$5,300 High Roller
Day 1 Completed
2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$667,000
Entries
145
Level
28
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
65
Players Left
42
Dawid Smolka Shines Brightest on Day 1 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series High Roller
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Four players rode big pocket pairs to the top of the chip counts on Day 1 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series High Roller.
Marcin Dziubdziela (314,000) hit a set of queens to bust Roman Gadzhiev on one of the last hands of the night. Toni Kaukua (308,000), who won the High Roller at the Merit Poker Western Series in 2023, doubled up off Mustafa Biz with pocket tens then knocked him out a few hands later in a preflop coin flip. Darko Svesko, meanwhile, who earlier had doubled up with aces against ace-king, took out Jovan Kenjic and Milos Skrbic with pocket queens late in the night as last year’s Merit Poker Retro Series champion ended the day with 344,000.
But they and the rest of the 42 players who survived the day are all looking up at Dawid Smolka. Smolka’s pocket aces busted Saro Tekyildiz earlier in the day as he ended up as chip leader with 423,000.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Stacks
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 423,000 | 282 |
| 2 | Darko Svesko | Serbia | 344,500 | 230 |
| 3 | Marcin Dziubdziela | Poland | 314,000 | 209 |
| 4 | Toni Kaukua | Finland | 308,000 | 205 |
| 5 | Daniel Kyosev | Bulgaria | 300,000 | 200 |
| 6 | Behrooz Sheibani | Iran | 278,500 | 186 |
| 7 | Roman Stoica | Romania | 263,000 | 175 |
| 8 | Daniel Henriques | Portugal | 262,500 | 175 |
| 9 | Lyudmil Ivanov | Bulgaria | 207,000 | 138 |
| 10 | Andrei Spataru | Romania | 206,500 | 138 |
Other top stacks to make it through Day 1 include Daniel Henriques (262,500), Boris Angelov (190,500), and Kacper Pyzara (180,000), while Aylar Lie (137,000), Renan Bruschi (118,000), and Alexandru Papazian (113,000) will also be back for Day 2 at 8 p.m. tomorrow.
Day 1 attracted 65 total entries, but that number will surely grow substantially as late registration remains open until the end of Level 12 on Day 2. With blinds picking up at 1,000-1,500 and a 1,500 big blind ante to start the day, a starting stack is still worth more than 60 big blinds. Play on Day 2 is scheduled to go down to the money, with the champion being crowned on March 27.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the live updates throughout the remainder of the tournament.
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
423,000 | 83,000 |
|
344,500 | 34,500 |
|
314,000 | -6,000 |
|
308,000 | -2,000 |
|
300,000 | 205,000 |
|
278,500 | 8,500 |
|
263,000 | 153,000 |
|
262,500 | 62,500 |
|
207,000 | -3,000 |
|
206,500 | 206,500 |
|
203,500 | 73,500 |
|
194,500 | 74,500 |
|
190,500 | 50,500 |
|
180,000 | |
|
171,000 | 31,000 |
|
161,500 | 61,500 |
|
161,000 | 21,000 |
|
150,000 | 30,000 |
|
147,000 | |
|
137,000 | 17,000 |
|
130,000 | -20,000 |
|
120,000 | -40,000 |
|
118,000 | 18,000 |
|
118,000 | -62,000 |
|
117,500 | -12,500 |
Play Concludes
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Day 1 has ended with 42 players remaining out of 65 entries.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Gadzhiev Runs Into Dziubdziela's Set
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
With around 50,000 in the pot on a board of 6♦J♠7♣Q♣, Roman Gadzhiev moved all in for around 40,000 from the cutoff and Marcin Dziubdziela snap-called in the small blind.
Gadzhiev shot out of his seat as he turned over 7♠5♠ for a pair of sevens. Dziubdziela had Q♦Q♠ for top set and Gadzhiev was already drawing dead before the 9♣ river and on his way to the exit.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
320,000 | 170,000 |
|
Busted |
Four More Hands
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Tournament officials announced that players will see four more hands before bagging up for the night.
Svesko Picks Up Queens to Bust Two
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Jovan Kenjic was all in for his last 38,000 from the small blind, Milos Skrbic had his last 80,000 in the middle from early position, while Darko Svesko in the big blind had them both covered and at risk.
Jovan Kenjic: 2♣2♠ 
Milos Skrbic: J♥J♣
Darko Svesko: Q♥Q♠
Svesko had the highest of the three pocket pairs and hit a set on the 10♥7♥9♣Q♣4♠ board to send both opponents to the rail near the end of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,000 | 100,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Tasyurek Shoves on Menicanin
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
With around 21,000 in the pot on a flop of 2♣8♦6♣, Mario Menicanin bet 6,500 from the hijack and Halil Tasyurek called in the big blind.
The turn was the K♥ and Menicanin bet another 7,000. Tasyurek then moved all in and Menicanin, with around 20,000 remaining, snap-folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
120,000 | 5,000 |
|
20,000 |
Kaukua Has Biz's Number
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Mustafa Biz moved all in for 40,000 from the button and Toni Kaukua called in the small blind.
Mustafa Biz: 4♣4♦
Toni Kaukua: A♣10♥
The flop came A♥9♣8♥ to give Kaukua the lead with top pair. The rest of the board came Q♣5♠ and Biz was sent to the rail.
Darius Samual was also eliminated at the same time on another table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
310,000 | 50,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Marjanovic Hits the River to Bust Habib
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Michel Habib moved all in for his last 18,000 from the big blind and was up against Adem Marjanovic in early position.
Michel Habib: A♠10♥
Adem Marjanovic: K♥3♥
Habib remained in the lead on the 7♦J♥4♠ flop, while the 5♥ turn gave Marjanovic a flush draw. The 4♥ river completed his flush and sent Habib to the rail.
"See you soon, sir," the dealer told Habib.
"I'll be back," Habib replied before asking the floor if he had to reenter today or could wait until tomorrow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
95,000 | -5,000 |
|
Busted |