Russia’s Daniil Kiselev won the 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party $5,400 Main Event at Merit Crystal Cove Hotel Casino & Spa in North Cyprus for an even $1,000,000. Kiselev topped a field of 972 entries and defeated Turkey’s Mehmet Biskin heads-up on Sunday, completing a comeback that began when he was down to 23,000 chips at the 4,000/8,000 level during Day 1d.
Who Is Daniil Kiselev?
Kiselev bagged a middling stack in Day 1d before his tournament life was nearly over, his stack shrinking to just 23,000 with the blinds at 4,000/8,000. He fought back, advanced through the flight, and returned for the final day in 13th place among 15 remaining players.
“I was down to 23k with blinds at 4,000/8,000,” Kiselev told Matthew Warburton, who was live reporting at PokerNews. “From 23k to winner… so never give up, guys, anything can happen!”
On his run to the title: “When you have a good run — good cards, good flops, good situations — it’s not too important how you play. If you run good, you just win!”
Daniil Kiselev Wins the 2026 MPP Main Event
The 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party ran at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel Casino & Spa in North Cyprus. The $5,400 Main Event attracted 972 entries, with 15 players returning for the final day before a nine-handed final table was set.
Daniil Kiselev arrived as one of the shorter stacks but won a crucial flip early in the day, eliminating Nikolay Baryshnikov. He climbed through the counts from there, reaching the final table as chip leader with Jordan Woodall of Germany close behind.
Vadzim Godzdanker fell first, eliminated by defending champion Daniel Thaller with pocket jacks. Ivan Bryksin followed in eighth. Kirill Solovev exited in seventh after Thaller chipped up at his expense. Naji Tannoury of Lebanon ran his pocket tens into Kiselev’s ace-king and lost. Timo Vogt of Austria then fell in fifth to Kiselev in another coin flip.
The decisive hand at four-handed: Thaller, the 2025 champion who had climbed back into contention, reshoved from the small blind with king-queen against Kiselev’s button raise. Kiselev called with ace-six. It held. Thaller’s impressive title defense ended in fourth place for $290,000.
Three-handed, Kiselev made the right river call in a massive pot against Woodall to take a commanding chip lead. Woodall then limp-shoved from the small blind and was called by Biskin’s dominating hand, sending Woodall to the rail in third for $420,000.
Kiselev entered heads-up with a nearly 2-to-1 advantage. He extended his lead by winning small pots and calling off two of Biskin’s river bluffs. The final hand: Kiselev limp-shoved with nine-three suited. Biskin called with king-queen. Kiselev paired his three on the flop. The title was his.
“That last hand, I still really can’t imagine how I made this decision and what happened in my head,” Kiselev said, per PokerNews. “But I won, so… better to be lucky than skillful!”
On his support network: “Thanks to them that they are with me through all moments, because my life is a rollercoaster. Up and down.”
2026 MPP Main Event Final Table Results
$5,400 buy-in | 972 entries | $5,000,000 Prize Pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Daniil Kiselev | Russia | $1,000,000 |
| 2 |  Mehmet Biskin | Turkey | $621,000 |
| 3 |  Jordan Woodall | Germany | $420,000 |
| 4 |  Daniel Thaller | Austria | $290,000 |
| 5 | Timo Vogt | Austria | $210,000 |
| 6 |  Naji Tannoury | Lebanon | $150,000 |
| 7 | Kirill Solovev | Russia | $110,000 |
| 8 | Ivan Bryksin | Russia | $80,000 |
| 9 | Raphael Schreine | Austria | $60,000 |
Razinkov Wins the $3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty for $85,000
Russian businessman Aleksandr Razinkov won the $3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty over a field of 290 entries at the 2026 MPP, taking home $85,000 from the guaranteed $500,000 prize pool. Razinkov, who won a WSOP Circuit Ring at Merit Royal Diamond for $150,000, played with characteristic composure throughout.
“As a paraglider, I wait for the weather conditions to be perfect, then I can fly. It is the same for poker. Sometimes you should just look and wait,” Razinkov told Chris Bean, live reporting at PokerNews.
The bounty phase on Day 2 was carnage. Sixty percent of the returning field was eliminated in the first four levels as players chased envelopes from the tombola drum. The biggest beneficiary of the chaos was China’s Chengxu Hu, who knocked out five players and pulled the top mystery bounty envelope worth $100,000. His other envelopes added $25,000, $10,000, $5,000 and $3,500 for a total of $143,500 in bounties on top of his $27,300 prize for finishing fourth.
Hu was also in contention for the title, holding the chip lead at various points on the final table. He eventually fell in a three-way all-in: Leonid Orman moved in with queen-ten suited, Hu called with ace-queen, and Razinkov woke up with ace-king. Orman flopped a ten, but Razinkov rivered an ace to take control.
Hu’s compatriot Congya Zhang, who won the Global Poker Championships at the same festival for $300,000, finished fifth for $20,200. In the final hand, Aleksei Istomin shoved for nine big blinds with king-three. Razinkov called with ten-five, flopped a ten, and held to win. Istomin’s $55,000 runner-up prize pushed him past $1,000,000 in career earnings.
“Quite high up, probably third or fourth,” Razinkov said of where the win ranks in his career.
On celebrating: “It is not necessary for me to go drink and celebrate. I know that tomorrow morning I will wake up in a good mood. When I was a child people would say what is wrong with you? But I am happy, just my happiness is on the inside.”
With Triton coming to Merit in November, Razinkov had a parting message: “This victory has given me more bullets to fire in the future. If anyone wants to back me I am open to offers!”
2026 MPP $3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty Final Table Results
$3,300 buy-in | | 290 Entries | $500,000 Prize Pool
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksandr Razinkov | Russia | $85,000 |
| 2 | Aleksei Istomin | Russia | $55,000 |
| 3 | Leonid Orman | Russia | $38,000 |
| 4 |  Chengxu Hu | China | $27,300 |
| 5 | Congya Zhang | China | $20,200 |
| 6 |  Vasileios Panagiotidis | Greece | $15,550 |
| 7 |  Yiannis Liperis | Cyprus | $12,700 |
| 8 | Mengdian Peng | China | $10,600 |
| 9 |  Pavel Frolov | Ukraine | $9,000 |
* Prize does not include mystery bounty winnings.
FAQ
- Results and information courtesy of PokerNews, PokerNews Paradise Mystery Bounty coverage, and Merit Poker.
- Images courtesy of Merit Poker / Mediterranean Poker Party.
