Farbod Nazari Turns WPT Cyprus Day 1A Lead into Title

WPT Cyprus delivers an overlay, but not a flat story

The 2026 WPT Cyprus had all the ingredients of a classic World Poker Tour stop: a Mediterranean setting, a respected brand, and a sizeable $2 million guarantee. What it did not have was enough entries to meet that promise. With only 520 total entries across three Day 1 flights, the event fell well short of the target.

That gap created an overlay, which means the organizer had to cover the difference so the prize pool still reached the advertised guarantee. For players, that is often a welcome development. It increases the effective value of the event and rewards the field even when registration falls below expectations.

In the end, 65 players shared the $2 million prize pool, and the biggest storyline of all belonged to Farbod Nazari — the Day 1A chip leader who converted an early advantage into a full championship run.

Why the 2026 turnout mattered for the WPT Cyprus field

Last year’s WPT Cyprus looked very different. In 2025, the event crushed its $2 million guarantee with 775 entries at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Spa in Cyprus. That kind of result naturally sets a benchmark, and it likely created optimism heading into this year’s return to the island.

But live poker attendance is shaped by more than brand recognition. Schedule congestion, travel costs, regional competition, and the broader poker calendar all affect turnout. Even a major tour can miss a guarantee when the timing is not ideal.

For players, the important takeaway is simple: overlays create extra value. When a strong series like WPT absorbs the shortfall, entrants are effectively playing in a tournament that is worth more than the buy-in math alone might suggest. That is why many regulars keep an eye on promotions & bonuses, satellite opportunities, and the event schedule before deciding where to play live.

Farbod Nazari’s Day 1A chip lead was more than a headline

Starting as the Day 1A chip leader is a nice story line, but it does not guarantee anything once the field merges and the pressure rises. In live tournament poker, an early lead is only useful if the player can protect it through changing table dynamics, rising blinds, and shorter stacks around the bubble and final-table stages.

Nazari did exactly that. He stayed in the mix through the middle stages and arrived at the six-handed final table with a stack that kept him close enough to attack when the right spots appeared.

At the final table, Nazari sat in the middle of the pack with 5.275 million chips, behind Mihai Trofim’s 6.225 million and just behind Chadi Rizk’s 5.65 million. That meant the title was still wide open, but it also meant one big hand could completely reshape the race.

Final table of WPT Cyprus: the hands that changed everything

The final table featured a tight cluster of stacks and a real fight for position. Weiran Pu entered with 3.8 million, Sami Ayyoub with 3.65 million, and Sergiu Cornea with 1.325 million, while the top three stacks were separated by relatively small margins.

The first several hands were mostly exploratory, but Hand #8 became the turning point. Facing Trofim on an A-7-4-3-Q board, Nazari extracted value with a 900K bet and showed down A-10 to beat Q-10. That pot was significant not just because of the chips involved, but because it gave Nazari the lead and the momentum that would define the rest of the final table.

From there, Nazari played the role of pressure player with remarkable efficiency. He later reduced Trofim to dust on a K-10-5-J-3 board where Trofim was left with only 25K behind, and Nazari’s K-J crushed Trofim’s pocket deuces. Once that happened, Trofim’s path back into contention was effectively gone.

Weiran Pu eventually eliminated Ayyoub in sixth place, but Nazari remained the central force. Pu and Rizk both tried to keep pace, yet Nazari kept finding the right answers at the right time. Pu would later fall to him, setting up the heads-up duel with Rizk.

Heads-up against Chadi Rizk showed why Nazari held the edge

Nazari entered heads-up play with a 16.35 million to 9.575 million chip lead, but Chadi Rizk was far from dead. He won the first two hands of the duel and repeatedly pulled closer, at times cutting the deficit to just a couple of million chips.

That kind of pressure matters. In heads-up poker, a player who can string together two or three good pots can suddenly change the emotional balance of the match. Rizk made it uncomfortable, but Nazari never allowed him to seize control.

The final hand was a clean example of why. After Rizk limped, Nazari raised and got called. The flop came 4-3-2 rainbow, a board that did not look especially dangerous, and Nazari fired 500K into the pot. Rizk shoved all in, and Nazari snapped it off.

Rizk held K-5 for an open-ended straight draw, but Nazari had 6-5 and had already flopped a straight. He only needed to dodge a six to avoid splitting the pot. The turn brought a trey and the river a king, and that was enough for Nazari to lock up the 2026 WPT Cyprus title.

Expert analysis: what this result says about live tournament poker

Nazari’s win is a useful case study in how live poker tournaments are actually won. It is not just about running hot at the right moment, though that certainly helps. It is about converting early chip equity into sustained pressure while still making technically sound decisions.

First, the Day 1A lead mattered because it gave Nazari a platform. Players who build a stack early can avoid desperate spots later, but only if they manage their aggression and do not bleed chips through unnecessary confrontations.

Second, the final table showed the importance of chip leverage. Nazari did not need to win every pot. He needed to win the biggest ones — especially against Trofim and then in the heads-up phase against Rizk. That is the difference between being a contender and being the champion.

Third, overlays remain a major reason many live players track event schedules closely. When a guarantee is missed, the tournament often becomes better value for the field. That is especially true for players who compare live events with opportunities in poker rooms and poker clubs, where the overall ecosystem of buy-ins, structures, and field quality can influence long-term ROI.

For serious players, the lesson is not only tactical but strategic: choose events where the combination of structure, field size, and prize support creates a real edge. If you can enter a tournament with strong value and then navigate the final table as Nazari did, you give yourself a meaningful shot at a major score.

WPT Cyprus payouts and what comes next on the schedule

The final six finished as follows:

• 1. Farbod Nazari — $368,900
• 2. Chadi Rizk — $238,000
• 3. Weiran Pu — $175,000
• 4. Mihai Trofim — $130,000
• 5. Sergiu Cornea — $97,000
• 6. Sami Ayyoub — $73,000

The WPT schedule now moves to Jacksonville, Florida, for the bestbet Jacksonville Scramble. That $5,000 buy-in event begins on September 4 and carries a $1 million guarantee, with the final table set for September 9.

From there, Season 24 of the World Poker Tour continues toward the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas this December. For players planning their next live stop, the message is clear: the season is still full of opportunities, and the next breakout run could start with one well-timed entry and one deep stack.

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