From early position, Ankit Ahuja raised to 17,000 and only the player in the big blind made the call.
The two players checked the 9♣5♥3♣ flop to see the 9♠ roll off on the turn. The big blind player led out for 15,000 and Ahuja called.
When the 2♦ landed on the river, the big blind player bet 50,000. Ahuja snap-called and was shown 6♣5♠ by the big blind for a pair of fives. Ahuja turned over 6♦6♥ for a pair of sixes to win the pot.
Daniel Peche raised the button to 20,000 and Juan Corral three-bet to 100,000 out of the small blind. Peche ripped it for around 300,000 and Corral beat him into the pot.
Daniel Peche: A♦9♣ 
Juan Corral: A♥J♥
The J♠2♦4♣ flop put Corral even further into the lead with a pair of jacks. The K♠ turn left Peche drawing dead, as the 3♦ river cemented his elimination from the Main Event.
Dmitry Kukhtarev, who is fresh off a 12th-place finish in the $2,200 Grand Final, is now running up a stack in the Main Event!
Halil Tasyurek made it 24,000 to go from the hijack and Kukhtarev called from the big blind to see a flop of J♣4♠Q♣, where he check-called a bet of 12,000 from Tasyurek.
A 2♣ fell on the turn and after Kukhtarev checked, Tasyurek put out a bet of 25,000. Kukhtarev needed some extra time to decide how to proceed, but did eventually fold. However, not much damage was done to his stack as he has around 800,000 in front of him.
Dmitrii Kopyl, who won the Merit Poker Carmen Series Warm Up, is on the same table and has around 250,000 to play with.
Abdullah Alajmi can count himself a lucky man as he just managed to crack the bullets of Ilya Ubilava.
Both players had seen a flop of J♠7♥2♦ with around 175,000 in the middle and got the rest of the chips in, with Alajmi's stack of 232,000 at risk.
Abdullah Alajmi: 7♣6♠
Ilya Ubilava: A♥A♦
Alajmi was way behind but went way in front when the 6♥ dropped on the turn, improving him to two pair. Ubilava still had outs but the 3♥ river bricked out, meaning he had to cough up the chips and send them Alajmi's way.
Arriving at the table to see Roman Stoika had four-bet jammed for 287,000 after his open raise from early position had been three-bet by the hijack. The hijack called, and the cards were tabled.
Roman Stoika: A♥5♥
Hijack: Q♥Q♠
Stoika had shoved into a premium pocket pair, but still had an ace and some hearts that he could hit to stay alive. The dealer spread out a flop of K♣A♠3♠, propelling Stoika into the lead with top pair. The rest of the board came 6♥5♠ and Stoika earned himself the double-up.
Espen Oye was deliberating for some time over whether he should call the shove of Yilu Yuan, who had three-bet shoved from the button for 232,000.
"This guy is crazy," said Oye to Espen Jorstad. "He could have anything,".
"I have the worst hand but I think I beat you," he added. Yuan kept laughing and he awaited the decision from Oye, who was burning through time banks.
"If you see my hand, you will laugh at how bad it is. At least if I call and lose, I will still have....7,000!"
"I have king-deuce of spades, but I think I beat you," he repeated. Eventually, Oye did call to leave Yuan at risk.
Yilu Yuan: A♠10♥
Espen Oye: K♠2♠
Oye was live and found a king when the flop came 5♠4♦K♥, giving him the lead. A 3♠ on the turn added a flush draw for Oye, removing some of Yuan's outs, who did pick up a gutshot to a wheel.
The Q♥ river was anti-climatic as Oye's pair of kings stayed in the lead, and Yuan was sent to the rail.
The numbers are in—late registration is officially closed on Day 1b of the $5,300 Main Event, with the flight wrapping up at 355 total entries. Just 131 players remain in contention as the final two levels of the night get underway.
That brings the overall count to 582 entries across the first two flights, with three more Day 1s still to come as the push toward the $5,000,000 guarantee continues.
A total of 355 entries were recorded on Day 1b of the $5,300 Main Event of the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party, all looking for a spot in Day 2 at the Merit Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa. After twelve levels of poker, 86 players survived the day’s grind, securing their place in the next stage of the tournament.
Ending as one of the chip leaders for the flight and the only player to bag a stack over the three-million mark was Russia’s Viktor Mukhin, with 3,060,000. Following behind is Artsiom Lasouski of Belarus, who finished with 2,780,000. A significant portion of Lasouski’s stack was gained in the final level of the day, where his pocket jacks held up against Naji Tannoury’s top pair top kicker.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dmitry Kataev | Russian Federation | 3,400,000 | 113 |
| 2 | Viktor Mukhin | Russian Federation | 3,060,000 | 102 |
| 3 | Iurii Okolovich | Russian Federation | 2,945,000 | 98 |
| 4 | Aleksandr Blokhin | Russian Federation | 2,825,000 | 94 |
| 5 | Anatoly Zlotnikov | Russian Federation | 2,785,000 | 93 |
| 6 | Artsiom Lasouski | Belarus | 2,780,000 | 93 |
| 7 | Roman Timergazin | Russian Federation | 2,360,000 | 79 |
| 8 | Amir Hassan | Tunisia | 2,240,000 | 75 |
| 9 | Cristian Ciurea | Romania | 2,200,000 | 73 |
| 10 | Viacheslav Larin | Russian Federation | 2,135,000 | 71 |
Also near the top is Anatoliy Zlotnikov with a stack of approximately 2,700,000. Iran’s Hadi Khordbin also made it into the top ten. Khordbin found himself at risk in the first level of the day, holding a set of sevens against Anton Vinkurov’s pocket kings. However, clean turn and river cards allowed Khordbin to double up almost immediately after sitting down to play the Main Event.
Some of the other notables to have survived today include Chris Da Silva with around 1,800,000 chips, Tommy G, and the Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event champion Nenad Dukic. A few others also returning to the baize on Sunday are Dmitrii Kopyl, Roman Stoika, Mihai Niste, and bracelet winner Daniel Smiljkovic.
Tomorrow at noon, Day 1c, the third of the five opening flights, will see arrivals look to make their mark in the Main Event. Day 1c will follow the same structure as the previous two flights, while Days 1d and 1e will feature a turbo format with 20-minute blind levels. Survivors from all opening flights will return on Sunday, May 11, for Day 2.
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1c | May 10 | 12:00 p.m. | 40 minutes (10 levels) + 50 minutes (2 levels) |
| Day 1d | May 10 | 9:00 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 1e | May 11 | 12:00 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| Day 2 | May 11 | 6:00 p.m. | 50 minutes |
| Day 3 | May 12 | 12:00 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Final Day | May 13 | 12:00 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Stay tuned to PokerNews tomorrow, as we bring you all the action, drama, excitement, and huge hands from the third day of the $5,300 Main Event here inside the Merit Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa.
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