WSOP Super Circuit Cyprus 2027: Merit Brings the Rings Back

The Short Version

The WSOP Super Circuit is coming back to North Cyprus. Merit Poker has confirmed a new edition at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel in Karavas, near Kyrenia. It runs from April 30 to May 11, 2027, with 18 WSOP Circuit ring events on the schedule.

If you followed the circuit over the past year, you’ll know why this matters. The debut in October 2025 smashed its Main Event guarantee. The spring 2026 return was then cancelled outright. So the 2027 date isn’t just another calendar entry. It’s Merit’s second attempt to turn Cyprus into a regular WSOP stop.

What’s confirmed so far (as of November 5, 2026):

• Dates: April 30 to May 11, 2027
• Venue: Merit Royal Diamond Hotel, Karavas, North Cyprus
• Ring events: 18
• Headline high roller: 10,000GGMillion, May 4 to 7
• Main Event: $3,500 buy-in, $5,000,000 guaranteed, May 7 to 11
• Full schedule: Not yet released
• Online qualifiers: Expected on GGPoker, as in 2025

Some early reports listed the Main Event as “$3,500,000.” That’s a typo. Merit’s own announcement gives a $3,500 buy-in with a $5M guarantee.

Why There Was No Cyprus Stop in 2026

The second Super Circuit Cyprus was originally booked for April 25 to May 11, 2026. On March 23, 2026, the WSOP cancelled it, citing ongoing uncertainty in the wider region and the safety of players and staff. Earlier that month, WPT Prime Cyprus had already lost its Main Event for similar reasons.

For travelling players, the timing hurt. Many had flights and rooms booked, and the WSOP didn’t offer a replacement date. Merit filled the gap with its own festival, the Merit Poker Classic, so the poker room never went dark.

The practical lesson for 2027 is to book refundable travel where you can. Don’t treat a teaser announcement as a locked schedule. Wait for the full ring-event list before spending serious money on flights from outside Europe.

How the 2025 Debut Actually Went

The first Super Circuit Cyprus ran from October 9 to 21, 2025. It was the first WSOP event ever held on the island and the format’s first live stop outside the United States. Fifteen rings were awarded, with buy-ins from $1,100 up to $26,000. The winners came from eight different countries.

The $5,300 Main Event was the real test. It carried a $5M guarantee, which is huge by Circuit standards. A total of 1,372 entries built a $6,860,000 prize pool, clearing the guarantee by roughly $1.86M. Merit had proved it could fill a high buy-in field on a Mediterranean island, not just in Las Vegas or Rozvadov.

2025 Main Event, top five finishers:

1. Harald Sammer: $1,000,000
2. Daniel Rezaei: $670,000
3. Bernardo Neves: $475,000
4. Ali Al Kubasi: $345,000
5. Jonathan Kalmar: $250,000

Sammer’s win is the kind of story that keeps recreational players booking flights. The former teacher reached the final table with one of the shortest stacks. He then turned a big heads-up deficit around against Rezaei, who had already won seven figures at the same venue that August. The final hand was brutal for Rezaei: Sammer’s pocket queens flopped a set against ace-king.

What should you take from it? A short stack at a final table isn’t a dead stack. When the payout jumps are this big ($670K to $1M heads-up), patience and good shove-or-fold discipline are worth real money.

What’s New for 2027, and Why the Cheaper Main Event Matters

The biggest change is the Main Event price. It drops from $5,300 to $3,500, yet the guarantee stays at $5M. That’s a friendlier entry point for players who skipped 2025 because $5,300 was too steep for their bankroll.

The flip side is that Merit needs a bigger crowd to cover the guarantee. Here’s the rough maths:

• 2025: $5,000 of each buy-in went to the prize pool, so about 1,000 entries covered the guarantee. The actual turnout was 1,372.
• 2027: The fee split isn’t published yet. If a similar share goes to the pool (around $3,300 per entry), Merit needs roughly 1,500 entries. That’s about 10% more than it drew in 2025.

