Cedric Schwaederle Wins Record-Breaking Merit Poker High Roller
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After three tough, gruelling days of poker inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, the record-breaking $5,300 High Roller has crowned a winner here at the 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series. France’s Cedric Schwaederle came out on top of the field of 318 entries, the largest ever recorded for a Merit Poker High Roller.
Schwaederle took home the title and a career-best score of $310,000, defeating Mauritania's Mohamed El-Wely in a heads-up match that lasted over two full levels. Schwaederle maintained the chip lead throughout heads-up play, eventually closing out the victory without ever relinquishing his lead.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cedric Schwaederle | France | $310,000 |
| 2 | Mohamed El-Wely | Mauritania | $216,500 |
| 3 | Aren Bezhanyan | Armenia | $155,000 |
| 4 | Xuming Qi | China | $111,000 |
| 5 | Adrian State | Romania | $81,000 |
| 6 | Salah Assi | France | $60,500 |
| 7 | Mehmet Demirkol | Turkey | $45,700 |
| 8 | Sakis Adrianopoulos | Greece | $35,000 |
| 9 | Roman Pshyk | Ukraine | $27,500 |
Winner's Reaction
Fresh off his victory, Schwaederle spoke to PokerNews about how it feels to walk away with a career-best $310,000 and the record-breaking High Roller title.
“It feels really good,” Schwaederle said, smiling. “I’ve had a lot of close calls before and this is my biggest score, so it’s pretty great.”
The road to victory was anything but smooth. Schwaederle’s chip stack fluctuated throughout the final table, and at one point, he was down to just over ten big blinds. But rather than panic, he remained focused and found the right spots when it mattered most.
“In the middle of the final table, I didn’t have much expectation because I was short-stacked,” he explained. “That makes the win even better. When you’re the shortest stack and end up winning, it’s just amazing.”
When asked about his overall experience at the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series, Schwaederle had nothing but praise for the resort and its atmosphere.
“The facilities are very good. I go to the gym, all the staff are friendly,” he said. “I’m here with my wife and she likes it too. She goes to the beach, the pool, and we can spend time together. Thank you, it’s amazing here.”
Final Day's Action
When the final day of the $5,300 High Roller began, 43 players returned with their eyes on the $310,000 top prize and a min-cash of $9,500 secured for the final 41. Once Grzegorz Kozieja fell on the bubble, eliminations came quickly. Schwaederle wasted no time climbing the ranks, scoring three knockouts before the final table, including the elimination of start-of-day chip leader Jakub Michalak, whose ace-jack couldn’t hold against Schwaederle’s five-four.
At the start of the final table, Schwaederle, El-Wely, and Aren Bezhanyan were virtually tied at the top, separated by less than a small blind. Schwaederle vaulted into the chip lead by knocking out Roman Pshyk in ninth with pocket jacks, but he soon lost momentum after a check-raise from Xuming Qi in a three-bet pot cost him almost half of his stack.
Schwaederle spent much of the middle stages nursing a shorter stack, but a double-up with ace-queen suited against Salah Assi gave him new life. He regained the chip lead four-handed after El-Wely check-jammed third pair into Schwaederle’s top pair and flush draw. A few hands later, Schwaederle sent Qi to the rail with ace-king and now held over half the chips in play.
With three left, Schwaederle applied some ICM pressure, as El-Wely and Bezhanyan were neck and neck, and seemingly battling for second place. El-Wely eventually got the better of that exchange, eliminating Bezhanyan in third with ace-nine against queen-eight.
Heads-Up Battle
Schwaederle began heads-up play with just over a 2:1 chip lead. El-Wely chipped away at the deficit by winning a lot of the small limped pots. However, Schwaederle halted the comeback by spiking fifth pair on the river to win the pot against El-Wely's combo-draw. From that point on, El-Wely’s stack continued to dwindle, and Schwaederle edged closer to the title.
Down to just four big blinds, El-Wely moved all in with queen-trey and was called by Schwaederle holding ten-eight. Two tens on the flop sealed it, and moments later, Schwaederle was crowned the $5,300 High Roller champion at the 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series, collecting the biggest score of his career.
