Hayk Manasyan is the EAPT Georgia Champion ($54,000).

The Georgian leg of the EA Poker Tour exceeded organizers' wildest predictions from day one. The $250 EAPT Cup, the inaugural event of the Black Sea poker festival, attracted 442 entries and a total prize pool of $110,000, covering the $30,000 guarantee three and a half times over. The trend of exceeding the guarantee continued in the $235 Luxon Pay Mystery Bounty, which attracted 332 players and a total prize pool of $78,000.

The EAPT Georgia Main Event began immediately after the Mystery and it was clear from the start of the first day that the $500 buy-in tournament would have no problem meeting its $140,000 guarantee. More than 200 entries were made by players on Day 1A alone, and after four starting flights the scoreboard showed a very respectable 741 entries. The total prize pool for the tournament was $370,500 - more than had been planned for all nine days of play prior to the start of the festival.

The EAPT Georgia has several success factors. First and foremost, the Georgian people's longing for a major series in their home country (this EAPT was the first poker festival in the last seven years). There is also the unprecedented generosity of the organizers, who decided not to take any commissions from the players (0% rake and 0% staff fees). There are also relatively convenient travel logistics and a visa-free regime for Russian players, who arrived in Batumi with several hundred people. There was also a convenient online selection grid: you could play the Main Event online at GGPoker (and arrive by the second day), you could qualify via mobile applications (and win not only a ticket to the Main Event, but also to the Mini Main).

Back in the spring, the Georgian stop of the EA Poker Tour would have been the most popular after the relaunch, but the second season of the European relaunch of the popular series got off to an incredibly strong start. Hot on the heels of the massive Grand Final in Cyprus (1,565 entries for $2,200), the EAPT traveled to Foggy Albion with the traditional 560 buy-in, but in pounds rather than euros. The Brits had a blistering series, attracting 858 entrants to the main event, with Nottingham claiming the title of most popular regional stop so far. Batumi is second.

The total prize pool of $370,500 for the EAPT Georgia Main Event was split between those who made it through one of the four starting flights. There were 110 such players, each guaranteed a minimum of $940. That's almost two mincash buy-ins - a decent payday for Day 1 play. And the further into the woods the survivors got, the more cash they secured. By the middle of the final day, there were around 20 players left in the game, each taking home $3,070 for their efforts. It wasn't long before the final table with the biggest payouts was just around the corner.

It was around this time that the TV cameras in Batumi began to roll so that the action at the tables could be seen live and with open cards:

 A brief summary of the final table

Despite the fact that EAPT Georgia was visited by guests from 26 countries, from the USA to Japan, the final table of the main event was almost entirely occupied by representatives of the former Soviet republics. Four players from Armenia, two from Kazakhstan, and one each from Turkey and Uzbekistan competed for the trophy. Even the hosts, the Georgians, did not forget to send a representative to the final of the main event. The fate of these players was as follows:

Abat Nagimetov busted out in ninth place. He went all-in pre-flop with A 6  in the last 5 blinds, but could not beat Timur Mekhamedaminov's  8 8 . Mehamedaminov soon claimed another scalp, this time in a dead cooler: aces to queens against Ruben Khovsepyan, the Armenian player couldn't catch his two outs and was eliminated in eighth place.

Seventh place went to Gevorg Khachatryan, who pushed all-in with A J  in a blinds war by David Khalatiani, who held J 5 . Unfortunately for Khachatryan, Khalatiani bought a five on the flop. Kerem Tyuryuksan finished sixth, his 2.5 blind all-in was paid by Timur Mehamedaminov and David Halatiani. A board of 10 6 3 2 8  was checked to the river, and the showdown revealed that Tyuryuksan was overbought with three outs: Khalatiani caught an eight to his A 7 , Tyuryuksan had A 9 .

David Khalatiani himself couldn't get any higher than fifth place, 20 minutes later he was all in for the last 6 blinds with A 5 , he couldn't beat Hayk Manasyan's A J . With four players remaining, the players decided to split the prize money. As a result of the negotiations, the payouts were as follows:

It was decided to keep the $14,795 and the Champion's Cup for the final game, plus there was an additional prize for the top two finishers in the form of a Luxon Pay Grand Final package worth $4,000 (the package includes a $2,200 tournament buy-in, 7 nights accommodation in a 5* hotel and airport transfers).

Yeset Aimukhanov was the first to bust out after the deal. He shoved pocket fives and the 15 blinds, Hayk Manasyan called with ace-jack and rivered a flush with a jack of diamonds. Timur Mekhamedaminov took third place, opening with Q 9  to an all-in on the river from Manasyan on a board of 9 7 10 A 7 , but he was the underdog: Hayk had 10 6 . He went into heads-up play against compatriot Paryur Mamikonian with more than double the stack.

In the final hand of the tournament, Paryur Mamikonian pushed the 12 blinds with 6 4  and Hayk Manasyan, who was confidently covering his stack, called with 9 8 . The board was A J 3 Q 7 

Paryur Mamikonian finished second for $27,320 and secured a week's holiday in Cyprus next spring. And the EAPT Georgia champion was Hayk Manasyan. Manasyan grabbed the top of the chip counts before the split was even discussed and never looked back. He guaranteed himself $39,085 under the terms of the deal, more than anyone else, and added another $14,795 for winning the extra game. Manasyan's total winnings were $53,880, not much less than the 'net' payout for first place, which was originally $57,840. Manasyan will also be traveling to Cyprus for the Luxon Pay Grand Final, as he now has a hotel booked in his name and a paid buy-in to the tournament.

The next stops on the EA Poker Tour have already been announced. From November 19-25, players will enjoy a series in Rozvadov with a total guarantee of more than €490,000, and from December 14-22, poker fans can head to Bucharest (where more than €300,000 will be up for grabs).