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$3,500 Merit Poker Cup
Day 1b Completed
2026 Mediterranean Poker Party
$3,500 Merit Poker Cup
Day: 1b
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Day 1b of the $3500 Merit Poker Cup at the glorious Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino has concluded and the overwhelming chip leader is Belarus's Anton Melnikau with a gargantuan 3,070,000, which is nearly one million more chips than his nearest rival Alexander Sokolovsky, who wound up as chip leader on Day 1a.
The Belarusian dominated his opponents all day, and delivered the final knockout blow as he sent Nicolae Toma to the rail on the bubble. Another benefactor of bubble play was the seasoned German pro Manig Loeser, who scored a massive double up through Sondre Stormyr during hand for hand when his pocket aces beat the Norwegian's pocket jacks.
The 1,500,000 pot was enough to give Loeser 2nd place for the day, while Stormyr sits in 5th place on 1,445,000. Sandwiched between the two are Oguzhan Kasar in 3rd place with 1,485,000, and in 4th is Chinese pro Quan Qiu with 1,480,000.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anton Melnikau | Belarus | 3,070,000 | 154 |
| 2 | Manig Loeser | Germany | 1,500,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Oguzhan Kasar | Turkey | 1,485,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Quan Qiu | China | 1,480,000 | 74 |
| 5 | Sondre Stormyr | Norway | 1,445,000 | 72 |
| 6 | Miguel Prospero | Russian Federation | 1,315,000 | 66 |
| 7 | Andrei Mashinistov | Russian Federation | 1,175,000 | 59 |
| 8 | Mehmet Dalkilic | Turkey | 1,170,000 | 59 |
| 9 | Darko Svesko | Serbia | 1,150,000 | 58 |
| 10 | Emad Zarghami | Australia | 1,125,000 | 56 |
Other notable names to advance to Day 2 are Eugene Katchalov (110,000), GG Pro Yuxi Huang (220,000), and WSOP Bracelet winner Nikolay Fal (890,000).
The 37 players who advanced from Day1b will combine with the 26 players from Day 1a and play Day 2 on Wednesday, September 22nd at midday local time and will be playing to a winner.
Blind levels will increase every 40 minutes, and the floor will confirm which level we will be starting with at the start of play. Which one of the 63 will lift the prestigious Merit Poker Cup?
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates on the $3,500 Merit Poker Cup live from the tournament floor.
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Nicolae Toma shoved from the small blind for 420,000 and was snap-called by the overwhelming chip leader Anton Melnikau
Nicolae Toma: A♠2♥
Anton Melnikau: A♥K♥
Toma's attempt to steal Melnikau's big blind and ante backfired spectacularly as he ran into Big Slick.
The Romanian picked up a gutshot draw on the flop of J♥5♦3♥, but the rest of the runout of 8♣10♦ did not help Toma, who looked distraught when he headed to the exit.
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Miguel Prospero bet 50,000 from under the gun. Sondre Stormyr raised to 150,000 from the button. Manig Loeser in the small blind moved all in for 690,000.
Prospero got out of the way, but Stormyr found the call to create a massive 60 big blind pot on the bubble
Manig Loeser: A♥A♣ 
Sondre Stormyr: J♥J♠
Loeser woke up at the best time to get the blades, and a perfect runout of Q♥10♣2♥3♦6♣ gave the German a massive double-up, which will put him in contention for Day 2.
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
The Merit Poker Cup is now down to 38 players on Day 1b. The clock has been stopped and the tournament floor has announced hand for hand.
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Players have vacated the cardroom for a break of 15 minutes.
Only 39 remain, which means two eliminations away from the money and a place in Day 2.
Level 15
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
A frustrated Grant Wang just lost a pot to tournament chip leader Anton Melnikau and asked him, "Where are you from?"
Melnikau responded, "Belarus." Wang exclaimed, "Ahh! That makes sense; people from that country f*** me up all the time!"
Wang bet 40,000 from the cutoff and was met by a raise to 160,000 from Artem Kotkovskyi in the small blind. Whilst the Ukrainian made the bet, Wang was distracted by Melnikau moving out of his chair.
Wang folded and bemoaned "Even when he is not in my hand he costs me chips!"
Level: 15
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
