WPT Cyprus 2026 Opens With Big Fields and Title Defense

WPT Cyprus 2026 puts the World Poker Tour back in motion

The World Poker Tour has returned to Cyprus, and that matters for more than one reason. It adds another high-profile stop to the live poker calendar, gives the WPT renewed visibility in Europe, and once again places Limassol in the spotlight as a destination for serious tournament poker.

The event is being held at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Spa, which fits the WPT formula well: a premium venue, a strong field, and a structure designed to reward real poker skill rather than pure short-stack chaos. For players who follow the live circuit closely, the first takeaway is simple — Cyprus remains a meaningful stop on the map, especially for those who balance travel, volume, and long-term bankroll planning.

Why the $2 million guarantee changes the picture

The headline number for 2026 is the $2 million guarantee. In a $3,500 buy-in event, that guarantee creates immediate pressure to attract a large field and maintain the WPT’s reputation for value-driven marquee stops.

Last year’s edition delivered exactly that, pulling in 775 entries and building a prize pool of more than $2.4 million. Ilia Kitsbabashvili won the title and took home $401,100. He is back in 2026, which adds an extra layer of narrative: this is not just a tournament, it is a title defense on a stage where the field is deep enough to punish mistakes.

The event also allows unlimited reentries through the first break of Day 2. That detail matters strategically. It encourages more aggressive early play, but it also forces players to think carefully about bankroll management. Multiple bullets can be a useful weapon, yet they can also turn a promising trip into an expensive lesson.

For players studying where to compete next, it helps to compare live event economics with the options available in poker rooms and the social environment of poker clubs, especially when choosing between volume, comfort, and field quality.

Deep stacks and a structure built for real poker

Each entry begins with 50,000 chips, and the schedule uses eight one-hour levels per day. That combination gives the event a much more technical feel than faster formats, because players have room to maneuver, build pots, and apply pressure in a way that rewards post-flop understanding.

The tournament is scheduled across three starting days — Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday — before the field merges for Day 2 on Saturday. That staggered setup is standard for major live events, but it also has a practical effect: many of the biggest names and best value hunters often wait to enter later, especially when they want to see how the field develops before committing additional bullets.

A structure like this is also a reminder that live poker preparation is not just about intuition. Players who study ranges, stack depth, and tournament formats through a poker school often arrive better equipped to handle the specific pressure points that appear in deep-structured events.

Ray Qartomy and the reality of early variance

One familiar face in the opening day field was Ray Qartomy, a long-time WPT regular with a strong history on the tour despite still chasing his first title. He has made six final tables, finished in the top three twice, and has career WPT earnings of $1.571 million, good for 127th on the all-time list.

Qartomy wasted little time getting involved, but the downside of early aggression showed up quickly: he burned through his first stack and took a second bullet. That did not go according to plan either, as he eventually fell to Stojan Vazic, whose Q-9 made top pair on the flop against Qartomy’s K-J.

That hand is a useful live-poker reminder. In deep fields, a single well-timed flop can decide whether a stack survives or disappears. Even experienced players can run into sharp variance, and early-stage results often say more about the structure of the event than about a player’s actual long-term quality.

Wednesday’s chip leaders and the first big numbers

Wednesday produced 147 entries over eight levels, but only 65 players bagged chips at the end of the night. The chip leader was Farbod Nazari, who turned his 50K starting stack into 342,000. Close behind him was Ali Moein with 313,000, which keeps the top of the leaderboard tight heading into the next starting flights.

• Farbod Nazari — 342,000
• Ali Moein — 313,000
• Semen Karyi — 262,500
• Umit Sadi — 239,500
• Christian David — 235,000
• Bernard Miguel Baptista das Neves — 233,000
• Elena Litviniuk — 231,500
• Petr Rudnev — 230,500
• Miklos Zsuffa — 220,500
• Rodriges Gerardo — 208,000

The important takeaway is that no one has run away with it yet. In a long, deep WPT event, the first day is about survival, chip accumulation, and avoiding unnecessary punts. The real pressure begins later, when stacks start to matter in a much more meaningful way.

Expert analysis: what WPT Cyprus means for players

WPT Cyprus is more than a strong tournament stop; it is a practical case study in how modern live poker is evolving.

First, the combination of a deep stack and a meaningful guarantee favors players who understand stack-to-pot ratio, table dynamics, and patient value extraction. This is not the kind of event where reckless all-ins are sustainable over the long run.

Second, unlimited reentries through the early part of Day 2 create a very specific strategic environment. Players with larger bankrolls can apply more pressure early, while more conservative players need to protect their entry cost and avoid turning marginal spots into expensive repeats. For that reason, many regulars pay close attention to promotions & bonuses and overall trip value before committing to a live schedule.

Third, the Cyprus stop reinforces the importance of geography in live poker. A desirable destination can help attract a diverse field, which in turn increases both the prize pool and the strategic complexity. Different player pools bring different tendencies, and good live players exploit that quickly.

From a results perspective, the event could still grow significantly before Day 2. That means the opening flights are not just about who bags the biggest stack; they are also about positioning yourself for a field that may become much tougher once late registrants and stragglers arrive.

What comes next in Limassol

Day 1B is already in progress, and Day 1C is set for Friday. That means the biggest wave of entries may still be ahead, especially if the usual WPT Cyprus pattern repeats and late registration fills the room right up to the cut-off.

For Kitsbabashvili, the storyline is obvious: defend the title and prove last year was no one-off. For the rest of the field, the goal is simpler but no less difficult — build a stack that can survive the transition into Day 2 and remain playable when the pressure increases.

In the end, WPT Cyprus is doing what the best live stops do. It is giving players value, giving the tour visibility, and giving fans a tournament that should become more compelling as the field expands and the chips get deeper into the middle stages.

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