2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series

$3,300 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q5
Prize
$338,500
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$1,832,640
Entries
664
Level Info
Level
37
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
172
Players Left
41

$3,300 Main Event

Day 3 Completed

Ketzer Finishes with Massive Chip Lead in Day 3 of Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer
Felipe Ketzer

The curtain has fallen on Day 3 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. Only 41 players remain from a field of 664 entrants after 25 levels of play across the first three days.

Felipe Ketzer finished the day with a staggering 8,255,000 chips, worth 165 big blinds going into the final day tomorrow. Ketzer's stack is at least twice the size of any other player left in the field, with his closest competition coming from Jeremie Zouari (3,975,000) Danut Chisu (3,100,000) and Fausto Tantillo (2,870,000). Outside of those three players, Ketzer's chip stack is at least three times the size of every other player left in the field.

Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Felipe KetzerBrazil8,255,000165
2Jeremie ZouariFrance3,975,00080
3Danut ChisuRomania3,100,00062
4Fausto TantilloItaly2,870,00057
5Maher AchourTunisia2,610,00052
6Dinesh AltSwitzerland2,605,00052
7Umutcan IpekogluTurkey2,375,00048
8Mateusz WozniakPoland2,150,00043
9Caner GunesTurkey2,120,00042
10Yuri SuvorovRussian Federation1,970,00039

Day 3 Highlights

The day began with 172 players returning from Day 2. Jovan Kenjic got off to a hot start today after correctly calling his opponent's hand and winning a massive flip. Kenjic would enjoy the chip lead for most of the first half of the day but couldn't keep the momentum going and would ultimately bust a couple levels before the end of the night.

Andrey Pateychuk
Andrey Pateychuk

Adria Diaz began the day with the second-largest stack but a bad run of cards would result in his elimination midway through the day after running into Andrey Pateychuk's full house. Pateychuk, who had a very deep run in the WSOP Main Event this past summer, finished the night with 1,175,000 and will be a force to be reckoned with going into the final day.

Fausto Tantillo began the day as chip leader and had a roller coaster session throughout the day. Tantillo found himself short-stacked on the stone bubble but would double up twice to keep himself in contention. Tantillo would never look back from that point and would ultimately finish with the fourth-largest stack in the room.

Fausto Tantillo
Fausto Tantillo

Anton Markov would become the unfortunate soul to burst the money bubble at the hands of Tomy Greineisen after the latter rivered a straight. From that point on all remaining players were guaranteed at least a min-cash of $4,580.

Ketzer flew under the radar for most of the day today before going on a massive heater in the last two levels. Ketzer first started gaining momentum with the elimination of Nan Zhu and would later win a four-bet pot versus Dmitry Gromov to establish himself as one of the largest chip stacks in the tournament at that time. Ketzer truly separated himself from the rest of the pack in one of the last hands of the night in a major cooler. Ketzer had pocket kings and held against two opponents who respectively had pocket queens and pocket jacks to score a double knockout and seize the largest pot of the tournament so far.

Other players to advance to the final day include Gromov (1,910,000), Bart Lybaert (1,325,000), Simone Andrian (1,155,000), Day 1c chip leader Rabih El-Hachem (760,000) and Day 1b chip leader Alisa Sibgatova (595,000). Others who were not as fortunate to advance to the final day include Vladimir Bozinovic, Boris Kolev, Renan Bruschi, Razvan Belea, Milos Skrbic, Fabio Peluso, Aleksandr Kirichenko, Aylar Lie, Halil Tasyurek, Andrea Dato and Benjamin Hamnett.

Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for the final day of the event, set to start tomorrow March 26 at 12:00 p.m. local time with blinds starting at 25,000/50,000 and a 50,000 big blind ante.

