Last Updated on October 3, 2026 by Bala Kumar
Merit Poker runs a year-round calendar of live tournament festivals and cash-game events, mainly at Merit resorts in Kyrenia, North Cyprus. This page covers the 2026 schedule, every major series, Main Event results, buy-ins, satellites and the November 2026 Triton festivals.
Merit Poker at a glance
| Home region | Kyrenia, North Cyprus |
| Main venues | Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa; Merit Crystal Cove Hotel Casino & Spa |
| Other stops | Montenegro (Montenegro Championship and Cash Game Festival) |
| History | Operating since 2008, with more than $40 million in prize pools awarded, according to PokerNews’ Merit Poker tour page |
| Games | No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha (4 and 5 card), bounty events, cash games |
| Biggest 2026 Main Event field | Carmen Series, 1,094 entries |
| Biggest 2026 first prize | $1,250,000, Onyx $25,500 Main Event (August) |
| Next events | Triton ONE (5–15 November) and Triton Super High Roller Series (15–30 November) |
2026 Merit Poker tournament calendar
| Tournament | Dates | Venue | Main Event | Guarantee | Status |
| Montenegro Championship | 13–25 Jan | Montenegro | — | €1M expected payout | Completed |
| Onyx High Roller Series | 30 Jan–12 Feb | Merit Royal Diamond | $25,000 NLH and PLO Main Events | €29M GTD | Completed |
| Backgammon Championship | 19–23 Feb | North Cyprus | — | $50K added | Completed |
| EA Poker Tour | 8–15 Mar | North Cyprus | — | $1.5M total GTD | Completed |
| Montenegro Cash Game Festival | 19–27 Mar | Montenegro | Cash games | — | Completed |
| Merit Poker Carmen Series | 27 Apr–7 May | Merit Royal Diamond | $3,500 | $5M series / $3M Main | Completed |
| VIP Cash Game Festival | 2–14 Jun | North Cyprus | Cash games | — | Completed |
| Noir Poker Series | 27 Jul–6 Aug | Merit Royal Diamond | $5,500 | $6M series / $3M Main | Completed |
| Onyx High Roller Series (II) | 7–16 Aug | Merit Royal Diamond | $25,500 | $5M GTD | Completed |
| Mediterranean Poker Party | 17–27 Sep | Merit Crystal Cove | $5,400 | $10M+ series / $5M Main | Completed |
| Triton ONE Northern Cyprus | 5–15 Nov | Merit Royal Diamond | $8,000 | TBC | Upcoming |
| Triton Super High Roller Series | 15–30 Nov | Merit Royal Diamond | 25K–200K events | TBC | Upcoming |
Dates and guarantees come from the official Merit Poker tournaments page. Confirm against the official calendar before travelling, as schedules can change.
What is Merit Poker?
Merit Poker is the live poker brand of the Merit hotel and casino group in North Cyprus. It organises tournament festivals, high-stakes series and cash-game events, mostly at Merit Royal Diamond and Merit Crystal Cove in Kyrenia, with occasional stops in Montenegro.
Players stay, eat and play within the same resort complex, and fields are international, with entrants from Turkey, Russia, Israel, Eastern and Western Europe, and further afield.
The schedule spans a wide range of stakes. Live satellites and lower buy-in side events sit alongside Main Events with multi-million-dollar guarantees. The Onyx brand covers high-roller tournaments from $10,000 to $100,000, and in November 2026 Merit Royal Diamond hosts both Triton ONE and the Triton Super High Roller Series. Merit also runs daily cash games, dedicated cash-game festivals and a women’s poker programme called Merit Poker Queens.
Major Merit Poker series
Onyx High Roller Series
Onyx is Merit’s high-stakes brand, played in the Onyx Club at Merit Royal Diamond.
January–February 2026 (30 Jan–12 Feb)
• Guarantees: €29M across NLHE and PLO, with buy-ins from $10,000 to $100,000.
• $25,000 NLH Main Event: Ottomar Ladva (Estonia) won $1,150,000, ahead of Geoffrey Mooney.
• $25,000 PLO Main Event: Nino Pansier (Netherlands) won $1,125,000 after a long heads-up match against Justin Steinbrenner.
• $50,000 PLO Grand Slam: won by Cesar Garcia.
August 2026 (7–16 August)
• Main Event: $25,500 buy-in with a $5M guarantee.
• Result: 255 entries created a $6,120,000 prize pool. Raoul Kanme (Netherlands) won $1,250,000, beating Matthias Lipp heads-up. Lipp took $800,000 as runner-up.
• Other winners: David Coleman won a High Roller, and Paulius Vaitekunas took the $10,200 Bounty.
Merit Poker Carmen Series
• Dates: 27 April–7 May 2026
• Venue: Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa
• Series guarantee: $5M
• Main Event: $3,500 buy-in, $3M GTD, 100,000 starting stack. Every starting flight played down to the money.
• Result: A record 1,094 entries made it the biggest Carmen Series Main Event ever held. Ivan Ilichev (Russia) won $525,000, a career-best score. 163 players cashed.
