$3,300 Main Event
Day 3 Started
2024 Merit Poker Western Series
$3,300 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2024 Merit Poker Western Series
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$1,854,720
Entries
672
Level
36
Blinds
200,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
129
Players Left
24
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hady El Asmar | 368,000 | 46 | |
| 1 | 2 | John Doe S | 625,000 | 78 | |
| 1 | 3 | Jonathan Rosenwasser | 128,000 | 16 | |
| 1 | 4 | Maksim Skripkin | 197,000 | 25 | |
| 1 | 5 | Egor Romaniuk | 341,000 | 43 | |
| 1 | 6 | Aurelijus Sipavicius | 77,000 | 10 | |
| 1 | 7 | John Doebs | 578,000 | 72 | |
| 1 | 8 | Dmitry Gromov | 676,000 | 85 | |
| 1 | 9 | Andrea Dato | 148,000 | 19 | |
| 2 | 1 | Razvan Sabau | 473,000 | 59 | |
| 2 | 2 | Toni Kaukua | 275,000 | 34 | |
| 2 | 3 | Bartlomiej Swieboda | 222,000 | 28 | |
| 2 | 4 | Jean Mikhael | 613,000 | 77 | |
| 2 | 5 | Michael Brown | 782,000 | 98 | |
| 2 | 6 | Damir Zhugralin | 628,000 | 79 | |
| 2 | 7 | Murad Cakir | 141,000 | 18 | |
| 2 | 8 | Alain Hajj | 249,000 | 31 | |
| 2 | 9 | Xixiang Luo | 620,000 | 78 | |
| 3 | 1 | Fady Kamar | 713,000 | 89 | |
| 3 | 2 | Paul Amsellem | 164,000 | 21 | |
| 3 | 3 | Artem Arakelian | 779,000 | 97 | |
| 3 | 4 | Hadi Khordbin | 1,113,000 | 139 | |
| 3 | 5 | Amir Touma | 794,000 | 99 | |
| 3 | 6 | Stanislav Tishkevich | 315,000 | 39 | |
| 3 | 7 | Carlos Aoun | 734,000 | 92 | |
| 3 | 8 | Clement Bonnant | 632,000 | 79 | |
| 3 | 9 | Yingrui Ge | 252,000 | 32 | |
| 4 | 1 | Maroun Jazzar | 634,000 | 79 | |
| 4 | 2 | Nariman Yaghmai | 472,000 | 59 | |
| 4 | 3 | Junjie He | 136,000 | 17 | |
| 4 | 4 | Marcin Dziubdziela | 279,000 | 35 | |
| 4 | 5 | Hala Karam | 210,000 | 26 | |
| 4 | 6 | Azamat Tulepbergenov | 580,000 | 73 | |
| 4 | 7 | Andrew Hedley | 411,000 | 51 | |
| 4 | 8 | Mehmet Demirkol | 117,000 | 15 | |
| 4 | 9 | Shuang Luo | 474,000 | 59 | |
| 5 | 1 | Ildar Tashliyev | 351,000 | 44 | |
| 5 | 2 | Amine Karami | 710,000 | 89 | |
| 5 | 3 | Samy Barka | 658,000 | 82 | |
| 5 | 4 | Bogdan Munteanu | 497,000 | 62 | |
| 5 | 5 | Gianfranco Iaculli | 575,000 | 72 | |
| 5 | 6 | Dawid Smolka | 756,000 | 95 | |
| 5 | 7 | Wael Sarkis | 996,000 | 125 | |
| 5 | 8 | Fausto Tantillo | 914,000 | 114 | |
| 5 | 9 | Xiang Lian | 1,353,000 | 169 | |
| 6 | 1 | Qiang Xu | 137,000 | 17 | |
| 6 | 2 | Nichan Khorchidian | 390,000 | 49 | |
| 6 | 3 | Tahsin Cankurtaranli | 275,000 | 34 | |
| 6 | 4 | Koray Korkmaz | 855,000 | 107 | |
| 6 | 5 | Ramez Haddad | 250,000 | 31 | |
| 6 | 6 | Vazha Kometiani | 229,000 | 29 | |
| 6 | 7 | Eli Perez | 402,000 | 50 | |
| 6 | 8 | Sergey Bortsov | 347,000 | 43 | |
| 6 | 9 | Gang Zhao | 1,339,000 | 167 | |
| 7 | 1 | Bassel Moussa | 411,000 | 51 | |
| 7 | 2 | Simone Andrian | 213,000 | 27 | |
| 7 | 3 | Yassin Mahmoud | 996,000 | 125 | |
| 7 | 4 | Dmitry Yurasov | 800,000 | 100 | |
| 7 | 5 | Vladimir Bozinovic | 153,000 | 19 | |
| 7 | 6 | Giuliano Boellis | 1,654,000 | 207 | |
| 7 | 7 | Youssef El Khazen | 835,000 | 104 | |
| 7 | 8 | Nuri Hadioglu | 591,000 | 74 | |
| 7 | 9 | Yunsheng Sun | 479,000 | 60 | |
| 8 | 1 | Ara Melkisetian | 888,000 | 111 | |
| 8 | 2 | Christophe Panetti | 674,000 | 84 | |