Tags: Adria DiazAleksandr KirichenkoAlisa SibgatovaAndrea DatoAndrey PateychukAnton MarkovAylar LieBart LybaertBenjamin HamnettBoris KolevCaner GunesDanut ChisuDinesh AltDmitry GromovFabio PelusoFausto TantilloFelipe KetzerHalil TasyurekJeremie ZouariJovan KenjicMaher AchourMateusz WozniakMilos SkrbicNan ZhuRabih El-HachemRazvan BeleaRenan BruschiSimone AndrianTomy GreineisenVladimir BozinovicYuri Suvorov

Day 4 Seat Draw

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
TableSeatPlayerChip CountBig Blinds
11Roman Stoica1,605,00032
12Rabih El-Hachem760,00015
13Mehdi Chaoui1,180,00024
14Chady Ojeil680,00014
15Kemal Aslan1,255,00025
16Andrey Litvinov810,00016
17Maher Achour2,610,00052
18Fausto Tantillo2,870,00057
19Sardor Shagulyamov1,250,00025
     
21Maciej Komorowski1,715,00034
22Alisa Sibgatova595,00012
23Razvan Sabau2,470,00049
24Mateusz Wozniak2,190,00044
25Nenad Dukic930,00019
26Yuri Suvorov1,970,00039
27Felipe Ketzer8,255,000165
28Bart Lybaert1,325,00027
     
31Michel Habib1,075,00022
32Georges Hanna570,00011
33Mihai Tusnea1,405,00028
34Dmitry Gromov1,910,00038
35Dinesh Alt2,605,00052
36Dmitrii Astratov495,00010
37Tomy Greineisen1,275,00026
38Iulian-Remus Blebea900,00018
     
41Kalidou Sow460,00018
42Traian Stanciu910,00036
43Ahmet Akyun950,00038
44Jeremie Zouari3,975,000159
45Adrian State1,360,00054
46Andrey Pateychuk1,175,00047
47Dmitrii Andreev1,105,00044
48Simone Andrian1,155,00046
     
51Agharazi Babayev810,00032
52Umutcan Ipekoglu2,375,00095
53Danut Chisu3,100,000124
54Robert Rbeiz900,00036
55Rashad Iskandarov700,00028
56Elie Farah1,510,00060
57Caner Gunes2,120,00085
58Tahsin Cankurtaranli1,330,00053

End of Night Chip Counts (full)

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Felipe Ketzer br
Felipe Ketzer
8,255,000
55,000
55,000
Day 3 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Jeremie Zouari fr
Jeremie Zouari
3,975,000
1,670,000
1,670,000
Profile photo of Danut Chisu ro
Danut Chisu
3,100,000
2,650,000
2,650,000
Profile photo of Fausto Tantillo it
Fausto Tantillo
2,870,000
1,555,000
1,555,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Maher Achour tn
Maher Achour
2,610,000
2,035,000
2,035,000
Profile photo of Dinesh Alt ch
Dinesh Alt
2,605,000
1,890,000
1,890,000
Profile photo of Umutcan Ipekoglu tr
Umutcan Ipekoglu
2,375,000
-240,000
-240,000
Profile photo of Mateusz Wozniak pl
Mateusz Wozniak
2,150,000
1,479,000
1,479,000
Profile photo of Caner Gunes tr
Caner Gunes
2,120,000
1,623,000
1,623,000
Profile photo of Yuri Suvorov ru
Yuri Suvorov
1,970,000
-380,000
-380,000
Profile photo of Dmitry Gromov ru
Dmitry Gromov
1,910,000
-220,000
-220,000
WPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Maciej Komorowski pl
Maciej Komorowski
1,715,000
735,000
735,000
Profile photo of Roman Stoica md
Roman Stoica
1,605,000
948,000
948,000
Profile photo of Elie Farah lb
Elie Farah
1,510,000
1,160,000
1,160,000
Profile photo of Mihai Tusnea ro
Mihai Tusnea
1,405,000
645,000
645,000
Profile photo of Adrian State ro
Adrian State
1,360,000
390,000
390,000
Profile photo of Tahsin Cankurtaranli tr
Tahsin Cankurtaranli
1,330,000
1,226,000
1,226,000
Profile photo of Bart Lybaert be
Bart Lybaert
1,325,000
-250,000
-250,000
Profile photo of Tomy Greineisen at
Tomy Greineisen
1,275,000
640,000
640,000
Profile photo of Kemal Aslan tr
Kemal Aslan
1,255,000
422,000
422,000
Profile photo of Sardor Shagulyamov ch
Sardor Shagulyamov
1,250,000
-45,000
-45,000
Profile photo of Mehdi Chaoui ma
Mehdi Chaoui
1,180,000
1,180,000
1,180,000
Profile photo of Andrey Pateychuk ru
Andrey Pateychuk
1,175,000
325,000
325,000
EPT Main Event Champion
WPT 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Simone Andrian it
Simone Andrian
1,155,000
622,000
622,000
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Dmitrii Andreev ru
Dmitrii Andreev
1,105,000
696,000
696,000

