Monika Zukowicz, widely known by her nickname ‘HeyMonia’, is a Polish poker pro, streamer and vlogger. With over $330,000 in live poker earnings, Monika has established herself as a formidable force in tournament poker. She has been actively promoting the game of poker as an ambassador for reputable brands like Betsafe Poker, Partypoker, and ACR Poker
This article delves into Monika’s early life, education, poker achievements, and more.
Early Life and Poker Introduction
Monika Zukowicz was born and brought up in Gdynia, Poland. At an early age, Monika completed her schooling and graduated from high school with a focus on biology and chemistry. Initially pursuing a year of biotechnology studies due to her lifelong aspiration to become a scientist, she later decided to embark on the demanding 5.5-year Pharmacy program in Poland.
It was then she got introduced to poker and started playing to pass time. During the last year of university, she began streaming poker casually, and got hooked on it forever. She graduated from the University with a Master’s degree in Pharmacy. After graduation, Monika moved to Malta, where she kickstarted her professional poker career, playing and streaming poker.
Monika Zukowicz Poker Career Highlights and Earnings
Monika’s first recorded live cash came in 2013 when she reached the final table of a low-stakes tournament, earning $664. However, it wasn’t until 2018 that she began taking poker seriously, competing in more tournaments and consistently achieving notable results. That year, she earned a podium finish at the Irish Poker Open Norwegian Ladies Championship for $1,353 and cashed in events such as the MPN Poker Tour Main Event and the Unibet Open Malta.
2018 marked a breakthrough for Monika with deep runs in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). She competed in two events, Event #48 and Event #57, earning over $17,000 in total.
While continuing to cash in small- and mid-stakes tournaments, her career took a significant turn in late 2022 when she won the Ladies Event at The Festival in Bratislava, securing $1,625. She followed this with a victory at the 2023 PCA $550 NLH PSPC Mystery Bounty, earning an impressive $32,180.
Monika’s upward trajectory continued in 2023. She recorded her first Triton Poker cash, finishing 27th in the $20k NLH Mystery Bounty at Triton Poker Vietnam for $17,900. She also had successful outings at the WSOP Paradise and WSOP Europe, collectively earning over $15,000.
In 2024, Monika has achieved her career-high payday, winning $49,000 at the Triton Poker Jeju Event #6: $26,500 NLH GG MILLION$. Additionally, she has run deep in the WSOP Europe Main Event, finishing 39th for $38,288. Her most recent cash came in October when she finished 14th in the EPT Cyprus $ 2,100 No Limit Hold’em – 6-Handed for $7,100.
Monika remains active in the poker scene and is participating in the Triton Million pairing with the CoinPoker ambassador Mario Mosböck. As of now, she has accumulated $330,000 in live poker earnings across 54 cash finishes.
Joining ACR Poker
In late 2022, Monika became an ambassador for American Cardroom (ACR) Poker and has been promoting the game through her online presence and live streams. She has built a strong following, with over 24,000 followers on her Twitch channel (HeyMonia), close to 2k subscribers on YouTube, more than 6,000 followers on X, and nearly 18,000 followers on Instagram.
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