Daniil Kiselev Cruises Through Final Table to be Crowned 2026 MPP Main Event Champion ($1,000,000)

A champion has been crowned at the 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party, running at the luxurious Merit Crystal Cove Resort. Daniil Kiselev overcame a field of 972 entries in the Main Event to take home the stunning trophy and $1,000,000 top prize.

Kiselev came back from being one of the shortest stacks out of the 16 players who returned for Day 3 to then dominate the final table. His victory was foreshadowed when he dispatched of last year's champion Daniel Thaller, and ultimately, Kiselev gained a chip advantage that he never lost.

Mehmet Biskin, who managed to ladder up all the way to second without ever gaining a massive stack, was his final opponent. After chipping away for less than a full level, Kiselev overcame Biskin in a short heads-up battle to claim the title.

"I have many emotions. First, a bit tired, but very happy," said Kiselev, "It's my best score!"

2026 MPP Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Daniil Kiselev	Russian Federation	$1,000,000
2	Mehmet Biskin	Turkey	$621,000
3	Jordan Woodall	Germany	$420,000
4	Daniel Thaller	Austria	$290,000
5	Timo Vogt	Austria	$210,000
6	Naji Tannoury	Lebanon	$150,000
7	Kirill Solovev	Russian Federation	$110,000
8	Ivan Bryksin	Russian Federation	$80,000
9	Raphael Schreine		$60,000

Kiselev's Comes Back From Brink

Kiselev's hopes of making it deep in the Main Event started when he bagged a middling stack in Day 1d, but, at one point during the flight, it looked like his last chance to make it through was going to come to an end.

"I was down to 23,000 with blinds at 4,000/8,000," said Kiselev about Day 1d. "From 23k to winner... so never give up guys, anything can happen!"

Kiselev returned for Day 3 sitting in 13th place with 15 players remaining. That soon changed when he won a flip early to eliminate Nikolay Baryshnikov. From there, Kiselev climbed up the counts until he came to the final table as the chip leader, closely tailed by Jordan Woodall.

Kiselev continued to apply pressure, all while having fun and chatting away. As the final table reached the business end, he turned up the heat and, importantly, won his flips.

"When you have a good run - good cards, good flops, good situations - it's not too important how you play," said Kiselev, "if you run good, you just win!"

With six players left, Kiselev knocked out three competitors in quick succession. First, his ace-king held against Naji Tannoury, who had pocket tens. Next to fall was Timo Vogt, who lost out to Kiselev in another coinflip situation. Then, it was time to dispatch of the defending champion...

2025 Champion Thaller Makes Fourth Place

2025 MPP Main Event Daniel Thaller made it all the way to the final table in the 2026 edition of the event, at times even looking like he might go back-to-back.

Thaller's run started early when he bested Vadzim Godzdanker with pocket jacks to deliver the first elimination of the day. Thaller then took out the anonymous player known as John Doe K in 12th, before taking most of Kirill Solovev's chips on the final table.

Eventually, though, after climbing right up to the top spots, the defending champion's reign came to an end. Thaller reshoved all in from the small blind with king-queen versus Kiselev's button raise, and Kiselev held with ace-six to send his opponent to the rail. Still, it was a legendary run from the previous champion, who cashed out for $290,000.

Kiselev Finishes the Job

That left just three players left in contention for the $1,000,000 prize. It was close in the counts between Kiselev and Woodall, who had also had his moments on Day 3, knocking out one of the most experienced players at the table, Manig Loeser in 11th, as well as taking out the start of day chip leader Danesh Zargaran in tenth to set the final table.

Soon enough, though, the inevitable happened; Woodall and Kiselev clashed. Kiselev made the correct call on the river to win a huge pot from Woodall, catapulting himself out into a significant lead.

Woodall then got his chips in the middle against Biskin after limp-shoving the small blind. Biskin called with the dominating hand and a slightly covering stack, sending Woodall out in third place.

Biskin had stayed relatively under the radar up until this point, successfully laddering up throughout the final table while sustaining a big enough stack to keep himself in contention. Now, he was heads-up.

Still, Kiselev came into the heads-up match with a near 2-1 chip lead. He quickly extended this lead by winning a few small pots and then calling a couple of Biskin's river bluffs to pull further ahead. Then, Kiselev attempted a limp-shove as a bluff with nine-three suited and got called by Biskin's king-queen.

It was Kiselev's day, and he paired his three and held to win the pot.

"That last hand, I still really can't imagine how I made this decision and what happened in my head," said Kiselev. "But I won, so... better to be lucky than skillful!"

With that, Kiselev was crowned the new MPP Main Event champion, thanking his friends and family for their support.

"Thanks to them that they are with me through all moments, because my life is a rollercoaster. Up and down."