Farbod Nazari Flops the Nuts to Win the WPT® Cyprus Championship

Champion and top prize

Nazari outlasted 519 opponents in the $3,500 buy-in Main Event, which ran August 19–24.

The 520-entry field came up short of funding the event's $2,000,000 guarantee on its own, so the pool was topped up. It was an overlay in the players' favour, with the top 65 finishers paid.

For Nazari, the reward was a career-changing one. The result more than trebled his lifetime tournament earnings.

Final-table results and payouts

Six countries made it to the final table (Iran, Lebanon, China, Moldova, Romania and Jordan). It was a fittingly global finish for a stop WPT® has made its Mediterranean home.

How the final table played out

Moldovan Mihai Trofim began the day with the chip lead. However, the final six belonged to the players who ran hardest at the critical points.

Sami Ayyoub was first to go, three-bet shoving king-queen into Weiran Pu's pocket fives. Then, Pu flopped a set and left Ayyoub drawing dead in sixth. Short-stacked Sergiu Cornea followed in fifth. His pocket sevens were unable to get there against Chadi Rizk's pocket queens on an ace-high board.

Then came the day's big story.

Trofim, the overnight leader, lost a flip with pocket deuces, ground down to a single big blind, and busted in fourth. His result was a career-best $130,000 when his king-three ran into Pu's ace-ten.

Pu's own run ended in third. Nazari completed the small blind with jack-ten, the flop came J-J-9, and Pu got his chips in, drawing dead against Nazari's trip jacks.

Heads-up, Nazari carried a lead of roughly 16.35 million to 9.575 million. Rizk found one double when his ace-five rivered a Broadway straight against Nazari's pocket tens. The reprieve was brief. Soon after, Nazari flopped a six-high straight with six-five, Rizk jammed an open-ended draw, and the turn and river bricked.

Nazari had flopped the nuts to become champion.

Notable names and other cashes

The deep field pulled in some recognisable names. Bernardo Neves bubbled the final table in seventh for $56,500, the exit that set the final six. Frenchman Thomas Bichon cashed in 17th for $21,200, and 2019 WSOP Main Event champion Hossein Ensan cashed in 42nd for $10,600.

Elena Litviniuk (4th last year) was the first player eliminated inside the money this time. She took home a $7,700 min-cash.

What last year tells us — and what's next

This year's field of 520 came in below 2025's 775 entries. It was enough of a drop that the buy-ins alone didn't cover the $2 million guarantee. The guarantee held as a floor and the pool was topped up to reach it.

Last year's field cleared the same guarantee under its own steam for a roughly $2.4 million pool. The top prize eased accordingly this time, $368,900 against 2025's $401,100.

For Nazari, the calendar now points to Las Vegas. His Champions Club title comes with a seat at the WPT® World Championship at Wynn in December.

And for anyone who watched this one and wants their own shot at Chamada Prestige, there's a fast follow-up. WPT® Prime Cyprus returns to the same venue on October 15–19, a $1,100 Main Event with a $1,000,000 guarantee.

Satellites are running now on WPT® Global from as little as $1.10.