Nikolay Evdakov Passes Away at Age 47

The poker world was shocked Monday, when Nataliya Evdakov announced that her husband, Russian poker pro Nikolay Evdakov, had passed away. Evdakov was 47 years old.

Evdakov was an influential member of the Russian poker community. He had founded a successful Russian online poker forum, CGM.ru, where his death was first publicized by his wife.

Evdakov became known around the world when he set a new record by cashing in 10 different events during the 2008 World Series of Poker, smashing the previous record of eight cashes in a single year.

In Evdakov’s live tournament career, which spanned just over five years, he won over $1.15 million in earnings. Besides his amazing string of cashes in 2008, Evdakov had many other career highlights, including a 9^th place finish at the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship in 2010, and a final table appearance in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship event at the 2010 WSOP. More recently, he won two events in the February 2011 L.A. Poker Classic series at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.

Evdakov’s death was met with surprise and sadness by others in the poker community, with tournament director Matt Savage noting that he had gotten to know Evdakov during the L.A. Poker Classic last year.

The cause of Evdakov’s death has not been released to the public. A funeral was held Wednesday at Troekurov Cemetery.