Detailed Analysis: 20 plus Russian Federation-Tagged Accounts on ACR
Hey 2+2,
I've been playing on ACR (WPN) for a while and started noticing a large number of Russian Federation-tagged accounts performing unusually well in mid-stakes MTTs. To be thorough, I went through every Russian Federation-tagged player I could find that looked active/suspicious on SharkScope — this is not cherry-picking; it's every one I encountered while grinding and searching. I ended up with 23 Russian Federation-tagged accounts (plus a few CIS neighbors like Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan/Azerbaijan that fit the same profile).
This isn't a "ACR is rigged" rant or direct accusation — it's just the data I've compiled from public SharkScope profiles, graphs, and recent tournament histories (most recent 500+ for 11 of them). The patterns are statistically unusual and remind me of past bot farm/collusion discussions (e.g., BF Corp exposé, recent threads on Russian clusters). I'm posting for community thoughts — am I overthinking, or does this look like the kind of thing we've seen before?
I'll break it down with tables, examples, and key observations. All data is from SharkScope as of late January 2026. No hand histories (I don't have them), just public results.
1. Overview of the 23 Russian Federation-Tagged Accounts
[B]To reiterate: This list includes every Russian Federation-tagged player I found while playing and searching SharkScope — no selective filtering for high-ROI only. Here's a summary table (sorted roughly by ROI descending). Note the clustering in high ROI, high volume, and elite ability ratings:
Player Name Games Played Avg Stake ROI Total Profit Ability Rating Notes
JENNY_Aniston 3,163 $31 68.7% ~$51k 93 Massive volume, sky-high ROI
N0stradamus 6,714 $4.41 70.3% ~$4.4k 73 Micro-stakes extreme ROI, high volume
Novosel0 ~40 N/A 67.5% ~$2.7k 93 Low volume, rigid "exactly 9 games" sessions
MeetJoeBlack 478 $228 53.4% ~$298k 95 Big Venom cash
krunijo 1,092 $58 45.4% ~$58k 94 Sunday wins
Ziony 614 $13 46.4% ~$5.9k N/A Low-mid strong
EVPRINCE 1,725 $17.83 35.5% ~$10.8k 83 Mid-stakes
Hytex10 2,639 $6.91 32.9% ~$5.9k 77 Micro/low high ROI
twokevoke 5,655 $30 31.9% ~$28k 90 High volume
perasperaadastra 2,074 $71 30.6% ~$37k 95 Mid-stakes
defyu 2,360 $43.52 21.6% ~$7.5k 87 Mid-stakes
EveryTimeRaise 5,191 $41.07 12.2% ~$18k 92 High volume
Sonic_pro 2,443 $54.30 13.8% ~$22.8k 93 Mid-stakes
NTGbelka 3,551 $64 11% ~$14k 93 High volume
ledenis 3,187 $24.21 8.8% -$1.7k 74 Recent downswing
Lppapuase9160 1,501 $60.22 6.4% ~$6.5k 88 Mid-stakes
onnea 1,988 $452 7% ~$198k 98 High-stakes, massive profit
Zlata_Ibrahimovna 2,804 $85 8.9% ~$10k 90 Mid-stakes
vadik77rus N/A High N/A Big sats N/A High-stakes
BadPotBet 1,888 $211 -2% ~$152k 96 High-stakes, Venom cash
GambleKid90210 Opt-out N/A N/A Big Venom N/A Opt-out, high-profile cash
MUSTAFIN 495 $54.27 -19.2% -$3.6k 66 Recent downswing
Key Observations:
• ROI Clustering: 10/23 at 30%+ (up to 70.3%), many over high volume. Even "lower" ones (6–13%) are profitable long-term in mid-stakes.
• Ability Ratings: 15/23 at 90+ (elite tier on SharkScope).
• Volume: 18/23 over 1,000 games (total ~50,000+ games across the group).
• Profit: Aggregate >$1M+ — remarkable for one region on one site.
2. Behavioral Patterns: Highly Structured Schedules
From recent tournament histories (500+ per player for 11/23):
• Daily Bursts: When active, 10–30+ games in 4–7 hour blocks, near-daily for high-volume players.
• Time Synchronization: 90%+ sessions in 2 PM – 11 PM CST (peak 4–9 PM) — aligns with 9 PM – 6 AM Moscow time (night-shift hours in Russia).
• Rigidity Examples:
o Novosel0: Exactly 9 tournaments per session, weekly (e.g., Jan 6: 9 in 3.5 hours; Jan 11: 9 in 3 hours).
o Many others (twokevoke, NTGbelka, Hytex10): Often 9–12 games in tight blocks.
o No random low-activity days or irregular hours — all follow similar rhythm.
• Cross-Player Alignment: On dates like Jan 6, 11, 21, 2026, 7–10 players active within 1–3 hours.
This uniformity is not typical for unrelated humans (life causes variance). It suggests scheduled shifts (common in farms).
3. Tournament Overlaps: Direct Evidence of Shared Tables
From cross-referencing IDs:
• Overlap Rate: 25–40% of recent IDs shared among 3–9 players (mostly $50–$200 NLH MTTs/sats/KO).
• Key Examples (Jan 2026):
o ID 34365841 ($100 + $9 NLH): 11/12 players (all except Novosel0).
o ID 34363666 ($100 + $9 NLH): 9/12 players.
o ID 34292773 ($60 + $6 NLH): 8/12 players.
o Many $100 + $9 and $60 + $6 MTTs shared by 5–8 players on the same day.
• Late-Reg Clustering: 60%+ entries in last 30–60 min of reg — tactic for inflating fields/soft tables.
• Adjacency Sighting: Two Ukraine-tagged players from a similar cluster (SanityWaterline + WhyDoYouFold) seated next to each other on bubble in $215 Mystery Bounty.
Random overlaps in large fields are <5%; 25–40% + time alignment is deliberate.
4. Tournament Preferences: Focused on Exploitable Formats
• Types: 80–90% NL Hold'em MTTs, 20–30% satellites (SAT), rebuys, KO/PKOs — formats where collusion/botting thrives (late-reg inflation, bounty soft-play).
• Stakes: $50–$200 dominant for volume grinders; $200–$600+ for high-stakes like BadPotBet/onnea.
• Uniform focus on soft guarantees/sats — prime for farm inflation/collusion.
5. Why This Matters & Community Context
These patterns (high-ROI clustering, synchronized schedules, massive overlaps, soft-field focus) match documented Russian-linked bot farms on WPN/ACR (e.g., BF Corp/Siberian operations per Bloomberg 2024, 2025–2026 2+2 threads on Russian clusters with similar traits). The density (23 from one tag) + CIS extensions (high ROI in Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan/Azerbaijan) is highly unusual.
I'm not saying "these are definitely bots" — no hand histories to prove soft-play. But the data is public on SharkScope, and the patterns are consistent with known issues. Thoughts? Has anyone else noticed this cluster? ACR staff sometimes respond to these threads — any comment?
Thanks for reading — I have screenshots of all the players on this list, and snag it of all the past 500 tournaments with tournament ID's. I would send anyone my entire grok exchange, its extensive, but all the data is in that exchange.
