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Melika Razavi is an Iranian poker player, magician and motivational speaker who first drew attention outside poker as a beauty pageant contestant. [2][3] Her biggest result came in September 2020, when she won Event #82 of the WSOP Online series on GGPoker, the $1,050 Beat the Pros (Bounty), beating 2,024 entries for $239,180 and her first World Series of Poker bracelet. [3][5] A year earlier she had finished 17th in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event. [1]
Melika Razavi: key facts
| Name | Melika Razavi |
|---|---|
| Country | Iran [1] |
| Known for | Poker player, magician and motivational speaker; Miss Global Iran 2016 nominee [2][3] |
| WSOP bracelets | 1 (2020 WSOP Online, $1,050 Beat the Pros Bounty) [3] |
| Biggest prize | $239,180, 2020 [3][5] |
| Best EPT result | 17th, 2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, €36,620 [1] |
| Live tournament earnings | $236,438 as of October 10, 2026 [1] |
From Iran to South Africa: cards, magic and pageants
Razavi grew up in Iran, where gambling, beauty pageants and magic are all banned, and left the country at 15 to live in South Africa. [2] She told PokerNews: “I always loved playing with cards.” She was first taught poker by friends of her mother who visited the family in Iran, played home games with friends from the age of 16, and at 23 began travelling to play, starting with cash games. [2]
Alongside poker she built a career as a magician and stage performer, and she works as a motivational speaker, especially for young women. In pageants she was a Miss Global Iran 2016 nominee and Miss Power Woman 2017. [2] Card Player described her as having competed for Iran in the 2016 Miss Global pageant. [4] By 2020 she had more than half a million followers on Instagram. [3]
Poker career
EPT Monte Carlo 2019
Razavi’s first run on a big stage came at the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event. On Day 3 she called the river with fourth pair to eliminate Jean-René Fontaine, lost chips in the middle levels, then doubled through 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess and was pushing for a top-ten stack with five tables left, at a table that also included Wiktor Malinowski and Nicolas Chouity. [2] On Day 4 she was eliminated by Wei Huang when her flush ran into a bigger flush, before the final two tables. [6] She finished 17th for €36,620. [1]
During that event she said: “It’s my passion. I play here, I go home, I play online. I just don’t stop playing poker.” She had also won a package for the WSOP Ladies Event in Las Vegas. [2]
WSOP Online bracelet, 2020
Event #82 of the 2020 WSOP Online series on GGPoker, the $1,050 Beat the Pros (Bounty), drew 2,024 entries and a prize pool of $2,024,000, and play lasted more than 13 hours. Razavi, playing as “Melirazavii”, took the chip lead with three tables left and at one point held about 60% of the chips with five players remaining. [3]
At the final table her set of sevens lost to Andre Difelice’s set of aces, but she recovered by eliminating Mike Leah with a queen-high flush and Martin Zamani with four nines. [4] She started heads-up against Dylan Linde with a lead of about two to one, lost it for a while, and won the final hand with a full house. [3][4] First place paid $239,180, which PokerNews noted quadrupled the previous biggest score of her career; according to Card Player, that had been $56,120 for fifth place in a $1,500 event at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel-Casino in Cyprus. [3][4]
The PokerGO Tour noted that she became one of two WSOP bracelet winners from Iran, alongside Amir Vahedi, and the fourth woman to win a bracelet in 2020. In the same report, which also covered a bracelet for Fedor Holz, she was listed among the bracelet winners who cashed in the $10K WSOP Super MILLION$ (Event #83). [7]
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | WSOP Online Event #82, $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em Beat the Pros (Bounty), GGPoker (2,024 entries) | 1st | $239,180 | [3][5] |
| 2019 | EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event | 17th | €36,620 | [1] |
Podcasts and media
Shortly before the bracelet win she appeared on Jeff Gross’s podcast with Antonio Esfandiari. [3] On September 30, 2020 she was a guest on the “Women in Poker” episode of the PokerNews Podcast, hosted by Chad Holloway, talking about coming from Iran as a woman, her EPT Monte Carlo run and her bracelet. [8] PokerStars has published a compilation of her televised hands. [9]
In her own words
“I’ve been through a lot and that made me a really strong person.” [3]
“No matter where you’re from, no matter what you have, if you put your mind into something, nothing and no one can stop you.” [3]
Video
Best of Melika Razavi (PokerStars)
FAQ about Melika Razavi
Who is Melika Razavi?
She is an Iranian poker player, magician and motivational speaker, and a former pageant contestant who was a Miss Global Iran 2016 nominee. She won a WSOP Online bracelet in 2020. [2][3]
Does Melika Razavi have a WSOP bracelet?
Yes. She won Event #82 of the 2020 WSOP Online series on GGPoker, the $1,050 Beat the Pros (Bounty), for $239,180. [3]
What is Melika Razavi’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for her net worth. PokerNews, using Hendon Mob data, lists $236,438 in live tournament earnings as of October 10, 2026. Cash game results are not published. [1]
Where is Melika Razavi from?
She is from Iran and moved to South Africa at 15. Poker results list her under Iran. [2][1]
How did Melika Razavi learn poker?
Friends of her mother taught her the game in Iran. She played home games from 16 and started travelling to play cash games at 23. [2]
How did Melika Razavi do at EPT Monte Carlo?
She finished 17th in the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event for €36,620, eliminated by Wei Huang on Day 4. [1][6]
Is Melika Razavi a magician?
Yes. She has performed magic on stage and describes herself as a poker player, magician and motivational speaker. [2][3]
Related Poker Legends
Read more about Antonio Esfandiari, with whom she appeared on Jeff Gross’s podcast in 2020, and Fedor Holz, who won a WSOP Online bracelet in the same days as Razavi.
Sources
- PokerNews, Melika Razavi player profile, accessed October 10, 2026.
- PokerNews, Iranian Beauty Queen Melika Razavi Making a Splash in EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, May 2, 2019.
- PokerNews, Melika Razavi Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in Event #82: $1,050 Beat the Pros ($239,180), September 6, 2020.
- Card Player, Former Miss Global Iran Wins World Series of Poker Online Bracelet, September 6, 2020.
- Card Player, $1,050 GGPoker.com No-Limit Hold’em Beat the Pros Bounty: results, accessed October 10, 2026.
- PokerNews, Six Remain in 2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event; Riess, Loeser Still in Contention, May 4, 2019.
- PokerGO Tour, Four More Bracelets Awarded to Fedor Holz, Melika Razavi, Alexander Kobbeltvedt, and Michael Gathy, September 7, 2020.
- PokerNews, PokerNews Podcast: The “Women in Poker” Episode, September 30, 2020.
- PokerStars on YouTube, Best of Melika Razavi: Best Poker Moments
Last verified: October 10, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
