Russian high roller Igor Kurganov joins team PokerStars Pro

Igor Kurganov has today joined Team PokerStars Pro, adding high stakes poker firepower to the ranks of the world's largest poker site's roster of sponsored ambassadors. Kurganov, a fluent Russian, German and English speaker, is widely recognized as one of the game's best players and deepest thinkers.

As well as amassing live poker tournament earnings of more than $12 million, Kurganov has proved himself to be talented online as well as live, playing for many years as 'lechuckpoker'. From today, like other members of Team PokerStars Pro, he will exchange his infamous online name for that of his real life persona and will play as 'IgorKurganov'.

Kurganov has been a regular fixture of the European high stakes poker circuit, a constant threat playing high roller tournaments that cost as much $100,000 to enter. During Season 8 of the European Poker Tour in 2012, Kurganov beat now fellow Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu to the title of the €25,000 High Roller for a €1,080,000 ($1,425,874) payday. Negreanu had tweeted that "The kid was tough." It was his third six-figure score. Since then, he's scored a further 18.