There will be a new name in the European Poker Tour record books as the EPT Cyprus Main Event shrugged off its last two title holders today, setting up the final two tables and a dramatic weekend of action.
The 53 players who set out on day 4 with hopes of taking down the trophy included Nicolas Chouity and Anton Wigg, both previous winners of an EPT Main Event.
For Lebanese pro Chouity, it would be 26th spot and $28,425 after his big blind jam of 30BB with a suited ace-five ran into Yannick Schumacher’s pocket 10s.
Wigg would make it a little further, 18th spot for $37,650, but despite this hand couldn’t replicate his 2010 EPT Copenhagen victory, eventually bowing out in a race with pocket fives losing to Victor Yugay’s A❤️ Q❤️.
Yugay also accounted for Atanas Malinov in 17th spot to close out day 4 in third place, with 16 players left to chase the lion’s share of the $6,402,000 prizepool.
There's $1,042,000 up top, with six-figure scores guaranteed for the final eight. The next player eliminated will get the same payout as Malinov, $43,275.
Italy’s Andrea Dato leads the way with a commanding chip lead, while Belgium’s Kenny Hallaert and England’s Marc Foggin are in the chasing pack.
Day 5 continues tomorrow on level 25, with blinds at 20,000/40,000/40,000, and the remaining players will play down to Sunday’s final table of six. You can watch all the action on the PokerStars Twitch channel, re-starting at 11.30am CEST.
EPT Cyprus Main Event – final 16
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
| 1 | Andrea Dato (Italy) | 6,155,000 |
| 2 | Gilles Simon (Netherlands) | 4,430,000 |
| 3 | Viktor Yugay (Uzbekistan) | 3,870,000 |
| 4 | Kenny Hallaert (Belgium) | 2,965,000 |
| 5 | Nathan Tetart (France) | 2,725,000 |
| 6 | Halil Tasyurek (Turkey) | 2,580,000 |
| 7 | Marc Foggin (United Kingdom) | 2,570,000 |
| 8 | Priit Parmasto (Estonia) | 2,385,000 |
| 9 | Bjorn Kozenkai (Hungary) | 2,290,000 |
| 10 | Aleksandr Faterin (Russia) | 2,090,000 |
| 11 | Timur Vardanian (Russia) | 1,745,000 |
| 12 | Nikita Kuznetsov (Russia) | 1,455,000 |
| 13 | Yannick Schumacher (Germany) | 1,390,000 |
| 14 | Jose Gonzalez Sanchez (Spain) | 1,155,000 |
| 15 | Gerard Carbo (Spain) | 1,130,000 |
| 16 | Alessandro Minasi (Italy) | 635,000 |
Feature image courtesy of PokerStars