| 8 | 3 | Carmel Haloon | 380,000 | 48 | |
| 8 | 4 | Ihar Soika | 554,000 | 69 | |
| 8 | 5 | Dean Hutchison | 476,000 | 60 | |
| 8 | 6 | Jose Nehme | 451,000 | 56 | |
| 8 | 7 | Can Miral | 155,000 | 19 | |
| 8 | 8 | Nils Pudel | 217,000 | 27 | |
| 8 | 9 | Volodymyr Drokin | 231,000 | 29 | |
| 9 | 1 | Fabio Peluso | 1,477,000 | 185 | |
| 9 | 2 | Vedat Yilmaz | 300,000 | 38 | |
| 9 | 3 | Yiannakis Papapetrou | 385,000 | 48 | |
| 9 | 4 | Aleksandar Tot | 577,000 | 72 | |
| 9 | 5 | Robert Heidorn | 580,000 | 73 | |
| 9 | 6 | Jad Warde | 372,000 | 47 | |
| 9 | 7 | Dauren Zhaparov | 136,000 | 17 | |
| 9 | 8 | Andreas Christoforou | 400,000 | 50 | |
| 9 | 9 | Mustafa Ercan | 940,000 | 118 | |
| 10 | 1 | Traian Stanciu | 560,000 | 70 | |
| 10 | 2 | Anatoly Korochenskiy | 368,000 | 46 | |
| 10 | 3 | Andrey Litvinov | 440,000 | 55 | |
| 10 | 4 | Victor Fryda | 468,000 | 59 | |
| 10 | 5 | Matthew Davenport | 611,000 | 76 | |
| 10 | 6 | Vedat Mutlu | 680,000 | 85 | |
| 10 | 7 | Mohamed Mokrani | 435,000 | 54 | |
| 10 | 8 | Mohammadreza Karkan | 239,000 | 30 | |
| 11 | 1 | Victor Messika | 388,000 | 49 | |
| 11 | 2 | Guoliang Wei | 251,000 | 31 | |
| 11 | 3 | Felipe Ketzer | 251,000 | 31 | |
| 11 | 4 | Daniel Henriques | 389,000 | 49 | |
| 11 | 5 | Candido Cappiello | 712,000 | 89 | |
| 11 | 6 | Maksim Shornikau | 165,000 | 21 | |
| 11 | 7 | Feng Qu | 580,000 | 73 | |
| 11 | 8 | Georges Hanna | 410,000 | 51 | |
| 12 | 1 | Ryan Plant | 873,000 | 109 | |
| 12 | 2 | Ali Zebarjad | 206,000 | 26 | |
| 12 | 3 | Vladimir Malyarchuk | 663,000 | 83 | |
| 12 | 4 | Cristinel Dumitru | 97,000 | 12 | |
| 12 | 5 | Aylar Lie | 64,000 | 8 | |
| 12 | 6 | Yuefan Gu | 549,000 | 69 | |
| 12 | 7 | Artem Sadovskii | 138,000 | 17 | |
| 12 | 8 | Andrey Pateychuk | 273,000 | 34 | |
| 13 | 1 | Ceyhan Tezcan | 486,000 | 61 | |
| 13 | 2 | Jianwei Lin | 1,135,000 | 142 | |
| 13 | 3 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | 150,000 | 19 | |
| 13 | 4 | Ermanno Di Nicola | 1,169,000 | 146 | |
| 13 | 5 | Abdullah Akbarpoor | 394,000 | 49 | |
| 13 | 6 | Sakis Adrianapoulos | 296,000 | 37 | |
| 13 | 7 | Anatoly Nikitin | 504,000 | 63 | |
| 13 | 8 | Hassanin Hashim | 317,000 | 40 | |
| 14 | 1 | Roman Hrabec | 1,386,000 | 173 | |
| 14 | 2 | Michel Habib | 952,000 | 119 | |
| 14 | 3 | Mihai Tusnea | 451,000 | 56 | |
| 14 | 4 | Nazar Buhaiov | 511,000 | 64 | |
| 14 | 5 | Aykutalp Yilmaz | 190,000 | 24 | |
| 14 | 6 | Antoine Hasbani | 614,000 | 77 | |
| 14 | 7 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | 299,000 | 37 | |
| 14 | 8 | Dzmitry Urbanovich | 554,000 | 69 | |
| 15 | 1 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | 395,000 | 49 | |
| 15 | 2 | David Hu | 950,000 | 119 | |
| 15 | 3 | Eduard Norel | 520,000 | 65 | |
| 15 | 4 | Baris Caliskan | 101,000 | 13 | |
| 15 | 5 | Nan Zhu | 1,074,000 | 134 | |
| 15 | 6 | Ilia Korliakov | 971,000 | 121 | |
| 15 | 7 | Amir Sonsino | 503,000 | 63 | |
| 15 | 8 | Maher Achour | 1,010,000 | 126 |
The 129 players remaining in the hunt for the Merit Poker Western Series title at the Merit Crystal Cove Resort & Casino have their eye on making the money when Day 3 of the $3,300 Main Event begins at noon local time.
