Bulgarian player Ivelin Kolev is the newest World Poker Tour champion after winning the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship for $171,600. The $1,100 buy-in event, which played its livestreamed final table at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino, also earned Kolev a $10,400 seat in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. He entered the final table well behind chip leader Said Tahar, then took a nearly 7-to-1 chip lead into heads-up play and closed it out with a straight.
The result continues a strong year for Kolev, who won a PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona event for $44,570 in August, and it highlights Cyprus's growing role as a tournament destination.
WPT Prime Cyprus Final Table Results
The top eight finishers were paid as follows, per PokerNews:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ivelin Kolev | $171,600 |
| 2nd | Said Tahar | $100,000 |
| 3rd | Joseph El Khoury | $74,000 |
| 4th | Andreas Christodoulo | $56,000 |
| 5th | Johan Storakers | $42,500 |
| 6th | Bora Kurtulus | $32,000 |
| 7th | Sergiu Cornea | $24,800 |
| 8th | Ismail Yagci | $19,300 |
The source article does not report total entries or the prize pool, so we will not guess at them. What is clear is the payout ladder: the jump from second to first was $71,600 plus the WPT World Championship seat, a substantial premium that explains why heads-up play at this stage can be tense.
How Kolev Came From Behind
Said Tahar was the chip leader coming into the final table, and by most pre-final-table measures he was the player to beat. Kolev came in well behind. That changed over the course of the day, and the final turning points are worth examining.
In third place, Kolev won a 60/40 race to eliminate Joseph El Khoury. That is a classic coin-flip-style spot: neither player had a dominant hand, but Kolev's was slightly favored at about 60 percent. Winning it did two things. It gave him a big chunk of chips, and it left him heads-up against Tahar with a decisive lead.
When heads-up began, Kolev held nearly a 7-to-1 chip advantage. That is close to a decisive edge, and Kolev finished the job on the final hand when he made a straight against Tahar's top pair. For Tahar, the second-place finish of $100,000 is a strong result, but the swing from chip leader to runner-up is a good illustration of why leading at the final table is no guarantee.
If you want to understand how racing situations like the one against El Khoury work, our explainer on equity and our poker odds calculator let you test different hand matchups.
The WPT World Championship Seat
Beyond the $171,600, Kolev earned a $10,400 seat in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. That event is the marquee stop of the World Poker Tour's season and one of the most prestigious titles outside the WSOP. For a player who started the day behind in chips, converting a $1,100 buy-in into a seat in a major championship is a significant outcome.
Our recent piece on the WPT Global Europe deposit ticket and World Championship ladder covers other ways players have been qualifying for the same event, and the WPT Prime Lodge Championship result offers a comparison with another WPT Prime winner earlier this fall.
Cyprus as a Poker Destination
WPT Prime Cyprus is part of a busy fall in the eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus has become a regular stop on tournament calendars, and the combination of favorable weather, casino infrastructure, and a steady flow of European players has made it a natural home for mid-stakes tours. Triton Poker is also arriving in Northern Cyprus in November, a development we covered in our report on iPoker becoming the official Triton satellite partner.
For a deeper look at why the island has become a hub, see our analysis of Cyprus as a poker destination and the overview of the WPT's fall festivals.
Kolev's Breakout Year
Kolev's recent résumé is worth noting. The EPT Barcelona win for $44,570 in August was a solid mid-sized score, and the WPT title is a significant step up. Back-to-back wins on two of the sport's best-known tours in a few months suggest a player in good form, though the source material does not give his career earnings or earlier results and we will not speculate.
What is notable is the pattern. Many tournament players describe the experience of "running good" as a combination of favorable cards and well-timed aggression. Kolev's final table fits that description: he picked his spots, won a key flip, and capitalized on his chip advantage.
What This Means for Players
There are several useful takeaways for readers who play tournaments, whether live or online.
A short stack at the final table is not a dead stack. Kolev started behind and won. With pay jumps that reward finishing higher, it is often right to look for chances to build a stack rather than fold into the next jump. Understanding ICM helps you see when the pay jumps are large enough to justify caution and when the winner-take-most structure rewards aggression.
Racing situations are part of the game. A 60/40 race decided third place, and that outcome shaped the result. You cannot avoid them entirely, and learning to evaluate when to take or avoid a flip is a core skill. Our poker strategy page covers the fundamentals.
Big chip leads convert most of the time. With a nearly 7-to-1 advantage at the start of heads-up play, Kolev had a very high probability of winning, and he did. That is a reminder that the player with a big lead generally should apply pressure and avoid unnecessary risks.
Mid-stakes events can offer excellent value. A $1,100 buy-in with a six-figure first prize and a $10,400 seat is an attractive return when you win, and the relatively moderate buy-in lets players take multiple shots. Our tournaments page has more on series that offer this profile, and our bankroll management guide explains how to size your buy-ins responsibly.
How WPT Prime Fits In
WPT Prime is the World Poker Tour's accessible tier, offering lower buy-ins than the flagship WPT events but still awarding a WPT title and a path to the World Championship. That design is intended to bring more recreational players into the WPT ecosystem while preserving the prestige of the brand.
For players based in Europe or planning to travel, the Prime series offers frequent opportunities. And for the poker industry, results like Kolev's are important because they show that winners emerge from mid-stakes fields as well as the high roller scene.
What Comes Next
Kolev will head to Las Vegas in December to play the WPT World Championship at Wynn with a title and a seat already in hand. Tahar, who finished second, will presumably continue on the Prime circuit. For the rest of the field, the coming weeks offer more opportunities, including Triton's North Cyprus debut in November.
The takeaway is simple. Tournament poker is a game of persistence, and a player who is behind with eight left can still be the champion. Kolev's win is the latest proof.
Sources: PokerNews coverage of the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship.