Nazar Buhaiov: Poker Career, Earnings and Major Results
Nazar Buhaiov is a Ukrainian tournament poker player who has emerged as a consistent contender in major international no-limit hold'em events. His résumé includes a European Poker Tour Main Event final table, a top-30 finish in the World Series of Poker Main Event, multiple tournament victories and several six-figure scores.
Buhaiov has produced significant results in Las Vegas and across Europe while competing in events ranging from mid-stakes tournaments to $25,000 high rollers. As of August 2026, The Hendon Mob lists him with more than $2.4 million in live tournament earnings.
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Who Is Nazar Buhaiov?
Nazar Buhaiov is a professional tournament poker player from Ukraine whose most prominent results have come in no-limit hold'em.
Public information about Buhaiov's life outside poker is limited, and reliable sources do not provide enough verified information to establish details such as his age, birthplace or early career. His tournament record provides a much clearer picture.
Major live results began appearing regularly in 2022, and Buhaiov has since competed at the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, World Poker Tour, Wynn Summer Classic, Merit Poker festivals and other international series.
His strongest results have come in large-field championships, six-handed tournaments, high rollers and faster structures.
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Nazar Buhaiov Poker Career Highlights
As of August 2026, Buhaiov's most notable accomplishments include:
More than $2.4 million in live tournament earnings listed by The Hendon Mob
Fifth place in the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event for €303,150
28th place in the 2025 WSOP Main Event for $300,000
Second place in the 2023 WSOP Paradise Millionaire Maker for a recorded $593,500 payout
Winner of the 2024 Wynn Summer Classic $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max event for $159,287
Winner of the 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship €2,750 High Roller for €75,000
Seventh place in a $3,000 WSOP Freezeout event in 2023 for $95,203
Fifth place in the 2026 WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $136,737
77th place in the 2024 WSOP Main Event for $120,000
Zero WSOP bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings as of August 2026
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Early Tournament Results
Buhaiov's tournament résumé began attracting attention during the 2022 season.
One of his first documented victories came at Merit Poker International Montenegro, where he won the €777 Opening Event. He also collected several European Poker Tour cashes during the year, including a 12th-place finish in the €2,200 Estrellas Poker Tour High Roller during EPT Barcelona.
Those results established a foundation for a much stronger run over the following several seasons.
At the 2023 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Buhaiov reached the final table of the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout. He finished seventh for $95,203 in a tournament that attracted 1,598 entries.
The performance represented one of his first major WSOP breakthroughs and demonstrated his ability to navigate a large field deep into a bracelet event.
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Runner-Up at the 2023 WSOP Paradise Millionaire Maker
Buhaiov recorded one of the largest payouts associated with his career during the inaugural WSOP Paradise festival in December 2023.
He reached heads-up play against Brazil's Allan Mello in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
The event attracted 3,496 entries and generated a prize pool of more than $5.2 million. Buhaiov and Mello traded the chip lead during an extended heads-up match before Mello ultimately secured the bracelet.
Buhaiov finished second, with PokerNews and the tournament results recording a $593,500 payout.
That result requires an important statistical distinction. The event incorporated an online component before its live conclusion, and poker databases do not classify every hybrid result identically. Although the $593,500 payout is part of Buhaiov's documented tournament record, The Hendon Mob's live statistics currently identify his 2026 EPT Paris score as his largest conventional live cash.
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Wynn Summer Classic Victory in 2024
Buhaiov added another important title during the 2024 Wynn Summer Classic in Las Vegas.
He defeated a field of 284 entries in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max event and collected $159,287.
Six-handed poker creates more frequent blind pressure than a standard full-ring tournament and generally requires players to contest pots with wider ranges. Buhaiov's victory added a meaningful six-max title to a résumé that had already begun producing major-series final tables.
The 2024 summer also included another strong World Series of Poker Main Event performance.
Buhaiov finished 77th in the $10,000 Main Event for $120,000, giving him a deep run in poker's world championship one year before he would go considerably further.
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Deep Run in the 2025 WSOP Main Event
Buhaiov produced one of his defining performances at the 2025 World Series of Poker.
The $10,000 WSOP Main Event attracted 9,735 entries and generated a $90,535,500 prize pool. Buhaiov accumulated one of the larger stacks during the early stages and remained in contention deep into the second week of the tournament.
He eventually finished 28th for $300,000.
Reaching the final 28 players of a field approaching 10,000 entries represented a major addition to Buhaiov's résumé. It also marked his second consecutive deep WSOP Main Event run after finishing 77th the previous year.
The result gave him one of the largest conventional live payouts of his career and significantly raised his visibility among followers of major tournament poker.
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Merit Poker High Roller Champion
Buhaiov opened 2026 with another tournament victory in Montenegro.
He won the €2,750 High Roller at the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship in Budva, defeating a 128-entry field for €75,000.
The tournament generated a €294,400 prize pool. Buhaiov reached heads-up play against Andrey Golubev and completed the victory to secure another Merit Poker trophy.
The win carried additional significance because Buhaiov had previously won a Merit Poker event in Montenegro in 2022. Four years later, he returned to the same poker circuit and added a higher-buy-in title to his record.
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Final Table at the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event
Buhaiov produced another career-defining run at the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris Main Event.
The €5,300 Main Event drew 1,474 entries and generated a €7,075,200 prize pool.
His path to the final table included a dramatic climb during Day 4. Buhaiov entered that stage with only 23 big blinds but finished the day as the overall chip leader with 7,375,000 chips and 16 players remaining.
He continued to the official final table before finishing fifth for €303,150.
The Hendon Mob converts the payout to approximately $357,505 and lists it as Buhaiov's largest live tournament cash as of August 2026.
