The PartyPoker WPT Merit North Cyprus Classic is the highlight of the month for many European poker players, who don’t have the resources to participate in the major Asian series. The tournament is hosted in a luxurious casino in Cyprus and is sponsored by the prestigious poker room, which provides players with plenty of reasons to pay the buy-in.
In 2014, there were hundreds of players who booked a seat at the main event, which is the most anticipated tournament of all those scheduled for early October. The game was played in shorthanded format, which explains why the final table only featured six players and Nicolas Chouity was the chip leader at the time. He had a significant advantage over the pack, with Alexander Lakhov being the only player within striking distance.
Much to his credit, Alexander managed to stay close to the leader and when opportunity presented itself is overtook Nicolas. Very little changed in the first two hours of the final table, with three players from Russia competing for the trophy, one of them was eliminated fairly quickly. Nicolas Chouity sent two players to the rail, but when three handed play began, he realized that it was time to take more chances, to consolidate his position.
The player from Lebanon was unlucky to get involved in some big hands and lost all of them, on two occasions starting as favorite. The way was paved for the remaining two Russians but contrary to what those present expected, they didn’t agree on splitting the pot according to their stacks. Instead, they preferred to play until the final hand was dealt and this proved to be a winning move for Alexander.
The heads up was more of a roller coaster, with each player being in command for a brief period of time, until Alexander Lakhov got a hand with tremendous potential. He played aggressively and committed his entire stack, forcing the runner-up to do the same and he emerged victorious. For more details about how the tournament unfolded and the most important moments of the final days of main event, head on to: http://blog.worldpokertour.com/alexander-lakhov-crowned-partypoker-wpt-merit-classic-north-cyprus-champion/
This is the final placement of the six most successful players:
| 1 | Alexander Lakhov | Russia | $310,000 |
| 2 | Dmitry Gromov | Russia | $215,000 |
| 3 | Nicolas Chouity | Lebanon | $140,000 |
| 4 | Toby Lewis | United Kingdom | $102,820 |
| 5 | Ori Miller | Israel | $77,000 |
| 6 | Igor Devkin | Russia | $62,000 |