Ivelin Kolev Wins WPT Prime Cyprus Championship for $171,600

Bulgaria’s Ivelin Kolev won the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Spa on October 19, 2026, defeating a 953-entry field to claim $171,600 and a seat at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. Kolev entered the final table in the middle of the pack before delivering a dominant run, eliminating his final four opponents, including France’s Said Tahar heads-up, and sealing the biggest win of his career.

The WPT Prime Cyprus Championship was the centerpiece of a broader festival at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Spa running October 15-19, 2026. The $1,100 buy-in event drew 953 entries across five Day 1 starting flights, with a $1,000,000 guarantee, giving players who cashed overlay value. Players registered and re-entered through the full late-registration window during the festival’s opening days before the field consolidated into a single Day 2 and then a final day.

The Chamada has hosted WPT events before, including the WPT Cyprus Championship in August 2026, but the Prime edition brought a larger and more international cast. Players traveled from across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond to compete in the $1,100 event, which offered a relatively accessible buy-in for a WPT Prime-level prize pool.

Final Table Setup

The official final table began when the field narrowed to six players, with France’s Said Tahar holding a commanding chip lead. Tahar carried 12,000,000 chips (80 big blinds) into the six-handed final table, more than double any other remaining stack. Cyprus’s Andreas Christodoulo was second in chips with 7,750,000, followed by Turkey’s Bora Kurtulus at 5,425,000 and Bulgaria’s Ivelin Kolev at 4,525,000. Joseph El Khoury entered with 2,425,000, and Sweden’s Johan Storakers was the short stack at 1,750,000, fewer than 12 big blinds.

Before the official final table began, Ismail Yagci and Romania’s Sergiu Cornea were eliminated on the final table bubble run-up, finishing eighth and seventh, respectively. Yagci collected $19,300 and Cornea $24,800, the latter having also finished fifth at the August WPT Cyprus Championship at the same venue.

$1,100 buy-in | 953 entries | $1,000,000 prize pool

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Ivelin Kolev	Bulgaria	$171,600*
2	Said Tahar	France	$100,000
3	Joseph El Khoury	Lebanon	$74,000
4	Andreas Christodoulo	Cyprus	$56,000
5	Johan Storakers	Sweden	$42,500
6	Bora Kurtulus	Turkey	$32,000

* Includes $10,400 WPT World Championship seat at Wynn Las Vegas

Final Table Action

With the six-handed final table set, Turkey’s Bora Kurtulus ran into a brutal cooler to go out sixth. Kurtulus check-jammed the turn with the K♦7♦6♥J♣ on the board. El Khoury called and tabled K♣J♠, and Kurtulus turned over A♣A♦ and saw the damage: his rockets had been overtaken on the turn by two pair. The 5♠ river changed nothing. Kurtulus collected $32,000.

Sweden’s Johan Storakers had been fighting from behind for much of the final day. Ivelin Kolev crippled him by slow-playing pocket aces: Tahar opened, Kolev flatted from the cutoff with aces, and Storakers jammed his stack with nines. Kolev snap-called, and the board ran dry to leave Storakers nearly out.

He dug in and doubled through Joseph El Khoury with king-queens suited against king-jack. But the reprieve only lasted so long, and he ran into the same nemesis from moments ago. Kolev moved all-in from the small blind with fives; Storakers called off his short stack with ace-six. Storakers earned $42,500 for fifth after failing to win his final flip.

Cyprus’s Andreas Christodoulo gave the home crowd a reason to cheer, making it all the way to fourth place, but Kolev put an end to his hopes and dreams shortly after sending Storakers to the rail. Kolev jammed the button with queen-jack, and Christodoulo called off his short stack with fives. Kolev won another flip, eliminating the local hope for $56,000.

Joseph El Khoury entered the final table with a short stack but found a run deep into the money. Time eventually ran out. Kolev jammed the button with queen-ten before El Khoury called off his short stack from the small blind with king-four. Kolev turned a pair of tens to take the lead, and El Khoury could not catch up to exit in third for $74,000.

Kolev vs. Tahar

Ivelin Kolev entered heads-up play with a massive chip lead, roughly 33 million to Tahar’s 5 million, after eliminating El Khoury. The match looked like it could be over quickly. Tahar had other ideas.

Tahar stayed alive with a double before the final hand. Kolev limped the button holding 6♦4♠. Tahar checked his option in the big blind with Q♠3♥. The all-club flop fell 10♣7♣5♣, giving Kolev an open-ended straight draw. Both players checked. The Q♥ hit the turn, improving Tahar to top pair.

Kolev fired out a small bet with his straight draw, and Tahar called. The 3♠ landed on the river, trapping Tahar with two pair against Kolev’s completed straight. Tahar check-called Kolev’s jam and earned a healthy runner-up prize of $100,000 after the hands were tabled. Meanwhile, celebrations were in full swing as Bulgaria’s Ivelin Kolev was crowned the WPT Prime Cyprus Champion.

Who Is Ivelin Kolev?

Ivelin Kolev is a Bulgarian poker professional who had been building toward a result like this. Earlier in 2026, he won the EPT Barcelona Hyper Turbo event for $44,570, showing he could navigate fast-paced tournament formats under pressure. The Cyprus win was a different kind of test: a multi-day, 953-entry grind against a field that included experienced international tournament players.

The $171,600 payday is by far the largest of Kolev’s career, nearly doubling his career live earnings with a single result on The Hendon Mob. Along with the money, he takes home the WPT Mike Sexton Champions Cup and a $10,400 seat in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December, where he will play alongside other WPT winners from across the 2026 season.

What’s Next for WPT

On the WPT main circuit, the next stop is Bay 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star runs October 23-27, 2026, with a $5,300 buy-in. The Shooting Star format adds a bounty element to the Main Event, with cash prizes awarded for eliminating celebrity players and pros wearing the target.

In November, the WPT heads to Asia and Las Vegas at the same time. WPT Seoul runs November 5-9, 2026, at the Paradise City casino in Incheon, South Korea, with a 1,750,000 Korean won buy-in. The WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall runs the same dates, November 5-10, with a $5,000 buy-in at the Venetian Resort on the Strip.

The season builds toward its December finale at Wynn Las Vegas. The WPT Prime Championship at Wynn Las Vegas runs December 5-12 with a $1,100 buy-in, followed immediately by the WPT World Championship from December 13-20, with a $10,400 buy-in, where Ivelin Kolev will have his seat waiting.

You can qualify for upcoming WPT events at WPT Global.

WPT Prime Cyprus Championship 2026: FAQ

• Photos courtesy of the World Poker Tour.