Deep into the 1,284-entry 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus $5,300 Main Event, 45 players returned to Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa for the fourth day of the flagship tournament. During an action-packed day, they played down to 16 remaining contenders, of which Georgios Tsouloftas bagged the biggest stack with 7,970,000 in chips, a whopping 159 big blinds when play resumes.
Tsouloftas, a home-town grinder who sits in fourth place on the Cypriot all-time money list, already has over a million dollars in live tournament earnings, a lot of which he has earned in his own country. However, a deep run in an EPT event had still eluded Tsouloftas until today, with the closest he got being his 26th place in the $1,100 Eureka Main Event just a few days ago.
Tsouloftas' nearest contender is Oliver Weis, who follows at a considerable distance with a stack of 4,540,000. Weis has just over two million in live earnings, around half of which came from his victory in the €10,300 High Roller at EPT Paris 2024. Meanwhile, Andriy Lyubovetskiy, who is no stranger to five-figure buy-ins himself and has nearly two and a half million in live earnings, sits in third with 3,970,000 in chips.
Other players who ended up in the top ten at the end of the night include last year's runner-up Andrea Dato, Tsouloftas' fellow Cypriot Eleftherios Sinnos, last lady standing Marta Miquel Munoz, and Anton Wigg, who is looking to join the very exclusive club of two-time EPT champions.
End of Day 4 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgios Tsouloftas | Cyprus | 7,970,000 | 159 |
| 2 | Oliver Weis | Germany | 4,540,000 | 91 |
| 3 | Andriy Lyubovetskiy | Ukraine | 3,970,000 | 79 |
| 4 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | 3,160,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Mikhail Shalamov | Russian Federation | 2,600,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Andrea Dato | Italy | 2,575,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Eleftherios Sinnos | Cyprus | 2,295,000 | 46 |
| 8 | Marta Miquel Munoz | Spain | 2,235,000 | 45 |
| 9 | Philip Joyce | United Kingdom | 1,650,000 | 33 |
| 10 | Anton Wigg | Sweden | 1,555,000 | 31 |
Among the other survivors are Halil Tasyurek (1,230,000), who, like Dato, is looking to make back-to-back EPT Cyprus final tables as he finished in fourth last year, and Day 3 chipleader Bobby James, who knew a roller coaster day and ended up with 1,215,000 in chips, less than half than what he started Day 4 with.
Day 4 Action
Day 4 started with 45 hopefuls returning to the tables, but after an explosive first level, that number was already reduced to 34. Eureka High Roller winner Diogo Coelho was the first to exit on the fourth day of play, shortly followed by Victoria Livschitz, both taking home $18,240. Taago Tamm (37th - $20,980) was eliminated when his opponent flopped quads in a flip, while his fellow Estonian Ranno Sootla had his aces cracked to go out one spot later.
After the first break, Guillermo Gordo (34th - $20,980) was notably also eliminated by a flopped four-of-a-kind, while Day 2 chipleader Fahredin Mustafov finished in 32nd for the same prize when he called off trips against a straight on the river. Miquel Munoz eliminated Daniel Jackson (28th - $24,160) and Roeland Peeks (26th - $27,780) in quick succession, while Sinnos knocked out Day 1a chipleader Kirill Shcherbakov and Croatian regular Ivan Banic (25th and 24th - $27,780) in one fell swoop to bring the tournament to the final three tables.
Indian super high roller Santhosh Suvarna made his first deep run in an EPT Main Event but ultimately fell in 21st place for $31,940 after being among the shorter stacks all day. Tsouloftas and Artsiom Lasouski had been four- and five-betting each other throughout the day, creating an unmatched rivalry. Ultimately, Tsouloftas eliminated his nemesis in 20th for $36,740 in another preflop confrontation. Tsouloftas crossed four million in chips by winning this pot and crossed six million about an hour later when he cracked Lander Lijo’s aces to eliminate him in 19th.
It seemed that Tsouloftas’ hot run could only be stopped by reaching the end of the night as Chakib Mhiri was his next victim when he four-bet jammed tens into Tsouloftas’ kings. The final player to depart was Yisha Chen, who was eliminated in 17th by Lyubovetskiy, leaving Miquel Munoz as the last lady standing.
The remaining 16 players immediately bagged and tagged after Chen’s elimination, and will be returning for the penultimate day of the tournament tomorrow at noon local time. They will play down to at least a final table, but depending on the pace of play, they might play down further. The tournament will restart with 52 minutes and 52 seconds remaining in Level 26: 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante. Every subsequent level will have a duration of 90 minutes, and there will be a break after every level.
All who return have locked up a payout of $42,280 from the $6,227,400 prize pool, with the next pay jump being just one elimination away as 15th place will take home $50,760. Meanwhile, all who make the official final table of eight are guaranteed six figures, with a seven-figure score of $1,030,000 reserved only for the eventual champion.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,030,000 | 9 | $94,940.00 | |
| 2 | $642,300 | 10-11 | $73,100.00 | |
| 3 | $459,000 | 12-13 | $60,900.00 | |
| 4 | $353,100 | 14-15 | $50,760.00 | |
| 5 | $271,400 | 16 | $42,280.00 | |
| 6 | $208,720 | |||
| 7 | $160,500 | |||
| 8 | $123,400 |
Make sure to tune back into PokerNews tomorrow to not miss the thrilling Day 5 action as the final table of the 2024 EPT Cyprus Main Event will be formed.
