$1,100 EAPT Cyprus
Day 2 Completed
$1,100 EAPT Cyprus
Day 2 Completed
To conclude the 2024 Mediterranean Poker Party at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel in Northern Cyprus, all eyes were on the final table of the $1,100 Eurasian Poker Tour Cyprus, the last tournament running in the room. Nevertheless, none of the remaining players wanted to give up, and by 4 a.m. local time, three players were still in the race for the win.
But the cards have spoken, and after an unbelievable three-way all-in and call situation where he found aces, Denis Zelenkin was crowned as the winner of the EAPT Grand Final Cyprus. He defeated a field of 855 entries and won $139,000. Eliminated at the same time, Tibor Nyuli and Iurii Zuev finished in second and third place for $93,400 and $64,000, respectively.
Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Denis Zelenkin | Russian Federation | $139,000 |
2 | Tibor Nyuli | Hungary | $93,400 |
3 | Iurii Zuev | Russian Federation | $64,000 |
4 | Milad Langar | Iran | $48,000 |
5 | Victor Fryda | France | $38,000 |
6 | Achir Eldaye | Lebanon | $29,500 |
7 | Bulent Kose | Turkey | $23,000 |
8 | Alfredo Versace | Italy | $17,860 |
9 | Guo Liang Wei | China | $13,500 |
When PokerNews asked him about his first reaction after he won, Zelenkin took his phone out of his pocket and typed a few words in Russian that Google translated as: “I am very happy. It was complicated. I put a lot of effort and was able to win”.
He was also very proud to show the picture of an old EAPT trophy that he won during EAPT Montenegro in 2017. “It’s my second trophy” he said, with a smile that never left his face.
As the final day of the Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) $1,100 Cyprus began, just 131 players remained from a field of 885 entrants after five starting flights. They were all hoping to be crowned as the winner of the last tournament of the Mediterranean Poker Party festival. But it didn’t take long for a lot of players to make their way to the exit, as half of the field was eliminated before the first break.
Cedric Schwaederle (129th), Dmitry Gromov (119th), Yuliyan Kolev (106th) and Tommy Nguyen (104th) were part of these players, but they secured a minimum cash-prize of $1,700. They were followed by Alessio Isaia (96th, $1,850), Joseph Mouawad (81st, $2,050), Andrey Pateychuk (74th, $2,300), Jack Sinclair (73rd, $2,300) or Bart Lybaert (58th, $2,850), who didn’t reach the second break of the day where only 45 players remained.
The field eventually went down to 24 players left and the three-table redraw on the last hand before the dinner break. After Sha Cheng Chun was eliminated in 24th place, Emre Saltik (23rd, $5,400), Nicos Sotiriou (22nd, $5,400), Patryk Szysz (19th, $6,200) and Renato Minicuci (16th, $7,200) were also sent to the rail in just a few minutes.
As the final table approached, new players were eliminated from the tournament, such as Ahmet Akyun, who lost a big flip and found himself with less than a small blind left. He managed to multiply his stack by sixteen during the following hands but was eventually eliminated by Victor Fryda in 11th place for $10,700.
Aylar Lie was next to put her tournament at risk, but with queen-jack, she ran into ace-king, failed to improve her hand, and missed the final table.
Guo Liang Wei became the first player of the final table to be eliminated (9th, $13,500) in a three-way all-in and call situation. Then, Alfredo Versace (8th, $17,860) with the two blinds he had left couldn’t do much against Iurii Zuev’s king-jack. Bulent Kose was not more successful, losing all his chips with eight-seven against eights to finish in seventh place for $23,000. After a new break, it was Achir Eldaye's turn to leave the table (6th, $29,500). This time, he had eights, but Tibor Nyuli with ace-king hit two pair.
Very little action was seen during the next two hours, as nobody wanted to be eliminated so close to the trophy. However, after he kept folding, Fryda almost ran out of chips and eventually jammed with a pair on the flop. Zuev, however, had two pairs, so Fryda finished in 5th place for $38,000. He was soon followed at the payout desk by Milad Langar (4th, $48,000), who left Denis Zelenkin, Tibor Nyuli, and Iurii Zuev to play for the win of the tournament.
