Defending Champ Purice Moves On to Day 2 of WPT Prime Cyprus Championship
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Two poker champions are on a mission to defend their titles this weekend. Preston McEwen is chasing back-to-back victories in the RunGood Tunica Main Event, while Tudor Purice looks to replicate last year’s heroics at the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship.
McEwen has work to do after falling short on Day 1A in Mississippi, but Purice is one step closer to defending his crown. The Romanian grinder successfully navigated Day 1C of the $1 million guaranteed tournament at the Chamada Prestige Hotel and Casino on Friday, bagging 176,000 chips—good for 33rd place among the 45 players who advanced.
Twelve months ago, Purice topped a massive 1,202-entry field to claim the $183,270 top prize. This time around, he’s already secured a payday by making it over the first hurdle. With 359 entries in Day 1C pushing the total to 828, the Day 2 field now stands at 105 contenders.
Samer Sadaka (1,036,000) was the only player to surpass the seven-figure mark. He built his stack late in the day, spiking a set in a massive pot to build a commanding lead over Roman Nuraev (873,000) and Maroun Dagher (710,000).
Other notable names, such as Timothy Thorp (353,000), Matej Michalak (223,000), and Joshua Marquardt (206,000), also progressed from Day 1C.
The last starting flights are set for Saturday, March 15, at noon (Day 1D) and 8 p.m., with the final flight (Day 1E) being a turbo format with 20-minute levels.
WPT Prime Cyprus Championship Day 1C Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samer Sadaka | 1,036,000 |
| 2 | Roman Nuraev | 873,000 |
| 3 | Maroun Dagher | 710,000 |
| 4 | Andreas Tomazou | 612,000 |
| 5 | Nabil Matta | 535,000 |
| 6 | Ilan Verdnikov | 528,000 |
| 7 | Andreas Chiristodoulou | 512,000 |
| 8 | Ninib Messo | 503,000 |
| 9 | Alexandros Papadopoulos | 482,000 |
| 10 | Sencer Ozturk | 474,000 |
Super High Roller Victory Awards Midik $93K
While the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship stole much of the spotlight, the $3,800 Super High Roller Turbo also took center stage at Chamada, drawing a competitive field of 104 entries and creating a $327,600 prize pool.
The top 15 players made the money, with the minimum cash set at $6,500 and the winner securing $93,000. Among the notable names chasing the big payday were British cohort Tom Middleton, Phillipe Souki, and Dan Charlton. Still, the trio have enjoyed a strong run in North Cyprus. Middleton netted $21,000 early in the festival, Souki claimed a trophy, and Charlton—who’s triumphed over personal battles with alcohol and drugs—has made three final tables. The latter two have also secured their spots for Day 2 of the Championship.
In the end, it was Osman Midik who emerged victorious, taking down a fast-paced final table that lasted just 45 minutes to crown the champion.
$3,800 Super High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osman Midik | $93,000 |
| 2 | Kemal Aslan | $62,000 |
| 3 | Koray Korkmaz | $46,000 |
| 4 | Ali Okhovat | $33,000 |
| 5 | Milad Ogavian | $24,500 |
| 6 | Maher Ali Achour | $18,000 |
| 7 | Kono Reiji | $14,000 |
WPT Cyprus Scoreboard
| Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize | Places Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLH Welcome Event | $660 | 75 | $50,000 | Matthew Gray | $13,000 | 11 |
| NLH Take-Off | $825 | 253 | $183,488 | Tanju Karayiğit | $40,000 | 35 |
| NLH Turbo Bounty K.O. | $440 | 98 | $35,280 | Philippe Souki | $5,550 | 11 |
| NLH Bounty ITM | $550 | 117 | $52,640 | Anil Olgun Özdemir | $11,000 | 15 |
| PLO 5 Card | $800 | 82 | $61,500 | Chadi Rizk | $18,000 | 12 |
| NLH Old School Event | $880 | 85 | $61,190 | Simone Pascucci | $19,460 | 11 |
| NLH Mystery Bounty | $825 | 502 | $200,000 | Ittai Zion | $35,900 | 64 |
| NLH Speed Up | $440 | 68 | $26,384 | Sener Senol | $8,084 | 10 |
| NLH Monster Stack Speed | $550 | 187 | $90,695 | Davit Mikhanashvili | $21,195 | 24 |
| NLH Chamada Super High Roller | $3,800 | 104 | $327,600 | Osman Midik | $93,000 | 15 |
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
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