2023 Gets Underway with $3M Guaranteed Merit Poker Western Series; Full Schedule Unveiled
Table Of Contents
Live poker boomed in 2022 and is showing no signs of letting up following the new year. The Return: A Borgata Championship Event has just wrapped up in Atlantic City, USA after a successful festival while the GGPoker UK Poker Championships, 888poker LIVE Madrid, WSOPC Marrakech, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and PokerStars Players Championship all kickoff before the calendar closes on January.
Also getting underway this month is the Merit Poker Western Series, which runs from January 16-27 and promises $3 million in guarantees across its event schedule.
The festival is hosted at the beautiful Merit Royal Diamond Hotel and Spa, North Cyprus, and is headlined by a huge $1.5 GTD Main Event, which comes with a $3,300 buy-in.
Series Highlights
- $2,200 NL Warm Up (January 16-20)
- $3,300 NL Main Event (January 20-25)
- $5,300 NL High Roller (January 25-27)
- $1,100 & $2,200 NL Mystery Bounty (January 24-26 & January 26-27)
Excluding satellite tournaments, 17 events are scheduled across the series with the aforementioned Main Event being the festival's high note. Other multi-flight notable events include the $2,200 NL Warm Up , $5,300 NL High Roller as well as the $1,100 and $2,200 NL Mystery Bounty tournaments.
The Warm Up has the second-highest guarantee of the series and promises to pay out no less than $500,000. The Warm Up, as well as other tournaments, will also award several tickets to the Merit Poker Classic Main Event, which plays out in May 2023.
Don't Miss a Hand of Action with PokerNews
The PokerNews live reporting team will also be at the Merit Poker Western Series, providing live updates for several of the festival's key events.
There will be around-the-clock coverage for the Warm Up, the Main Event, and the High Roller which can all be accessed from our Live Reporting Hub.
Be sure to check out the event schedule below as well as all the satellites that are running throughout the series.
Merit Poker Western Series Event Schedule
| DATE | TIME (EET) | BUY‐IN | EVENT | GUARANTEE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 16 | 12:00 p.m. | $2,200 | NL Warm Up Day 1A | $500,000 + 9 Tickets* |
| Jan 16 | 5:30 p.m. | $550 | NL Turbo Bounty $200 K.O. | $20,000 |
| Jan 17 | 12:00 p.m. | $2,200 | NL Warm Up Day 1B | $500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 17 | 9:00 p.m. | $660 | NL Hyper Turbo Deep Stack | $20,000 |
| Jan 17 | 9:30 p.m. | $2,200 | NL Warm Up Day 1C | $500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 18 | 10:00 a.m. | $2,200 | NL Warm Up Day 1D Turbo | $500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 18 | 12:30 p.m. | $2,200 | NL Warm Up Day 2 | $500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 19 | 12:00 p.m. | Closed | NL Warm Up Day 3 | $500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 19 | 1:00 p.m. | $1,100 | PL Omaha Bounty 8‐Handed $500 K.O. | $40,000 |
| Jan 19 | 5:00 p.m. | $1,100 | NL Seniors Event (50+ y.o.) | $30,000 |
| Jan 20 | 12:00 p.m. | $3,300 | NL Main Event Day 1A | $1,500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 20 | 1:00 p.m. | Closed | NL Warm Up Final Day | $500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 20 | 5:30 p.m. | $440 | NL Hyper Turbo Deep Stack | $15,000 |
| Jan 21 | 12:00 p.m. | $3,300 | NL Main Event Day 1B | $1,500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 21 | 5:30 p.m. | $440 | NL Win The Button $200 K.O. | $15,000 |
| Jan 22 | 12:00 p.m. | $3,300 | NL Main Event Day 1C | $1,500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 22 | 2:00 p.m. | $1,100 | PL Omaha Bounty 8‐Handed $500 K.O. | $40,000 |
