The largest buy-in event of the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series began with a total of 74 entries on Day 1 of the $3,300 OPE Classic Cup 8-Handed. After eight levels of action at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Cenk Ogun leads the way with 416,800 chips heading into Sunday’s final day.
The opening day saw 46 players find a bag, while unlimited reentries will allow for the field to grow on Day 2. There is still plenty of time for players to join as late registration will remain open until the end of Level 12. Action will resume at 8 p.m. local time, where the event is scheduled to crown a champion.
Lebanon's Antoine Hasbani also built a stack by moving all in halfway through the action on Day 1 and bagged 284,500 to sit among the larger counts in contention for the Merit Poker title.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cenk Ogun | Netherlands | 416,800 | 208 |
| 2 | Mohamad El-Sayed | Lebanon | 332,500 | 166 |
| 3 | Kemal Aslan | Turkey | 312,000 | 156 |
| 4 | Iurii Saiapin | Russian Federation | 299,500 | 150 |
| 5 | Fadi Nakhoul | Lebanon | 292,500 | 146 |
| 6 | Antoine Hasbani | Lebanon | 284,500 | 142 |
| 7 | Konstantin Voronin | Russian Federation | 283,000 | 142 |
| 8 | Zvezdan Tadic | Serbia | 256,000 | 128 |
| 9 | Iraklis Manikaros | Greece | 255,000 | 128 |
| 10 | Andrei Daniliuk | Russian Federation | 227,000 | 114 |
Chip leader Ogun made a move up the leaderboard on Level 6, calling a big river bet with a straight to take the chip lead.
Among the other names to build a stack on Day 1 was Zvezdan Tadic, who jumped out to a very fast start with an early double after flopping a full house. Tadic rode that momentum to a bag of 256,000 chips to sit in good position entering Day 2.
Others who managed to bag above the 200,000 mark include Fadi Nakhoul (292,500) and Iraklis Manikaros (255,000), while Konstantin Voronin (283,000) and Andrei Daniliuk (227,000) both shook off early exits to reenter and recover in a big way.
WSOP bracelet winner and EPT champion Maxim Lykov steadily built his way just short of that group, collecting 198,500 chips for Day 2.
The returning contenders will take their seats at 8 p.m. local time, where play will resume on Level 9 with blinds of 1,000/2,000 and a 2,000 big blind ante.
Players joining the field on Day 2 will receive a starting stack of 100,000 chips. Levels will remain 40 minutes long, with play scheduled to continue until a winner is determined. Full prize pool and payout information will be announced after late registration closes to begin Level 13.
As always, PokerNews will have full coverage as the high rollers continue to battle for the title of OPE Classic champion here in Northern Cyprus.
