Georgios Tsouloftas Tops Day 2 of Largest-Ever Carmen Series Main Event
Day 2 of the $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series has come to a close inside the luxurious Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, and with it, a historical milestone has been reached. A total of 881 entries were tallied, making this the largest Main Event field ever recorded at a Carmen Series stop, and the second-largest in Merit Poker history.
That turnout generated a $2,431,560 prize pool, easily surpassing the $1,500,000 million guarantee. The eventual champion will take home a staggering $401,000 and the trophy—along with the bragging rights that come with conquering one of the toughest fields in Merit history.
After another full day of action, 213 players managed to survive the grind and book their seat for Day 3. Leading the way is Georgios Tsouloftas, who bagged the overall chip lead with 1,744,000, putting himself in prime position to add another Merit title to his résumé. The Cypriot pro is no stranger to success at this venue, having won the Merit Mediterranean Poker Cup Main Event in 2022. With just shy of $2,000,000 in live tournament earnings, Tsouloftas brings the experience and pedigree needed to make another deep run here in Cyprus.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgios Tsouloftas | Cyprus | 1,744,000 | 291 |
| 2 | Atanas Malinov | Bulgaria | 1,661,000 | 277 |
| 3 | Andrii Novak | Ukraine | 1,444,000 | 241 |
| 4 | Yuan Xu | China | 1,369,000 | 228 |
| 5 | Andrija Cvetkovic | Croatia | 1,178,000 | 196 |
| 6 | Konstantin Voronin | Russia | 1,155,000 | 193 |
| 7 | Ludovic Geilich | United Kingdom | 1,146,000 | 191 |
| 8 | Anthony Khouzami | Lebanon | 1,138,000 | 190 |
| 9 | Ahmad Abdelhadi | United Kingdom | 1,094,000 | 182 |
| 10 | Kuljinder Sidhu | United Kingdom | 1,061,000 | 177 |
Atanas Malinov ended Day 2 second on the leaderboard, bagging an impressive 1,661,000—just a few big blinds shy of the overall chip lead. Malinov has already made a splash earlier in the series with a second-place finish in the Warm-Up event, and a seventh-place finish in the High Roller. Malinov carried that momentum into the Main Event, navigating Day 2 with a calm and composed presence that saw him steadily accumulate chips throughout the day.
Ukraine’s Andrii Novak held the chip lead for much of Day 2 and ultimately bagged an impressive 1,444,000, finishing the thirds in the overall counts. The well-known online poker wizard quietly built his stack throughout the day, with one of his biggest boosts coming after he soul-read an opponent and correctly called a river bluff shove holding just a weak top pair.
The defending champion Elie Farah saw his title defense come to an end in dramatic fashion on the final hand of Day 2. After calling a three-bet preflop, Farah found himself facing a massive bet on the flop from his opponent. Following a long pause, he put in the rest of his stack and was quickly snapped off, only to find himself well behind. With no help on the runout, Farah hit the rail in heartbreaking fashion just as the tournament clock ticked down to zero, marking a cruel end to his bid for back-to-back Main Event titles.
Unlike Farah, the other former Carmen Series Main Event champion is still firmly in the hunt. Maxime Chilaud, who captured this very title in 2023, bagged a stack of 133,000 at the close of Day 2 and will return with the chance to make another deep run. With one Main Event trophy already under his belt, Chilaud now has a real shot at making history as the first two-time Main Event champion at the Merit Poker Carmen Series.
Several familiar faces also found a bag to bring into Day 3. Two-time bracelet winner Boris Kolev (971,000) leads the way among them, followed by Fahredin Mustafov (749,000) and 2024 Gatsby Main Event champion Nichan Khorchidian (529,000). Also returning are Dmitry Gromov (460,000), Day 1d chip leader Axel Hallay (329,000), and Zhen Chen (221,000), all still in the hunt for the title.
Day 3 resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time with blinds at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. Of the remaining players, only 119 will make the money, meaning the pressure will be on early as the bubble looms just ahead. With a minimum payout of $4,545 on the line, the first goal for everyone returning will be to survive the early levels and secure a spot in the money.
$3,300 Main Event Payouts
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates, chip counts, and all the action as the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event heats up!