$10,400 GG Million$ ($5M GTD)
Day 1a Completed
$10,400 GG Million$ ($5M GTD)
Day 1a Completed
The inaugural 2025 Onyx Super High Roller Series Cyprus presented by Onyx Club got underway today at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa with the first starting flight of the $10,400 GG Million$. The opening event of the festival attracted 229 entries on Day 1a, putting the tournament well on the way to surpassing its massive $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
After 15 levels of poker, 41 players bagged up chips and secured their spot in Day 2. At the top of the chip counts was Michael Allen of the United Kingdom, who finished with 1,430,000. Roman Stoika ended the night in second place with 1,200,000, helped by a big hand early in the day where his pocket kings held against Hassan Nashar’s suited ace for a full double-up.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Allen | United Kingdom | 1,430,000 | 89 |
| 2 | Roman Stoika | Russia | 1,200,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Sondre Stormyr | Norway | 1,111,000 | 69 |
| 4 | Christopher Putz | Germany | 1,047,000 | 65 |
| 5 | Weiran Pu | China | 1,026,000 | 64 |
| 6 | Moussa Ahmad | Lebanon | 869,000 | 54 |
| 7 | Robert Burlacu | Romania | 865,000 | 54 |
| 8 | Ivan Zabiiakin | Russia | 852,000 | 53 |
| 9 | [Removed:553] | Netherlands | 812,000 | 51 |
| 10 | Philip Joyce | United Kingdom | 779,000 | 49 |
The 2025 Onyx Super High Roller Series got off to an explosive start as Nashar scored the first elimination after just minutes of play. His Big Slick rivered a flush against Changyang Liu’s pocket jacks, sending Liu to the rail as the first casualty of the festival.
Several familiar names arrived before the close of late registration, including Jesse Lonis, Ren Lin, Nick Schulman, and Biao Ding. Lonis earned a big double-up after catching Artur Martirosian bluffing with a missed draw. Martirosian’s day ended a few levels later when Xiaosheng Zheng spiked a three-outer on the flop to send the Russian pro to the showers.
With such an allure of this series, it's no wonder so many big names were out today. Some of the notables to advance from Day 1a include Christopher Putz (1,047,000) and Werian Pu (1,026,000), who stayed alive after rivering a boat against Boris Kolev’s turned flush. [Removed:553] (812,000), Ohad Geiger (667,000), Aliaksei Boika (418,000), and Tommy Vedes (155,000) also locked up their places on the second day of this three-day affair.
Lonis bagged 750,000 when the dust settled, while Fahredin Mustafoc (635,000), Viktor Iarilov (533,000), Aliaksei Boika (418,000), and Matthew Wantman (292,000) also made it through. Wantman scored himself a big double-up just before the dinner break, when he correctly picked off Alexandr Chernikov’s triple-barrel bluff with two pair.
Day 1b kicks off at 12 p.m. and will follow the same structure as today. The final chance for players to reach Day 2 is through the Day 1 Turbo, which is a 6-max format with 20-minute levels, and begins at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. Survivors from all starting flights will combine for Day 2 on Monday, August 11.
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 10 | Day 1b | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes (Play 15 levels) |
| August 10 | Day 1 Turbo | 8:30 p.m. | 20 minutes (Play 15 levels) |
| August 11 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | 50 minutes |
| August 12 | Final Day | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Follow PokerNews for continued coverage of the $10,400 GG Million$, including live updates, chip counts, and drama from the tournament floor as the poker continues in Northern Cyprus.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,430,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
1,200,000 | |
|
|
1,111,000 | |
|
|
1,047,000 | |
|
|
1,026,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
869,000
869,000
|
869,000 |
|
|
865,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
|
852,000
452,000
|
452,000 |
|
|
812,000
712,000
|
712,000 |
|
|
779,000 | |
|
|
750,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
667,000
317,000
|
317,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
659,000
199,000
|
199,000 |
|
|
635,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
585,000
185,000
|
185,000 |
|
|
568,000
178,000
|
178,000 |
|
|
552,000
252,000
|
252,000 |
|
|
540,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
533,000 | |
|
|
500,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
|
497,000
497,000
|
497,000 |
|
|
496,000 | |
|
|
464,000
74,000
|
74,000 |
|
|
448,000
448,000
|
448,000 |
|
|
418,000 | |
|
|
||
Play has concluded for the night with 41 players surviving the day. Stay tuned for chip counts and a full recap of the day's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,430,000
880,000
|
880,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,200,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
|
1,111,000
351,000
|
351,000 |
|
|
1,047,000
647,000
|
647,000 |
|
|
1,026,000
736,000
|
736,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
869,000
51,000
|
51,000 |
|
|
779,000
229,000
|
229,000 |
|
|
750,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
635,000
185,000
|
185,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
533,000
163,000
|
163,000 |
|
|
496,000
204,000
|
204,000 |
|
|
418,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
365,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
|
|
292,000
112,000
|
112,000 |
|
|
||
Thomas Szammer was all-in preflop with Danilo Velasevic trying to send him to the rail on one of the last hands of the night.
Thomas Szammer: 10♦10♠
Danilo Velasevic: J♦J♠
Szammer's pair was losing to the jacks of Velasevic, and only a ten could save him from elimination. The 9♦5♣10♣ flop propelled Szammer into the lead with top set. The A♠ turn changed nothing, but the brutal J♣ on the river gave Velasevic the winning hand with a higher set.
The pot went Velasevic's way, and Szammer was out.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
390,000
290,000
|
290,000 |
|
|
Busted |
The floor has announced that there will be four more hands before the remaining players bag up for the night.
Xuming Qi only had about 145,000 remaining before the start of this hand and decided to put them all across the betting from under the gun. Justin Steinbrenner got a count from the button before he chose just to call.
Xuming Qi: 3♣3♦
Justin Steinbrenner: Q♦Q♥
Qi's pocket treys were in a lot of trouble versus the Ladies of Steinbrenner. The board of J♣J♦5♦5♣8♥ left Qi playing the board, and all of his chips were absorbed into Steinbrenner's stack
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
700,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
|
Busted |
From under the gun, Antal Mezei jammed for 77,000, with only Aleksandr Chernikov calling from the small blind.
Antal Mezei: 7♣5♣
Aleksandr Chernikov: K♥Q♥
Mezei or Chernikov was unable to improve on the 3♥10♦3♠J♦4♦ runout, which meant Chernikov's king-high won the pot and Mezei was out.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
500,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level: 15
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
730,000
430,000
|
430,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
600,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
550,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
|
550,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
|
465,000
135,000
|
135,000 |
|
|
450,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
370,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
350,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
350,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
330,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
310,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
290,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
|
|
220,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
200,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
180,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
150,000
50,000
|
50,000 |