Alexander Kostritsyn: WSOP Bracelet Winner and Aussie Millions Champion
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Alexander Kostritsyn built his poker reputation through success in both major live tournaments and high-stakes cash games. The Russian professional broke through internationally by winning the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event, later became known as a formidable online cash-game player and mixed-game competitor, and returned to the live tournament spotlight in 2026 by winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet.
As of September 15, 2026, Hendon Mob lists Kostritsyn with $4,045,842 in live tournament earnings. His career includes an Aussie Millions Main Event championship, a WSOP bracelet, victories across multiple poker formats and years competing against elite opposition in both live and online games.
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Who Is Alexander Kostritsyn?
Alexander Kostritsyn is a Russian poker professional whose recorded live tournament results date to 2006. Hendon Mob lists his nationality as Russian and his residence as Moscow, Russia.
While Kostritsyn has produced major tournament results, tournament poker represents only part of his career. He became particularly well known as a high-stakes cash-game player and has competed extensively in mixed games. PokerNews has identified him by his longtime online screen name "joiso" and described him as an online cash-game player.
His versatility has been one of the defining features of his career. Kostritsyn's major live results include championships in No-Limit Hold'em and H.O.R.S.E., while his WSOP résumé contains cashes across Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud and Dealer's Choice.
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Alexander Kostritsyn's 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event Victory
Kostritsyn's international breakthrough came at the 2008 Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia.
He entered the A$10,500 Main Event alongside a field of 780 entries and reached heads-up play against Erik Seidel. Kostritsyn defeated Seidel to win the championship and A$1.65 million.
Hendon Mob converts that result to $1,450,396, which remains Kostritsyn's largest recorded live tournament cash as of September 2026.
The victory immediately established him on the international tournament scene. Winning one of poker's major Main Events against a field that included experienced professionals also gave Kostritsyn a signature achievement early in his career.
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More Success at the Aussie Millions
Kostritsyn returned to the Aussie Millions in 2009 and demonstrated that his success extended beyond No-Limit Hold'em.
He won the A$10,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, a mixed-game competition that rotates through Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo.
That victory was significant because it reinforced a theme that would become increasingly important throughout Kostritsyn's career: he was capable of competing successfully across multiple poker disciplines rather than specializing exclusively in No-Limit Hold'em.
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High-Stakes Cash Games and Online Poker
Kostritsyn eventually shifted much of his attention away from the live tournament circuit and toward cash games.
PokerNews reported after his 2026 WSOP victory that Kostritsyn had stopped playing tournaments full time approximately 14 years earlier. By that stage of his career, he was playing tournaments selectively while concentrating primarily on cash games.
Online, Kostritsyn became closely associated with the screen name "joiso." His reputation in the poker community developed around high-stakes cash play and his ability to compete across several variants.
That background helps explain why many of his strongest tournament results have come in mixed-game and non-Hold'em events. Rather than building a résumé primarily through large-field No-Limit Hold'em tournaments, Kostritsyn developed experience across a broad range of poker formats.
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Alexander Kostritsyn's World Series of Poker Career
Kostritsyn recorded numerous WSOP cashes before winning a bracelet.
His earlier World Series results included deep finishes in Seven Card Stud, H.O.R.S.E., Omaha Hi-Lo, Pot-Limit Omaha, Limit Hold'em and Dealer's Choice events. He also cashed in the WSOP Main Event, demonstrating a tournament résumé that spans both championship-level mixed games and No-Limit Hold'em.
One of his strongest pre-bracelet WSOP results came in the 2015 $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha event, where he finished seventh for $144,305.
By 2018, however, Kostritsyn had largely disappeared from recorded live tournament results. Hendon Mob shows a fourth-place finish in a $25,000 Eight Game High Roller at ARIA in June 2018 as his final recorded live cash before his return eight years later.
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Kostritsyn Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in 2026
Kostritsyn returned to the World Series of Poker spotlight in July 2026 with one of the biggest victories of his career.
He entered Event #97, the $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E., at the 2026 WSOP at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The tournament attracted 148 entries and created a $3,478,000 prize pool.
The field included accomplished mixed-game and tournament professionals, and Kostritsyn advanced through the final stages before defeating Ali Eslami heads-up for the title.
The victory earned Kostritsyn $872,052 and his first WSOP bracelet.
It was also his first recorded live tournament cash since 2018 and the second-largest live score of his career behind the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event victory.
The result brought Kostritsyn back into the live tournament spotlight nearly two decades after his Australian breakthrough and pushed his Hendon Mob career earnings beyond $4 million.
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Why the 2026 Bracelet Was Significant
Kostritsyn's bracelet carried significance beyond simply adding another tournament title to his record.