| Jan 22 | 6:00 p.m. | $550 | 💣 PLO Bomb Pot 7‐Handed | $20,000 |
| Jan 22 | 7:00 p.m. | $3,300 | NL Main Event Day 1D Turbo | $1,500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 22 | 9:00 p.m. | $880 | NL Bounty $400 K.O. | $40,000 |
| Jan 23 | 12:00 p.m. | $3,300 | NL Main Event Day 2 | $1,500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 23 | 10:00 p.m. | $1,100 | NL Mix‐Max 8‐Max Day 1 | $80,000 |
| Jan 24 | 12:00 p.m. | Closed | NL Main Event Day 3 | $1,500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 24 | 1:00 p.m. | $1,100 | NL Mix‐Max 7‐Max Day 2 | $80,000 |
| Jan 24 | 5:00 p.m. | $1,100 | NL Mystery Bounty ($600 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1A | $100,000 |
| Jan 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Closed | NL Mix‐Max 6‐Max Final day | $80,000 |
| Jan 25 | 12:00 p.m. | $1,100 | NL Mystery Bounty ($600 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1B | $100,000 |
| Jan 25 | 1:00 p.m. | Closed | NL Main Event Final Day | $1,500,000 + 9 Tickets |
| Jan 25 | 8:00 p.m. | $5,300 | NL High Roller Event 8‐Max Day 1 | $250,000 + 5 Tickets |
| Jan 26 | 12:00 p.m. | Closed | NL Mystery Bounty ($600 Mystery Bounty ) Final Day | $100,000 |
| Jan 26 | 12:30 p.m. | $2,200 | NL Mystery Bounty ($1.000 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1A | $150,000 + 5 Tickets |
| Jan 26 | 8:00 p.m. | $5,300 | NL High Roller Event 8‐Max Day 2 | $250,000 + 5 Tickets |
| Jan 26 | 9:00 p.m. | $2,200 | NL Mystery Bounty ($1.000 Mystery Bounty ) Day 1B | $150,000 + 5 Tickets |
| Jan 27 | 12:00 p.m. | Closed | NL Mystery Bounty ($1.000 Mystery Bounty ) Final Day | $150,000 + 5 Tickets |
| Jan 27 | 1:00 p.m. | $550 | NL Deep Stack Bounty 6‐Max $300 K.O. | $20,000 |
| Jan 27 | 6:00 p.m. | Closed | NL High Roller Event 8‐Max Final Day | $250,000 + 5 Tickets |
| Jan 27 | 7:00 p.m. | $440 | NL Turbo Deep Stack Bounty 6‐Max $200 K.O. | $15,000 |
* tickets are for Day 1A of the Merit Poker Classic Main Event (May 2023)
Merit Poker Western Series Satellite Schedule
| DATE | TIME (EET) | BUY‐IN | EVENT | GUARANTEE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 16 | 11:00 a.m. | $249 | NL Qualifier to WUp Day 1A win your seat at 100K chips | 3 Seats |
| Jan 16 | 9:30 p.m. | $385 | NL Satellite to Warm Up Day 1B | 10 Seats |
| Jan 17 | 11:00 a.m. | $249 | NL Qualifier to WUp Day 1B win your seat at 100K chips | 3 Seats |
| Jan 17 | 5:30 p.m. | $249 | NL Qualifier to WUp Day 1C win your seat at 100K chips | 4 Seats |
| Jan 18 | 10:00 p.m. | $550 | NL Satellite To ME Day 1A | 30 Seats |
| Jan 19 | 9:30 p.m. | $550 | NL Satellite to ME Day 1A | 20 Seats |
| Jan 20 | 11:00 a.m. | $373 | NL Qualifier to ME Day 1A win your seat at 100K chips | 3 Seats |
| Jan 20 | 10:00 p.m. | $550 | NL Satellite To ME Day 1B | 20 Seats |
| Jan 21 | 11:00 a.m. | $373 | NL Qualifier to ME Day 1B win your seat at 100K chips | 3 Seats |
| Jan 21 | 10:00 p.m. | $550 | NL Satellite To ME Day 1C | 15 Seats |
| Jan 22 | 11:00 a.m. | $373 | NL Qualifier to ME Day 1C win your seat at 100K chips | 3 Seats |
| Jan 22 | 5:30 p.m. | $373 | NL Qualifier to ME Day 1D win your seat at 100K chips | 7 Seats |
| Jan 24 | 9:30 p.m. | $770 | NL Super Satellite To HR Day 1 | 5 Seats |
| Jan 25 | 3:00 p.m. | $605 | NL Qualifier to HR Day 1 win your seat at 100K chips | 3 Seats |
| Jan 25 | 9:00 p.m. | $385 | NL Satellite to Mystery Bounty Day 1A | 5 Seats |
| Jan 26 | 4:00 p.m. | $605 | NL Qualifier to HR Day 2 win your seat at 100K chips | 3 Seats |
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum's proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.
