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Table Of Contents

• 2009: Cyprus' First Major International Poker Tournament
• 2012: Rettenmaier Goes Back-to-Back
• 2013: Wire-to-Wire Victory for Rybin
• 2014: Lakhov at the Double
• Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?

It's hard to believe it's been almost 15 years since the World Poker Tour first visited Cyprus, but the WPT returns later this month to the Mediterranean island for a $1,000,000 GTD WPT Prime event as part of its Season XXII schedule.

This brand-new festival will run from Aug. 15-26 at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Spa, which features 50 poker tables. Here we take a look at the long history of the WPT and Cyprus.

2009: Cyprus' First Major International Poker Tournament

There were some big names in action as the first-ever WPT Merit Cyprus Classic took place back in 2009, but eventually it was France's Thomas Bichon who was triumphant over a field of 181 players.

Bichon took home $579,165 for the largest cash of his poker career, in what was the first major international poker tournament held on Cypriot soil. Uri Keidar lost out heads-up, with Rep Porter making it to the final table, finishing fourth for $121,115.

Place	Player	Country	Payout
1	Thomas Bichon	France	$579,165
2	Uri Keidar	Israel	$380,645
3	Steven Fung	United States	$216,275
4	Rep Porter	United States	$121,115
5	Janar Kiivramees	Estonia	$90,835
6	Jazzar Moroun	N/A	$73,535

Poker Hall of Famers Huck Seed and Layne Flack both cashed in the event, finishing in seventh and tenth place respectively.

2012: Rettenmaier Goes Back-to-Back

Season X of the World Poker Tour had finished with Marvin Rettenmaier securing his first WPT title and $1,196,858 in the 2012 WPT World Championship .

Just three months later, Season XI kicked off in Cyprus, with Rettenmaier reaching the final table of the Main Event third in chips. However, he eliminated the five remaining opponents to win $287,784, becoming the first player ever to win back-to-back titles on the WPT.

Place	Player	Country	Payout
1	Marvin Rettenmaier	Germany	$287,784
2	Artur Voskanyan	Russia	$184,020
3	Ran Azor	Israel	$118,360
4	Victor Paraschiv	United Kingdom	$87,610
5	Joseph Khoury	Lebanon	$65,770
6	Kiryl Radzivonau	Belarus	$52,590

2013: Wire-to-Wire Victory for Rybin

There was more history the following year as Alexey Rybin won the 2013 WPT Cyprus Merit Classic. The Russian businessman went wire-to-wire, finishing Day 1 as chip leader and holding on all the way to victory.

He even had to miss a business meeting to make the final table, but it paid off as he defeated Albert Daher heads-up to win $257,000.

Place	Player	Country	Payout
1	Alexey Rybin	Russia	$258,000
2	Albert Daher	Lebanon	$160,200
3	Andrei Nikonov	Russia	$103,700
4	Kayhan Tugrul	Turkey	$75,600
5	Sergey Rybachenko	Russia	$56,600
6	Pierre Sayegh	Lebanon	$46,000

Other notables who cashed in this event include Rainer Kemper, Erwann Pecheux, Tobias PEters and Manig Loeser.

2014: Lakhov at the Double

The last time the WPT visited Cyprus was in 2014, with Alexander Lakhov finishing a double of his own, adding the WPT Main Event title to the WPT National event he won the year previously.

Lakhov defeated compatriot Dmitry Gromov heads-up to win $310,000

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Alexander Lakhov	Russia	$310,000
2	Dmitry Gromov	Russia	$215,000
3	Nicolas Chouity	Lebanon	$140,000
4	Toby Lewis	United Kingdom	$102,820
5	Ori Miller	Israel	$77,000
6	Igor Devkin	Russia	$62,000

Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?

The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world's largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.

WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.

Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.

_{*Photos courtesy World Poker Tour (WPT)}