Live Tournament Updates
Aram Vartevanyan Eliminated in 14th Place ($15,670)
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante

Eddy Maksoud has just eliminated Aram Vartevanyan and once again those aces are eager to fight it out with ace-king. It was Maksoud with pocket aces and Vartevanyan with ace-king. The aces survived the five card death trap and Vartevanyan was out.
Maksoud ~ 900,000
01:31 PM, 08/08/12
Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in 15th Place ($15,670)
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante

Robert Mizrachi has just been eliminated by the man who took most of his chips earlier in the level, Marvin Rettenmaier. It was a pre flop all-in with Mizrachi holding A
T
and Rettenmaier holding A
J
. The flop gave Mizrachi an unlikely lead when it fell K
T
8
, the 2
maintained Mizrachi's lead but the Q
handed Rettenmaier the straight and Mizrachi was out.
01:15 PM, 08/08/12
Andrey Shatilov Eliminated in 16th Place ($13,420)
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante

Andrey Shatilov has just been eliminated in another great tension strung pot against Eddy Maksoud.
Shatilov raises to 20,000 in first position and Maksoud three-bets to 45,000 two seats to his left. The action folds back to Shatilov and he four-bets to 87,000, Maksoud five bets to 139,000, Shatilov six bets to 207,000, Maksoud seven bet jams and Shatilov calls.
Maksoud: A
K![]()
Shatilov: K
K![]()
It's a great spot for Shatilov to double up. The flop is Q
8
6
- great news for Shatilov. The turn is the J
and Maksoud now has a flush draw. The river is the A
and Maksoud makes his flush to hand Shatilov the cooler and eliminate him from the competition.
Maksoud ~ 1,310,000
01:10 PM, 08/08/12
Fearless Maksoud
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
Andrey Shatilov raises to 20,000 in early position, Eddy Maksoud three-bets to 45,000 from mid-position, the action folds back around to Shatilov who makes it 83,000, Maksoud makes it 125,000 and Shatilov folds. Maksoud draws in his chips and shows A
J
to Shatilov.
Maksoud ~ 830,000
Shatilov ~ 490,000
01:02 PM, 08/08/12
Tolga Demirel Eliminated in 17th Place ($13,420)
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante

Victor Paraschiv raises to 21,000 in first position, Walid Bou Habib three-bets to 46,000 in mid-position and when the action folds around to Tolga Demirel in the big blind he cold calls. Back to Paraschiv who tank folds and we are heads-up to the flop.
Flop: 3
2
2![]()
An action flop and Demirel check-calls a 38,000 Habib c-bet.
Turn: A![]()
Demirel bets 96,000 and before the chips have even touched the felt Habib announces he is all-in.
"I call," says Demirel.
Demirel shows A
K
but Habib has A
3
for a better two-pair. The river is the 4
and Demirel is out. Habib moves into the chip lead with 1,631,000 chips.
12:50 PM, 08/08/12
Rettenmaier Doubles Through Mizrachi
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
Robert Mizrachi raises to 21,000 in first position, Sam El Sayed calls in the cutoff and Marvin Rettenmaier three-bets to 64,000 from the button. Back to Mizrachi and he didn't mess about. It was a 165,000 four-bet and El Sayed folded instantly. Rettenmaier didn't look like he was going anywhere though, and as expected he moved all-in and Mizrachi made the call.
Rettenmaier: A
A![]()
Mizrachi: A
K![]()
It was a cooler for Mizrachi. The flop was Q
T
9
and you could hear one of the bloggers draw air in sharply. The turn was the K
and for a brief moment people thought that Mizrachi had hit his hand. Finally, the 4
hit the felt and Rettenmaier exhaled a huge sigh of relief. The total count was 334,000 for Rettenmaier, leaving Mizrachi with 240,000 chips. The German now has 680,000 and is still in contention to win back-to-back WPT Main Event titles.
12:32 PM, 08/08/12
Julian Ehrhardt Eliminated in 18th Place ($13,420)
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
Bou Habib ~ 1,200,000
12:18 PM, 08/08/12
Voskanyan Rivers a Set
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
Artur Voskanyan makes a raise on the button and Erik Cajelais calls in the big blind. The flop is K
J
8
and both players check. The turn card is the 5
and Voskanyan calls a 25,000 Cajelais bet. The river is the 9
and Cajelais checks and it is Voskanyan who makes a bet. The price to pay is 60,000 and Cajelais pays it. Voskanyan turns over two black nines for the rivered set and Cajelais mucks his hand.
Voskanyan ~ 1,163,000
Cajelais ~ 1,085,000
12:12 PM, 08/08/12
Welcome to Day 4 of the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
The Merit Crystal Cove Hotel & Casino, Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus is a place that never sleeps. It only seems like a few hours ago when the World Poker Tour (WPT) beach party was in full swing. A Gypsy Kings type band, DJ Donnie Mizrachi, DJ Cubeechee and a strange belly dancer sucking the head of a snake entertaining the players - all night - in this amazing venue. Two players that danced their socks off were Dan "Jungleman" Cates and Robert Mizrachi and they are seated just in front of us playing Chinese poker. Like we said this is the place that never sleeps!
Leading those final 18 players is the man with the biggest biceps in the business. Erik Cajelais with 1,190,000 chips. Cajelais has a 2nd and 4th place finish in WPT events so will be desperate to finally secure his first victory. Another man with a 2nd place finish in a WPT event is Ran Azor and he is sitting in 5th place with 893,000 chips. There are also two former WPT Champions in the field. Sam El Sayed is in 4th place with 950,000 chips and Marvin Rettenmaier is in 15th place with 212,000 chips, and if we can pull Robert Mizrachi away from Chinese poker he will also be taking his seat in the final 18 where he begins in 7th place with 586,000 chips.
The action will start at 13:00 (local time) and we will be bringing you all of the action here at WPT.com.
Sorted In: Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Season XI
11:05 AM, 08/08/12
Day 4 Seat Draw
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante


Table 1
Seat 1: Walid Bou Habib - 986,000
Seat 2: Erik Cajelais - 1,190,000
Seat 3: Husnu Sincar - 358,000
Seat 4: Ran Azor - 893,000
Seat 5: Joseph El Khoury - 180,000
Seat 6: Tolga Demirel - 265,000
Seat 7: Victor Paraschiv - 483,000
Seat 8: Julien Ehrhardt - 194,000
Seat 9: Artur Voskanyan - 1,035,000
Table 2
Seat 1: Andrey Shatilov - 686,000
Seat 2: Robert Mizrachi - 586,000
Seat 3: Eddy Maksoud - 564,000
Seat 4: Kiryl Radzivonau - 352,000
Seat 5: Kemal Sevevi - 311,000
Seat 6: Aram Vartevanyan - 159,000
Seat 7: Sam El Sayed - 950,000
Seat 8: Marvin Rettenmaier - 212,000
Seat 9: Gilboa Yossi - 464,000
08:17 PM, 08/07/12