Just 80 players will survive the money bubble and guarantee themselves $4,640. Two Italians stand the best chance of doing that, with Giuliano Boellis (1,654,000) and Fabio Peluso (1,477,000) occupying the top two spots on the chip leaderboard entering the day.
Roman Hrabec (1,386,000), Xiang Lian (1,353,000), and Gang Zhao (1,339,000) round out the top five. Ermanno Di Nicola (1,169,000), David Hu (950,000), Fausto Tantillo (914,000), Ryan Plant (873,000), Koray Korkmaz (855,000) and Dmitry Yurasov (800,000), who is seeking his second consecutive Merit Poker Main Event trophy, are also top stacks.
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giuliano Boellis | Italy | 1,654,000 | 207 |
| 2 | Fabio Peluso | Italy | 1,477,000 | 185 |
| 3 | Roman Hrabec | Czech Republic | 1,386,000 | 173 |
| 4 | Xiang Lian | China | 1,353,000 | 169 |
| 5 | Gang Zhao | China | 1,339,000 | 167 |
| 6 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | 1,169,000 | 146 |
| 7 | Jianwei Lin | China | 1,135,000 | 142 |
| 8 | Nan Zhu | China | 1,074,000 | 134 |
| 9 | Maher Achour | Tunisia | 1,010,000 | 126 |
| 10 | Yassin Mahmoud | Jordan | 996,000 | 125 |
Other players still in the mix include Michael Brown (782,000), Robert Heidorn (580,000), Dzmitry Urbanovich (554,000), Dean Hutchison (476,000), and Felipe Ketzer (251,000).
The action picks up on Level 18 with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and an 8,000 big blind ante. The plan is to play another eight 60-minute levels, which should bring the field close to the final table by the night's end. A spot at the final table is worth at least $34,300, with the eventual champion taking home $342,500 and the prestige of hoisting a Merit Poker Trophy.
Stay tuned as PokerNews provides all the action leading up to the money bubble and toward the final table.
Level: 18
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The 129 remaining players have unbagged their chips and Day 3 is now underway.
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
On the first hand of Day 3, Mohammadreza Karkan moved all in for 234,000 from the small blind and Victor Fryda put him at risk in middle position.
Mohammadreza Karkan: A♣10♣
Victor Fryda: K♣K♠
Fryda had woken up with kings and was poised for an early knockout until the flop brought 2♦5♦A♠, giving Karkan top pair. The board ran out 6♣Q♦ and Karkan found a quick double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
470,000
231,000
|
231,000 |
|
210,000
-258,000
|
-258,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Heads-up on a board of 2♦8♥3♠4♠, Gianfranco Iaculli bet 115,000 from the hijack and Fausto Tantillo called in the small blind.
The river was the 6♠ and Iaculli slid forward another 225,000. The two Italians spent a few minutes staring across the table at each other, Tantillo wearing a black hoodie over his head and Iacully with his grey sweater wrapped around his shoulders.
Tantillo tanked for around four minute before calling as Iaculli showed K♠J♠ for the rivered flush to take the massive pot and climb over 1,000,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,010,000
435,000
|
435,000 |
|
460,000
-454,000
|
-454,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Jianwei Lin opened to 16,000 from the button and received a call from Ermanno Di Nicola in the big blind.
The flop came K♥9♠2♠ and Di Nicola check-called a 15,000 continuation bet from Lin.
Di Nicola checked again on the K♣ turn and Lin bet 32,00. Di Nicola put in a check-raise to 88,000. Lin thought for roughly one minute before deciding to fold and Di Nicola took down a decent early pot without showdown.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,225,000
56,000
|
56,000 |
|
||
|
1,025,000
-110,000
|
-110,000 |
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Paul Amsellem got his stack of around 100,000 in the middle from the button and was up against Fady Kamar in the cutoff.
Paul Amsellem: K♥Q♦
Fady Kamar: A♦J♥
Amsellem took the lead on the 10♦6♣Q♥ flop with a pair of queens, while the 7♠ turn left him a card away from a double up. The river, though, was the A♥ and Kamar spiked an ace to win the pot and send Amsellem to the rail.
Junjie He and Jonathan Rosenwasser were also eliminated within the first few minutes of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
800,000
87,000
|
87,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Level 18
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Eduard Norel raised to 17,000 under the gun, then called when John Doebs three-bet to 38,000 in the hijack.
The flop came 3♠9♦6♣ and Doebs continued for 35,000. Norel called and both players checked the 6♥ turn.
The river was the 6♦ and Norel led out for 60,000. Doebs quickly called and Norel showed A♠K♣ for ace-high. Doebs turned over K♠K♦ as he took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
680,000
102,000
|
102,000 |
|
360,000
-160,000
|
-160,000 |