The World Poker Tour has postponed the $1,100 buy-in WPT Prime Cyprus Championship, a $1 million guaranteed event, after escalating military conflict in the Middle East made staging the tournament impractical. No rescheduled date has been announced.
The event had been set to run March 5-9 at the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Spa in Cyprus. The WPT disclosed the postponement Tuesday through its official X account, citing the regional instability triggered by coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran launched Feb. 28. The strikes targeted military installations, intelligence offices, and security infrastructure, and resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Cyprus lies less than 800 miles from the Iranian border.
Deploying tournament staff to the island presented a significant logistical and safety challenge. The majority of WPT personnel are U.S.-based, and the rapidly shifting situation on the ground made the call to postpone unavoidable.
Festival Continues With Replacement Event
The broader Cyprus poker festival will proceed as scheduled. A separate $1,100 buy-in tournament will be added to the schedule to fill the void left by the postponed Prime Championship.
The WPT urged players still planning to travel to the island to stay in close contact with their airlines and monitor official sources. "As this situation continues to develop, we encourage all players planning to travel to Cyprus to remain in contact with their respective airlines, follow updates from official sources, and stay informed so they can make the best decisions based on the most current information available," the organization said.
The Cyprus postponement is the second poker event sidelined by the Iran conflict. The Mixed Game Festival at Resorts World Las Vegas, set to begin next week, was cancelled after its host, Israeli national Robbie Strazynski, was unable to travel to the United States.
Cyprus has long been a marquee stop on the European poker circuit, regularly drawing major series from both the WPT and Triton Poker.
Rolling Thunder Next on the Calendar
The next confirmed WPT stop is the $3,500 buy-in WPT Rolling Thunder Championship, scheduled to begin March 29 in Northern California.
It remains unclear when the Cyprus Championship will be rescheduled.
