakes success of the 2010s, alongside his contribution to effective-giving initiatives.
Career Figures at a Glance
| Category | Details |
| Name | Igor Kurganov |
| Year of birth | 1988 |
| Birthplace | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Nationality listed by The Hendon Mob | Russia |
| Listed residence | London, England |
| Recorded live tournament earnings | 19.196.724 $ |
| Best recorded live cash | 1.559.373 $ |
| Overall all-time money list | 82nd |
| Russian all-time money list | 2nd |
| WSOP bracelets | 1 — 2017 Tag Team Championship with Liv Boeree |
| Online screen name | lechuckpoker |
| Charitable work | Co-founder of Raising for Effective Giving |
Career figures checked on October 25, 2026. Recorded live tournament earnings are gross cashes and exclude private cash-game results. Image positions refer to three separately supplied AI-generated illustrations created in October 2026