Nyuli doubled up once against Zuev to close the gap with Zelenkin. But all the chips eventually went in the middle in a three-way all-in and call situation. Zelenkin had aces and the biggest stack, and the board didn’t change anything, so he was crowned the winner of the tournament.
This concludes the $1,100 EAPT Grand Final Cyprus and Mediterranean Poker Party festival coverage. Stay tuned to PokerNews for more action!
Iurii Zuev on the button shoved for 29,300,000, then Tibor Nyuli in the small blind asked for the count and three-bet all-in for roughly 50,000,000. Denis Zelenkin in the big blind stood up and snap-called.
Iurii Zuev: A♠3♠
Tibor Nyuli: Q♦Q♠
Denis Zelenkin: A♥A♣
Zelenkin couldn't hide his joy when he revealed aces. "No queens" he asked, and he was heard as on J♣8♥4♣K♦5♠, he scored a double elimination to win the tournament.
Zuev had the shortest stack, so he finished in third place for $64,000, while Nyuli takes the second place-prize of $93,400.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Denis Zelenkin |
177,000,000
79,300,000
|
79,300,000 |
Iurii Zuev | Busted | |
Tibor Nyuli | Busted |
After a few hands with almost no action, Tibor Nyuli opened to 6,000,000 from the button, then Denis Zelenkin in the small blind three-bet to 22,000,000.
Nyuli called and Zelenkin moved directly all-in on the Q♦2♥4♥ flop with the biggest stack. Nyuli snap-folded.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Denis Zelenkin |
97,700,000
9,300,000
|
9,300,000 |
Tibor Nyuli |
55,600,000
-11,400,000
|
-11,400,000 |
Level: 35
Blinds: 1,500,000/3,000,000
Ante: 3,000,000
The three remaining players are on a 10-minute break.
On the last hand before the break, Tibor Nyuli in the small blind limped and called after Denis Zelenkin in the big blind raised to 7,500,000.
Zelenkin continued for 4,500,000 on †he Q♠8♥Q♦ flop and Nyuli check-called, then both players checked the 3♠ turn.
The 8♠ completed the board and Nyuli led out for 9,000,000. Zelenkin snap-folded.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Tibor Nyuli |
79,000,000
49,000,000
|
49,000,000 |
Denis Zelenkin |
70,200,000
-37,800,000
|
-37,800,000 |
Iurii Zuev |
27,800,000
-17,200,000
|
-17,200,000 |
Tibor Nyuli shoved from the button and was called by Denis Zelenkin in the small blind, but they split the pot on 3♠4♣8♥K♥5♦ as they both had tens.
Now on the button, Iurii Zuev opened to 5,000,000, then Nyuli in the small blind three-bet all-in for 31,100,000. Zelenkin in the big blind folded, but Zuev called.
Tibor Nyuli: A♦2♣
Iurii Zuev: 10♠10♣
Nyuli was on the edge of elimination after the 4♦4♣J♠. But he was lucky enough to hit a pair with the A♥ turn, then a full house with the A♠ river to double up.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Denis Zelenkin |
88,400,000
-19,600,000
|
-19,600,000 |
Tibor Nyuli |
67,000,000
37,000,000
|
37,000,000 |
Iurii Zuev |
29,000,000
-16,000,000
|
-16,000,000 |
Iurii Zuev limped in from the button and Denis Zelenkin checked from the big blind.
Both players checked the flop and turn leading to a final board of 9♠7♦2♦J♦8♦. Zelenkin checked, Zuev bet 4,000,000 and Zelenkin called.
Zelenkin turned over 9♦8♣ for two pair but Zuev had the flush with A♦Q♠ to take the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Denis Zelenkin |
108,000,000
7,900,000
|
7,900,000 |
Iurii Zuev |
45,000,000
-4,500,000
|
-4,500,000 |
Denis Zelenkin limped in from the small blind and Iurii Zuev checked from the big blind.
Zelenkin bet 2,500,000 on the A♣7♦9♠ flop and Zuev called.
Zelenkin fired a second barrel for 6,500,000 on the 2♠ turn and this time Zuev opted to fold.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Denis Zelenkin |
100,100,000
12,100,000
|
12,100,000 |
Iurii Zuev |
49,500,000
-11,500,000
|
-11,500,000 |