Damir Zhugralin Makes A Huge Comeback To Win The $10,500 High Roller
Damir Zhugralin had less than 20% of the chips when he reached the final duel. But after a few double ups, he managed to take the lead and win the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $10,500 High Roller at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
Thanks to his first place out of 153 entrants, Zhugralin wins $350,000. Chipleader of the final table from start to (almost) the end, Uri Reichenstein finishes second for $246,300. Like them, 20 players were in the money, sharing a total prizepool of $1,407,600.
2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $10,500 High Roller Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | $350,000 |
| 2 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | $246,300 |
| 3 | Mustafa Biz | Turkey | $158,600 |
| 4 | Milos Petakovic | Serbia | $117,600 |
| 5 | Denis Kapustin | Russia | $88,500 |
| 6 | Maxime Chilaud | France | $70,900 |
| 7 | Sonny Franco | France | $59,100 |
| 8 | Hassan Barakat | Lebanon | $47,500 |
| 9 | Daniel Kyosev | Bulgaria | $35,700 |
Day 4 Highlights
Twenty-two players came back on Day 3 with one main goal: behing in one of the 20 places in the money. Tinay Aksoy wasn't the favorite to do so, as he had only two blinds at the beginning of the day. Thus, it wasn't surprising to see his name as the first player eliminated.
Upon reaching the bubble, Adi Rajkovic tried to be patient to secure a minimum cash prize of $16,500. However, as the bubble dragged on, his stack dwindled. At a some point, he had no choice but to go all in with pocket sevens. The future winner, Damir Zhugralin, called him and hit a pair of kings, making Rajkovic the bubble boy.
After the bubble burst, the field quickly narrowed down to two tables, with short stacks like Jovan Kenjic (17th, $18,700) getting eliminated. It didn't take much longer to reach the final table, as only three and a half hours passed between the "shuffle up and deal" and the elimination of Aleksandr Chernikov. The Russian player finished 10th ($26,300), despite being the chipleader after the bubble. Once again, it was Zhugralin who sent him to the rail.
The final table started with Uri Reichenstein as the chipleader. He utilized his big stack to apply pressure on his opponents. Day 1 chipleader Daniel Kyosev was the first to fall against him (9th, $35,700), followed by Hassan Barakat (8th, $47,500) and Sonny Franco (7th, $59,100). After these eliminations, the remaining six players took a dinner break.
However, Day 2 chipleader Maxime Chilaud (6th, $70,900) didn't stay at the table for long after the break. Reichenstein eliminated him, further increasing his stack. He went on to eliminate all the other players, from Denis Kapustin (5th, $88,500) to Mustafa Biz (3rd, $158,600). Only Milos Petakovic managed to avoid Reichenstein's grasp. But his tournament still came to an end in fourth place for $117,600.
With these eliminations, Reichenstein began the heads up with 12,500,000 chips, while Zhugralin had only 3,000,000 chips. However, Zhugralin managed to double up on the very first hand, and then twice more in a row. The beginning of an impressive comeback. Thanks to his last double up, he even took the lead, which he maintained until the end.
