2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series

$5,300 High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info

2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
109
Prize
$204,700
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,300
Entries
187
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
28
Players Left
1

Level: 27

Blinds: 50,000/100,000

Ante: 100,000

Carlos Aoun Eliminated in 7th Place ($34,800)

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Carlos Aoun
Carlos Aoun

Action folded around to Carlos Aoun in the small blind and he moved all in for his last 390,000 holding {10-Spades}{7-Spades}. Anton Ionel looked down at {a-Clubs}{6-Spades} in the big blind and quickly called to put Aoun at risk.

Carlos Aoun: {10-Spades}{7-Spades}
Anton Ionel: {a-Clubs}{6-Spades}

Aoun, though behind, was not in awful shape, holding two live cards. The {5-Clubs}{k-Hearts}{q-Spades}{9-Hearts}{k-Spades} runout did not improve his hand, however, sending him to the rail in 7th place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Anton Ionel ro
Anton Ionel
4,200,000
350,000
350,000
Profile photo of Carlos Aoun lb
Carlos Aoun
Busted

Tags: Anton IonelCarlos Aoun

Egor Romaniuk Eliminated in 8th Place ($28,050)

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Egor Romaniuk
Egor Romaniuk

Aliaksandr Hirs opened to 160,000 from under the gun with {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds} and Egor Romaniuk called from middle position holding {a-Clubs}{10-Spades}. The remaining players got out of the way to send action heads-up to the flop.

Hirs continued for 155,000 following the {3-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}{2-Spades} flop and Romaniuk, with top pair, made the call.

The {5-Diamonds} turn saw Hirs move all in and Romaniuk, with less than pot behind, called off for his tournament life.

Egor Romaniuk: {a-Clubs}{10-Spades}
Aliaksandr Hirs: {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}

Romaniuk was in bad shape with just one card to come and could not improve on the {6-Clubs} river, bringing his tournament to a close in 8th place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Aliaksandr Hirs by
Aliaksandr Hirs
3,300,000
1,600,000
1,600,000
Profile photo of Egor Romaniuk ca
Egor Romaniuk
Busted

Tags: Aliaksandr HirsEgor Romaniuk

Level: 26

Blinds: 40,000/80,000

Ante: 80,000

Lev Kydatov Eliminated in 9th Place ($21,250)

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Lev Kydatov
Lev Kydatov

Action folded to Lev Kydatov in middle position and he opened to 300,000 with {a-Diamonds}{k-Spades}, leaving himself just 105,000 behind. Simeon Spasov then called with {a-Hearts}{j-Hearts} on the button with the blinds getting out of the way to send action heads-up to the flop.

The flop came {j-Spades}{3-Hearts}{2-Hearts} and Kydatov moved the remainder of his stack into the middle. Spasov snapped it off to put Kydatov at risk.

Lev Kydatov: {a-Diamonds}{k-Spades}
Simeon Spasov: {a-Hearts}{j-Hearts}

Spasov had hit the dream flop to leave Kydatov drawing extremely thin. No help came for the at risk player on the {7-Spades} turn or {2-Diamonds} river to mark Kydatov as the first casualty of the final table.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Simeon Spasov bg
Simeon Spasov
5,200,000
1,300,000
1,300,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Lev Kydatov ru
Lev Kydatov
Busted

Tags: Lev KydatovSimeon Spasov

Ionel Lets Mustafov Off The Hook

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Anton Ionel opened to 150,000 on the button holding {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds} and was called by Fahredin Mustafov in the big blind with {j-Spades}{8-Hearts}.

Mustafov checked following the {9-Clubs}{8-Spades}{q-Spades} flop and then called when Ionel continued for 170,000.

The {8-Clubs} turn was the absolute worst card in the deck for Mustafov to catch and saw him check for a second time. Ionel did not slow down with his full house, instead firing off 325,000. Again, Mustafov just called.

The {a-Diamonds} river saw Mustafov take over the betting lead, pushing a hefty 640,000 into the middle. Ionel just called and took down a large pot, leaving a large dent in Mustafov's stack.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Anton Ionel ro
Anton Ionel
3,850,000
1,500,000
1,500,000
Profile photo of Fahredin Mustafov bg
Fahredin Mustafov
1,325,000
-1,375,000
-1,375,000

Tags: Anton IonelFahredin Mustafov

Break Extended

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Although the break before the final table was originally set to be 60-minutes, it has now been extended such that play will resume at 7 p.m. local time with the stream and our reporting continuing to operate on a one hour delay.

Final Table Chip Counts

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
SeatPlayerChip CountBig Blinds
1Ryan Mandara4,000,00067
2Eduard Barsegian620,00010
3Aliaksandr Hirs1,700,00028
4Carlos Aoun1,600,00027
5Egor Romaniuk1,200,00020
6Lev Kydatov450,0008
7Anton Ionel2,350,00039
8Simeon Spasov3,900,00065
9Fahredin Mustafov2,700,00045
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ryan Mandara gb
Ryan Mandara
4,000,000
1,600,000
1,600,000
Profile photo of Simeon Spasov bg
Simeon Spasov
3,900,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Fahredin Mustafov bg
Fahredin Mustafov
2,700,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
Profile photo of Anton Ionel ro
Anton Ionel
2,350,000
-150,000
-150,000
Profile photo of Aliaksandr Hirs by
Aliaksandr Hirs
1,700,000
-2,150,000
-2,150,000
Profile photo of Carlos Aoun lb
Carlos Aoun
1,600,000
350,000
350,000
Profile photo of Egor Romaniuk ca
Egor Romaniuk
1,200,000
480,000
480,000
Profile photo of Eduard Barsegian ru
Eduard Barsegian
620,000
-680,000
-680,000
Profile photo of Lev Kydatov ru
Lev Kydatov
450,000
-1,450,000
-1,450,000

Tags: Aliaksandr HirsAnton IonelCarlos AounEduard BarsegianEgor RomaniukFahredin MustafovLev KydatovRyan Mandara

Sakis Adrianopoulos Eliminated in 10th Place ($14,850)

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Sakis Adrianopoulos
Sakis Adrianopoulos

Action folded around to Sakis Adrianopoulos on the button and he moved all in for 875,000. Anton Ionel thought for some time before making the call out of the small blind while Aliaksandr Hirs quickly vacated the big blind.

Sakis Adrianopoulos: {a-Diamonds}{4-Clubs}
Anton Ionel: {a-Hearts}{j-Hearts}

Adrianopoulos was dominated and at risk, not an enviable position to be in. The {j-Spades}{3-Hearts}{k-Clubs} flop all but ended things with the {7-Diamonds} turn closing the door on a Greek comeback prior to the {q-Spades} river. With the elimination of Adrianopoulos, the final table of nine has been set. The remaining players have been sent on a 60-minute break and will return partway through Level 25 with blinds at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Anton Ionel ro
Anton Ionel
2,500,000
895,000
895,000
Profile photo of Sakis Adrianopoulos gr
Sakis Adrianopoulos
Busted

Tags: Aliaksandr HirsAnton IonelSakis Adrianopoulos