With a lofty $1,000,000 guarantee, the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship was always going to attract a healthy field. The $1,100 buy-in tournament is the first on the island, as the tour continues to expand to new destinations, offering the same World Poker Tour experience, regardless of buy-in.
The first of four starting flights got underway yesterday with a whopping 340 entrants — more than a third of what is needed to reach the guarantee.
Just 43 players advanced to Day 2, with Senchylo Zuev leading the way after bursting the money bubble late on Day 1a.
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senchylo Zuev | 1,193,000 |
| 2 | Marios Theophanous | 1,031,000 |
| 3 | Jesper Jolheden | 688,000 |
| 4 | Bacs Mate | 600,000 |
| 5 | Volkan Karacocuk | 542,000 |
| 6 | Huseyin Akgul | 525,000 |
| 7 | Kerem Turuskan | 523,000 |
| 8 | Rares Popescu | 470,000 |
| 9 | Saad Yammine | 447,000 |
| 10 | Veli Ozyildirim | 439,000 |
The schedule for the day was to play down to 12.5% of the field, with all survivors making the money. There was action from the very start, with Salih Akkaya getting it in on the very first hand with QxQxagainst Can Cubukcu Cadgas' AxKx. Queens held and he secured a very early double.
The field grew over the course of the day, with highlights including Ion Parnica rivering quads to eliminate an opponent and Suleyan Ciftsuren tank-calling with just a pair of sixes to send another player to the rail.
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Serkan Avci and Abdurahim Caliskan had been vying for the chip lead all day, but a late surge by Bacs Mate had the two of them playing catch up. However, the overnight chip lead went to Senchylo Zuev, who burst the bubble in Level 17 by eliminating Gokhan Akinci (pictured).
Akinci was all-in with 6♥5♥on 9♥6♠3♠but was behind to the K♥K♦of Zuev. The turn J♠and river 2♥saw Akinci eliminated, and Zuev moved into the lead. He is one of only two players with over a million chips, the other being Marios Theophanous.
| Day | Event | Time (CET) |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, August 23 | WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Day 1b | 12:00 |
| Saturday, August 24 | WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Day 1c | 12:00 |
| Saturday, August 24 | WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Day 1d (Turbo) | 21:00 |
| Sunday, August 25 | WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Day 2 | 13:00 |
| Monday, August 26 | WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Final Table | TBD |
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