button in SafariRazinkov Soars Like an Eagle to Win MPP $3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty
The 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party at Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino wrapped up in explosive fashion with the fast paced action of the $3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty.
In the end it was won by the methodical Russian Aleksandr Razinkov who successfully navigated the carnage and chaos of the first couple of levels of the day.
Businessman Razinkov told PokerNews his love of paragliding was a source of his success.
"As a paraglider I wait for the weather conditions to be perfect then I can fly. It is the same for poker. Sometimes you should just look and wait."
The winning moment came when his opponent Aleksei Istomin was down to nine big blinds and shoved with king-three. Razinkov called with ten-five and hit a ten on the flop to secure the trophy and the first place prize of $85,000. The second place finish for Istomin was enough to see him pass the $1 million mark in lifetime earnings.
$3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksandr Razinkov | Russian Federation | $85,000 |
| 2 | Aleksei Istomin | Russian Federation | $55,000 |
| 3 | Leonid Orman | Russian Federation | $38,000 |
| 4 | Chengxu Hu | China | $27,300 |
| 5 | Congya Zhang | China | $20,200 |
| 6 | Vasileios Panagiotidis | Greece | $15,550 |
| 7 | Yiannis Liperis | Cyprus | $12,700 |
| 8 | Mengdian Peng | China | $10,600 |
| 9 | Pavel Frolov | Ukraine | $9,000 |
Winner's Reaction
"Quite high up, probably third or fourth," Razinkov said on where the victory ranked in his career.
Razinkov was proudly wearing his World Series of Poker Circuit Ring that he won last year at Merit Royal Diamond for $150,000.
Razinkov had a perfect poker face all day, and hardly showed any emotion with any pots won or lost.
That appeared to be his natural energy when asked how he was going to celebrate.
"It is not necessary for me to go drink and celebrate. I know that tomorrow morning I will wake up in a good mood. When I was a child people would say what is wrong with you? But I am happy, just my happiness is on the inside."
"This victory has given me more bullets to fire in the future. Triton is coming to Merit in November and I am interested in playing higher stakes, so if anyone wants to back me I am open to offers!"
Day 2 Action
The Day 2 survivors were guaranteed a minimum cash of $3,000, but the main reason people returned was to knock as many people out as they can so they could have a shot at the top mystery bounty prize of $100,000.
The action was loose, reckless and relentless! After four levels, 60% of the returning field was sent to the side-lines, which led to a long line for players to stick their hand into the tombola drum to grab an envelope.
One of the masters of the madness was Chengxu Hu, who managed to eliminate five players in that two hour period. With one of the bounty tokens he was able to pull out the top mystery bounty prize. His other bounties were for $25,000, $10,000, $5,000 and $3,500.
Hu could have easily had an even bigger payday, by winning the tournament overall. At times he had the chip lead on the final table but finally succumbed in fourth place after losing out in a three-way all in against the eventual champion.
This proved to be the turning point in the tournament as Leonid Orman moved all in from the cutoff with queen-ten suited, Hu followed suit on the button with ace-queen, but Razinkov had Big Slick. Orman hit a ten on the flop, but Razinkov hit an ace on the river to take a comprehensive lead.
Hu's compatriot Congya Zhang capped off a wonderful week with a fifth place for $20,200. Zhang won the Global Poker Championships earlier at the festival for a cool $300,000.
But the day belongs to Razinkov, who was congratulated by his friend Merit Poker Cup Champion Boris Smuskevicius after play concluded.
