Alexander Kuzmin

Unlike most poker pros on the scene today, St. Petersburg native Alexander Kuzmin is not a product of the 2003 Moneymaker boom. His first documented tournament cash came a year prior in 2002 in Moscow. Since then, the Russian has accumulated more than $1,600,000 in live MTT winnings across 90+ cashes.

Despite enjoying live poker regularly from 2002, it wasn’t until 2010 that Kuzmin made the trip over to North America to visit the nexus of gambling – Las Vegas. At the first ever WSOP that he cashed in, Alexander made two final tables during the series. The first came in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em Championship, but unfortunately for the Russian he made an early exit in ninth-place. Given that the final nine included the likes of Thomas Marchese and Dani Stern, there was no shame in finishing where he did.

Just over a week later, Alexander got a second shot at the bracelet when he reached the final table of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event. Despite getting past the majority of the 2,543-strong field and getting closer than ever to the WSOP gold, Alexander eventually busted in sixth. However, the six-figure score he picked up for his efforts made it his most lucrative tournament score to date.

Extending his stay in America after the success he enjoyed in the summer, Kuzmin was rewarded for his commitment to the game when he took down his first major tournament the following year. This took place in January of 2011 when he won the WPT $10,000 NLH Championship Event in Biloxi for a huge $575,969.

Alexander more recently added an EPT title to the trophy cabinet in 2016 when he triumphed in the €1,000 NLH Hyper-Turbo side event at EPT Barcelona. At the time of writing this, he is still on the hunt for a WSOP bracelet and seems determined to win one. He has got closer in recent attempts, finishing fourth at the $2,500 Limit Hold’em 6-Handed event in 2011 and fifth in the $3,000 variant with the same format in 2015. Based on his string of cashes he’s accumulated at the WSOP (he now has 33), it should only be a matter of time before the Russian gets his hands on the most acclaimed prize in poker.