button in Safari
$5,400 Main Event
Day 1cd Completed
2026 Mediterranean Poker Party
$5,400 Main Event
Day: 1cd
Players Left 89 / 972
Filter
Top
Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Day 1c of the Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event, running at the Merit Crystal Cove, attracted the most entries out of all starting flights. Of the 292 total entries, 44 players bagged and tagged to join the rest of the field for Day 2 and play for a slice of the $5 million prize pool.
Shuang Luo topped the counts for the flight with 3,970,000, which also makes her the overall chip leader heading into Day 2. Her biggest score to date came from a second place finish in the 2024 Western Series High Roller here at Merit, and she'll be well positioned to make another deep run when play resumes.
Only slightly behind in second place is Symeon Alexandridis, a serious competitor who is coming off the back of a first place finish in a major tournament earlier in the year, which brought his total live winnings to above $1.5 million.
The mighty Aleksandr Chernikov, who has plenty of big scores to his name, rounds out the top three with 3,875,000, the only other player to bag over 3,000,000 chips in Day 1c.
Top Ten Day 1c Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | shuang luo | China | 3,970,000 | 79 |
| 2 | Symeon Alexandridis | Greece | 3,885,000 | 78 |
| 3 | Aleksandr Chernikov | Russian Federation | 3,875,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Hassan Nashar | Guinea-Bissau | 2,900,000 | 58 |
| 5 | Rahat Babayev | Turkmenistan | 2,795,000 | 56 |
| 6 | Hao Tian | China | 2,790,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Rafael Aslanli | Turkey | 2,550,000 | 51 |
| 8 | Yiwen Yuan | China | 2,475,000 | 50 |
| 9 | Ruslan Volkov | Ukraine | 2,130,000 | 43 |
| 10 | Pedram Dadkhah | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 2,090,000 | 42 |
Hassan Nashar finished in fourth place, bringing aggression and entertainment to the table in his usual style. He was seen shoving all in blind on Day 1b and bust a few bullets, but now sits with a stack of 2,900,000 to bring back to Day 2.
Manig Loeser is also among the players to bag chips. The two-time bracelet winner, who has over $12 million in live tournament winnings, brings back 1,680,000.
Day 2 of the MPP Main Event begins September 26 at 1 p.m. local time. Blind levels increase to 60-minutes and the tournament will play deep into the money.
MPP Main Event Remaining Schedule
| Day | Date | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | Saturday 26 September | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Day 3 | Sunday 27 September | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor as reporters follow the Main Event all the way down to a winner.
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Day 1c of the MPP Main Event has now concluded. Of the 292 entries to the flight, 44 players found the bag. They will return for Day 2 already in the money. Standby for the full chip counts and recap on PokerNews.
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The action moved to the other table, where another player was all in on the bubble. Milad Langar pushed for around 300,000 from the button and was called by Nichan Khorchidian in the big blind to put him at risk. Players revealed their hands.
Milad Langar: J♥3♥ 
Nichan Khorchidian: 7♠7♣
The flop ran out Q♥5♥3♣ and Langar picked up a flush draw. The turn was a blank, the 2♠, and the 4♠ river ended it for Langar. He was eliminated on the stone bubble on Day 1c.
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
The action was paused during hand for hand as two tables had all in and calls. In one of the hands, Maksim Shornikau open-shoved for 410,000 from the hijack and Yiwen Yuan called in the big blind.
Maksim Shornikau: J♦J♥
Yiwen Yuan: Q♥J♣
Shornikau was well ahead with pocket jacks. The board ran out 3♣K♠4♣9♥6♠ and Shornikau held with his jacks to win the pot, doubling his stack.
Level 17
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Day 1c of the Main Event has gone hand for hand, with 45 players remaining and 44 set to make Day 2.
Level: 17
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 50,000
Level 16
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Action was on the flop on a board of Q♠2♠4♣ and two players had 500,000 already in the middle. Aleksandr Chernikov put in a raise to 1,500,000, sending both of his opponents deep into the tank. They eventually folded and Chernikov took the pot.
