button in SafariChengyu Liao Turns Weekend Getaway Into $300,000 High Roller Triumph
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In the early afternoon of a typically beautiful day in North Cyprus, the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa welcomed back 16 players, all on the brink of becoming the latest champion of the 2026 NOIR Poker Series.
The returning field of the $7,500 High Roller included WSOP bracelet winners, EPT and WPT Main Event champions, and even a player who sits atop his country’s all-time money list. However, it was the admittedly nervous and lesser-known Chengyu Liao who triumphed, turning a weekend getaway into a career-high $300,000 payday.
“I don’t play poker for a living,” Liao said. “I work in Istanbul, so I just took this trip this weekend and flew to Cyprus to play poker.” A humble Liao continued, "I was so nervous. I feel like I was the weakest player at the final table,” adding, “I just got lucky.”
$7,500 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chengyu Liao | China | $300,000 |
| 2 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | Georgia | $203,000 |
| 3 | Gor Musinyan | Armenia | $142,000 |
| 4 | Zorlu Er | Turkey | $100,000 |
| 5 | Daniil Kiselev | Russian Federation | $80,000 |
| 6 | Yesset Aimukhanov | Kazakhstan | $64,000 |
| 7 | Leonid Orman | Russian Federation | $51,000 |
| 8 | Julian Pineda Lozano | Colombia | $40,000 |
| 9 | Geoffrey Mooney | Australia | $30,060 |
Going Home $300,000 Better Off
“I’m very excited,” he said. “This is probably the highest-stakes tournament I’ve participated in, so I’m very glad. It’s also the biggest win I’ve got.”
That excitement is perhaps best understood when considering just how short his trip to Cyprus was. After arriving early in the weekend and pocketing a life-changing, career-best $300,000, Liao is sticking to his original plan and returning to Istanbul tomorrow.
In fact, it almost ended up being an even shorter trip than that. Liao busted his first bullet before taking another shot at the tournament, one that would ultimately prove to be the right decision.
“Luckily, I registered for the second shot, and then I just got it,” he said. “I think I just got lucky, basically. There are several times that I almost busted.”
Despite feeling outmatched at the final table, he never let that change his approach, keeping his foot on the gas and applying pressure where he could.
“I don’t play tight. I’m not here to wait for the payout. I’m here for the trophy. Throughout the day, I did some really big bluffs. I don’t think I should play tight because, against some of these very good players, you can’t just be very conservative. Otherwise, you’ll just be exploited."
Final Day Action
With the final table in touching distance when play began, you might have expected the returning players to tighten up and protect their stacks. Nobody told them that.
Dmitry Gromov and Farkas Benedek were the first to fall, but it was the elimination of Tobias Peters in 14th place that really lit the fuse. Within 15 minutes of Peters’ departure, four more players had hit the rail, with Arsenii Karmatckii’s elimination in 10th place bringing the tournament to its final table within the first two levels of the day.
The final table got off to a much more tentative start, with little movement in the standings during the first hour of play.
The first elimination came just short of the two-hour mark, with Geoffrey Mooney falling in ninth place. Julian Pineda Lozano followed soon after, bringing the field down to seven.
The next five eliminations followed a remarkably similar pattern. Leonid Orman, Yesset Aimukhanov, Daniil Kiselev, Zorlu Er and Gor Musinyan all got their chips in preflop with dominated hands, and when none of them could recover, the field was cut down to just two players.
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya began heads-up with a slight chip lead and gradually extended his advantage by winning a series of small pots. But one monumental hand completely shifted the momentum, putting Liao into the lead.
On a draw-heavy board, all the chips found their way into the middle, with Liao’s flopped set holding against Skhulukhiya’s combo draw.
The weight of that momentum shift wasn't lost on Liao, who reflected afterward.
“I didn’t have much heads-up experience, so I just went with the flow and then, luckily, it went well. That was it.”
The heads-up battle didn’t last long after that moment. Skhulukhiya was unable to regain a foothold, with the next few pots flowing Liao’s way. The match then came to an end after a preflop collision went Liao’s way, securing him the title, the trophy, and the $300,000 first-place prize.
Liao is planning a somewhat understated celebration, with no grand plans for the biggest win of his career.
“Nothing much. I’ll probably spend some time with my friends. That’s it.”
That concludes the coverage of this event, but head over to our live coverage of the NOIR Poker Series $5,500 Main Event, where PokerNews will bring you all the action live from the tournament floor.
