2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series

$3,300 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k4
Prize
$376,800
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$2,111,400
Entries
765
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
142
Players Left
19

Chilaud Back on Top, Barsegian Chasing Third Final Table as 19 Remain After Day 3 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event

Level 28 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Eduard Barsegian
Eduard Barsegian

After ten hour-long levels, one money bubble bursting, and dozens of long walks to the payout desk, Day 3 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event ended the same way it began: Maxime Chilaud being the one pacing the field.

Chilaud, who began the day as chip leader, ensured he finished it that way when he busted Uri Reichenstein in a more than 6,000,000-chip pot, calling with jacks on the turn as Reichenstein couldn’t hit his flush draw on the river. Chilaud also flopped a set to bust Alisa Sibgatova in 27th place on his way to bagging 10,475,000.

Behind him is Fausto Tantillo, who went on a late flurry of eliminations to finish with 8,950,000. But the man writing an incredible story here by the shores of the Mediterranean in North Cyprus is Eduard Barsegian. Barsegian hit a flush to eliminate Oleg Tsoy in 25th place, then picked up queens to take out Andrew Gray in 22nd. Barsegian ended up in fourth place with 6,280,000 as he looks to make his third straight final table at the festival following two fifth-place finishes in the Warmup and High Roller.

Day 3 Chip Counts

RankPlayerChip CountBig Blinds
1Maxime Chilaud10,475,00087
2Fausto Tantillo8,950,00075
3Simeon Spasov7,540,00063
4Eduard Barsegian6,280,00052
5Walter Treccarichi5,740,00048
6Michael Magalashvili3,855,00032
7Boris Smuskevicius3,735,00031
8Denis Kapustin3,615,00030
9Yuksel Savsa3,295,00027
10Maroun Jazzar3,050,00025
11Atanas Pavlov3,025,00025
12Roman Kolotiuk2,280,00019
13Azamat Tulepbergenov2,250,00019
14Nariman Yaghmai2,150,00018
15Andrei Kaigorodtcev2,130,00018
16Davut Aydemir2,095,00017
17Yossi Eluz2,050,00017
18Joseph Mouwad1,925,00016
19Navid Samavati1,760,00015

Simeon Spasov (7,540,000) and Walter Treccarichi (5,740,000) round out the top five on the chip count leaderboard among the 19 players who will play for the title tomorrow. Further down the list are Michael Magalashvili (3,855,000), who built up his own incredible chip lead at one point during the day, Denis Kapustin (3,615,000), and Atanas Pavlov (3,025,000). Having an Aydemir this deep in a Merit Poker event is nothing new, but it’s usually Recep making the run to the final table. This time, it’s his son Davut who’s following in his father’s footsteps as he bagged up 2,095,000 on Day 3.

Day 3 began with 142 players remaining, with the first order of business getting to the money bubble. Koray Korkmaz, Day 1b chip leader Vitalii Pankov, and Alexandru Papazian would all fall short of the money before Saar Wilf was knocked out in the unenviable position of bubble boy. From there, Boris Angelov (83rd), Day 1 chip leader Roman Gadzhiev (70th), Philippe Souki (68th), Warmup champion Arie Kliper (59th), Jack Sinclair (43rd), and former UFC fighter Terence Etim (36th) would make the long, slow walk to collect their money.

Play resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time and continue until a champion is crowned. Blinds will pick up on Level 29 at 60,000-120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. The feature table action will be streamed on a delay on Merit Poker’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

The poker world descended on this glittering seaside paradise 11 days ago for the start of the festival. There is just one more day to go until a new player gets to take home the Merit Poker trophy and $376,800 top prize. PokerNews will be bringing you all the action from tomorrow’s play right until the moment the trophy is hoisted in the air.

Tags: Andrei KaigorodtcevAtanas PavlovDavut AydemirDenis KapustinEduard BarsegianFausto TantilloJoseph MouwadMaroun JazzarMaxime ChilaudMichael MagalashviliNariman YaghmaiNavid SamavatiRoman KolotiukSimeon SpasovWalter TreccarichiYossi EluzYuksel Savsa