$5,300 Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2025 Mediterranean Poker Party
$5,300 Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2025 Mediterranean Poker Party
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$5,740,800
Entries
1,196
Level
34
Blinds
2,000,000 / 4,000,000
Ante
4,000,000
Entries
9
Players Left
1
Level 34
: Blinds 2,000,000/4,000,000, 4,000,000 ante
The $5,300 Main Event at the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party has come to a close, and it was Daniel Thaller of Austria who emerged victorious over the 1,196 entry field. After a three-way deal with Timothy Chung and Andreas Mavromoustakis, Thaller was the one to take home the trophy and a career-best score of $786,670.
Inside the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, Thaller added the stunning MPP trophy to his mantlepiece after he seemingly cruised through the final table under the radar. Thaller sealed the deal in rapid style, dispatching Chung in roughly thirty minutes of heads-up play.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Thaller | Austria | $786,670* |
| 2 | Timothy Chung | United Kingdom | $637,250* |
| 3 | Andreas Mavromoustakis | Cyprus | $651,080* |
| 4 | Razvan Sabau | Romania | $316,000 |
| 5 | Garik Tamasian | Russia | $229,000 |
| 6 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | $162,000 |
| 7 | Milad Oghabian Langar | Iran | $113,000 |
| 8 | Hassanin Hashim | New Zealand | $80,100 |
| 9 | Italo Modena | Italy | $63,000 |
*denotes three-way deal
Winner's Reaction
Following his victory, Thaller shared his thoughts with PokerNews on what was a “crazy and fun ride” to becoming the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event champion.
“It feels a little surreal. Day 2 was really slow, I never had a stack, never had momentum. But the last two days, everything started working. I just felt in the zone and could play my best.”
Thaller, who has lived in Larnaca for the past seven years, has been coming to Merit Poker events for over a decade. “This place has changed so much in that time, it’s amazing to see how far it’s come.”
As for the final table, Thaller credited winning a big flip early as the turning point. “That hand gave me a lot of confidence. From there, it was just about staying focused.”
A three-way deal was struck once play reached the final three, and Thaller said the intention was to make the payouts slightly less top-heavy while still leaving plenty to play for. “We wanted to smooth out the jumps a little but still leave a good chunk for the winner, and of course the trophy.”
Reflecting on the win and his career-best cash of nearly $800,000, Thaller was still taking it all in. “I’m just thankful. I didn’t expect this. It’s really been a crazy ride.”
Final Table Action
Just nine players returned from the 1,196 entries, all within reach of the $1,000,000 first-place prize from the $5,740,800 prize pool, and the coveted trophy. As expected, with big pay jumps on the line, the final table began cautiously with the short stacks doing their best to stay afloat while hoping others were eliminated around them.
Early on, it looked like Mavromoustakis might be the first to exit when he cold four-bet pocket jacks from the big blind. However, Italo Modena folded pocket queens, allowing Mavromoustakis to climb up to near the top of the counts. Modena’s day worsened a few hours later, as he was eliminated in ninth place when his king-nine failed to improve against Chung’s king-queen.
Chung quickly began to make his presence felt, eliminating Hassanin Hashim, Milad Oghabian Langar, and Dawid Smolka in quick succession. With five players left, Chung held the chip lead. Still, Thaller had slowly crept into second place thanks to correctly using his positional advantage on Chung and Razvan Sabau to win small pots while avoiding high-variance situations.
Mavromoustakis then surged into the chip lead, mainly from picking up strong hands at the right time to eliminate Garik Tamasian and Sabau in the same orbit. When three-handed play began, Mavromoustakis and Chung were nearly neck and neck in chips, with Thaller not far behind in third.
Shortly after Sabau’s exit, a deal was struck that guaranteed everyone at least half a million dollars, with over $200,000 and the trophy still up for grabs. A few hands after the deal, Thaller turned a set of sevens, doubling up through Mavromoustakis, who had flopped top two pair. Not long later, Thaller’s ace-seven suited sent Mavromoustakis to the rail after the Cypriot’s king-jack failed to improve.