• Other events: 1,650SpecialBounty(200K GTD, $5,000 bounties on Day 2), a $2,750 Mystery Bounty won by Davit Mikhanashvili, and a Women’s Championship won by Andreea Bratile.
Noir Poker Series
• Dates: 27 July–6 August 2026 (the inaugural edition)
• Venue: Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa
• Series guarantee: $6M
• Main Event: $5,500 buy-in, $3M GTD
• Result: 769 entries created a $3,608,148 prize pool. Selahaddin Bedir (Turkey) won $525,000 after a 12-hour final day, beating Konstantin Voronin heads-up. Fabian Gumz (Germany) finished third for $257,000.
• Formats on the schedule: Merit Poker Cup, High Roller, $3,300 Mystery Bounty, $3,300 PLO 5 Card, $330 Women’s Championship and Main Event qualifiers.
Mediterranean Poker Party (MPP)
• Dates: 17–27 September 2026
• Venue: Merit Crystal Cove Hotel Casino & Spa
• Series guarantee: More than $10M
• Main Event: $5,400 buy-in, $5M GTD
• Result: 972 entries. Daniil Kiselev (Russia) won $1,000,000 after nearly busting on Day 1d with 23,000 chips. He beat Mehmet Biskin heads-up, and 2025 champion Daniel Thaller finished fourth. The top 146 places were paid.
• Other winners: Boris Smuskevicius won the $3,500 Merit Poker Cup for a career-best $217,000. Aleksandr Razinkov won the $3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty for $85,000.
Montenegro Championship
• Dates: 13–25 January 2026
• Location: Montenegro, Merit’s tournament stop outside Cyprus
• Prize money: €1,000,000 expected payout
• Full results are on the official Merit Poker results page.
Triton Poker in Northern Cyprus (November 2026)
Triton ends its 10th-anniversary season at Merit Royal Diamond, with 32 tournaments across almost a full month.
• Triton ONE (5–15 November): 16 tournaments plus satellites, with buy-ins from $2,000 to $15,000 and satellites from $1,500. The $8,000 Triton ONE Main Event runs 10–15 November with three starting flights. The festival opens with the $3,000 QQPK Genesis.
• Triton Super High Roller Series (15–30 November): 16 events with buy-ins from $25,000 to $200,000, including a $200,000 NLH Triton Invitational and a $100,000 PLO Invitational.
2026 Main Event results
| Series | Buy-in | Entries | Prize pool | Winner | First prize |
| Onyx NLH Main Event (Jan–Feb) | $25,000 | — | — | Ottomar Ladva (Estonia) | $1,150,000 |
| Onyx PLO Main Event (Jan–Feb) | $25,000 | — | — | Nino Pansier (Netherlands) | $1,125,000 |
| Carmen Series | $3,500 | 1,094 | — | Ivan Ilichev (Russia) | $525,000 |
| Noir Poker Series | $5,500 | 769 | $3,608,148 | Selahaddin Bedir (Turkey) | $525,000 |
| Onyx Main Event (Aug) | $25,500 | 255 | $6,120,000 | Raoul Kanme (Netherlands) | $1,250,000 |
| Mediterranean Poker Party | $5,400 | 972 | $5M+ | Daniil Kiselev (Russia) | $1,000,000 |
| Triton ONE Main Event | $8,000 | Upcoming | — | — | — |
Other notable 2026 winners
| Event | Winner | Prize |
| MPP $3,500 Merit Poker Cup | Boris Smuskevicius (Lithuania) | $217,000 |
| MPP $3,300 Paradise Mystery Bounty | Aleksandr Razinkov (Russia) | $85,000 |
| Onyx $50,000 PLO Grand Slam | Cesar Garcia | See official report |
| Carmen $2,750 Mystery Bounty | Davit Mikhanashvili (Georgia) | See official report |
| Carmen Women’s Championship | Andreea Bratile | See official report |
How a Merit Poker Main Event works
Merit Main Events usually run over four to six days. Several Day 1 flights feed into a combined Day 2, followed by the closing days and the final table. At the 2026 Carmen Series, players started with 100,000 chips and every flight played down to the money. Re-entry rules, blind structures and payouts differ by event, so check the structure sheet published for each festival.
Merit Poker side events
A typical Merit festival includes many formats alongside the Main Event:
• Merit Poker Cup: a $3,500 flagship event at several festivals.
• High Rollers: usually $5,000 and up.
• Mystery Bounty and Special Bounty events.
• PLO and PLO 5 Card.
• Women’s Championships: for example, $330 at the 2026 Noir Series.
• Turbo, Deepstack, 6-Max and Mix-Max events.
• Satellites and Main Event qualifiers.
Satellites and qualifiers
Players can reach Main Events without paying the full buy-in. Merit runs live satellites on site during each festival. At the 2026 Noir Series, Main Event qualifiers cost roughly $630 to $1,050. Merit also promotes online satellites for some festivals.
For Triton ONE in November, live qualifiers to the Main Event cost $1,500. Online room QQPK also guaranteed 21 seats worth $3,000 each to the opening Genesis event through a satellite promotion.