Reaching an EPT Main Event final table strengthened his international résumé considerably. EPT Main Events routinely attract large fields containing established professionals, online qualifiers and leading players from throughout Europe and beyond.
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Strong Results Continue at the 2026 WSOP
Buhaiov remained active after his EPT Paris final table and continued producing major results during the 2026 Las Vegas summer.
At the Wynn Summer Classic, he reached the final table of the $3,500 No-Limit Hold'em event and finished eighth for $115,410.
Days later, he made another high-profile final table at the World Series of Poker.
Buhaiov finished fifth in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em event for $136,737. The tournament attracted 466 entries and was ultimately won by Alex Foxen.
The result represented another close approach to Buhaiov's first WSOP bracelet.
Official WSOP records continued to list him with zero bracelets and zero Circuit rings as of August 2026.
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Nazar Buhaiov's Tournament Earnings
Poker earnings should always be treated as a snapshot because players continue to cash in tournaments and databases may classify certain events differently.
As of August 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Nazar Buhaiov with approximately $2.46 million in live tournament earnings and a best live cash of $357,505.
His 2023 WSOP Paradise Millionaire Maker runner-up finish produced a separately documented $593,500 payout. Because that tournament used a hybrid online/live format, it is not reflected as his largest conventional live score in The Hendon Mob's current statistical summary.
For that reason, the clearest distinction is:
Largest documented tournament payout: $593,500 for second place in the 2023 WSOP Paradise Millionaire Maker
Largest live cash listed by The Hendon Mob: $357,505 equivalent for fifth place in the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event
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Does Nazar Buhaiov Have a WSOP Bracelet?
Buhaiov had not won a World Series of Poker bracelet as of August 2026.
Official WSOP records list him with zero bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
He has nevertheless made several deep bracelet-event runs, including seventh place in a $3,000 Freezeout in 2023 and fifth place in the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty in 2026.
His 28th-place performance in the 2025 WSOP Main Event also ranks among his most significant WSOP accomplishments even though it did not produce a final-table appearance.
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What Is Nazar Buhaiov's Playing Style?
There is not enough reliable public analysis to assign Buhaiov a definitive playing-style label.
His tournament results do show considerable versatility.
He has recorded major finishes in six-max tournaments, turbo events, bounty formats, high rollers and large-field Main Events. His comeback from a relatively short stack to the chip lead late in the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event also demonstrated an ability to accumulate chips during the later stages of a major championship.
Those results provide evidence of tournament adaptability, but they are not enough to accurately classify his overall strategy as loose-aggressive, tight-aggressive or another specific style.
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Why Nazar Buhaiov Matters in Tournament Poker
Buhaiov's career is notable for the consistency with which he has moved deeper into major international tournaments.
His résumé includes success across several different environments:
A major six-max victory at Wynn Las Vegas
Multiple Merit Poker titles
Consecutive deep WSOP Main Event runs
An EPT Main Event final table
WSOP bracelet-event final tables
Cashes in high rollers with buy-ins as high as $25,000
Rather than being defined by a single result, Buhaiov has built his reputation through repeated performances across Europe and the United States.
His 2025 WSOP Main Event run and 2026 EPT Paris final table were particularly important because both came in large championship fields and required several days of sustained tournament play.
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Nazar Buhaiov's Current Poker Status
Buhaiov remained an active international tournament player through the summer of 2026.
His results during the first half of the year included a Merit Poker High Roller victory, an EPT Main Event final table, a Triton Poker cash, a six-figure Wynn Summer Classic score and another WSOP final table.
That schedule reflects a player competing regularly across the international tournament circuit rather than concentrating on a single tour or location.
As of August 2026, a first WSOP bracelet or major EPT championship remains outside his résumé, but his recent results have repeatedly placed him deep in events where those titles are contested.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Nazar Buhaiov?
Nazar Buhaiov is a Ukrainian professional tournament poker player known for major results at the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, Wynn Summer Classic and Merit Poker events.
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How much has Nazar Buhaiov won playing poker?
As of August 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Buhaiov with approximately $2.46 million in live tournament earnings. Poker tournament databases can use different classifications, particularly for hybrid online/live events, so totals may vary by source.
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What is Nazar Buhaiov's biggest poker score?
PokerNews recorded a $593,500 payout for Buhaiov's second-place finish in the 2023 WSOP Paradise Millionaire Maker. The Hendon Mob lists his €303,150 fifth-place finish at the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event, converted to $357,505, as his largest conventional live cash.
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How did Nazar Buhaiov finish in the 2025 WSOP Main Event?
Buhaiov finished 28th in the 2025 WSOP Main Event and earned $300,000. The tournament attracted 9,735 entries.
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Has Nazar Buhaiov won a WSOP bracelet?
No. Official WSOP records list Buhaiov with zero bracelets as of August 2026.
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How many WSOP Circuit rings does Nazar Buhaiov have?
Official WSOP records list Buhaiov with zero WSOP Circuit rings as of August 2026.
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What was Nazar Buhaiov's best EPT Main Event finish?
Buhaiov finished fifth in the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event for €303,150. He reached the final table after holding the tournament chip lead with 16 players remaining.
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What tournaments has Nazar Buhaiov won?
His documented victories include the 2024 Wynn Summer Classic $3,000 Six-Max tournament and Merit Poker titles in Montenegro in 2022 and 2026.
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Is Nazar Buhaiov still playing poker?
Yes. Buhaiov remained active on the international tournament circuit through the 2026 summer, competing in events at the WSOP, Wynn Summer Classic, EPT, Merit Poker and Triton Poker.
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Sources
World Series of Poker
The Hendon Mob Poker Database
PokerNews
Merit Poker
Wynn Poker
Card Player