In July of 2026, Congya Zhang put her identify on the dwell event poker map because the final girl standing within the World Series of Poker essential occasion. Just a few months faraway from that breakout efficiency, she was the final participant standing within the Mediterranean Poker Party $2,200 buy-in kickoff no-limit maintain’em occasion. Zhang earned $300,000 after topping a area of 830 entries, the most important rating but for the CoinPoker ambassador from Shanghai.
“First, I was so excited. But now, while waiting for the photo ceremony, I’m already calm. I really enjoyed playing and felt very confident. Somewhere around the final five, I realized that I could win. Especially after winning the flip pocket tens against A-K,” Zhang instructed Merit Poker workers after popping out on high. “Last year, here in Cyprus at the MPP series, I won the women’s event. But that was a $100 tournament and more for fun. This time, everything is serious. It’s my biggest cash!”
Indeed, this rating topped the $150,000 she earned together with her 61st-place displaying within the WSOP essential occasion to turn into her new high rating. The 36-year-old now boasts practically $895,000 in recorded event earnings.
In addition to the {hardware} and the cash, Zhang additionally earned 912 Card Player Player of the Year factors for the win. She’s now sitting inside hanging distance of the highest 500 within the 2026 POY standings.
Setting The Stage
The high 124 finishers earned a share of the $2 million assured prize pool on this occasion, with loads of huge names working deep. Triton champion Aren Bezhanyan (fortieth), 2025 WPT Prime Cyprus winner Omar Lakhdari (eleventh), Turkish high-stakes common Selahaddin Bedir (ninth), and present POY race contender Fahredin Mustafov (eighth) all made it properly inside the cash.
Mustafov misplaced a key flip with A♠Q♣ towards the pocket tens of Paul Esau to be left on fumes. Shortly after that, the Bulgarian was despatched packing by Esau, settling for $40,000 after making his eighth final-table end of the 12 months.
Zhang landed an enormous knockout to slim the sector to 5. Her A♣Q♣ held towards Esau’s A♥10♥ to ship him packing with $65,000.
Dinner First, Victory Second
Zhang held the chip lead when the ultimate 5 went on a dinner break. She added to her benefit when A♦Ok♠ held towards the A♠5♠ of Romania’s Adrian State. The PokerStars Open Campione champion secured $80,000 after bricking out.
Mengdian Peng of China then ran A♣7♥ into Zhang’s pocket jacks to complete fourth ($100,000). Then, one other huge pocket pair noticed her bust one other of her countrymen. That time, it was 10♥10♣ towards A♠Ok♥ for Yilu Yuan (third – $140,000).
That left Zhang heads-up with a wholesome lead over Russia’s Sergei Petrushevskii. The ultimate hand of the event quickly arrived, with 5♦5♣ for Petrushevskii and J♠J♥ for Zhang. The board got here down 7♠3♥3♦10♥9♣ to lock up the pot and the title for Zhang. Petrushevskii earned $200,000 because the runner-up.
SENSITIONAL WIN 🏆
Last 12 months, Congya Zhang 🇨🇳 left Cyprus with a Women’s Event title. A $100 event, a victory she loved for enjoyable, and a reminiscence price protecting.
This time, she returned to the tables with one thing a lot greater at stake. The $2.200 Global Poker Championship… pic.twitter.com/0HhdGVH2e6
— Merit Poker (@meritpokerlive) September 21, 2026
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Congya Zhang | $300,000 | 912 |
| 2 | Sergei Petrushevskii | $200,000 | 760 |
| 3 | Yilu Yuan | $140,000 | 608 |
| 4 | Mengdian Peng | $100,000 | 456 |
| 5 | Adrian State | $80,000 | 380 |
| 6 | Paul Esau | $65,000 | 304 |
| 7 | Oguzhan Kasar | $52,000 | 228 |
| 8 | Fahredin Mustafov | $40,000 | 152 |
| 9 | Selahaddin Bedir | $29,000 | 76 |
Photo credit: Merit Poker.
