The Bulgarian Atanas Kavrakov has taken the title, and top dollar, at the partypoker sponsored World Poker Tour National Main Event in Cyprus, after beating Majid Ejlal Noubarian in heads-up action.
They say when Noah opened his Ark the animals went in two-by-two, but that wasn’t the case at the recent partypoker sponsored World Poker Tour (WPT) National Series Main Event at Noah’s Ark Hotel and Spa in Cyprus, as only one sole Bulgarian made it to the final table and left with all the money.
Atanas Kavrakov moves into the Bulgarian Top 10 all-time live tournament money earners, after he defeated the Iranian Majid Ejlal Noubarian, in heads-up action, at the most recent WPT event.
172 entrants ponied up the €2,000 buy-in amount to create a total prize pool in excess of €3m and it attracted an interesting mix of local players and established overseas stars.
Four of the most recognizable faces included the former Full Tilt UK ambassador Sin Melin, French star Erwann Pecheux, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winners Barny Boatman and Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi. Melin wasn’t one of the 21 names that earned a payday, but the other three were, with Boatman finishing in 15th, Mizrachi finishing in 17th and Pecheux finishing in 18th.
The final hand of a 12-hour shift was one of the easiest of Kavrakov’s short career. Noubarian four-bet jamming with [As] [Td], and Kavrakov calling with pocket kings. The [Kc] [Ks] [6c] flop making the rivered [Ad] look about as effective as an ice cream stand at the North Pole.
WPT National Main Event Cyprus
1st. Atanas Kavrakov – €75,000
2nd. Majid Ejlal Noubarian – #52,300
3rd. Jacques Torbey – €33,500
4th. Marco Della Tommasina – €24,800
5th. Vitalii Grekul – €18,700
6th. Kemal Sevevi – €14,900
7th. Vasili Kesnin – €12,312
8th. Ercan Olgun – €9,900
The next stop on the WPT’s National tour is the Accumulator event coming to you from Asper’s Casino in Stratford, UK, Feb 12-15.