Matan Krakow, Nuri Hadioglu Pace the Field on Day 1c of the Main Event
It was a fast and furious day of action on Day 1c of the Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event as a further 155 entries swelled the field up to 570 through three starting flights.
Israel’s Matan Krakow finished in contention for the chip lead after bagging up 464,000 to take into tomorrow’s Day 2. Krakow was involved in a massive three-way all in against Ghassan Yared and Yonatan Koko, and although Yared made a flush to beat Krakow’s kings, Krakow still took out Koko to win the bigger side pot.
Behind Krakow on the leaderboard of the 85 remaining players is a man who’s no stranger to success here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. Nuri Hadioglu has 20 career cashes in Merit Poker events, including eight final table appearances. He’s poised for another deep run in this event after finishing today with 418,000. Sergei Efimov of Russia joined Krakow and Hadioglu in the 400,000-chip club.
Day 1c Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matan Krakow | Israel | 464,000 | 186 |
| 2 | Nuri Hadioglu | Turkey | 418,000 | 167 |
| 3 | Sergei Efimov | Russia | 400,000 | 160 |
| 4 | Gaurav Law | India | 392,000 | 157 |
| 5 | Andreas Tomazou | Cyprus | 378,500 | 151 |
| 6 | Mehmet Dalkilic | Turkey | 361,000 | 144 |
| 7 | Georges Hanna | Lebanon | 325,000 | 130 |
| 8 | Gurcan Gungoren | Turkey | 322,500 | 129 |
| 9 | Azizjon Rakhimov | n/a | 322,000 | 129 |
| 10 | Amjad Nader | Syria | 305,000 | 122 |
Andreas Tomazou doubled up with a straight on the river later in the day and continued that momentum to bag a big stack of 378,500, while Mehmet Dalkilic finished with 367,000. Recep Aydemir and “John Doe” had a reunion of sorts on Day 1c, as they spent most of the day playing at adjacent tables and continuing the banter they started during the Warm Up final table two nights ago. Both survived the day, Doe with 227,500 and Aydemir with 140,000. Further down the leaderboard are Dominik Panka (192,500) and Jack Sinclair (96,000)
A total of 283 players have currently confirmed their spot in the field for Day 2 starting tomorrow at noon local time. With another turbo Day 1d flight taking place at 7 p.m. tonight, and late registration open for the first four levels of Day 2, the field should far exceed the $1,500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
PokerNews will be back providing all the action on Day 2 and through the rest of the tournament until a new champion is crowned here along the shores of the Mediterranean.