Will youth be served at the main event of the World Series of Poker this year? It will if Ivan Demidov has anything to say about it. This 27-year-old Russian sensation is an Internet star poised to become the first Russian world poker champion in history.
He has the tools to do it. He's got the experience and the chips. Now the question is, will he have the skills and the luck to go all the way?
Who Is Ivan Demidov?
Ivan Demidov hails from Moscow and has collected an impressive poker bankroll. He has a math degree from Moscow State University.
While he mostly does his thing on the Internet, he's no slouch at live play either. Demidov finished 11th in the WSOP $1,000 no limit hold'em event this year. Only one other person has a piece of Demidov, a close friend who helped him buy into the event, so he'll have plenty of money to play with once the WSOP is done.
Why Ivan Demidov Will Win the Main Event of the World Series of Poker
Demidov has over 24 million in chips, more than anyone other than the chip leader, Dennis Phillips. Unlike Phillips, Demidov has a lot of high stakes tournament poker experience, in both live play and tournaments. The combination of youth, poker experience and chips will make Demidov extremely difficult to beat at this year's final table.
Why Ivan Demidov Will Not Win the Main Event of the World Series of Poker
As a primarily online poker player, Demidov may be giving a slight edge to those with a lot of tournament poker experience. Although Demidov has proven to be a capable live player, the fact is that players who are adept at reading and disguising physical tells have an advantage at a live table.
Internet players benefit more from collecting data on their opponents and reading betting patterns and timing tells. Clearly, Demidov will not completely collapse at a live final table, but some of the more experienced live players may be able to make just enough moves to beat him.
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