This creates a small potential edge for players. If the field falls short, the organiser pays the difference, which is called an overlay. An overlay is free money for everyone in the event. Super Circuit fields have grown quickly in 2026, so an overlay isn’t likely. After a year away from Cyprus, though, it isn’t impossible.

The 10,000GGMillion high roller (May 4 to 7) is the other confirmed event. It sits just before the Main Event, so pros can play both in one trip. If you’re a mid-stakes player, the early Main Event flights may be your best chance at a softer field. High rollers tend to arrive in the later flights once they bust the GGMillion$.

How Cyprus Compares With Other Super Circuit Stops

Cyprus now sits on a busy live Super Circuit calendar. Super Circuit KINGS is running in Rozvadov right now, and GGPoker qualifiers for the LATAM stop have just opened. Here’s how the Main Events stack up:

• Cyprus 2027 (Merit Royal Diamond, Apr 30 – May 11, 2027): $3,500 buy-in, $5,000,000 GTD. Upcoming.
• LATAM (Hard Rock Punta Cana, Jan 24 – Feb 2, 2027): $3,500 buy-in, $2,000,000 GTD. Upcoming.
• KINGS (King’s Casino, Rozvadov, Oct 28 – Nov 11, 2026): €3,000 buy-in, €2,000,000 GTD. In progress.
• Canada (Playground, Kahnawake, Aug 26 – Sep 12, 2026): CA5,000buy-in,CA10,000,000 GTD. 2,844 entries and a CA$13.08M prize pool.
• Cyprus 2025 (Merit Royal Diamond, Oct 9 – 21, 2025): $5,300 buy-in, $5,000,000 GTD. 1,372 entries and a $6.86M prize pool.

Two things jump out. First, Cyprus and Punta Cana charge the same 3,500,butCyprusguaranteestwoandahalftimesasmuch.ThattellsyouMeritexpectsabigfield,anditusuallygetsone.Second,Canadashowedhowmuchdemandthereis:itsMainEventbeataCA10M guarantee by more than 30%.

For players in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Cyprus is also much easier to reach than the Caribbean or Quebec. That convenience is a big part of why Merit’s fields stay large.

Planning Your Trip: Practical Advice

Qualify online if the buy-in stretches you. In 2025, satellites ran exclusively on GGPoker, and that’s the likely route again. Jacob Hobday, who won Playground’s August 2025 Circuit Main Event, turned a CA75satelliteintoaCA620,000 score. Start with low-cost satellites a few months out rather than taking one expensive shot at the last minute.

Respect your bankroll. A $3,500 live tournament costs more once you add flights, hotel and food. A common rule for tournament players is to keep any single buy-in to a small slice of their total poker bankroll. If $3,500 plus travel is more than that, sell some of your action or play the smaller ring events instead.

Know how you’ll get there. The venue is in the north of the island. Most visitors fly into Ercan, which connects mainly through Turkey, or into Larnaca in the south and cross by road. Check the passport and border-crossing rules for your nationality before booking.

Book the hotel early. Merit Royal Diamond has only 273 rooms, and they sold out quickly in 2025. Choose a refundable rate, given what happened in 2026.

Pick your events with a plan. Not every ring event suits every player. If you’re newer to live poker, the lower buy-in ring events and the early Main Event flights give you the best mix of value and softer fields. Save the high rollers until the full structures are out and you can judge them properly.

Watch for the full schedule. Merit says more details will follow on meritpoker.com. Structures, starting stacks and late registration times all affect how much your skill edge is worth, so read them before you commit.

THE RING SEASON RETURNS TO CYPRUS ♠️

Last October, the World Series of Poker landed on the island for the very first time, and fifteen gold rings left Cyprus for new owners in eight countries. It seems the Circuit liked it here.

From April 30 to May 11, 2027, it comes back to… pic.twitter.com/Gbmm2Jj70z

— Merit Poker (@meritpokerlive) November 4, 2026

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