Bumper Turnout as WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Kicks Off
Table Of Contents
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.
WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
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 |
Day 1a Action
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 QxQx against 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.
Matt Savage: WPT Prime Allows Players to Travel the World
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.
WPT Prime Cyprus Schedule
| 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 |
Win WPT Passports on WPT Global Career With a Hefty Welcome Package
WPT Global understands its players want to travel the world, offering players an easy way to win tournament packages called WPT Passports.
Now, these WPT Passports are converted to Passport Dollars that can then be used to purchase customizable tournament packages for World Poker Tour and WPT Prime events.
$12,400 WPT Championship Passports can now be broken down and used as $12,400 worth of Passport Dollars. Ditto with your $1,500 WPT Prime Passports.
See for yourself why WPT Global's popularity is soaring by downloading WPT Global via PokerNews today. You can grab a massive welcome bonus. Just check out the welcome package table below to see which bonuses you qualify for:
| Deposit Amount | Bonus |
|---|---|
| $30 to $90 | 2x $5 MTT tickers and five $1 Global Spins tickets |
| $100 to $499 | 2x $5 MTT tickets, 1x $10 Global Spins ticket, and 2x $5 Global Spins tickets |
| $500 to $1,499 | 2x $11 MTT tickets, 1x $110 Sunday Slam ticket, 1x $25 Global Spins ticket, and 2x $5 Global Spins tickets |
| $1,500 or more | 2x $11 MTT tickets, 2x $110 Sunday Slam tickets, 1x $25 Global Spins ticket, and 2x $10 Global Spins tickets |