Read full

End of the Night

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

The action has come to a close for Day 3 of the Main Event. A total of 41 players were able to find a bag at the end of the night and advance to Day 2.

Stay tuned for a full recap of the night's action.

Ketzer Scores Double Knockout

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer
Felipe Ketzer

Felipe Ketzer raised on the button and Jenya Gavrilovich called in the small blind before Mikhail Zavoloka moved all in for 240,000 from the big blind. Ketzer called before Gavrilovich moved all in for 3,000,000. Ketzer, covering both players, made the call.

Mikhail Zavoloka: QQ All in
Jenya Gavrilovich: JJ All in
Felipe Ketzer: KK

All three players had monster hands but Ketzer had the best of it preflop with pocket kings. Zavoloka looked poised to take the main pot after spiking a set of queens on the 610Q flop. The 9 turn changed nothing but the K river gave Ketzer top set to knock out both players and take down easily the biggest pot of the tournament so far at the very end of the night.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Felipe Ketzer br
Felipe Ketzer
8,200,000
3,800,000
3,800,000
Day 3 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Jenya Gavrilovich by
Jenya Gavrilovich
Busted
Profile photo of Mikhail Zavoloka ru
Mikhail Zavoloka
Busted

Tags: Felipe KetzerJenya GavrilovichMikhail Zavoloka

Skhulukhiya Runs into Rockets

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya opened to 225,000 from under the gun, committing slightly under half his stack. Sardor Shagulyamov moved all in from the button with a covering stack and Skhulukhiya made the call to put himself at risk.

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya: 55 All in
Sardor Shagulyamov: AA

Skhulukhiya picked up a flush draw on the 238 flop but found no help on the K turn or 8 river and was sent to the rail in one of the final hands of the night while Shagulyamov collected a sizable pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Sardor Shagulyamov ch
Sardor Shagulyamov
1,295,000
795,000
795,000
Profile photo of Giorgiy Skhulukhiya ge
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya
Busted

Tags: Giorgiy SkhulukhiyaSardor Shagulyamov

Rbeiz Spikes the River to Leave Jontulovic on Fumes

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Robert Rbeiz moved all in from under the gun for approximately 500,000 and was called by Bogdan Jontulovic on the button who held a covering stack.

Robert Rbeiz: 5x5x All in
Bogdan Jontulovic: AxAx

Rbeiz was in dire shape with the lower pocket pair and found no help on the Kx9x2x flop. The 8x turn was also a brick but he drilled a set on the 5x river to score a full double up and leave Jontulovic with just under four big blinds.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Robert Rbeiz lb
Robert Rbeiz
1,015,000
328,000
328,000
Profile photo of Bogdan Jontulovic rs
Bogdan Jontulovic
140,000
-619,000
-619,000

Tags: Bogdan JontulovicRobert Rbeiz

Ketzer Not Slowing Down

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Felipe Ketzer opened to 80,000 from early position and Dmitry Gromov put in a three-bet to 300,000 from the small blind. Ketzer four-bet to 680,000 and after about a minute to consider his options Gromov sent his hand into the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Felipe Ketzer br
Felipe Ketzer
4,400,000
595,000
595,000
Day 3 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Dmitry Gromov ru
Dmitry Gromov
2,130,000
-470,000
-470,000
WPT 1X Winner

Tags: Dmitry GromovFelipe Ketzer