Russian Poker Star and Instagram Influencer Found Dead in Her Home

A Russian poker player and Instagram influencer was found dead in her Moscow apartment.

Liliya Novikova, who was a well-known member of the online poker playing community, was found by an elderly neighbor, according to Russian media reports, dead in her bathroom.

Russia’s Investigative Committee (SK) was cited by BBC as saying the 26-year-old’s death was due to electrocution.

“During the initial examination, traces of an electrical injury were found on the victim’s body,” a source told the Russian news agency TASS, as cited by CNN.

Russia Today corroborated the report that Novikova suffered an electric shock while using a hairdryer but noted she may have fatally struck her head as she fell.

No official report on the woman’s death has been released yet, but an autopsy is expected to confirm the exact cause.

Multiple Russian media reports suggest authorities are treating her death as an accident.

Welfare Check

The Evening Standard reported that Novikova’s parents raised an alarm when they could not get in touch with her.

The Moskovsky Komsomolets, a Russian daily, was cited in the BBC report as noting that the elderly neighbor that found her body had a key to her apartment and was asked by the parents to perform a welfare check.

“Relatives became agitated when the girl stopped responding to phone calls and asked her neighbour to check on her,” a Russian official told TASS, as cited by Australia’s ABC news.

“She found the girl’s body.”

Novikova was an active contributor on Twitch.tv, a live online gaming streaming platform. Russia Today reported she had a contract with PokerStars, an online poker cardroom that bills itself as “the world’s largest poker room” with “the biggest tournaments online.”

The Twitter account for PokerStars sent out condolences.

"Our condolences to the family and friends of Liliya “Liay5” Novikova, who tragically passed away earlier this week. Poker has lost a bright star who will be missed greatly. RIP."
— @PokerStars (@PokerStars)

PokerStars Ambassador Lex Veldhuis, who is also active on the Twitch streaming platform, shared his condolences, saying, “she had such a good influence on poker/twitch community through her hard work and efforts.”

“I’ve always admired all the many different things she did. What a tragic loss, and so young,” he wrote.

"Incredibly sad to hear Liay ‘liay5’ Novikova passed away due to a home accident. She had such a good influence on the poker/twitch community through her hard work and efforts. I’ve always admired all the many different things she did. What a tragic loss, and so young 🙏😢 RIP"
— @Lex Veldhuis (@LexVeldhuis)

Team Pokerstars Pro player, Liv Boeree commented on her death: “Utterly heartbreaking. She was such a sweet, beautiful and talented girl who worked so hard to promote the game. Rest in peace lady.”

"Utterly heartbreaking. She was such a sweet, beautiful and talented girl who worked so hard to promote the game. Rest in peace lady ❤️"
— @Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree)

Condolences were also expressed in comments on her posts on Instagram, where she boasted more than 17,000 followers.

Novikova graduated from the faculty of engineering at the Moscow State Technical University, according to reports.

She boasts close to $100,000 in in earnings, according to poker database Hendon Mob, with her top live cash proceeds amounting to $54,068.

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Source: The Epoch Times

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