$5,300 High Roller
Day 2 Started
2024 Merit Poker Western Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2024 Merit Poker Western Series
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$703,800
Entries
153
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Entries
121
Players Left
30
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
403,000
403,000
|
403,000 |
|
||
|
402,000 | |
|
338,500 | |
|
320,500 | |
|
318,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
||
|
287,000
287,000
|
287,000 |
|
265,000 | |
|
264,000
264,000
|
264,000 |
|
263,000
59,000
|
59,000 |
|
245,500
500
|
500 |
|
230,500 | |
|
||
|
218,500
218,500
|
218,500 |
|
216,000
216,000
|
216,000 |
|
212,000
112,000
|
112,000 |
|
209,000
109,000
|
109,000 |
|
203,500
203,500
|
203,500 |
|
200,000 | |
|
|
||
|
198,500
198,500
|
198,500 |
|
|
||
|
198,000
198,000
|
198,000 |
|
196,500
96,500
|
96,500 |
|
189,000
189,000
|
189,000 |
|
179,500
179,500
|
179,500 |
|
170,500
170,500
|
170,500 |
|
159,000
44,800
|
44,800 |
|
152,000 | |
|
||
The action continues here at the 2023 Merit Poker Western Series at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino with Day 2 of the $5,300 High Roller. The event got off to a great start yesterday, attracting a total of 91 entrants to surpass it's $300,000 guaranteed prize pool. That number is set to increase as late registration and unlimited reentries will be available for the first four levels of play today.
Anonymous player John Doe bagged the overall chip lead for Day 1, finishing the evening with 403,000 worth 269 big blinds. The leader is most closely followed by Russia's Vladimir Troyanovskiy (402,000) and Lebanon's Joseph Sabe (338,500). Troyanovskiy in particular will be a force to be reckoned with as the Russian pro has just over $8,000,000 in career tournament earnings from results spanning the last two decades.
$5,300 High Roller Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Doe | N/A | 403,000 | 269 |
| 2 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russian Federation | 402,000 | 268 |
| 3 | Joseph Sabe | Lebanon | 338,500 | 226 |
| 4 | Ihar Soika | Belarus | 320,500 | 214 |
| 5 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | Russian Federation | 318,000 | 212 |
| 6 | Kemal Aslan | Turkey | 287,000 | 191 |
| 7 | Shuang Luo | China | 265,000 | 177 |
| 8 | Maciej Komorowski | Poland | 264,000 | 176 |
| 9 | Roman Gadzhiev | Russian Federation | 263,000 | 175 |
| 10 | Fausto Tantillo | Italy | 245,500 | 164 |
Other notables to advance to Day 2 include Ihar Soika (320,500), Aleksandr Kirichenko (318,000), Roman Hrabec (230,500), Qiang Xu (200,000), Marius Kudzmanas (198,500), Andrey Pateychuk (152,000), and Dmitry Gromov (82,500). Pateychuk and Hrabec in particular are still riding the momentum off of a very succesful year in 2023, with Pateychuk finishing 17th at the 2023 WSOP main event for $430,200 and Hrabec scoring four six-figure cashes in 2023 for just under $1,500,000 from those four cashes alone.
Some notable players who busted before the end of Day 1 include Giorgiy Skhulukhiya, who won the last Merit Poker High Roller event at the Gangster Series this past October for $149,200 and Dmitry Yurasov, who won the Main Event at that same series for $295,500. Both players will have the option to fire a second bullet during the first four levels of play today.
Day 2 of the high roller is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. local time and play ten 40-minute levels or until the money is reached. The blinds will start at 1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 big blind ante. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for this event until a winner is crowned tomorrow, January 20.
Level: 9
Blinds: 1,000/1,500
Ante: 1,500
Level 9
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Cards are in the air for Day 2 of the $5,300 High Roller. There are currently 109 entrants of which 77 players remain.
Level 9
: 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Justus Held limped in from under the gun and bogdan-Andrei Munteanu limped behind from the hijack. Azamat Tulepbergenov then raised to 4,500 from the cutoff and action folded back to Held, who three-bet to 18,000. Both opponents got out of the way and Held took down a nice pot without having to see a flop.
Maxime Chilaud recently sat down at this table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
118,000 | |
|
116,000
35,500
|
35,500 |
|
100,000 | |
|
95,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Start of day chip leader John Doe opened to 3,000 from early position and Vedat Mutlu called from middle position.
The flop came K♦8♣5♦ and Doe check-called a 6,000 bet from Mutlu.
Doe checked again on the 7♥ turn and folded to a 16,000 bet from his opponent.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
365,000
-38,000
|
-38,000 |
|
|
||
|
110,500
110,500
|
110,500 |
Level: 10
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000
Level 10
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Feng Qu opened from middle position and Monika Zukowicz called from the hijack.
Both players checked the Q♠10♥4♦ flop leading to the 2♥ on the turn. Qu bet 4,000, Zukowicz check-raised to to 10,500 and Qu made the call.
The 3♥ river completed the potential backdoor flush draw and Qu bet 32,000. Zukowicz thought for roughly 45 seconds before making the call.
Qu could only show A♠9♠ for a pure bluff while Zukowicz tabled 2♠2♦ for bottom set to take down a sizable pot.
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya also recently sat down at this table and is off to a good start on his second bullet, having already doubled up from his starting stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
232,000
232,000
|
232,000 |
|
147,000
68,500
|
68,500 |
|
64,000
64,000
|
64,000 |
Level 10
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Vladimir Troyanovskiy opened to 4,500 from the button and Ali Zebarjad defended from the big blind.
The flop came A♥J♦10♣ and Zebarjad check-called a 5,000 continuation bet from Troyanovskiy.
Zebarjad check-called another bet from Troyanovskiy on the 5♦ turn, this time for 15,000.
Both players checked the 6♣ river. Zebarjad tabled 10♦7♦ for just third pair and Troyanovskiy's hand hit the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
337,500
-64,500
|
-64,500 |
|
|
223,000
4,500
|
4,500 |