Alexsandr Pak Leads WPT Cyprus Day 1a, Tony Dunst & Romulo Dorea Find a Bag
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The World Poker Tour (WPT) $3,500 buy-in, $2 million GTD WPT Cyprus Championship kicked off on Wednesday with the first of three starting flights. Day 1a attracted 283 entrants after eight one-hour levels of play, 127 of them put chips in a bag to survive the night.
Alexsandr Pak led the way with 379,000 while Furkan Yavuz was hot on his heels with 358,500. Among the notables to advance were WPT Global Ambassador Romulo Dorea (228,000), WPT Prime Cyprus champ Omar Lakhdari (169,000), and WPT Prime Paris winner Hugues Girard (139,000).
Top 10 Day 1a Chip Counts
| Player | Chips |
|---|---|
| Aleksandr Pak | 379,000 |
| Furkan Yavuz | 358,500 |
| Sherif Derias | 307,500 |
| Mihai Trofim | 306,500 |
| Xin Yuan | 258,500 |
| Konstantin Generalov | 234,000 |
| Romulo Dorea | 228,000 |
| Volkan Karacocuk | 224,000 |
| Yehven Pavlenko | 218,000 |
| Servet Cakir | 217,500 |
Another player to survive Day 1a, albeit with a shorter stack of 47,500, was WPT commentator Tony Dunst, who won a nice pot early in Level 1 (100/200/200). According to WPT reporter BJ Nemeth, on a flop of K♠K♦10♦, Guo Liang Wei checked from the small blind and then called after Dunst bet 400 from the big.
Wei proceeded to check-call a bet of 1,500 on the 9♦ turn before checking the 6♦ river. With four diamonds on board, Dunst opted to check behind with his K♥Q♠ for trip kings, and it was still good as Wei only had the 10♠6♠.
Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through Day 1a. Among those to fall were Adam Zeyn, Elliott Campbell, George Fedorca, Yaser Sakrya, WPT Global qualifier Linda Nguyen, and the controversial Will Kassouf, who lost a big chunk of his stack in this hand captured by PokerNews:
As for Nguyen, she sniffed out a big bluff early to get off to a good start, but according to the WPT Live Updates, in Level 7 (500/1,000/1,000) she found herself all in from the button for roughly 60,000 holding the A♥10♦ on a board reading 10♥9♠3♠4♥.
Unfortunately for her, Pak had the 10♣9♣ for two pair and held when the 8♠ bricked on the river. Pak eliminated Nguyen from the tournament on his way to bagging the Day 1a chip lead.
The WPT Cyprus Championship, which runs through August 18, is the keystone event on the schedule for the $5 Million GTD Festival at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino. Here’s a look at the remaining schedule:
2025 WPT Cyprus Remaining Schedule
| *Date | Time | Event | GTD | Details* | |
| Thu 14 Aug | 12:00 pm | $3,200 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - WPT Championship Day 1B | $2,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 50k stack, 60 min clock, 10 LVLS late reg | |
| Thu 14 Aug | 3:00 pm | $1,000 + 100 Pot Limit Omaha - Bounty Event | $60,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 20k stack, 20 min clock, 8 LVLS late reg | |
| Thu 14 Aug | 11:00 pm | $600 + 60 Satellite to WPT Championship Day 1C | 8 seats GTD | 10k stack, 15 min clock, 6 LVLS late reg | |
| Fri 15 Aug | 12:00 pm | $3,200 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - WPT Championship Day 1C | $2,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 50k stack, 60 min clock, 10 LVLS late reg | |
| Fri 15 Aug | 4:00 pm | $1,000 + 100 No Limit Hold'em - Bounty ITM | $100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 20k stack, 20 min clock, 8 LVLS late reg | |
| Fri 15 Aug | 11.59 pm | $750 + 75 No Limit Hold'em - Speed Up | $50,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 20k stack, 10 min clock, 8 LVLS late reg | |
| Sat 16 Aug | 12:00 pm | $3,200 + 300 WPT Championship Day 2 | $2,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 60 min clock | |
| Sat 16 - Mon 18 Aug | 5:00 pm | $1,000 + 100 No Limit Hold'em - Mystery Bounty Event | $100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 20k stack, 20 min clock, 8 LVLS late reg | |
| Sat 16 Aug | 11:00 pm | $1,000 + 100 Satellite to Chamada Super High Roller | 5 seats GTD | 15k stack, 15 min clock, 6 LVLS late reg | |
| Sun 17 Aug | 12:00 pm | WPT Championship Day 3 | $2,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 60 min clock | |
| Sun 17 - Mon 18 Aug | 3:00 pm | $7,500 + 500 No Limit Hold'em - Chamada Super High Roller | $300,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 100k stack, 30 min clock, 10 LVLS late reg | |
| Sun 17 Aug | 8.00 pm | $2,000 + 200 No Limit Hold'em - Last Chance | $150,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 30k stack, 30 min clock, 8 LVLS late reg | |
| Mon 18 Aug | 12:00 pm | WPT Championship Final Table | $2,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 60 min clock | |
| Mon 18 Aug | 3.00 pm | $7,500 + 500 Chamada Super High Roller Final Day | $300,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 30 min clock | |
| Mon 18 Aug | 5:00 pm | $1,000 + 100 Mystery Final Table Only | $75,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool | 20k stack, 20 min clock, 8 LVLS late reg |
Day 1b will get underway at Noon local time on Thursday with Day 1c to follow on Friday. Late registrations will remain open until after the first break (~2:15 p.m. local time) on Saturday’s Day 2. Players will start with 50,000 stack, playing 60-minute levels. PokerNews is on-site to offer content, social media, and interviews, so be sure to check back frequently for all the latest from the WPT Cyprus!
Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour
In this Series
- 1 Kassouf & WPT Global Qualifiers Headline Start of the WPT Cyprus Championship
- 2 2025 WPT Cyprus Coming to Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino August 6-18
- 3 Alexsandr Pak Leads WPT Cyprus Day 1a, Tony Dunst & Romulo Dorea Find a Bag
- 4 Miracle River Gives Brazilian Vlogging Superstar Rare Triple KO at WPT Cyprus
- 5 WPT Prime Cyprus Bubble Boy Gets Revenge By Bagging Championship Chip Lead
- 6 Exclusive Interview w/ Will Kassouf, Self-Proclaimed ‘Donald Trump of Poker’ | PokerNews Podcast #912
- 7 Germany’s Metin Yalciner Bags Biggest Stack on Day 1c of WPT Cyprus Championship
- 8 Will Kassouf Discusses WSOP Controversy: “I Was Only Reacting to How I Was Being Treated”
- 9 Ludovic Geilich Wins WPT Cyprus Mystery Bounty; Ilia Kitsbabahvili Claims Two Side Event Titles
- 10 Bubble Bursts: Big Prize Awaits Winner 11 Years After Last WPT Main Event in Cyprus
- 11 After Six Final Tables Ray Qartomy’s Quest for a "Dream" Title Continues at WPT Cyprus
- 12 WPT Cyprus Final Table Set, Elena Litviniuk Seeks to Become 3rd Women to Win WPT Open Main Event
- 13 It’s a Hattrick! Ilia Kitsbabahvili Wins Two Side Events Plus WPT Cyprus Championship ($401,100)
- 14 Hands of the Week: Crushed Dreams at WPT Cyprus; Kassouf Left Saying “Not Good”
