$2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day 1bc Started
2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day: 1bc
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1bc
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
141
Players Left
65
Two Starting Flights Remain in Carmen Series $2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day 1b of the Carmen Series Merit Poker Cup is set to kick off today here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino at noon local time. Huseyin Akgul leads the way from the first starting flight, finishing Day 1a with an impressive 744,000 chips. A new group of contenders will try to replicate that success in today's Day 1b flight.
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 |
Other notables who survived yesterday's Day 1a flight include Andrea Dato (521,000), Aleksandr Kirichenko (186,000), Dinesh Alt (180,500), Simone Andrian (167,500), Rosalie Petit (155,000) and Fabio Peluso (112,000).
Day 1b will feature the same structure as yesterday's Day 1a. Players will start with 100,000 chips and play eight 60-minute levels. There will be a break after every two levels. Unlimited reentries and late registration will be available until the end of Level 12 on Day 2.
Those who bag and tag at the end of the night will join the survivors from yesterday's flight in advancing to Day 2 on March 29. Before that, there will be one more starting flight, with Day 1c beginning at 9:00 p.m. local time and featuring 25-minute levels. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the updates for this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on March 31.
Shuffle Up and Deal
With the tournament clock showing 16 players to start, cards are in the air for Day 1b of the Merit Poker Cup.
Level: 1
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
Early Faces in the Field
Level 1
: 300/600, 600 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
100,000 | |
|
100,000 | |
|
100,000 | |
|
|
100,000 | |
|
100,000 | |
|
100,000 | |
|
|
100,000 | |
|
100,000 | |
|
|
100,000 | |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000 | |
|
100,000 |
Ivanov Takes One Early
Level 1
: 300/600, 600 ante
Lyudmil Ivanov and Ali Zebarjad were involved in a four-bet pot preflop that left the players heads-up to a flop of K♦8♣3♦ with roughly 35,000 in the middle. Zebarjad checked from early position and called an 8,000 bet from Ivanov who was in the cutoff.
Zebarjad checked again on the 7♥ turn and Ivanov sized up with a bet of 31,000. This time Zebarjad opted to fold and Ivanov took down a nice pot without showdown.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
127,000
127,000
|
127,000 |
|
|
84,000
-16,000
|
-16,000 |
Too Many Outs for Saiapin
Level 1
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
A player from middle position opened to 1,200 and received calls from Viktor Graf in the cutoff, Iurii Saiapin on the button and Yiannakis Papapetrou in the big blind.
The flop came K♠Q♠3♥ and action checked around to Graf who bet 6,000. Saiapin called while the other two players got out of the way.
Graf bet another 6,000 on the 5♣ turn and was once again called by Saiapin.
On the 7♦ river Graf bet 6,000 for the third street in a row. Saiapin folded J♠10♠ face up for a massive draw that completely bricked and Graf took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
119,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
98,000
98,000
|
98,000 |
|
|
80,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 800
Volkhonskiy Delivers the Ultimate Cooler
Level 2
: Blinds 400/800, 800 ante
In a preflop confrontation, Georgios Skarparis found himself all in for roughly a starting stack of 100,000 and was up against Vadim Volkhonskiy who covered him.
Georgios Skarparis: A♠A♣ 
Vadim Volkhonskiy: K♦K♥
Volkhonskiy had the second-best possible starting hand but was in bad shape against Skarparis' pocket aces. That all changed when Volkhonskiy drilled top set on the K♠J♠4♦ flop leaving Skarparis drawing only to an ace or running spades. Skarparis found no help on the 6♥ turn or Q♣ river and made his exit from the table while Vilkhonskiy dragged in a massive early pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
228,000
228,000
|
228,000 |
|
Busted |
Shakiba Takes Multiway Pot
Level 2
: Blinds 400/800, 800 ante
Alisa Sibgatova opened to 1,200 from early position and received calls from Miad Shakiba in the cutoff and Dmitry Gromov in the big blind.
The flop came J♠3♥8♥. Gromov checked, Sibgatova bet 2,500, Shakiba called and Gromov folded.
On the 8♦ turn Sibgatova bet 5,500 only for Shakiba to raise to 15,500. Sibgatova opted to fold and Shakiba took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
110,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
98,200
98,200
|
98,200 |
|
||
|
|
88,100
-11,900
|
-11,900 |