Igor Kurganov is a Russian-born poker player with over $18.7 million in live tournament cashes as of June 2023, according to the Hendon Mob database. Kurganov has a WSOP gold bracelet from a win in the 2017 $10,000 Tag Team Championship with girlfriend Liv Boeree.
Kurganov studied math in Munich before he became a professional poker player. His top scores include million dollar finishes in high roller events at EPT Monte Carlo, as well as a victory in the Super High Roller at PokerStars Championship Barcelona in 2017 and a final table run at the GuangDong Asia Millions Main Event in Macau in 2013.
Kurganov's Charity Efforts
Raising for Effective Giving (REG) was founded in 2014 by the pair and raised $1.5 million in its first two years.
In 2017, after Kurganov won his first WSOP bracelet alongside Boeree, they donated 50% of their winnings to REG.
The organization strives to empower people to make better giving choices by promoting the idea of effective giving, providing donation advice to individuals and organizations, and supporting fundraising campaigns and events.
According to Kurganov himself, the charities they fundraise for are exceptionally rigorous in both transparency and maximizing the impact of their received donations. Kurganov believes that poker players take a rational, quantifiable approach to their game and this philosophy should also apply to the philanthropic world to the most good with our limited resources.
For a period of time in 2022, Kurganov was advising Elon Musk on a large charitable donation.
Igor Kurganov's Top 5 Career Cashes
| Date | Event | Place | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2014 | EPT Monte Carlo 100K Super High Roller | 3rd | $1,559,373 |
| April 2012 | EPT Monte Carlo High Roller | 1st | $1,425,874 |
| August 2017 | PokerStars Championship Barcelona Super High Roller | 1st | $1,273,165 |
| June 2013 | GuangDong Asia Millions Main Event | 6th | $1,069,137 |
| July 2019 | WSOP $100,000 High Roller | 4th | $840,183 |
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