Rustam Khamatgareev opened middle position and Paul Runcan three-bet out of the big blind. Khamatgareev the four-bet shoved for around 3,200,000, and Runcan quickly called.
Rustam Khamatgareev: A♠J♠
Paul Runcan: A♥K♥
Runcan was a clean runout away from a very healthy stack and did retain the lead on the 9♦Q♠4♠ flop, but Khamatgareev picked up a flush draw to make things a little sweaty.
A 5♥ on the turn was a brick, but Runcan couldn't fade the river as the 8♠ gave Khamatgareev the nut flush, and left Runcan with around 700,000.
Moments later, Runcan was seen exiting the tournament room and had been eliminated.
Samuel Ju and Seyed Safari just got involved in a 3,500,000 pot after the two got all of their chips in preflop.
Seyed Safari: A♦A♥
Samuel Ju: 10♦10♠
Ju would only be left with 35,000 if he couldn't crack Safari's aces. The board ran out clean for Safari as it came 6♣K♠3♣K♥5♥, meaning he doubled up, while Ju was left with less than a small blind.
Day 2 of the $5,300 Main Event at the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party concluded with 96 players managing to bag up a stack for Day 3. The 1,196-strong field that turned up to play at the Merit Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa generated a total prize pool of $5,740,800, with the eventual champion taking home a staggering $1,000,000.
After six 50-minute levels of poker, Dmitry Kataev emerged at the top of the counts with a monstrous stack of 15,635,000. Kataev's closest rival is the start of Day 2 chip leader, Aren Bezhanyan with 10,665,000. Both Kataev and Bezhanyan finished at the top of their respective flights and began the day with the two largest stacks. However, a late surge from Kataev allowed him to overtake Bezhanyan, positioning him as the one to catch heading into the penultimate day of the Main Event.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Dmitry Kataev
Russia
15,635,000
130
2
Aren Bezhanyan
Armenia
10,665,000
89
3
Moshe Ory Refaelowitz
Israel
9,200,000
77
4
Damir Gabdullin
Russia
8,780,000
73
5
Milad Oghabian Langar
Iran
8,550,000
71
6
Alexandros Kolonias
Greece
7,880,000
66
7
Daniel Heredi
Hungary
7,060,000
59
8
Timothy Chung
Hong Kong
6,880,000
57
9
Jakub Sterba
Czechia
6,795,000
57
10
Vedat Yilmaz
Turkey
6,730,000
56
Sam Trickett
Also making it through to Day 3 is the United Kingdom’s Sam Trickett, who bagged 6,440,000. With over $21 million in career earnings and a $10 million score to his name, Trickett has been mostly absent from the tournament scene recently, having not recorded a live cash in more than five years. Today, he was at risk on the bubble holding pocket kings against Viktor Mukhin’s ace-rag, but a king-high flop secured the double and helped start to push Trickett's stack in the right direction.
The primary goal for most players returning on Day 2 was to outlast the money bubble and secure a spot among the final 175, locking up a cash of at least $8,500. Unfortunately for Arsen Grigoryan, he claimed the unwanted title of bubble boy. Forced all-in from the big blind in a three-way pot, Grigoryan tabled pocket jacks. However, Patrick Kallas had rivered two pair with ace-eight, sending Grigoryan to the rail as the last player to leave empty-handed.
Kirill Shcherbakov
A few more notables returning to the baize tomorrow include Damir Gabdullin (8,780,000), bracelet winner Alexandros Kolonias (7,880,000), and the defending champion Azamat Lamkov (1,360,000). Joining them will be Ehsan Amiri, Aliaksandr Hirs, Kirill Shcherbakov, and the Mystery Bounty winner Alex Goulder.
The remaining players will return to continue playing at noon local time tomorrow, with the blinds levels being increased to 60 minutes in length. Blinds will start at 60,000/120,000 with a big blind ante of 120,000, and the plan for tomorrow will be announced shortly after cards get in the air.
Main Event Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize (USD)
1
$1,000,000
2
$635,000
3
$440,000
4
$316,000
5
$229,000
6
$162,000
7
$113,000
8
$80,100
9
$63,000
10–12
$51,500
13–15
$42,000
16–23
$35,500
24–31
$31,000
32–39
$27,200
40–47
$24,200
48–55
$21,500
56–63
$19,000
64–71
$16,500
72–79
$14,500
80–87
$12,500
88–95
$11,000
96
$9,500
Be sure to tune back in to PokerNews tomorrow from noon as we bring you all the big pots, crazy bluffs, and drama from the penultimate day of the 2025 Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event.
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