$2,200 Luxon Pay Grand Final Day 1a | 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party

05-05-2025 20:04 UTC+2

Troyanovsky Left Short by Bako

Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Mazalahedwa Bako opened to 50,000 from under the gun and was three-bet by a player in middle position to 125,000. Vladimir Troyanovsky then shoved his stack of around 650,000 in from the hijack, and when it got back to Bako, he called off his stack of 415,000. The other player folded.

Mazalahedwa Bako: K♣K♦ All in
Vladimir Troyanovsky: A♣K♠

Bako was in the lead with his Cowboys and remained ahead after the 3♦3♥9♠ flop. A 9♥ on the turn put him one step closer to scooping the pot, which was confirmed when Bako improved to a boat on the K♥ river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mazalahedwa Bako	1,000,000 1,000,000	1,000,000
Vladimir Troyanovsky	230,000 230,000	230,000

Tags: Mazalahedwa Bako Vladimir Troyanovsky

05-05-2025 19:50 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Konstantin Voronin	3,500,000 2,750,000	2,750,000

Nasser Al Mujaibel	2,000,000 1,200,000	1,200,000
Paul Esau	1,300,000 1,300,000	1,300,000
Azamat Tulepbergenov	1,250,000 1,000,000	1,000,000
Ali Zebarjad	1,200,000 400,000	400,000
Guo Liang Wei	350,000 100,000	100,000

Cedric Schwaederle	350,000 300,000	300,000
Patryk Antkiewicz	300,000 800,000	800,000
Hadi Khordbin	300,000 300,000	300,000
Iurii Saiapin	200,000 500,000	500,000

05-05-2025 19:40 UTC+2

Denise Pratt Confronts Poker Debtor Maurice Hawkins at Payout Desk | PokerNews Podcast #889

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

In the 889th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Kyna England talk about the recent drama involving, you guessed it, Maurice Hawkins and Denise Pratt. The latter claims to be owed $11,200 after backing the former, and things boiled over when she confronted him at the payout desk at the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica stop.

What's more, the crew reacts to an interview Hawkins gave on his own podcast, him agreeing to come on the PokerNews Podcast before not responding, and then goes one-on-one with Denise Pratt to hear her side of the story.

Mike then shares his experience as the last guest on the final episode of the Only Friends Podcast (they were kind enough to gift a piece of their set to the PokerNews Podcast set), Kyna joins Team Hotdog at the LIPS Spring Festival, and Chad headed up to the NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Oh, and Connor was busy at PokerGO Studio interviewing Jennifer Tilly, Mike Matusow, and comedian Ray Romano during the One Step Closer Foundation's "All in for CP" charity event.

Other stories include Pennsylvania online poker joining the MSIGA merged player pool, Mori Eskandani interviewing PA Governor Josh Shapiro, and Robbie Strazynski & others voicing concern over YouTube's algorithm crackdown on poker content. Check out all those stories and more on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast!

A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Thursday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Click here to listen to the new PN Podcast!

Level: 14

Blinds: 15,000/25,000

Ante: 25,000

05-05-2025 19:11 UTC+2

Flashback: Azamat Lamkov Wins 2024 Mediterranean Poker Party $5,300 Main Event

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Last May, Azamat Lamkov became the newest $5,300 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event champion as he defeated a massive field of 1,260 entries at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel.

Fifth in chips at the beginning of the final table, Lamkov made his way to first place, surpassing players like Mihai Niste (6th, $170,000) and Leon Sturm (3rd, $440,000). Ultimately, Lamkov claimed victory over Kirill Shcherbakov, who finished in second for $680,000. Thanks to this win, Lamkov is not only the proud owner of a trophy, but he's also a millionaire with the $1,000,000 first-place prize.

2024 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Azamat Lamkov	Russian Federation	$1,000,000
2	Kirill Shcherbakov	Russian Federation	$680,000
3	Leon Sturm	Germany	$440,000
4	Iurii Suvorov	Russian Federation	$320,000
5	Birger Larsen	Norway	$225,000
6	Mihai Niste	Romania	$170,000
7	Gamir Gabdullin	Russian Federation	$125,000
8	Assyl Tleuzhanov	Kazakhstan	$100,000

Find the Full Recap Here

05-05-2025 19:08 UTC+2

Break Time

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Players are being sent on their final break of the night.

When they return, two more levels will be played before the survivors bag up.

05-05-2025 19:03 UTC+2

Zainescu Continues to Build

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Carmen Zainescu is continuing to grow her stack and has around 1,500,000 after just stacking an opponent.

Zainescu held A♠10♠ and backdoored the nut flush to send her opponent packing just before the final break of the night.

Player	Chips	Progress
Carmen Zainescu	1,500,000 200,000	200,000

Tags: Carmen Zainescu

05-05-2025 18:48 UTC+2

Banksy With a Mountain of Chips

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Banksy has held the chip lead for the majority of Day 1a and has just added yet more chips to his ever-growing stack, which is becoming hard to count.

The board read 7♣6♣6♥10♥ and with over 400,000 in the middle, the small blind checked. Banksy, in the big blind, counted out a bet of 365,000 and slid it across the line. After some consideration, the small blind folded, allowing Banksy to collect more chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Banksy	2,700,000 500,000	500,000

05-05-2025 18:37 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Banksy	2,200,000 600,000	600,000
Carmen Zainescu	1,300,000 150,000	150,000
Patryk Antkiewicz	1,100,000 450,000	450,000
Ali Zebarjad	800,000 475,000	475,000
Konstantin Voronin	750,000 250,000	250,000

Iurii Saiapin	700,000 700,000	700,000
Michel Molenaar	400,000 200,000	200,000
Tobias Peters	275,000

Nenad Dukic	250,000 20,000	20,000

Level: 13

Blinds: 10,000/20,000

Ante: 20,000