Mantas Nanartavicius gave it some thought and then min-raised from under the gun for Kush Kataria to jam the big blind for 4.2 million and earn a snap-call.
Kush Kataria:
Mantas Nanartavicius:
The flop gave Kataria some hope but the turn and river ended his run in 7th place for $41,535.
Georges Hanna raised the and Mantas Nanartavicius came along in the big blind with , which led to the flop. The Lithuanian checked and Hanna bet two million for Nanartavicius to fold.
Ionel Anton then opened to 1.5 million with and Johan Guilbert three-bet jammed for 10.8 million in the cutoff with . Anton asked for a count but sigh-folded.
Guilbert raised to 1.2 million next with and Fahredin Mustafov filled up with the . The flop was checked and Mustafov spiked the turn to check it once more. Guilbert gave his opponent a stare down and bet 900,000 to earn the call.
What followed was the river and Mustafov checked the third street in a row. Guilbert then moved all-in and Mustafov counted his stack before making the call for the 3.9 million he had behind to score the double.
Georges Hanna jammed it in for 12.5 million and Fahredin Mustafov asked for a count with the exact same stack, holding the . Mustafov folded and Ionel Anton then called on the button. Silma Macalou folded in the small blind for Mantas Nanartavicius to then call all-in for 10 million out of the big blind.
Georges Hanna:
Mantas Nanartavicius:
Ionel Anton:
The board kept the best pocket pair in the lead and Hanna was eliminated in 5th place, while Nanartavicius tripled up and Anton claimed the small side pot.
Silma Macalou jammed out of the small blind for 9.4 million and Mantas Nanartavicius asked for a count in the big blind, then made the call.
Silma Macalou:
Mantas Nanartavicius:
"Your ace will come for sure," Ionel Anton said and was right with his prediction. The board ran out and Macalou was eliminated in 4th place for $81,435.
Ionel Anton raised to 2.5 million with the on the button and Fahredin Mustafov called in the big blind with . On the flop, Mustafov check-called the shove for 10.7 million and had Anton in dire shape.
There was no miracle escape for Anton on the turn and river to send Anton to the rail in 3rd place. He takes home $158,318 according to the deal numbers the final three players agreed to.
The first highlight event of the 2021 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North Cyprus festival has crowned a champion at the five-star Merit Crystal Cove Hotel Casino & Spa in Girne, North Cyprus. It was a marathon day of more than 13 hours that whittled down the final 12 hopefuls out of a field of 745 entries to a winner in the $2,200 Warm Up as the biggest slice of the $1,370,800 prize pool was awarded.
In the early morning hours, Lithuania's Mantas Nanartavicius celebrated the victory after defeating Bulgaria's Fahredin Mustafov in heads-up. Both had been part of an ICM deal that also included eventual third-place finisher Ionel Anton and the trio left the trophy and $24,000 to play for. After a topsy-turvy heads-up duel, satellite winner Nanartavicius came out on top and earned the top prize of $210,912.
Runner-up Mustafov recorded his seventh final table in a Merit Poker Event with a buy-in above $1,000 since 2019 and had to settle for a consolation prize of $156,293 while Anton earned $158,318 for his efforts. The final day also featured French online poker streamer Johan "YoH ViraL" Guilbert and Artur Martirosian, the latter of which fell in 11th place.
Final Result 2021 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North Cyprus $2,200 Warm Up
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (in USD)
1
Mantas Nanartavicius
Lithuania
$210,912*
2
Fahredin Mustafov
Bulgaria
$156,293*
3
Ionel Anton
Romania
$158,318*
4
Silma Macalou
France
$81,435
5
Georges Hanna
Lebanon
$62,095
6
Johan Guilbert
France
$50,170
7
Kush Kataria
India
$41,535
8
Jim Sue Pan
Netherlands
$33,035
9
Matthieu Chan
Mauritius
$24,810
*includes ICM deal of the final three players with $24,000 awarded to the winner
Guilbert Dominates the Early Stages
The final day saw 12 contenders return to their seats and two six-handed tables brought plenty of action from the start. Karolis Ciudaras became the first casualty and Johan Guilbert was on the verge of being the next player out. However, the Frenchman doubled through Jim Sue Pan and then soared into the lead after doubling through Georges Hanna with aces versus kings.
Matthieu Chan didn't find any spot to run up his short stack and fell in 9th place when Jim Sue Pan held the superior kicker with ace-ten versus ace-seven and made broadway. From there on, things didn't go smoothly for Pan who doubled Macalou and Hanna to become the shortest stack and subsequently bust next. While Guilbert was the first player to reach 20 million in chips, the Frenchman couldn't keep up the momentum and dropped back into the middle of the pack.
Nanartavicius Finds Premium Pairs
Premium pairs then played a pivotal role for the outcome of the tournament and Nanartavicius had the best of it in the grand scheme of things. First he picked up back-to-back kings to bust Kush Kataria. Guilbert then found kings but Mustafov's ace-king turned the superior pair. Soon after, the most remarkable hand unfolded in which all remaining five players held pocket pairs. Nanartavicius had an easy call with aces in the big blind when facing the shove by Hanna with fours and the call by Ionel Anton with kings.
That triple up vaulted the Lithuanian into the comfortable lead but he wasn't necessarily able to capitalise on it. Macalou failed to hold with a pair against the suited ace rag of Nanartavicius and three-handed play eventually resulted in a three-way deal. Anton became short and busted soon after but the heads-up duel carried on for more than one and a half hours with numerous double ups until the champion was finally crowned.
The next highlight of the ongoing festival is the $10,500 High Roller, which has attracted a field of 101 players and 40 re-entries so far. One level of late registration remains and the high-stakes contest will play down to a winner on Wednesday, September 22. The very same day will also feature the start of the 2021 MILLIONS North Cyprus $5,300 Main Event, for which the PokerNews team will provide exclusive updates.