Meet My Better Half

[user253757]

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

As the runner-up of the 2008 Main Event, Ivan Demidov is no stranger to the WSOP spotlight, but today it is his girlfriend who has taken center stage.

Lika Gerasimova is seated one table over from Demidov, and the pair of Russian pros have been diligently checking on each other's progress throughout the night. Every so often, Gerasimova stands to peer over at her significant other's chip stack, but lately all of the attention has focused on Gerasimova's rapidly expanding chip castle.

Gerasimova has quietly climbed in the chip counts, earning pot after pot with precision applications of preflop aggression. She currently holds about 145,000 in her stack, which puts her at the top of the counts midway through the first day of play.