The $3,500 Merit Poker Cup at the 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party reached it’s conclusion with Boris Smuskevicius claiming his biggest-ever live score of $217,000 at Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
His previous biggest score was $39,800 at the Aria Las Vegas in 2023. Smuskevicius smashed that figure and was cheered on by a supportive rail to finally tick off winning a big one
The larger-than-life character from Lithuania bulldozed his opponents on the final table, but did have some luck along the way.
The biggest turning point of the session was when Smuskevicius got it all in with pocket jacks and ran into Mehmet Dalkilic’s pocket queens for a quarter of the chips in play. A jack on the turn gave Smuskevicius a set, and he gave the table a massive thud in celebration. This proved to be the catalyst on the journey to securing the win.
An ICM deal was made at three-handed with Ekrem Sanioglu and Joseph Mouawad, but despite this, Smuskevicius took home only $3,000 less than the advertised prize of $220,000.
Smuskevicius then closed out the victory in style by making quad-queens against second-place Sanioglu to get his hands on the Merit Poker Cup.
$3,500 Merit Poker Cup Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boris Smuskevicius | Lithuania | $217,000* |
| 2 | Ekrem Sanioglu | France | $118,000* |
| 3 | Joseph Mouawad | Lebanon | $124,000* |
| 4 | Vyacheslav Kardash | Russian Federation | $74,000 |
| 5 | Darko Svesko | Serbia | $58,000 |
| 6 | Espen Sandvik | Norway | $46,000 |
| 7 | Mehmet Dalkilic | Turkey | $37,000 |
| 8 | Aleksanras Rusinovas | Lithuania | $29,000 |
| 9 | Viktor Iarilov | Russian Federation | $22,520 |
*denotes ICM Deal
Winner’s Reaction
“I think I will enjoy everything tomorrow!” a tired Smuskevicius told PokerNews. “But I am very happy; it was a nice tournament, with a lot of hard work, a lot of happiness, and a lot of bluffing. The structure was perfect. I have been coming to Merit for ten years and may have missed one series.”
“It is a good card room, great staff, great tournaments, great food and a peaceful, wonderful five-star hotel.”
“I learned the game at the Olympic Casino in Lithuania twenty years ago, playing tournaments, home games and cash games, also in Berlin and getting the ice-breaker to Tallinn. I don’t play much in Lithuania now; I won everything that Olympic Casino offered and looked to bigger challenges.”
Smuskevicius then wanted to pay tribute to his close ones: “I am very thankful to my family because they always believed in me, and also my friends who supported me, they believed I could hit a big one and it has took a lot of work.”
Day 2 Action
A total of 63 players returned for Day 2, and the action was fast and furious through the whole day. Within the first two hours, there were 24 eliminations, with the majority coming from sub-ten big blind stacks. Among the early casualties were Eugene Katchalov, Turkish crusher Selahaddin Bedir, and Adrian State.
Only one female managed to make it to Day 2, and that was Chenxu Zhang, who had a solid day finishing in 10th place. The Chinese startlet played with great exuberance all day and is certainly a player to watch.
Mehmet Dalkilic eliminated Zhang after she ran her pocket tens into his king-queen. A king on the flop gave the Turk a better pair and denied Zhang a place on the final table.
The standout performer of the day was Serbian Darko Svesko, who was among the top stacks for most of the day. Svesko’s mix of aggression and having the right hands at the right time was the perfect formula to knock out several players and amass the biggest stack going into the final table.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t carry that momentum on to the final table and fizzled out in fifth place after Mouawad flopped a wheel to beat his pair of sixes.
Speaking of Mouawad, his journey was one of the day’s stories. The winner of EPT London 2007 rolled back the years to record his biggest live score since lifting the EPT trophy at The Vic Casino. The Lebanese delivered a masterclass in short-stack play and seemed to double up at the right times throughout the day.
But the day belonged to Lithuanian Smuskevicius, who hinted that, with the boost to the bankroll, he may take a shot at the Triton One events, which will be held at Crystal Cove’s sister property Merit Diamond in November.
