Ivelin Kolev is the latest World Poker Tour (WPT) champion.
The Bulgarian poker player who was already having a solid year in tournament poker took down the $1,100 WPT Prime Cyprus Championship for $171,600 at Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino on Monday.
Dominating the Final Table
Kolev didn’t enter the livestreamed final table anywhere close to the chip lead. The player he would go on to beat heads-up for the title, Said Tahar had a big chip lead when Day 3 began. Andreas Christodoulo was the only player even close to matching his stack.
But it would turn out to be a grueling final table with plenty of back-and-forth action. Ismail Yagci, who came into play with crumbs, didn’t last long and was the first to be eliminated in eighth place for $19,300.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivelin Kolev | $171,600 |
| 2 | Said Tahar | $100,000 |
| 3 | Joseph El Khoury | $74,000 |
| 4 | Andreas Christodoulo | $56,000 |
| 5 | Johan Storakers | $42,500 |
| 6 | Bora Kurtulus | $32,000 |
| 7 | Sergiu Cornea | $24,800 |
| 8 | Ismail Yagci | $19,300 |
Sergiu Cornea (seventh place for $24,800), Bora Kurtulus (sixth place for $32,000), and Johan Storakers (fifth place for $42,500) would follow. Christodoulo didn’t catch the breaks and, despite starting the day in strong position, had to settle for fourth place and $56,000.
By the time three-handed play began, Kolev had taken over the tournament. Things would go even better for him when he won a 60/40 to bust Joseph El Khoury in third place for $74,000. That sent the tournament into heads-up mode, with Kolev holding nearly a 7-1 advantage over Tahar.
Tahar gave it a shot, but there would be no rally. Kolev finished him off with a straight beating top pair, meaning Tahar was out in second place for $100,000. Kolev, who won aPokerStars European Poker (EPT) Barcelona event for $44,570 in August, collected $171,600 for his dominant performance. He also earned a $10,400 seat into the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December.
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