$3,300 Main Event Day 1c | 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series

08-14-2023 17:46 UTC+2

Day 1c: Michael Allen And Bart Lybaert Among Big Stacks

Maxime Taldir

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

It's been a short but productive day for a little over one hundred players on Day 1c of the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $3,300 Main Event at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.

Out of the total number of 225 entrants, 108 players filled their bags at the end of Level 9 and qualified for Day 2. Among all these players, Kanan Taherkhani ended the day as the chipleader with 825 000 chips. Just shy of 700,000 chips by two blinds (696,500), Michael Allen 696,500 chips finished second. "I put a few bullets in 1a, so I focused more on Day 1c", he said to justify his stack. Belgian player Bart Lybaert follows closely behind with 646,000 chips.

RANK	PLAYER	COUNTRY	CHIP COUNT	BLINDS
1	Kanan Taherkhani	Turkey	825,000	275
2	Michael Allen	Unite Kingdom	696,500	232
3	Jakub Koleckar	Czech Republic	691,500	231
4	Bart Lybaert	Belgium	646,000	215
5	Ergin Karacay	Turkey	534,000	178
6	Mihail Cuza	Romania	528,000	176
7	Mustafa Biz	Turkey	503,500	168
8	Georgios Theodorou	Cyprus	490,500	164
9	Nazari Farbod		454 ,500	152
10	Endravuz Lahdo	Switzerland	443,500	148

Already third of the $10,500 High Roller earlier in the week for $158,600, Mustafa Biz also bagged a sizable stack with a total of 503,500 chips. This is more than twice Ran Koller (267,000), Nicolas Chouity (265,000) and Toni Kaukua (230,500)'s stacks. The gap between Biz and Paul Newey is even larger, with Newey holding 161,000 chips.

The winner of the 2023 WSOP Colossus, Moshe Refaelowitz, hopes to recreate the same success he had in Las Vegas this summer. However, at the moment, things haven't started well for him as he ended Day 1c with just the starting stack (100,000).

If he gets eliminated early on Day 2, he'll also have the option to reenter the tournament, as late registrations will remain open until the end of Level 14. This will be the last opportunity for players to attempt to cash in on the $3,000,000 guaranteed Main Event.

But for those who want to qualify through a Day 1, Day 1d Turbo, with 25-minute levels, started at 7:00 p.m.

PokerNews will be back on Day 2 to closely follow the reunion of the four Day 1s.

Tags: Bart Lybaert Michael Allen Moshe Refaelowitz Mustafa Biz Nicolas Chouity Paul Newey Toni Kaukua

08-14-2023 15:13 UTC+2

Astratov Hits Straight Against Rebei

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Maxime Taldir

Level 6 : Blinds 700/1,500, 1,500 ante

Dmitriy Astratov opened with a bet of 3,000 from middle position. He was called by Karim Rebei, who was also in the middle position, and by the big blind.

On the flop 5♦8♥Q♣, Astratov added 5,000 chips to the pot. Rebei then raised to 12,000. The big blind folded at this point, and Astratov eventually called.

The turn was the Q♠. Rebei fired a second barrel of 6,700, and he was called again by Astratov, who took the lead on the river 6♠. He threw 30,000 chips in front of him. Rebei decided to raise to 150,000 to force Astratov to go all in, and he did, with his remaining 63,000 chips.

Dmitriy Astratov: 9♣7♣
Karim Rebei: A♣3♥

Astratov was lucky enough to find a straight on the river, beating Rebei's ace-high. He left the table to go on a break with a new stack of 166,000 chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dmitriy Astratov	166,000 166,000	166,000
Karim Rebei	78,000 78,000	78,000

Tags: Dmitriy Astratov Karim Rebei

08-14-2023 14:06 UTC+2

Nikitina Gives Up On The River

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Maxime Taldir

Level 5 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Natalya Nikitina was in middle position when she raised to 2,500. The button called, as well as the small blind.

On a Q♠K♦3♠ flop, Nikitina made a continuation bet of 5,000. The button folded, but not the small blind who wanted to see the turn J♠. But this card froze the action because both players checked.

The J♦ came on the river, and the small blind took the lead, betting 15,000. Nikitina checked her cards, but decided to send them to the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Natalya Nikitina	165,000 165,000	165,000

Tags: Natalya Nikitina

08-14-2023 11:20 UTC+2

Bad Start For Kaukua

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Maxime Taldir

Level 1 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Seyed Ghavam opened to 1,200 from early position and received calls from Toni Kaukua in middle position and the player in the hijack. However, the cutoff decided to squeeze to 5,000. A move that scared the hijack player, who was the only one to fold.

On the 8♠9♦5♥ flop, the cutoff made a continuation bet of 7,500. This time, Ghavam folded, while Kaukua kept calling. The 4♣ appeared on the turn, and Kaukua took the lead, betting 22,000. The hijack called, and the river brought the 4♦.

Kaukua checked during this final street and folded when his opponent bet 53,000 chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nuri Hadioglu	100,000 100,000	100,000
Seyed Ghavam	98,000 98,000	98,000
Toni Kaukua	57,500 57,500	57,500

Tags: Seyed Ghavam Toni Kaukua

08-14-2023 10:00 UTC+2

Day 1c Of The $3,300 Main Event Kicks Off At Noon

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Maxime Taldir

It's time for the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $3,300 Main Event at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino! While Damir Zhugralin was crowned in the $10,500 High Roller on Saturday, August 12th, a total of 418 entries were registered on Day 1a of the Main Event. Out of this impressive number, 179 players qualified for Day 2, with Bahram Sakettaromsari as the chipleader with 805,000 chips.

The day after, 123 more players out of 286 entrants put chips in their bags, led by Abdallah Jamal Eddine and his 842,500 chips. But for those who didn't qualify yet, they still have time as there are three more possibilities to do so. The first one starts at noon with Day 1c. With 60-minute levels and starting with 100,000 chips, players will have to reach the end of Level 9 to advance to Day 2. They'll start at 200/500 with a BB ante of 500 and have a break every two levels.

Then, the last flight will start at 7:00 p.m. with 25-minute levels. Finally, there will be five more levels to jump into the tournament on Day 2, as late registration will close after fourteen levels of play. As usual, reentries are unlimited, so players have as many chances as they want to build a stack and try to win this $3,000,000 guaranteed Main Event.

PokerNews will be following the action the entire way, providing live updates.

Tags: Abdallah Jamal Eddine Bahram Sakettaromsari Damir Zhugralin