$2,200 Luxon Pay Grand Final Day 1b | 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party

05-06-2025 18:52 UTC+2

Smolka Busts in Three-Way All-In; MacDonald Triples

Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Dawid Smolka had his stack of around 400,000 in the middle from the cutoff and Bjorn MacDonald also committed his 319,000 from the small blind. A player in the big blind had both of them covered and put them at risk in search of a double knockout.

Bjoirn MacDonald: A♠A♣ All in
Dawid Smolka: 4♣4♥ All in
Big Blind: Q♦Q♠

It was a dream spot for MacDonald, who just needed to fade queens and fours to triple up his stack. Smolka needed a miracle to survive and didn't get much to work with on the K♠K♥5♠ flop. A 2♣ on the turn was a brick, and the 10♦ river didn't deliver any surprises on the river.

After all was said and done, Smolka was eliminated, MacDonald tripled up to around 1,000,000, and the big blind took the small side pot and was left with around 200,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bjoirn MacDonald	1,000,000 1,000,000	1,000,000
Dawid Smolka	Busted

Tags: Bjoirn MacDonald Dawid Smolka

05-06-2025 19:03 UTC+2

Kakhmazov With a Chunky Stack

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Nadar Kakhmazov appears to be the front-runner late on Day 1b, sitting behind a towering stack of approximately 2,700,000 chips. Not far behind is Kirill Burtin with around 2,000,000, while Aleksandr Kirichenko is also in contention with a healthy 1,700,000.

With just over two levels left to play, the race is on to see who will top the leaderboard by the end of the night. Will one of these three hold on, or will a new name surge into the spotlight before the bags come out?

Player	Chips	Progress
Nadar Kakhmazov	2,700,000

Kirill Burtin	2,000,000 400,000	400,000
Aleksandr Kirichenko	1,700,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Tags: Kirill Burtin Nadar Kakhmazov Aleksandr Kirichenko

05-06-2025 19:07 UTC+2

Break Time

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

The remaining 99 players are heading on their last break of the day.

In 20 minutes they will return and play two final levels before the survivors bag up.

Level: 14

Blinds: 15,000/25,000

Ante: 25,000

05-06-2025 19:34 UTC+2

Kirichenko Forces MacDonald Out

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Bjoirn Macdonald opened to 50,000 from early position and Aleksandr Kirichenko called in the hijack. Both the small blinds and big blind also came along.

The flop came 2♣4♥Q♠ and after the blinds checked, MacDonald fired 85,000. Kirichenko called and the two blinds got out of the way.

When the 10♠ hit the turn, Macdonald paused for a while then tapped the table, prompting Kirichenko to fire out a chunky bet of 265,000. MacDonald used his full 30-second allowance before making the fold, and the pot was pushed to Kirichenko.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aleksandr Kirichenko	1,800,000 100,000	100,000
Bjoirn MacDonald	850,000 150,000	150,000

Tags: Aleksandr Kirichenko Bjoirn MacDonald

05-06-2025 19:45 UTC+2

Borlan Runs Into Gallego's Trips

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

The action folded around to Dan Borlan in the small blind, who limped in. Raul Martinez Gallego was sitting in the big blind and bumped up the price of poker to 100,000, which got Borlan to call.

On the J♦9♣6♠ flop, Borlan checked it over to Gallego, who put out a continuation-bet of 85,000. Borlan called.

Both checked when the J♠ paired the board on the turn and Borlan knuckled the table again when the 10♥ filled out the board. After releasing a big puff of air, Gallego fired 135,000. Borlan took some time before he raised to 400,000, and Gallego instantly called by tossing in a chip.

Borlan then revealed Q♣6♣ for a pair of sixes that he turned into a bluff, and Gallego's A♦J♣ was good for the pot as he turned trip jacks.

Player	Chips	Progress
Raul Martinez Gallego	2,100,000 1,700,000	1,700,000
Dan Borlan	550,000 150,000	150,000

Tags: Dan Borlan Raul Martinez Gallego

05-06-2025 19:56 UTC+2

Chernikov Hates the River

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

There was a raise to 50,000 from under the gun and Vitalii Shcherba shoved the button for around 360,000. Aleksandr Chernikov was in the big blind and shoved his stack of around 600,000, which got a fold from the initial raiser.

Vitalii Shcherba: A♠J♦ All in
Aleksandr Chernikov: J♥J♠

Shcherba needed some help from the dealer and it didn't look like he was going to get it as the flop came 8♦Q♦3♦, keeping the jacks of Chernikov in the lead. A 10♠ on the turn did give both players a straight draw, but Shcherba picked up four extra clean outs as any kind would complete Broadway.

It was the K♠ that landed on the river, giving Shcherba a straight and causing Chernikov to thump the table with his fist in frustration.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vitalii Shcherba	800,000
Aleksandr Chernikov	250,000 200,000	200,000

Tags: Aleksandr Chernikov Vitalii Shcherba

05-06-2025 20:01 UTC+2

Add PokerNews to Your Mobile Home Screen

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

The PokerNews desktop and mobile browser websites are as feature-rich as ever, so our tech gurus have decided to call time on the PokerNews mobile app.

Don't fret if you spend your time reading PokerNews articles and live tournament updates from your mobile device because adding PokerNews to your Android or iOS-powered device is simple. Doing so enables you to continue enjoying PokerNews in its glory, including seeing badges, using emojis, browsing famously easy-to-navigate pages, and getting closer to the action with MyStack.

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Level: 15

Blinds: 15,000/30,000

Ante: 30,000

05-06-2025 20:07 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 15 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Aleksandr Kirichenko	2,600,000 800,000	800,000
Kirill Burtin	2,100,000 100,000	100,000
Damir Zhugralin	1,400,000
Niall Farrell	1,100,000 600,000	600,000

Cedric Schwaederle	1,000,000 200,000	200,000
Musa Genc	850,000 350,000	350,000
Rehman Kassam	600,000
Stanislaw Grodek	400,000
Espen Jorstad	240,000 60,000	60,000