A twelve-hour final day, a final table that ran nearly ten and a heads-up duel that added two more: the Merit Poker NOIR Series Main Event in Northern Cyprus was decided by pure endurance. Turkey's Selahaddin Bedir took the title and $525,000, while Brazil's Felipe Ketzer was the top South American in the field, finishing 18th of 769 entries.
The facts
The $5,500 Main Event drew 769 entries at the Merit Royal in Kyrenia, building a prize pool north of $3.6 million. The final table opened with quick eliminations, but the ending turned into a grind: Bedir reached heads-up — the one-on-one endgame — against Russia's Konstantin Voronin ($375,000), and although the duel stretched nearly two hours and Voronin doubled up twice, the Turk never surrendered the chip lead. The final hand saw Bedir's ace-three complete a wheel straight against Voronin's queen-ten. The win cements Bedir as Turkey's second-biggest live tournament earner of all time.
Ketzer, a regular at Merit series, was the only Brazilian to reach the money and pushed through to the last two tables, cashing for $34,000. The field also sent big names home short of the finale, including former EPT Main Event champions like Nicolas Chouity (22nd).
Why it matters: stamina is a trainable skill
"It's hard to play every day from the beginning. Same patience," the champion summed up afterward. That's lesson one: in a deep tournament, fatigue is one more opponent at the table. Bedir didn't win on a single brilliant play — he won because in hour twelve he was still making decisions at the same quality as in hour one. Rest, routine and managed energy are as much a part of the game as ranges, and almost nobody trains them.
Lesson two belongs to Ketzer: deep runs aren't lightning strikes, they're consistent presence. Showing up series after series, with directed volume and a process, is what turns a hot streak into a career. And once a tournament reaches the home stretch, every pay jump is played with ICM in mind: knowing what your chips are worth in real prize money separates those who arrive from those who get paid.
Could you make good decisions for twelve straight hours? Endurance is built with method and community: join the club and train the long game with us. ♠️