How to enter a Merit Poker tournament:
1. Choose a festival from the official calendar.
2. Decide between a direct buy-in and a satellite.
3. Register at the venue or through Merit’s player team.
4. Check the structure sheet for starting stack, level length and late registration.
5. Pick a Day 1 flight and confirm the re-entry rules.
Merit Poker buy-ins
| Event type | Buy-in range (2026) |
| Satellites and qualifiers | Roughly 300–1,500 |
| Side events | From about $330 |
| Merit Poker Cup | $3,500 |
| Main Events | 3,500–5,500 (Merit festivals); $8,000 (Triton ONE) |
| High Rollers | $5,000+ |
| Onyx High Roller | 10,000–100,000 |
| Triton SHRS | 25,000–200,000 |
Buy-ins change from series to series. These are ranges seen in 2026, not fixed prices.
Merit Poker venue and travel guide
Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Kyrenia hosted the Onyx series, the Carmen Series and the Noir Series in 2026, and hosts November’s Triton festivals. Merit Crystal Cove Hotel Casino & Spa hosted the 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party. Merit also operates Merit Park Hotel & Casino, about 6 km from central Kyrenia and 42 km from Ercan Airport.
Key facts for players:
• Tournament buy-ins range from satellites to high-stakes events.
• Festivals include NLHE, PLO, bounty and other formats.
• Events are held mainly at Merit resorts in Kyrenia, with hotel, casino and poker room on site.
• November 2026 includes Triton ONE and the Triton Super High Roller Series.
Travel notes:
• Getting there: Most visitors fly into Ercan Airport, usually via Turkey. Some fly into Larnaca in the south and cross the island.
• Money: Tournaments are mostly priced in US dollars. The local currency in North Cyprus is the Turkish lira.
• Visas and entry: Rules depend on your passport and can change, so check official government guidance before booking.
• Accommodation offers: Merit sometimes offers discounted stays for players. For the 2026 MPP, it advertised a 50% accommodation offer for eligible players.
Latest Merit Poker news
• 28 September 2026: Daniil Kiselev wins the MPP Main Event for $1,000,000.
• 23 September 2026: Boris Smuskevicius wins the $3,500 Merit Poker Cup for a career-best $217,000.
• September 2026: Triton publishes its full 32-event Northern Cyprus schedule.
• 15 August 2026: Raoul Kanme wins the Onyx $25,500 Main Event for $1,250,000.
• 7 August 2026: Selahaddin Bedir wins the inaugural Noir Series Main Event for $525,000.
• 8 May 2026: Ivan Ilichev wins the record 1,094-entry Carmen Series Main Event for $525,000.
Supporting pages
• /tournaments/merit-poker/carmen-series/
• /tournaments/merit-poker/noir-series/
• /tournaments/merit-poker/onyx-high-roller-series/
• /tournaments/merit-poker/mediterranean-poker-party/
• /tournaments/merit-poker/montenegro-championship/
• /tournaments/merit-poker/triton-northern-cyprus-2026/
Editor notes (do not publish)
• Corrected in this version: The Carmen Series venue is now Merit Royal Diamond, per Merit’s official Main Event report. The Hendon Mob listing that said Crystal Cove appears to be wrong. The Carmen and August Onyx Main Event results are filled in. “Every month or two” has been removed, and the “why players travel” section has been rewritten as factual key facts.
• Results conflict resolved: The “Main Event” table on Merit’s official Noir results page (Kanme $1,250,000, Lipp $800,000) matches the August Onyx 25,500MainEvent,nottheNoirMainEvent.Merithasthetableonthewrongpage.Noir’scorrectwinnerisBedir(525,000).
• “Since 2008” and “$40M+”: Both come from PokerNews’ Merit Poker tour page, and the claim is now attributed to it in the text. Remove it if you want only first-party sources.
• Still missing: Exact Carmen prize pool, entry counts for the January Onyx Main Events, and Montenegro Championship results. Fill these in from official results or Hendon Mob.
FAQs
What is Merit Poker?
Merit Poker is the live poker operator of the Merit hotel and casino group, running tournament festivals and cash games in North Cyprus.
Where is Merit Poker located?
Most events take place in Kyrenia, North Cyprus, at Merit Royal Diamond and Merit Crystal Cove. Merit also runs events in Montenegro.
What tournaments does Merit Poker host?
Major 2026 series include the Onyx High Roller Series, Carmen Series, Noir Poker Series, Mediterranean Poker Party and Montenegro Championship, plus Triton ONE and the Triton SHRS in November.
Who won the 2026 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event?
Daniil Kiselev of Russia won it for $1,000,000 from 972 entries.
Who won the 2026 Carmen Series Main Event?
Ivan Ilichev of Russia won it for $525,000 from a record 1,094 entries.
How much does a Merit Poker Main Event cost?
In 2026, Merit’s own Main Events cost between $3,500 and $5,500. Onyx Main Events cost $25,000 to $25,500, and the Triton ONE Main Event is $8,000.
How can I qualify for a Merit Poker Main Event?
Through live satellites at the festival, online satellites where offered, or a direct buy-in.
