Seat 1: Halil Tasyurek, 42, Turkey - 7,825,000
Every night for the past 13 years, Halil Tasyurek has dreamed of something like this - an opportunity to play on one of poker's biggest stages for staggering sums.
It's fitting that opportunity has come at a PokerStars event because that's where the 42-year-old from Ankara, Turkey, first started playing back in 2010. Turkish laws, unfortunately, now prohibit him from the virtual felt, but he enjoys live poker just as
much and is a regular here in Cyprus. "You can count me as a local," he says. "But this is not a biased comment. In my opinion, this is by far the best EPT I have ever attended. The tournaments, the food, everything is great."
For years, Tasyurek only played poker for fun while working in finance. Over time it led him to play semi-professionally, and two years ago, he left work entirely to pursue poker full-time. He's been travelling the poker circuit ever since, including visits to the EPT in Prague and Barcelona and a stint at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.
So far, the biggest score of his poker career happened in Cyprus, a fifth-place finish in a Merit Poker Main Event. But he's never had an opportunity quite like this one. "I am in the dream spot," he says.