The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) has returned to the eastern Mediterranean Sea for its second stop in Cyprus in as many years. EPT Cyprus, which features a flagship $5,300 Main Event, will run through October 20 at Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino and Spa.
The series already crowned its first major winner when Uruguay's Marcelo Bonanata edged Aleksejs Ponakovs in heads-up play to win the $10,200 Mystery Bounty in the opening days of EPT Cyprus. The high-stakes bounty format drew 75 players and the final table shook out with EPT regulars like Santhosh Suvarna, Tom Vogelsang, and Alexander Zubov having their first deep runs of the series.
Eureka Weekend
This weekend features a pair of Eureka Poker Tour events with the $550 Eureka Cup and the $1,100 Main Event. The Main Event is already underway with the last of six flights having wrapped up on Friday to set a field for Saturday. Marian Virlanuta is the overall chip leader after the final tally was 2,803 entries with 418 players surviving to earn a seat on Day 2. The tournament will play Days 2 and 3 this weekend to set up a finale on Monday.
Sunday also brings the start of the $2,200 Eureka High Roller with two opening flights and a Day 2 finale on Tuesday.
High Roller Island
Sunday also brings the start of the $2,200 Eureka High Roller with two opening flights and a Day 2 finale on Tuesday. It's one of three big ticket tournaments at EPT Cyprus, joining the EPT High Roller ($10,300) and the EPT Super High Roller ($50,000). The Super High Roller starts on Sunday and runs through Tuesday, while the High Roller closes out the series with a three-day event from Oct. 18-20.
Juan Pardo won the 2023 edition of the $50K Super High Roller for $688,560 after a heads-up deal with Vicente Delgado that closed out a tournament that drew 46 players for a prize pool of just over $2.2 million. Last year's $10,300 High Roller saw Ilia Pavlov beat a field of 407 entries for $787,400.
The Main Event
The flagship tournament of the series kicks off on Monday, Oct. 14 with two opening flights and a $5,300 buy-in. Last year's first-ever outing brought 1,320 entries to Cyprus and offered a prize pool over $6.4 million — from which the eventual champion and Nederlander Gilles Simon won just over $1 million.
This year's edition will stretch throughout the week and it ends with a final table climax on Sunday, October 20.
