WPT Merit Cyprus Classic Won By Marvin Rettenmaier

Marvin Rettenmaier has won the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic, after defeating a field of 329 payers over five days on his way to claiming the title, and collecting the $287,784  first place prize. In so doing, the German pro not only pushed his live tournament earnings to an impressive $3,314,326, but he also became the first player to take down back-to-back World Poker Tour main events.
After Marvin Rettenmaier eliminated Erik Cajelais in 7th place ($43,690), the final table of the $4,000 buy-in tournament got underway. First to hit the rail was Kiryl Radzivonau in 6th ($52,590), whose J-10 short-stack push got looked up by Rettenmaier’s pocket queens.
Three hours later Joseph El Khoury was down to just 10bb when he went all-in with A-2. Unfortunately for him, Rettenmaier was holding A-Q and after the board fell 4-8-6-3-8 he exited the competition in 5th for $65,770.
Continuing his assault on the final table,  Marvin Rettenmaier (K-K) picked off Victor Parashiv’s (Kc-5c) pre-flop shove to  relegate the 35-year old  Romanian to a 4th place finish worth $87,610. Parashiv was then followed out the door by Ran Azor in 3rd ($118,360), whose pocket sevens foundered against Rettenmaier’s Q-9, after a Q hit on the river.
As the heads-up phase of the competition got going, Rettenmaier held a 4 to 1 chip advantage over Russian Artur Voskanyan, but two hands later it was all over when Rettenmaier (Jd-9d) forced his opponent all-in holding A-10. The 9-8-4-Q-7 subsequently sealed his fate, and so Artur Voskanyan collected $184,020 for his runner-up finish, while Marvin Rettenmaier was crowned the 2012 WPT Merit Cyprus Classic champion.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1. Marvin Rettenmaier – $287,784
2. Artur Voskanyan – $184,020
3. Ran Azor – $118,360
4. Victor Parashiv – $87,610
5. Joseph El Khoury – $65,770
6. Kiryl Radzivonau – $52,590
Next port of call for the WPT is the inaugural WPT Parx Open Poker Classic, which starts on August 10th in the Philadelphia area, with the final table scheduled for August 15th.