He had spent years concentrating primarily on cash games rather than maintaining a full live tournament schedule. PokerNews reported that Kostritsyn had played only four tournaments in 2026 before winning the H.O.R.S.E. championship.
Winning a $25,000 mixed-game event after such limited tournament participation underscored the depth of his experience across poker variants.
The tournament also provided a fitting first bracelet for a player whose career has long extended beyond Hold'em. H.O.R.S.E. requires competitors to continually adjust between five different limit games, rewarding broad technical knowledge rather than mastery of a single format.
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Alexander Kostritsyn's Live Tournament Earnings
As of September 15, 2026, Hendon Mob lists Alexander Kostritsyn with $4,045,842 in live tournament earnings.
His largest recorded cash remains the $1,450,396 equivalent Hendon Mob lists for his 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event victory.
His $872,052 victory in the 2026 WSOP $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. ranks as the second-largest live tournament score of his career.
Tournament earnings databases can change as new results are added or historical records are updated, so career totals should be treated as current figures rather than permanent statistics.
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Major Alexander Kostritsyn Poker Accomplishments
Won the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event for A$1.65 million
Defeated Erik Seidel heads-up for the 2008 Aussie Millions championship
Won the 2009 Aussie Millions A$10,500 H.O.R.S.E. event
Won his first WSOP bracelet in the 2026 $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E.
Earned $872,052 for his 2026 WSOP bracelet victory
Surpassed $4 million in Hendon Mob-listed live tournament earnings in 2026
Recorded tournament results across Hold'em, Omaha, Stud and mixed-game formats
Built a long-running reputation as a high-stakes cash-game and online poker player
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Alexander Kostritsyn's Playing Style and Poker Reputation
Kostritsyn's career is better characterized by versatility than by a single narrowly defined playing style.
His results demonstrate experience in No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha and a range of limit and mixed games. His 2009 Aussie Millions H.O.R.S.E. victory and 2026 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. bracelet are particularly strong evidence of his mixed-game credentials.
His long-term focus on cash games also separates his career from professionals whose reputations are based primarily on tournament volume.
Because broad labels such as "aggressive" or "mathematical" can be subjective without consistent supporting evidence, the most defensible description of Kostritsyn is that he is an experienced high-stakes cash-game player and versatile mixed-game competitor with major tournament titles in both No-Limit Hold'em and H.O.R.S.E.
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Where Is Alexander Kostritsyn Now?
Kostritsyn's 2026 WSOP victory confirmed that he remains capable of competing at the highest levels of live tournament poker even though tournaments are no longer his primary focus.
After winning his bracelet, he told PokerNews that he remained selective about tournament participation and continued to focus heavily on cash games. He also left open the possibility of playing more WSOP events in the future without committing to a full tournament schedule.
As of September 15, 2026, Hendon Mob lists the July 2026 H.O.R.S.E. victory as his most recent recorded live tournament cash.
That result places Kostritsyn in an unusual position within modern poker: an established player whose tournament résumé stretches back two decades, whose reputation has been shaped substantially by high-stakes cash games, and who returned after years away from regular live tournament competition to capture his first WSOP bracelet.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets does Alexander Kostritsyn have?
Alexander Kostritsyn has one WSOP bracelet as of September 15, 2026. He won his first bracelet in the 2026 WSOP $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E., earning $872,052.
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Did Alexander Kostritsyn win the Aussie Millions Main Event?
Yes. Kostritsyn won the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event, defeating Erik Seidel heads-up. He received A$1.65 million for the victory.
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How much has Alexander Kostritsyn won in live poker tournaments?
Hendon Mob lists Kostritsyn with $4,045,842 in live tournament earnings as of September 15, 2026. Tournament database totals can change as new results are recorded.
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What is Alexander Kostritsyn's biggest live poker cash?
Hendon Mob lists his 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event victory as his largest live cash at $1,450,396 after conversion from the A$1.65 million first prize.
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What is Alexander Kostritsyn's online poker name?
PokerNews identifies Kostritsyn by the online screen name "joiso."
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Is Alexander Kostritsyn primarily a tournament player?
Not in recent years. Kostritsyn told PokerNews after his 2026 bracelet victory that he stopped playing tournaments full time years earlier and has focused primarily on cash games while entering selected tournaments.
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What poker games does Alexander Kostritsyn play?
Kostritsyn has recorded results in No-Limit Hold'em, Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud, Dealer's Choice and H.O.R.S.E. His 2009 Aussie Millions H.O.R.S.E. title and 2026 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. bracelet are among his most notable mixed-game achievements.
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