The first starting flight of the WPT Cyprus Championship opened on Wednesday with a $3,500 buy-in event and a $2 million guaranteed prize pool. A field of 283 players competed through eight one-hour levels, and 127 of them advanced to Day 2.
Chip Counts at the End of Day 1A
At the final bagging, Alexsandr Pak held the chip lead with 379,000, closely followed by Furkan Yavuz with 358,500. Rounding out the Day 1A leaders were Sherif Derias (307,500), Mihai Trofim (306,500), Xin Yuan (258,500), Konstantin Generalov (234,000), Romulo Dorea (228,000), Volkan Karacocuk (224,000), Yehven Pavlenko(218,000), and Servet Cakir (217,500).
Notable Survivors
- Romulo Dorea, serving as a WPT Global Ambassador, bagged 228,000.
- Tony Dunst, known for his commentary role, also advanced with a shorter stack of 47,500. Early in the tournament, he turned a flop showing K♠ K♦ 10♦ into a winning trip kings hand (holding K♥ Q♠), besting an opponent’s 10♠ 6♠ after checking the river when four diamonds appeared.
- Two regional champions advanced: Omar Lakhdari (WPT Prime Cyprus) with 169,000, and Hugues Girard(WPT Prime Paris), stacking 139,000.
Eliminations and Key Moments
Several players failed to survive Day 1A, including Adam Zeyn, Elliott Campbell, George Fedorca, Yaser Sakrya, WPT Global qualifier Linda Nguyen, and Will Kassouf. Nguyen struck early with a successful bluff, but later ran into Pak holding two pair (10♣ 9♣) after going all-in with A♥ 10♦ on a board of 10♥ 9♠ 3♠ 4♥, and was eliminated when the river fell 8♠.
Tournament Schedule
The championship runs through August 18, centered around a festival offering $5 million in guarantees, hosted at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino. Highlights of the remaining schedule include:
- Thursday, August 14
- 12:00 pm – WPT Day 1B (50k starting stack; 60‑minute levels)
- 3:00 pm – Pot-Limit Omaha bounty event
- 11:00 pm – Satellite to Day 1C
- Friday, August 15
- 12:00 pm – WPT Day 1C
- 4:00 pm – Bounty event (no-limit hold’em)
- 11:59 pm – Speed-Up event
- Saturday, August 16
- 12:00 pm – Day 2 of the WPT Championship
- 5:00 pm – Mystery Bounty event (runs through Monday)
- 11:00 pm – Satellite to Super High Roller
- Sunday, August 17
- 12:00 pm – Day 3 of the WPT Championship
- 3:00 pm to Monday – Super High Roller event begins
- 8:00 pm – Last Chance event
- Monday, August 18
- 12:00 pm – Championship Final Table
- 3:00 pm – Super High Roller final
- 5:00 pm – Mystery Final Table Only event
Late registration is available through early Day 2, and players begin with a 50,000‑chip stack and 60‑minute levels.