When heads-up play began, Thaller held a 2:1 chip lead over Chung. Chung initially started chipping away at Thaller’s stack, seemingly aiming to grind him down. However, the first big pot of the heads-up battle went Thaller’s way when he flopped bottom pair and a flush draw against Chung’s gutshot. This pot shifted the momentum and gave Thaller a commanding chip lead heading into the last break.
After the break, Chung started with around twenty big blinds. In the final hand of the Main Event, Chung limped the button with a suited king, and Thaller shoved from the big blind with ace-queen. Chung called, and Thaller had his first chance to win the tournament. An ace-high board sealed it for Thaller, and with a blank turn, Chung had to settle for second place.
The two shook hands, and Thaller, with a wide smile on his face, took a moment to absorb the fact that he was the last man standing in the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event.
Congratulations to Thaller and all the other final tablists, as that concludes Pokernew's coverage of the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event.
Level 34
: Blinds 2,000,000/4,000,000, 4,000,000 ante
Timothy Chung called from the button before Daniel Thaller shoved from the big blind. Chung called for his last 84,000,000, meaning Thaller had the chance to win the tournament.
Timothy Chung: K♥7♥ 
Daniel Thaller: A♥Q♣
Thaller was ahead with ace-queen against the suited king of Chung. If Thaller could get a safe runout, he would become the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event Champion.
The flop came down A♠3♠3♣ to give Thaller top pair and leave Chung needing running cards to win.
The dealer burned a card, then put out the 5♣ turn, which sealed the deal for Thaller, as the inconsequential 4♥ landed on the river.
Chung was the runner-up, and Thaller was the champion of the Main Event.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
358,800,000
108,200,000
|
108,200,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 34
: Blinds 2,000,000/4,000,000, 4,000,000 ante
A deal was struck between the final three players and the details are below. There will also be $207,500 and the trophy set aside for the eventual champion.
| Player | Prize |
|---|---|
| Andreas Mavromoustakis | $651,080 |
| Timothy Chung | $637,250 |
| Daniel Thaller | $579,170 |
Level: 34
Blinds: 2,000,000/4,000,000
Ante: 4,000,000
Level 33
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Players are now on a short break.
Level 33
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Daniel Thaller just called from the button and Timothy Chung raised to 12,000,000 out of the big blind. Thaller called.
The dealer fanned out the flop of 2♥9♣Q♣ and Chung placed out a continuation-bet of 9,000,000. Thaller raised to 24,000,000, which Chung called.
The A♥ turn checked through, as did the 9♦ river. Chung showed K♥J♠ for just king-high and lost the pot to Thaller's K♣2♣ for a pair of deuces.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
250,600,000
37,500,000
|
37,500,000 |
|
|
108,100,000
37,500,000
|
37,500,000 |
Level 33
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Daniel Thaller limped from the button with 8♥4♦, and Timothy Chung checked 8♣5♣ in the big blind.
Both players checked the 8♠7♦10♣ flop to see the 5♦ roll off on the turn. Chung led out for 12,00,000, which Thaller called.
The river was the 9♠ and Chung bet again, this time for 16,000,000. Thaller pondered his options for quite some time before ultimately folding, forfeiting the pot to Chung.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
213,100,000
43,000,000
|
43,000,000 |
|
|
145,600,000
43,000,000
|
43,000,000 |
Level 33
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Timothy Chung limped from the button with K♣3♦ before Daniel Thaller raised to 12,000,000 out of the big blind with 10♦10♣. Chung limp-raised to 27,000,000 and Thaller went into the tank. After using a few time banks, Thaller jammed, and Chung let go of his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
256,100,000
33,000,000
|
33,000,000 |
|
|
102,600,000
33,000,000
|
33,000,000 |
Level 33
: Blinds 1,500,000/3,000,000, 3,000,000 ante
Timothy Chung called from the button 9♦8♠, and Daniel Thaller raised to 10,000,000 out of the big blind holding 8♦6♥.
Thaller checked the 9♠9♣5♣ flop, and Chung decided to bet 8,000,000, which was enough to get Thaller to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
223,100,000
24,000,000
|
24,000,000 |
|
|
135,600,000
24,000,000
|
24,000,000 |
