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The final day of the $7,500 High Roller at the 2026 NOIR Poker Series began with 16 players returning to the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, each hoping to become the festival’s latest champion.
The remaining field featured WSOP bracelet winners, EPT and WPT Main Event champions, and several established high-stakes professionals. Yet it was Chengyu Liao, a self-described recreational player who had travelled from Istanbul for the weekend, who outlasted them all to claim the trophy and a career-best $300,000 first-place prize.
“I don’t play poker for a living,” Liao said after the victory. “I work in Istanbul, so I just took this trip for the weekend and flew to Cyprus to play.”
Despite entering the final table against a highly accomplished lineup, Liao remained modest about his performance.
“I was so nervous. I felt like I was the weakest player at the final table. I think I just got lucky.”
$7,500 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chengyu Liao | China | $300,000 |
| 2 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | Georgia | $203,000 |
| 3 | Gor Musinyan | Armenia | $142,000 |
| 4 | Zorlu Er | Turkey | $100,000 |
| 5 | Daniil Kiselev | Russia | $80,000 |
| 6 | Yesset Aimukhanov | Kazakhstan | $64,000 |
| 7 | Leonid Orman | Russia | $51,000 |
| 8 | Julian Pineda Lozano | Colombia | $40,000 |
| 9 | Geoffrey Mooney | Australia | $30,060 |
A Career-Best Result From a Short Trip
For Liao, the victory carried added significance because of how casually the trip had begun. He travelled to North Cyprus specifically to take a shot at the High Roller, with no plans to play any of the other events on the schedule.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “This is probably the highest-stakes tournament I’ve ever played, so I’m very happy. It’s also the biggest win I’ve had.”
Even after collecting the largest prize of his poker career, Liao confirmed that the trip would remain brief.
“I have to fly back to Istanbul tomorrow.”
His championship run also nearly ended much earlier. Liao was eliminated on his first entry before deciding to re-enter, a choice that ultimately changed the course of his weekend.
“Luckily, I registered for the second time, and then it worked out,” he explained. “There were several moments when I almost busted.”
A Fast Start to the Final Day
With the final table within reach, the returning players wasted little time putting their stacks at risk.
Dmitry Gromov and Farkas Benedek were the first players eliminated, before the departure of Tobias Peters in 14th place triggered a rapid series of exits. Within 15 minutes, four more players were sent to the rail, and Arsenii Karmatckii’s tenth-place elimination brought the tournament to its final table during the first two levels of the day.
The pace slowed once the final nine were seated. Almost two hours passed before Geoffrey Mooney became the first final-table elimination, collecting $30,060 for ninth place. Julian Pineda Lozano followed shortly afterward in eighth.
The next five eliminations all came after preflop confrontations involving dominated hands. Leonid Orman, Yesset Aimukhanov, Daniil Kiselev, Zorlu Er, and Gor Musinyan were unable to recover, reducing the field to the final two.
Liao Turns the Heads-Up Match Around
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya began heads-up play with a narrow chip advantage and gradually extended his lead by collecting several smaller pots.
The momentum changed completely in the largest confrontation of the match. On a draw-heavy board, the chips went into the middle with Liao holding a flopped set against Skhulukhiya’s combination draw. Liao’s hand held, moving him into the chip lead and placing him in control of the contest.
“I didn’t have much heads-up experience,” Liao admitted. “I just went with the flow, and luckily it went well.”
The duel did not last much longer. Liao won several of the following pots before a final preflop confrontation ended Skhulukhiya’s run in second place and confirmed Liao as the champion.
The victory earned Chengyu Liao his first major live title, the High Roller trophy, and a career-high payday of $300,000.
His celebration plans, however, remained as understated as his arrival.
“Nothing much. I’ll probably spend some time with my friends. That’s it.”
