The Merit Poker Vintage Series is in full swing at the luxurious Merit Crystal Cove Hotel & Resort in North Cyprus. The all-inclusive resort, located on the seafront of one of the most beautiful bays in North Cyprus, is currently packed with poker players chasing their share of more than $3 million worth of guaranteed prize pools.

Romania’s Bogdan Munteanu will fondly remember his time in North Cyprus, thanks to him taking down the $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Warm-Up event. Some 624 players bought into the tournament and created an impressive prize pool tipping the scales at $1,148,160. Munteanu was the last man standing, and he banked $209,700, which is by far his largest-ever live poker tournament score.

$2,200 NL Warm Up Final Table Results

The NL Warm Up paid out 71 places, and there were plenty of familiar names among those who saw a return on their $2,200 investment. Jessica Pilkington, Andreas Christoforou, Fahredin Mustafov, Yiannis Liperis, Ran Koller, and Dmitry Gromov all cashed, the latter falling in 15th place for $12,535.

Each of the nine finalists locked in $20,975 for their efforts, but the top two spots were awarded six-figure prizes. Munteanu went into the final table fifth in chips with 35 big blinds, yet ultimately came out on top.

Milad Langar ($20,975), Ugar Secilmis ($28,000), Itzhak Ashkenazi ($35,000), and Basel Khabbazeh ($42,100) were the first casualties of the final table. Russia’s Nina Krasilnikov bowed out in fifth for $52,400 before Germany’s Joshua Marquardt ($70,000) and an anonymous player from Lebanon ($94,500) left the NL Warm Up with only two players.

Munteanu locked horns with Italian veteran Alessio Isaia, a player with more than $2.5 million in live poker tournament winnings. Munteanu was not fazed by his experienced opponent and staged an impressive comeback to clinch the $209,700 top prize, blowing his previous largest haul of $50,855 out of the water.

Georges Sultamen Wins the $1K Mystery Bounty; Georgy Flippovich Snags Biggest Bounty

Mystery Bounty tournaments are all the rage right now, and Merit Poker got in on the action with a $1,100 buy-in event that drew in 423 opponents, who built a $389,160 prize pool. Half of that sum paid out in the traditional manner, with the remaining 50% split into sealed envelopes and awarded as mystery bounties.

Georges Sultamen started the final day on fire, eliminating an opponent and opening a mystery bounty containing a cool $20,000 prize. Sultamen went on to become the tournament’s champion, which earned the Lebanese grinder an additional $18,700.

The final table was also the home to American Joseph Hebert, who you may recall won the 2020 WSOP Main Event Domestic Edition for more than $1.5 million. Hebert fell in fifth place in this tournament for $6,900, but he also collected $28,500 worth of bounties, including one worth $15,000!

Ninth-place finisher Elie Farah, also of Lebanon, was one of the luckiest bounty recipients. Farah pulled out a $25,000 and a $30,000 envelope, adding $55,000 to their $2,800 main prize pool prize.

Georgy Flippovich fell short of becoming this tournament’s champion, falling in third for $10,500. However, Flippovich pulled the largest mystery bounty prize of the event, one worth a cool $40,000!

$1,100 NLHE Mystery Bounty Final Table Results

Merit Poker Vintage Series Remaining Schedule

Attention now turns to the $3,300 buy-in $1,500,000 guaranteed Main Event that runs from November 22-27. There is also another mystery bounty tournament, one costing $2,200 to enter, running from November 26-27, which is sure to be another huge hit with the Merit Poker players.