WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Hits $1M Guarantee as Field Prepares for Day 2
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It’s go-time for Day 2 of the WPT Prime Cyprus $1,100 Championship! The series' showstopper has been an absolute knockout at the Chamada Prestige Hotel and Casino, with the 1,391 entries building a $1,349,270 prize pool, easily crushing the $1 million guarantee.
Yesterday’s final starting flights saw another 563 bullets fired, pushing the total past last year’s 1,202. If there was any doubt, poker is thriving in North Cyprus.
Now, 173 players are back in action at 1 p.m. EET, already guaranteed at least $1,940. But let’s be real, no one’s here just for a min-cash. The real prize? A $190,430 payday, a stunning WPT trophy, and a $10,400 seat to the WPT World Championship. The plan for Day 2 is to play until the nine-handed final table has been determined, with each finalist locking up a prize of no less than $18,800.
Looking to follow the action? Check out the live reporting on WPT.com.
Poker fans will also be able to watch cards-up coverage with the feature table being live streamed on the World Poker Tour YouTube channel.
Papantoniou & Karaygit Bag Best in Day 1D & 1E
The penultimate starting flight, Day 1D, saw 46 players make it through from a field of 362. Stylianos Papantoniou topped the counts with 982,000, just half a big blind ahead of Clyde Ramunas (978,000). That puts Papantoniou third overall heading into Day 2, with Ramunas sitting in fifth.
Day 1E, a turbo flight, saw Tanju Karayi?it bag up 654,000 to finish as chip leader from the 26 players who advanced. Karayi?it already has one trophy from this festival, having won the $825 NLH Take-Off for $40,000. Could he make it a festival double?
At the top of the overall leaderboard is Day 1A chip leader Kyprianos Kyprianou, who bagged 1,286,000, while Samer Sadaka (1,036,000) is the only other player to cross the seven-figure mark.
Also still in the mix? Defending champion Tudor Purice, who booked his Day 2 seat via Day 1C. He has some work to do with 176,000 chips, but never count out a champ. Another name to watch is Reiji Kono, the WPT Prime Cambodia winner from two years ago, who is looking to add another title to his résumé.
WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyprianos Kyprianou | 1,286,000 | 129 |
| 2 | Samer Sadaka | 1,036,000 | 104 |
| 3 | Stylianos Papantoniou | 982,000 | 98 |
| 4 | Joseph Haddad | 966,000 | 97 |
| 5 | Clyde Ramunas | 978,000 | 98 |
| 6 | Omar Lahdari | 875,000 | 88 |
| 7 | Roman Nuraev | 873,000 | 87 |
| 8 | Ali Fikh | 853,000 | 85 |
| 9 | Mehdi Yazdanpanah | 789,000 | 79 |
| 10 | Maroun Dagher | 710,000 | 71 |
WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $190,430 | 20-23 | $9,700 |
| 2 | $125,000 | 24-31 | $8,200 |
| 3 | $93,000 | 32-39 | $6,900 |
| 4 | $70,000 | 40-47 | $5,900 |
| 5 | $53,000 | 48-55 | $4,940 |
| 6 | $40,000 | 56-63 | $4,180 |
| 7 | $31,000 | 64-79 | $3,500 |
| 8 | $24,000 | 80-95 | $2,920 |
| 9-10 | $18,800 | 96-112 | $2,480 |
| 11-12 | $16,000 | 113-140 | $2,140 |
| 13-15 | $13,500 | 141-173 | $1,940 |
| 16-19 | $11,500 |
Dirlewanger Wins $660 PLO Bounty
The $660 PLO Bounty wrapped up yesterday, and it was Leonard Dirlewanger who came out on top, outlasting a 96-player field. With each bounty worth $300, there was $28,800 up for grabs in bounties, with the same amount set aside for the regular prize pool.
Dirlewanger put on a dominant performance, going wire-to-wire after entering the final table as chip leader. His reward? The trophy and a cool $8,575 for first place! He defeated Constantinos Messitis ($5,000) heads-up, while Fabian Rolli ($3,000) locked up the final podium spot.
One of the wildest moments of the tournament was a six-way all-in that had everyone at the table on the out of their seats. Ilan Verdnikov scooped the main pot, while Hassan Niknezhadi (seventh place, $1,000) took the side pot. Check out how it all played out below.
$660 PLO Bounty Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonard Dirlewanger | $8,575 |
| 2 | Constantinos Messitis | $5,000 |
| 3 | Fabian Rolli | $3,000 |
| 4 | Torun Engin | $2,250 |
| 5 | Tamer Yelekcioglu | $1,700 |
| 6 | Kaan Cinitas | $1,250 |
| 7 | Hassan Niknezhadi | $1,000 |
| 8 | Reiji Kono | $800 |
What Else is in Store?
Beyond the WPT Prime Championship, there's plenty more action lined up.
On Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m., the $440 Satellite to the $2,200 Chamada High Roller gives players a shot at one of 10 guaranteed seats. Then, at 8 p.m., the target tournament kicks off, boasting a $400,000 guarantee.
The High Roller will conclude on Monday, March 17, with the remaining contenders battling for a huge payday.
| Sun, Mar 16 | 1 p.m. | - | WPT Prime Championship Day 2 | $1,000,000 |
| Sun, Mar 16 | 4 p.m. | $440 | Sat. to the Chamada High Roller Day 1 | 10 Seats GTD |
| Sun, Mar 16 - Mon, Mar 17 | 8 p.m. | $2,200 | No Limit Hold'em - Chamada High Roller Day 1 (Event #12) | $400,000 |
| Mon, Mar 17 | 1 p.m. | - | WPT Prime Championship Final Day | $1,000,000 |
| Mon, Mar 17 | 2 p.m. | $2,200 | Chamada High Roller Final Day | $400,000 |
Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour/Chamada
In this Series
- 1 WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Returns for 2025 Edition
- 2 WSOP Main Event Finalist Philippe Souki Among Champions at WPT Prime Cyprus
- 3 WATCH: Aces Fall to Quads on Opening Day of WPT Prime Cyprus Championship
- 4 Dan Charlton Reclaimed His Life and is Now Crushing Poker
- 5 Defending Champ Purice Moves On to Day 2 of WPT Prime Cyprus Championship
- 6 WATCH: Action Galore at WPT Prime Cyprus with SIX-WAY ALL-IN
- 7 WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Hits $1M Guarantee as Field Prepares for Day 2
- 8 WPT's Alex Gray on The Traitors and How Poker Shaped Her Strategy
