Bojan Berberovic Alone in the Millionaire's Club After Day 2 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series High Roller
Day 2 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series High Roller ended short of the money bubble as 30 players return tomorrow with their sights on securing a payday.
Bojan Berberovic is in the best position to do just that, ending the day as chip leader and the only player above 1,000,000. Berberovic doubled up with a set of threes in a massive pot against Mikalai Vaskaboinikau that catapulted him to the top of the counts as he ended up with 1,156,000.
He’s followed by Rachid El-Yaacoubi (964,000), Milos Skrbic (892,000), Halil Tasyurek (850,000), and Mikhail Zavoloka (750,000). El-Yaacoubi was a Day 2 entrant and quickly found a double up after putting a brutal cooler on Saman Nakhjavani, hitting a full house on the turn against Nakhjavani’s flopped full house. He then spiked a straight on the river in a three-way all in for a double knockout of the luckless Vaskaboinikau and Boris Angelov.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bojan Berberovic | Montenegro | 1,156,000 | 96 |
| 2 | Rachid El-Yaacoubi | France | 964,000 | 80 |
| 3 | Milos Skrbic | Serbia | 892,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Halil Tasyurek | Turkey | 850,000 | 71 |
| 5 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russia | 750,000 | 63 |
| 6 | Dmitrii Kuzin | Russia | 719,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Andrei Spataru | Romania | 641,000 | 53 |
| 8 | Michel Habib | Lebanon | 639,000 | 53 |
| 9 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 619,000 | 52 |
| 10 | Daniel Henriques | Portugal | 617,000 | 51 |
Other notables to survive the day include Michel Habib (639,000), Day 1 chip leader Dawid Smolka (619,000), Maxime Chilaud (606,000), and Jakub Michalak (569,000). The players whose hopes for the title ended today include Western Series High Roller champion Maksim Shornikau, Fabio Peluso, Giorgiy Skhulukhiya, Boris Kolev, Toni Kaukua, Darko Svesko, and Fausto Tantillo.
Day 2 saw 80 new entries join the 65 from the first day to create a total field of 145 and a prize pool of $667,000. The top 17 will finish in the money, with the champion tomorrow walking away with $174,500. The action on Day 3 kicks off at noon local time on Level 18 with blinds of 6,000-12,000 and a 12,000 big blind ante.
Come back to PokerNews tomorrow as the 30 surviving players play down to a new champion here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.