Boris Kolev Wins Merit Millions

The first-ever “Merit Millions” went down over the weekend in a new $10,400 buy-in event at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino and Spa. The event made waves by guaranteeing a $1 million top prize, the largest top prize ever at that venue.

The North Cyprus resort has hosted regular big-time poker events for years, including EPT Cyprus. It often draws players from the eastern Mediterranean region, Russia, the Middle East, and more. This is the first time the Merit events guaranteed a million-dollar top prize in their series.

The $10,400 Merit Millions event drew 212 entries, creating a scenario where the top prize was almost half the prize pool, a significantly higher percentage than you will ever see in modern-day poker.

In fact, final table payouts were reminiscent of the old WSOP payouts from decades ago, when first place was highly inflated and a considerable jump. This is not typically how poker tournaments work in modern times.

First place was the promised $1 million, while second place was $300,000, creating an insane $700,000 heads-up battle. Ninth place was $35,000, nearly thirty times less than first, making a final table with massive stakes and the most significant ICM differences.

Boris Kolev of Bulgaria was crowned champion, capturing the largest score of his career after starting the final table as the third-largest stack. The $1 million win topped the $511,184 he won for taking down his WSOP bracelet in 2021. The Bulgarian added the $1 million cash to his $4.2 million in career live tournament earnings to surpass $5 million overall.

The $700,000 heads-up battle was anticlimactic. It was not long, as Mehdi Chaoui of Morocco was a significant short stack to Kolev. He could never gather any momentum and fell quickly, giving Kolev the seven-figure score.

The diversity of Merit events was clearly evident in this million-dollar guarantee tournament. Seven countries, Bulgaria, Morocco, Latvia, Russia, Turkey, Belarus, and Iraq, were represented at the final table.