Record-Breaking MILLIONS North Cyprus Doubles Guarantees
The collaboration between Merit Poker and partypoker LIVE was a roaring success with the MILLIONS North Cyprus festival creating an unforgettable and record-breaking live poker experience.
partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North Cyprus was the first MILLIONS event in more than a year due to the COVID-19 relate restrictions and lockdowns. Players flocked to the five-star all-inclusive Merit Crystal Cove Hotel Casino & Spa. Some 1,086 unique players from 65 different countries filled the tournament floor with non-stop action.
MILLIONS North Cyprus ran from September 16-27 and boasted of $5 million in combined guaranteed prize pools, including a $5,300 buy-in Main Event with $3 million guaranteed. Those 1,086 players were so delighted to get back to playing live poker, and doing so in such luxurious surroundings, that $10,885,531 was paid out during the festivities, more than double the advertized guarantees.
Congratulation to the winners of these events:
| Event | Entrants | Prize pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,300 Main Event | 839 | $3,859,400 | Giorgiy Shkulukhiya | $683,285 |
| $2,200 Warm Up | 745 | $1,370,800 | Mantas Nanartavicius | $210,912 |
| $25,500 MILLIONS Super High Roller | 34 | $782,000 | Steve O’Dwyer | $312,800 |
| $10,500 MILLIONS High Roller | 157 | $1,444,400 | Mustafa Timur Ercan | $377,115 |
| $1,650 Mix Max | 241 | $332,580 | Anon | $78,667 |
| $7,500 Merit Classic | 38 | $244,720 | Timothe B | $97,890 |
| $2,200 Super Bounty | 274 | $504,160 | Richard Neumann | $44,467 |
Russia’s Giorgiy Shkulukhiya was the biggest winner of the festival, securing a cool $683,285 courtesy of triumphing in the $5,300 MILLIONS North Cyprus Main Event. The tournament attracted some of the biggest names in world poker, and Shkulukhiya outlasted them all.
Seasoned professional poker players including American James Romero, Artur Martirosian, Johan Guilbert, Sergio Aido, Vlad Darie, Dominik Panka, and Team partypoker’s Joni Jouhkimainen all cashed in the MILLIONS North Cyprus Main Event but failed to reach the final table.
The tournament belonged to Shkulukhiya who defeated Germany’s Robert Heidorn heads-up to secure the lion’s share of the $3,859,400 prize pool.
Turkey’s Mustafa Timur Ercan was another player who returned home with a six-figure prize. Ercan won the $10,500 MILLIONS High Roller for $377,115.
Steve O’Dwyer and Lithuania’s Mantas Nanartavicius were the other two stars to pad their bankrolls with massive prizes. O’Dwyer triumphed in the $25,500 Super High Roller for $312,800; he now has almost $31 million in live poker tournament winnings. Nanartavicius secured the $210,912 top prize of the $2,200 buy-in Warm Up.
Merit Poker cannot wait to invite thousands of more players to its beautiful five-star hotels, where only the stunning Mediterranean views rival the impeccable hospitality.
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