Saying Nikita Badziakouski is having a banner year at the table would be an understatement. The quiet Belarusian is quickly becoming one of poker’s great tournament talents, with more than $13 million in cashes since January.
Before tearing it up in live tournaments, Nikita was a “fish” online. But not the kind of fish opponents enjoy facing. His screen name, “fish2013” on PokerStars, has a six-figure career profit.
That pales in comparison to the amount of money he’s won just this year in live poker. Only Justin Bonomo is having a better year financially in tournaments.
(Bonomo has over $25 million in cashes in 2018, a single-year record. That includes winning the Super High Roller Bowl for $5 million and another $10 million for shipping the WSOP Big One for One Drop. Taking nothing away from Badziakouski’s brilliant year, but no one compares to “ZeeJustin.”)
Stacking Up Big Scores
At age 27, Badziakouski is showing the potential to become a dominant force in the game.
In three separate tournaments in 2018, he’s turned a profit of $1 million or better. His biggest win, first place in the Triton High Roller Series for $5.25 million, came in July. A month later, the young poker pro shipped the EPT Barcelona Super High Roller for another $1.9 million.
During the recently completed WSOP Europe series, “fish2013” won a bracelet in a no-limit hold’em event for $247,000, and cashed in two other tournaments.
Badziakouski’s success is not out of nowhere. His banner 2018 follows a career year in 2017. Last year his cashes totaled nearly $4.6 million.
He’s certainly proven that was no fluke. now has such a huge lead atop Belarus’ all-time tournament winnings list that he’ll likely hold onto it his entire life. In second place, Ihar Soika, has only $3.36 million in cashes.
Nikita Badziakouski Current Ranks
- 2018 Money List (2nd) $13.86 million
- All-Time Money List (19th) $20 million
- European All-Time Money List (3rd) $20 million
- Global Poker Index Ranking (9)
Name to Remember
In many ways, Badziakouski isn’t the type of flashy player many in the game call for from their high roller champions these days. He’s the type of pro who keeps his head down, doesn’t show much emotion at the table, and likewise keeps out of various poker dramas that play out in social media.
But despite his poker prowess, Badziakouski isn’t exactly a household name, at least not yet. He’s only 239th on Hendon Mob’s Popularity Rankings. That may have to do with his quiet demeanor at the table. And we don’t mean that in an insulting way.
Badziakouski’s Hendon Mob page, as of Friday, has 45,200 unique views. Daniel Negreanu, by comparison, tops the Popularity Rankings with nearly 764,000 uniques.
Many of poker’s most popular players are talkative at the table and seek attention away from the table on social media. Nikita, on the other hand, prefers to just show up, sit there quietly, play his game, and collect his winnings.
