Whittled down from an initial field of 894 entries, Guo Liang Wei was the last man standing in the 40th event of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus; the $3,000 Mystery Bounty. Among his rail in the auditorium of the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, Wei lifted his first PokerStars silver Spadie, as well as claiming the first place prize of $265,972.
Just a week prior, Wei narrowly missed out on his first major title on the EPT circuit, finishing sixth in the $1,100 Eureka Main Event for $78,770. Consequently, Wei came into Day 3 with a vengeance, ultimately surpassing his own record set here in Northern Cyprus.
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize | Bounties Won | Total Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guo Liang Wei | China | $265,972 | $10,000 | $275,972 |
| 2 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | $166,330 | $4,000 | $170,330 |
| 3 | Matthias Lipp | Austria | $118,810 | $161,000 | $279,810 |
| 4 | Valeriu Rosca | Romania | $91,390 | $4,000 | $95,390 |
| 5 | Nicolae Paunescu | Romania | $70,310 | $7,000 | $77,310 |
| 6 | Karen Nazarian | Russia | $54,090 | $8,000 | $62,090 |
| 7 | Marius Kudzmanas | Lithuania | $41,590 | $4,000 | $45,590 |
| 8 | Uladzimir Zhyharau | Belarus | $31,990 | $49,000 | $80,990 |
| 9 | Ryhor Karapanau | Latvia | $24,610 | $13,000 | $37,610 |
Day 2 saw the action heat up quickly with the introduction of the mystery bounty tokens. Each elimination a player scored yielded prizes with a minimum value of $1,000. However, the remaining field all aspired to be one of the three lucky receipts of the elusive top bounties worth $75,000 each.
The first player to win one of the $75,000 prizes was Alik Zazian, who utilized the slow pace of play during the bubble to claim his significant score. Zazian eventually finished in 116th place for a payout of $3,400, but he'll be more than happy with the result.
Although a third-place finish would eventually await Matthias Lipp, he was already having one of the most surreal Mystery Bounty runs ever seen. Lipp captured not one, but two of the remaining $75,000 bounties ensuring he would finish with more than second-place money from bounties alone.
Zazian and Lipp weren’t the only ones to pull a significant payday; the second largest prizes of $40,000 were claimed by Stefan Uebber and Alessandro Pichierri.
Alexey Losev, Hamza Nasir, Hadi Khordbin, Azamat Tulepbergenov, Omar Del Pino, Bernat Capdevilla Montes and Patrick Leonard were among those to claim one of the $25,000 envelopes.
With all the largest bounties having already been claimed, the dynamic of play quickly shifted to that of a regular tournament; all eyes laid firmly on the final table, trophy and title.
The exits of Hadi Khordbin and Maroun Jazzar kick-started proceedings; Khordbin's short stack jam had the misfortune of running into the pocket aces of Valeriu Rosca, ending his tournament run.
One of the most decorated High Stakes regulars, Morten Klein, crashed out in 13th place. Klein is no stranger to the pressure that comes with the potential of a six-figure payday but fell short on his quest to add a maiden EPT win to his poker resume.
Klein was followed to the payout desk by Aziz Efe, Anze Smajd and Stoyan Obreshkov, setting the scene for the final nine as they congregated on one table for the first time.
Nicolae Paunescu drew first blood at this final table; his queens held against the ace-queen of Ryhor Karapanau ending his tournament journey in ninth place.
Closely followed by Karapanau’s exit was Uladzimir Zhyharau’s departure in eighth place. Zhyharau was accompanied throughout the entirety of both Day 2 and Day 3 by his girlfriend, who didn’t miss a single piece of the action. She also aided in Zhyharau’s bounty pulls, helping him become one of the recipients of the $25,000 prizes; his spoils of eliminations totalled an impressive $49,000.
A dramatic three-way all-in was the demise of Marius Kudzmanas. This big three-way showdown saw the worst preflop holding succeed both its rivals ensuring the departure of Kudzmanas and a monster pot for Wei, kickstarting his final table campaign.
Although Karen Nazarian’s tournament journey saw him eliminate a staggering total of eight players, all eight envelopes earned him the minimum prize of $1,000. However, Nazarian’s sixth-place finish came with a score of $54,090, which will certainly be an apt consolation for his deep tournament run.
The eliminations of Paunescu and Rosca made way for the departure of Lipp who was our first podium-place finisher. Lipp’s result of $118,810 was somewhat eclipsed by his bounty haul of $161,000; the combination of these two figures meant he walked away from this tournament with more money than any other player.
Wei started heads-up play with a huge chip advantage, but Boris Kolev was one of the most formidable players on the final table and quickly proved he wasn’t going to be light work; Kolev secured an early double-up and ignited this heads-up battle.
After a lengthy fro, it wasn’t to be for the Bulgarian as he got his final chips in the middle dominated; his king-four holding couldn't improve upon his opponent’s king-queen. The trophy, title and the final mystery bounty token of the tournament were sent the way of Wei.
