Thu, 09/22/2011 – 08:05 – PokerPages Staff

5. Kirill Gerasimov – Total Earnings of $2,566,822
A cool and collected player, Kirill Gerasimov first tasted success at a poker tournament in 2001, winning the princely sum of £2,075 for coming fourth in a Russian event called the Winter Tournament.  Since then cashes, wins and dollars have been rolling in handsomely.

4. Alexander Kostritsyn– Total Earnings of $3,125,515
Born and raised just outside Moscow, Alexander Kostritsyn’s ambition is to make Russia a force to be reckoned with in the poker world.  Kostritsyn’s biggest win at a poker table has been the $1,735,198 he picked up at the Aussie Millions Main Event in 2008.

3. Alex Kravchenko– Total Earnings of $3,533,954
Former businessman Alex Kravchenko has been playing poker seriously since 2000.  In that time, he has achieved 95 cashes, seven first place finishes, and a solitary WSOP bracelet, winning the Limit Omaha Hi/Lo in 2007.  Kravchenko’s biggest haul was at the 2007 WSOP Championship, where a 4th place finish netted him $1.8 million.

2. Vitaly Lunkin – Total Earnings of $4,178,567
Double WSOP bracelet winner Vitaly Lunkin is the second most successful Russian poker player of all time.  In his ten year career, he has achieved 38 cashes and 4 first placed finishes.  The highlight of Lunkin’s career so far would have to be picking up $1.8 million and his second WSOP bracelet for winning the No Limit Hold ‘em in the 2009 series.

1. Ivan Demidov – Career Earnings of $6,726,063
A born and bred Muscovite, Ivan Demidov is the most successful Russian Poker Player of all time, with career earnings approaching $7 million.  Since he began playing poker in 2006, Demidov has won only a single tournament, but scooped a massive $5.7 million coming second in the WSOP No Limit Hold ‘em Championship in 2008.