The centerpiece of the 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party pageant at Merit Crystal Cove Resort is within the books, with 972 entries made within the $5,400 no-limit maintain’em championship. After 4 beginning flights and two extra days of combined-field motion in North Cyprus, Daniil Kiselev emerged victorious with the title and the $1,000,000 first-place prize.
This was the primary seven-figure rating for the Russian participant, surpassing his earlier prime payday of $568,000 that got here with a fourth-place end within the $50,000 excessive curler on the Triton Poker Montenegro collection. He now has greater than $2.4 million in profession cashes to his identify.
“I woke up this morning locked in for the win, and that’s exactly what happened,” Kiselev instructed Merit Poker workers after popping out on prime.
This victory got here with 1,824 Card Player Player of the Year factors. This was his first win and fifth final-table end of 2026. With 3,195 whole factors, he’s climbed to sixty fourth place within the total POY standings introduced by CoinPoker.
Kiselev Closes Out The Win
The prime 146 finishers made the cash on this occasion, with $5 million in assured prize cash awarded. Plenty of massive names ran deep, together with Niko Koop (fortieth), Selahaddin Bedir (thirty second), Aren Bezhanyan (nineteenth), and Manig Loeser (eleventh).
By the time the ultimate desk was set on the final day of play, Kiselev had claimed the chip lead. He added to his stack by touchdown the knockout blows on Ivan Bryksin (eighth – $80,000), Naji Tannoury (sixth – $150,000), and Timo Vogt (fifth – $210,000).
He then set himself up for a runaway victory when his A♦6♦ held in opposition to the Ok♣Q♣ of Daniel Thaller, who was the defending champion. The board ran out Q♦J♣8♠7♦A♣ to see Kiselev river a successful pair of aces. Thaller earned $290,000 for his spectacular try at back-to-back wins on this match.
Mehmet Biskin’s Ok♥Q♠ held in opposition to the Q♥10♥ of Jordan Woodall (third – $420,000) to arrange the ultimate showdown. Kiselev started with roughly a 2:1 chip benefit, which grew because the battle wore on. In the ultimate hand, Kiselev limped from the button with 9♣3♣ and three-bet shoved over Biskin’s increase with Ok♥Q♦. Biskin made the decision and the board ran out J♠7♥3♦A♦A♥ to lock up the pot and title for Kiselev.
Biskin earned $621,000 because the runner-up finisher, a brand new prime rating for the participant from Turkey.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Daniil Kiselev | $1,000,000 | 1824 |
| 2 | Mehmet Biskin | $621,000 | 1520 |
| 3 | Jordan Woodall | $420,000 | 1216 |
| 4 | Daniel Thaller | $290,000 | 912 |
| 5 | Timo Vogt | $210,000 | 760 |
| 6 | Naji Tannoury | $150,000 | 608 |
| 7 | Kirill Solovev | $110,000 | 456 |
| 8 | Ivan Bryksin | $80,000 | 304 |
| 9 | Raphael Schreiner | $60,000 | 152 |
Photo credit score: Merit Poker.
