The PokerStars Big Game introduced several memorable “Loose Cannon”—amateur players given a $100,000 stake to compete against professionals. Although several amateur players became famous, Nadya Magnus stands out for her continued prominence in the poker world. Appearing in Season 1 of the PokerStars Big Game, she ended up earning $63,600 and remained active in the poker world to become a formidable force in women in poker.
In this report on Women in Poker, we will delve into the career, poker highlights, personal life, and net worth of Nadya Magnus.
Nadya Magnus’ Early Life and Introduction to Poker
Born in 1976, Nadya Magnus grew up in the Soviet Union before becoming a resident of Boca Raton, Florida. There is not much information on how Magnus started her poker career, but according to Hendon Mob, her first recorded live cash came in 2008.
Since then, she has been a regular in the poker world, constantly playing tournaments, cash games, and online poker.
Nadya Magnus Poker Career Highlights and Earnings
In 2008, Magnus scored her first live cash of $736, by finishing 11th in the WSOPC Hammond Ladies Event. A year later, Magnus went on to win the same event for her career first circuit ring for a $8,877 payout.
In 2010, she ran deep in the WSOPC Hammond $1,600 Main Event, collecting $18,598. Magnus continued participating in tournaments from 2011 – 2015 but her next big score came in December 2016 when she finished 8th in the WPT 5 Diamond World Poker Classic $5,200 NLH for $16,078. Magnus followed that up with a final table finish in the 2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas $5k NLH PokerStars Championship Main Event, pocketing $56,260.
She then won her career second circuit ring by winning the WSOPC Potawatomi $2,200 NLH High Roller Entry for $71,398. Magnus wrapped up the year with a money finish in the 2017 WPT 5 Diamond World Poker Classic, earning $27,567.
Nadiya Magnus’ career milestone came in 2020 when she scored her first six-figure sum of $172,642 for finishing 4th in the 2020 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open $3,500 Championship Main Event, it is still her career best score. In 2021, she again came close to her second six-figure but had to settle with $93,566 for finishing 2nd in the 2021 WPT LHPO $2,200 NLH Event.
Magnus’s next big score came in 2023 when she finished in 18th place in the PCA $25,500 NLH Championship for $142,100. In August 2023, she finished 7th in the SHRPO $5,300 Championship adding a whopping $148,885 to her earnings.
In 2024, Magnus began the year with a podium finish in the MoneyMaker Poker Tour Palm Beach $1,500 Main Event for $43,003. That year she also ran deep in the 2024 WSOP Ladies Championship Event but was eliminated in 19th to collect $5,939.As always, she scored another money finish in the 2024 WPT World Championship $1,400 NLH Championship for $59,000.
Magnus’s most recent cash in 2025 includes an 8th place finish in the WSOP Circuit Pompano Park, $400 PLO Big O for $1,248. As of February 2025, Nadya Magnus has accumulated earnings of $2,234,616 from 177 cashes to rank 23rd on Women’s all-time Money List.
Nadya Magnus Net Worth and Accolades
There aren’t any official reports on Nadya Magnus’s net worth but it should be in millions. There is also very little information on her other works.
Besides playing poker, Magnus is known for her generosity and helping out other women in poker. She has given away several major poker tournament tickets to the women in the poker community. In the 2024 WSOP, she gave away two $10k Main Event tickets to two women.
For her contribution to helping women in poker, Global Poker Index awarded her with the Charitable Initiative Award in the 5th Annual Global Poker Awards 2024. In addition to this award, Magnus won the 2021 GPI Female Player of the Year Award. As a former PokerStars Big Game loose cannon, Magnus also guided two new loose cannons in the latest 2024 The Big Game. On several occasions in the past, she has also been seen promoting women and PLON (Poker League of Nations, a prominent women’s poker organization) events.
Nadya Magnus Personal Life
Magnus keeps her personal life private and doesn’t talk about it that much, but she is revealed to be a mother in the Big Game season 1. As per her Twitter profile, she currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida.
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