Meet Miss Russian Community 2014

We chat to Liay5, the winner of the 2014 Miss Russian Community contest. We discuss Hyper Turbos, exact sciences, cyber sports and more.

PokerStrategy.com: Congratulations on winning. We understand you are mostly a HyperTurbo player at the tables?

liay5: I've been playing poker since I was a child, but that was mostly Five Card Draw. I started to play more seriously not that long ago. I started with SNGs, Turbos and Heads-Up at first. Then I switched to HyperTurbos, and I'm glad I did.

PokerStrategy.com: How did you learn the game?

liay5: I had a coach, and he helped me a lot to become an aspiring poker player. He is a good friend, his nickname is muchpain.

"I was a cybersports pro"

PokerStrategy.com: One of the photos you provided was done at a cybersports event. Is cybersports another passion of yours?

liay5: Earlier I was a DotA pro gamer and a female team captain. But that's in the past. Now I only play for fun, games like Diablo, DayZ, Chivalry, etc.

PokerStrategy.com: What was the name of your team? What was your highest achievement? 

liay5: I played in a few teams, ROX.KIS and Owned.by were the most popular. There were no serious achievements, except victories in small ladies tournaments, show matches and small LAN competitions. I quit because there wasn't much money to be made.

"I've loved exact sciences since childhood"

PokerStrategy.com: As we understand, you're a soon-to-be university graduate. What's your degree and what are you planning to do after your graduation?

liay5: I study at Bauman's MGTU for a CAD designer/engineer, metal-cutting machines department. No particular plans yet.

PokerStrategy.com: Why this specialty? 

liay5: I got there thanks to an academic competition and I decided to study at МТ (mechanical engineering) for the time being. I chose my current department after that. 

PokerStrategy.com: Have you always been good at exact sciences?

liay5: Yes, I've loved them since my childhood. My grandmother was a math teacher so she gave me extra lessons sometimes.

PokerStrategy.com: Which female poker players do you admire?

liay5: Unfortunately, I don't know any women playing my variant of poker. Of those who play offline, I like Vanessa Selbst very much. She's a good poker player as well as a decent person.

PokerStrategy.com: What qualities are most important in a poker player?

liay5: I think the main poker qualities are patience and diligence.

PokerStrategy.com: Is poker a serious thing for you or just a stop along the way? Is this an activity you love or just a tool to earn money?

liay5: I hope it's serious and that it will last. It's an activity I love.

PokerStrategy.com: Why do you love poker?

liay5: Poker is like a good PC game, slightly addictive. You either learn to be the best and beat the competition, or you just play for fun.

Thanks for the interview, Liya. Once again, congratulations on the title of Miss Russian Community 2014!