$2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day 1a Completed
2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$844,560
Entries
459
Level
36
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
192
Players Left
84
Dato, Andrian and Peluso Advance in Day 1a of Merit Poker Cup
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The first of three starting flights has come to a close for the $2,200 Merit Poker Cup here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. Day 1a attracted 192 entrants and 84 players survived until the end of the night to advance to Day 2.
Huseyin Akgul bagged the largest stack at the end of the night, finishing with 744,000, worth just under 298 big blinds. Akgul is most closely followed by Mukhtar Nasiradinov (728,000), Emad Ghadamian (660,000), Joseph Mouwad (541,000) and previous WPT champion Andrea Dato (521,000). Akgul made an excellent river call with a small pair midway through the day to put himself at the top of the counts and rode that momentum all the way to bagging a top stack at the end of the night.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huseyin Akgul | Turkey | 744,000 | 298 |
| 2 | Mukhtar Nasiradinov | Russian Federation | 728,000 | 291 |
| 3 | Emad Ghadamian | Iran | 660,000 | 264 |
| 4 | Joseph Mouwad | Lebanon | 541,500 | 217 |
| 5 | Andrea Dato | Italy | 521,000 | 208 |
| 6 | Victor Yugay | Uzbekistan | 464,000 | 186 |
| 7 | Murat Ozyurt | Turkey | 426,000 | 170 |
| 8 | Simeon Spasov | Bulgaria | 403,000 | 161 |
| 9 | Boris Smuskevicius | Lithuania | 402,000 | 161 |
| 10 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | 395,000 | 158 |
Dato bagging a top stack is particularly noteworthy as he recently achieved his career-best score here in Cyprus with a runner up finish in the 2023 EPT Cyprus Main Event for $652,000 this past October. Clearly adept at navigating large tournament fields, Dato will be a force to be reckoned with as he takes his stack worth 208 big blinds into Day 2.
Other notables to advance to Day 2 include Aleksandr Kirichenko (186,000), Dinesh Alt (180,500), Simone Andrian (167,500), Rosalie Petit (155,000) and Fabio Peluso (112,000). Although the Merit Poker Cup is a new tournament introduced during this festival, Andrian did win the equivalent-buy in $2,200 Warm Up at the 2024 Merit Poker Western Series this past January for $165,000. Time will tell if another victory is in the cards for the Italian pro and bracelet winner in this event.
Players who entered Day 1a but were not fortunate enough to advance to Day 2 include Felipe Ketzer and Andrey Pateychuk.
Stay tuned for more coverage as PokerNews brings you all the action from the remainder of the festival along the shores of the Mediterranean in North Cyprus.
End of Night Chip Counts (full)
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
744,000 | |
|
||
|
728,000 | |
|
660,000
660,000
|
660,000 |
|
541,500 | |
|
521,000 | |
|
||
|
464,000
464,000
|
464,000 |
|
|
426,000
426,000
|
426,000 |
|
403,000
403,000
|
403,000 |
|
||
|
402,000 | |
|
395,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
362,500
34,500
|
34,500 |
|
357,000 | |
|
|
352,000
352,000
|
352,000 |
|
344,000
-51,000
|
-51,000 |
|
338,000
152,000
|
152,000 |
|
321,500
321,500
|
321,500 |
|
316,000 | |
|
311,500
311,500
|
311,500 |
|
311,000
311,000
|
311,000 |
|
309,500
152,500
|
152,500 |
|
|
305,000
305,000
|
305,000 |
|
292,000
292,000
|
292,000 |
|
|
290,000
290,000
|
290,000 |
|
281,500
281,500
|
281,500 |
|
|
280,500
280,500
|
280,500 |
End of the Night
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Play has concluded for Day 1a of the Merit Poker Cup.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the night's action as well as chip counts.
Five More Hands
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The tournament staff have announced that five more hands will be played before the end of the night.
Akgul Building a Monster Stack
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
With two players seeing a final board of 10♣8♥3♣3♦K♠ and roughly 85,000 already in the middle, Fausto Tantillo checked from middle position and Huseyin Akgul bet 45,000 from the hijack. Tantillo went into the tank.
"Ace-king"? Tantillo wondered out loud. After a couple minutes Tantillo flicked in the call.
Akgul turned over K♦J♣ for top pair to take the pot and continue adding chips to his already formidable stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
825,000
409,000
|
409,000 |
|
|
||
|
85,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
Marjanovic Shows Down Ace-High
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Adem Marjanovic opened to 5,500 from middle position and Maksim Skripkin three-bet to 23,000 from the cutoff. Marjanovic made the call.
The flop came K♣8♦2♣ and Marjanovic check-called a 15,000 continuation bet from Skripkin.
Both players then checked the 4♥ turn and 5♠ river. Marjanovic tabled A♣Q♦ and Skripkin's hand hit the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
222,000 | |
|
120,000
-3,000
|
-3,000 |
Kaukua Wins Battle of Second Pairs
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Toni Kaukua opened from the button and was called by Andrea Dato in the big blind.
Both players checked the K♥Q♥J♥ flop leading to the 6♠ turn. Dato bet 3,800 and was called by Kaukua.
Both players checked the 3♣ river. Dato tabled Q♦4♦ for second pair but Kaukua had him outkicked with Q♣10♠ for a better second pair to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
617,000
439,000
|
439,000 |
|
|
||
|
195,000 | |
|
||
Level: 8
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Svesko Picks Off a Bluff
Level 7
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Boris Smuskevicius opened to 4,000 from middle position and Darko Svesko defended from the big blind.
Both players checked the 10♦9♦3♠ flop leading to the K♥ turn. Svesko bet 4,000 and Smuskevicius check-raised to 15,000. Svesko made the call.
On the 9♠ river Svesko checked and Smuskevicius bet 40,000. Svesko called after taking a minute to consider his options.
Smuskevicius immediately mucked after being called on the river and Svesko took down a healthy pot without having to show the winning hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
339,000
-4,200
|
-4,200 |
|
120,000
-89,000
|
-89,000 |