Artur Voskanyan Eliminated in 2nd Place ($184,020)
Level 31: 60,000-120,000, 20,000 ante

In the end it took just two hands for the end to come. Marvin Rettenmaier moved all-in, Artur Voskanyan called and their respective hands were turned on their backs.
Rettenmaier: J
9
Voskanyan: A
T
Board: 9
8
4
Q
7
Rettenmaier hits his nine on the flop and wins the WPT Merit Cyprus Poker Classic, and in doing so becomes the first ever back-to-back WPT Main Event winner after winning the WPT Championship at the Bellagio in May.
Commiserations to Artur Voskanyan for his runner-up spot.
Sorted In:
Marvin Rettenmaier, Artur Voskanyan, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
07:52 PM, 08/09/12
Marvin Rettenmaier v Artur Voskanyan
Level 31: 60,000-120,000, 20,000 ante

Marvin Rettenmaier is set to make history and become the first player ever, in the history of the World Poker Tour (WPT), to win back-to-back WPT Champions titles.
Sorted In:
Marvin Rettenmaier, Artur Voskanyan, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
07:46 PM, 08/09/12
Voskanyan Doubles Through Rettenmaier
Level 31: 60,000-120,000, 20,000 ante

Marvin Rettenmaier moves all-in from the small blind and Artur Voskanyan makes the call from the big blind. Somehow the pair of them have found some monsters.
Voskanyan: A
Q
Rettenmaier: T
T
It looked for all the world that Rettenmaier was going to eliminate his fourth opponent but the river proved that the German is human after all.
Board: 6
5
2
7
A
Voskanyan moves up to 1,800,000 and Rettenmaier has 6,700,000.
Sorted In:
Marvin Rettenmaier, Artur Voskanyan, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
07:35 PM, 08/09/12
Two More Shoves
Level 30: 50,000-100,000, 10,000 ante
Ran Azor raises to 250,000 in first position and folds to a Joseph El Khoury all-in. Then Marvin Rettenmaier raises to 205,000 on the button and folds to a shove from Artur Voskanyan.
Sorted In:
Marvin Rettenmaier, Ran Azor, Artur Voskanyan, Joseph El Khoury, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
06:49 PM, 08/09/12
More Shoving
Level 30: 50,000-100,000, 10,000 ante

In the past fifteen minutes we have seen shoves by Marvin Rettenmaier (blind on blind), Artur Voskanyan (twice) and Victor Paraschiv. None of them were called and each players just won the blinds and antes. The players are now on a 10-minute break because it is so damn hot in here.
Sorted In:
Victor Paraschiv, Marvin Rettenmaier, Artur Voskanyan, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
06:20 PM, 08/09/12
El Khoury Starts Shoving and Starts Winning
Level 29: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante

Victor Paraschiv raises to 160,000 in first position, Marvin Rettenmaier three-bets to 390,000 in the cutoff and Joseph El Khoury moves all-in from the big blind for 1.5 million. Both players fold and we move onto the next hand.
This time it is Artur Voskanyan who raises when he makes it 180,000 from the cutoff and once again El Khoury moves all-in and this time Voskanyan folds.
Has El Khoury finally found a run of cards or has he figured it out?
El Khoury ~ 2,200,000
Rettenamier ~ 2,750,000
Voskanyan ~ 800,000
Sorted In:
Marvin Rettenmaier, Victor Paraschiv, Artur Voskanyan, Joseph El Khoury, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
05:37 PM, 08/09/12
Rettenmaier Being Forced to Fold
Level 28: 30,000-60,000, 10,000 ante
Marvin Rettenmaier raises to 125,000 under the gun, Joseph El Khoury makes the call from the small blind and Victor Paraschiv moves all-in from the big blind. Both players fold and Paraschiv takes the pot.
Then we see the action fold to Marvin Rettenmaier in the small blind and he raises to 135,000. Artur Voskanyan is seated in the big blind and he raises to 265,000 forcing Rettenmaier to fold once more.
Sorted In:
Joseph El Khoury, Marvin Rettenmaier, Victor Paraschiv, Artur Voskanyan, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
04:28 PM, 08/09/12
Voskanyan and Azor Sharing
Level 27: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
Artur Voskanyan raised to 150,000 in the small blind and Ran Azor calls in the big. The pair check the action through to the turn on a board of A
K
T
9
and Azor calls a 175,000 Voskanyan bet. The river is the Q
, Voskanyan bets 300, Azor raises to 800,000, Voskanyan moves all-in and Azor calls. As expected both players split the pot with Azor holding A
J
and Voskanyan holding K
J
.
Azor ~ 3,100,000
Voskanyan ~ 900,000
Sorted In:
Ran Azor, Artur Voskanyan, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
02:57 PM, 08/09/12
Azor and Paraschiv in Action
Level 27: 25,000-50,000, 5,000 ante
Ran Azor limps from the button, Victor Paraschiv moves all-in and Azor folds.
Then Azor raises to 125,000 in first position and Artur Voskanyan calls in the big blind. The flop is T
8
9
and Voskanyan folds to a 225,000 Azor bet. Azor shows A
T
Azor ~ 2,300,000
Voskanyan ~ 1,410,000
Sorted In:
Victor Paraschiv, Ran Azor, Artur Voskanyan, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
02:35 PM, 08/09/12
Small Pot For Paraschiv
Level 26: 20,000-40,000, 5,000 ante
Victor Paraschiv raises to 85,000 in the cutoff, Marvin Rettenmaier tank-folds in the small blind and Artur Voskanyan defends his big blind. The flop is about as uncoordinated as you can get - 9
5
3
- and Paraschiv takes the pot with a 100,000 c-bet.
Paraschiv ~ 1,070,000
Voskanyan ~ 1,750,000
Sorted In:
Marvin Rettenmaier, Artur Voskanyan, Victor Paraschiv, Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
01:42 PM, 08/09/12