Mikalai Vaskaboinikau won the 2026 $50,000 Onyx High Roller Championship, adding another trophy and a $450,000 first-place prize to a growing list of career accomplishments.
Vaskaboinikau, who is from Belarus, outlasted a field of 18 in the closing event of the series at Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Cyprus. He defeated Russian Aleksey Borovkov heads-up to close out his victory, with Onyx founder Rob Yong finishing in third place.
This win pushed Vaskaboinikau over $17 million in total career earnings. Since mid-2024, Vaskaboinikau won a Triton Super High Roller Series title for $4.7 million in Montenegro, and added two additional seven-figure Triton results. He also won a $50,000 European Poker Tour high roller in Cyprus in October 2024.
“For me actually, it’s not a day in the office,” Vaskaboinikau told the PokerNews live update team. “I don’t play a lot, maybe four or five series per year. So that’s why first place and a trophy for me is always an amazing achievement.”
Under The Wire
Vaskaboinikau got into the tournament just before the close of late registration. With the 18th and final entry, the prize pool reached $864,000. Nine players advanced to day 2 of the tournament, and the final three would reach the money. The final table featured several other high roller standouts, including Vaskaboinikau’s fellow Belarusian, Mikita Badziakouski, as well as Artur Martirosian and Aleksejs Ponakovs.
AFTER THE $50K WIN 🏆
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau 🇧🇾 after the biggest finish of the day reflects on the run that brought him the Onyx HR Championship title.
A few words from the newest Onyx champion. pic.twitter.com/8O7WRX2QM1
— Merit Poker (@meritpokerlive) August 16, 2026
Borovkov held the chip lead to start off the final table, followed by Yong, and then Vaskaboinikau, at the top of the counts. Badziakouski surged into the chip lead in the early stages of day 2, while Borovkov slipped all the way to the bottom. Borovkov had one foot out the door when Badizakouski flopped a pair of kings against his pocket nines, but a nine on the turn flipped their fates.
Yong later picked up pocket aces and eliminated Manuel Fritz to clear 2 million and claim the chip lead for himself. Vaskaboinikau was left as the short stack, but doubled through Yong with a flopped diamond flush to climb back into contention. There was considerable jockeying on the four-handed bubble, but after Yong and Vaskaboinikau each doubled through Badziakouski, Yong finished off Badziakouski to lock up payouts for the final three.
Yong went from chip leader to out in third place in short order, as both of his opponents doubled through him. Vaskaboinikau got the last of his chips, sending the Onyx founder out in third place ($450,000).
Closing It Out
Vaskaboinikau had a 3:1 chip lead to start heads-up play. Although Borovkov closed the gap briefly, Vaskaboinikau never yielded control. On the final hand, Borovkov’s K♥6♦ trailed Vaskaboinikau’s A♠8♣. Vaskaboinikau flopped an ace, and then rivered a third ace to close out the tournament.
In addition to his first-place payout and the trophy, Vaskaboinikau earned 204 Card Player Player of the Year points. His sixth qualifying result of 2026 puts Vaskaboinikau in 147th place in the yearlong race presented by CoinPoker.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Mikalai Vaskaboinikau | $450,000 | 204 |
| 2 | Aleksey Borovkov | $250,000 | 170 |
| 3 | Rob Yong | $164,000 | 136 |
Photo credit: Merit Poker Live
