Money Bubble Approaches for Final 108 Players in Day 3 of Merit Poker Cup
Just 108 players remain from a field of 459 entrants going into the penultimate day of the 2024 Carmen Series Merit Poker Cup here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, beginning at noon local time. Of those 108 players, 55 will make the money and be guaranteed at least a min-cash of $3,885 but all eyes will be on trophy and top prize of $167,100.
Ivan Zabiiakin begins the day with the overall chip lead, having bagged 1,142,000 chips by the end of Day 2. Zabiiakin is one of five players to surpass one million chips and is most closely followed by George Tomescu and Huseyin Akgul.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Zabiiakin | Russian Federation | 1,142,000 | 143 |
| 2 | George Tomescu | Romania | 1,130,000 | 141 |
| 3 | Huseyin Akgul | Turkey | 1,128,000 | 141 |
| 4 | Alan Turabayev | Kazakhstan | 1,092,000 | 137 |
| 5 | Edgard Raffoul | Lebanon | 1,070,000 | 134 |
| 6 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | Russian Federation | 950,000 | 119 |
| 7 | Antonio Aversa | Italy | 919,000 | 115 |
| 8 | O I | n/a | 893,000 | 112 |
| 9 | Damir Gabdullin | Russian Federation | 795,000 | 99 |
| 10 | Jovan Kenjic | Serbia | 779,000 | 97 |
Other players still in contention include Aleksandr Kirichenko (950,000), Dmitry Gromov (666,000), Halil Tasyurek (655,000), Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (651,000), Maksim Shornikau (651,000), Maxime Chilaud (558,000), Alexandru Papazian (437,000), Simeon Spasov (297,000), Alessandro Pichierri (270,000), Benjamin Hamnett (217,000), Simone Andrian (145,000), Yuliyan Kolev (108,000) and Andrey Pateychuk (100,000).
The action picks up at Level 16 with blinds at 4,000/8,000 and an 8,000 big blind ante. The plan is to play ten 60-minute levels. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action leading up to the money bubble and then heading towards the final table.