Russian Poker Steamer Passes Away At 26 From Freak Bathtub Accident

A Russian online poker player passed away last week after being electrocuted in her bathtub.

Lilya Novikova, who streamed her online poker sessions on Twitch under the screen name “Liay5,” was found dead in her bathtub in her Moscow apartment.

According to reports from the BBC, Novikova accidentally electrocuted herself while using her hair dryer in the bathtub. Russia’s Investigative Committee told the British news outlet that all the reports suggest that the death was accidental.

Novikova’s body was found by an elderly neighbor. According to sources, the neighbor is a longtime friend of the family with a key to the apartment.

Four years ago, at just 22 years old, Novikova was a PokerStars Team Online Pro, and reached Supernova status with the site.

Novikova’s live tournament earnings are just shy of $88,000 but she was a prominent member of the online tournament world. Her twitch channel had 24,626 followers at the time of her passing.

“Incredibly sad to hear Liay ‘liay5’ Novikova passed away due to a home accident,” tweeted fellow Twitch Streamer and high-stakes poker pro Lex Veldhuis. “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.”

Most Viewed Articles