The $5,000,000 Guaranteed Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event Kicks Off at Noon
The 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party continues today with its flagship tournament, the $5,300 Main Event. Set to begin at noon local time at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, this prestigious tournament is expected to attract a large field, with its guaranteed prize pool of $5,000,000.
The 2024 edition saw Azamat Lamkov rise to the top of a field of 1,260 entries, ultimately claiming the $1,000,000 first-place prize. Lamkov knocked out seven of his eight opponents at the final table and defeated Russia's Kirill Shcherbakov heads-up. Lamkov’s win not only secured him the title but also his largest live cash to date, making it a milestone moment in his poker career.
2024 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azamat Lamkov | Russia | $1,000,000 |
| 2 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | $680,000 |
| 3 | Leon Sturm | Germany | $440,000 |
| 4 | Iurii Suvorov | Russia | $320,000 |
| 5 | Birger Larsen | Norway | $225,000 |
| 6 | Mihai Niste | Romania | $170,000 |
| 7 | Gamir Gabdullin | Russia | $125,000 |
| 8 | Assyl Tleuzhanov | Kazakhstan | $100,000 |
| 9 | Yuhang Chen | China | $78,300 |
There are five opening flights available in this year's Main Event, with everyone being given a starting stack of 300,000. Blinds start at 1,000/1,500 with a big blind ante of 1.500. A total of twelve levels will be played in every opening flight. For flights A-B, the first ten blind levels shall be 40 minutes in length, and the last two 50 minutes long. However, for the turbo flights D and E, the blinds will be 20 minutes throughout.
Late registration will remain open until the end of Level 10 today (~7:40 p.m.), and players have the option of one reentry per flight.
$5,300 Main Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1a | May 8 | 12:00 p.m. | 40 minutes (10 levels) + 50 minutes (2 levels) |
| Day 1b | May 9 | 12:00 p.m. | 40 minutes (10 levels) + 50 minutes (2 levels) |
| Day 1c | May 10 | 12:00 p.m. | 40 minutes (10 levels) + 50 minutes (2 levels) |
| Day 1d | May 10 | 9:00 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 1e | May 11 | 12:00 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 2 | May 11 | 5:00 p.m. | 50 minutes |
| Day 3 | May 12 | 12:00 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Final Day | May 13 | 12:00 p.m. | 60 minutes |
¹Final table levels decrease as players are eliminated: 8 players = 60 min, 7 = 55 min, 6 = 50 min, 5 = 45 min, 4 = 40 min, 3 = 35 min, 2 = 30 min.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be covering all the action throughout the day as players try to build up a stack on Day 1a of the 2025 MPP Main Event.