Main Event
Day 5 Started
2019 Merit Poker Classic
Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 Merit Poker Classic
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$2,990,267
Entries
649
Level
35
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Who Will Walk Away With $565,157 By Winning The Merit Poker Classic Main Event?
The most important day of any tournament is here, the final day of the Merit Poker Classic $5,300 Main Event means that a winner will be crowned tonight. Sixteen players will return to the poker room at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino at noon local time to battle it out for that first-place prize of $565,157 and bragging rights.
Currently sitting in pole position is partypoker’s own pro Ludovic Geilich who bagged 8,080,000 last night which is six big blinds more than Liran Twito who put 7,470,000 into his seal bag. Geilich and Twito are seated on the same table, as is Shahar Levi who finished third in the chip counts with 7,255,000. With the addition of Basil Yaiche, this means that the four biggest stacks of the tournament are on one table which could cause lots of fireworks.
Kristen Bicknell, the other partypoker pro left in the tournament is sat on the other table where the stacks are all pretty even. This also means that there could possibly be a lot of action from the start as everyone will be trying to build up their stacks to make it to the final table and be in with a fighting chance. Anton Morgenstern is the only other player on the table who also sports an above average stack while the rest is floating just below average but still have around thirty big blinds each.
When the players return at noon local time, they will play Level 25 which features a small blind of 50,000, big blind of 100,000, and big blind ante of 100,000. No matter what, a new champion will be crowned here in Cyprus at the end of this, so make sure to follow the updates which will be provided to you by the PokerNews live reporting team.
Final Day Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Kristen Bicknell | Canada | 4,980,000 | 50 |
| 1 | 2 | Ulan Dzholdoshbekov | Russia | 3,500,000 | 35 |
| 1 | 3 | Dori Yacoub | Lebanon | 3,120,000 | 31 |
| 1 | 4 | Daniel Braude | Israel | 2,630,000 | 26 |
| 1 | 5 | Hasan Dogan | Turkey | 3,200,000 | 32 |
| 1 | 6 | Mustafa Biz | Turkey | 3,415,000 | 34 |
| 1 | 7 | Empty | - | ||
| 1 | 8 | Selahaddin Bedir | Turkey | 3,350,000 | 34 |
| 1 | 9 | Anton Morgenstern | Germany | 4,300,000 | 43 |
| 2 | 1 | Empty | - | ||
| 2 | 2 | Anatoly Suvorov | Russia | 2,200,000 | 22 |
| 2 | 3 | Shahar Levi | Israel | 7,255,000 | 73 |
| 2 | 4 | Liran Twito | Israel | 7,470,000 | 75 |
| 2 | 5 | Ludovic Geilich | Germany | 8,080,000 | 81 |
| 2 | 6 | Andreas Christoforou | Cyprus | 1,700,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 7 | Pavel Kovalenko | Russia | 3,405,000 | 34 |
| 2 | 8 | Florian Duta | Romania | 1,995,000 | 20 |
| 2 | 9 | Basil Yaiche | France | 5,385,000 | 54 |
Level: 26
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 100,000
Shuffle Up and Deal
Level 26
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
The floor has welcomed the players back to the tables and instructed the dealers to shuffle up and deal.
Suvorov Doubles Through Geilich
Level 26
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Ludovic Geilich raised to 225,000 from mid-position and was called by Anatoly Suvorov in the big blind.
The flop came 
, Suvorov check-shoved for 860,000 when Geilich continued with a bet of 300,000 which Geilich snap-called.
Anatoly Suvorov: 
Ludovic Geilich: 
Suvorov had flopped top pair while Geilich had the flush draw.
The rest of the board was completed with the 
on the turn and the 
on the river for Suvorov to stay alive and double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,995,000 | -1,085,000 |
|
2,320,000 | 120,000 |
Biz Gets Braude to Fold
Level 26
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Mustafa Biz raised to 200,000 from under the gun and was called by Daniel Braude in the small blind.
The flop came 
, Braude check-called the 175,000 continuation-bet of Biz.
The turn was the 
and Braude checked again. Biz barreled another bet over the line, now for 325,000 and Braude called.
The river was the 
to complete the board. Braude checked for the last time. Biz cut out a bet of 700,00 and hesitated for a bit but then put the bet over the line. Braude folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,315,000 | 900,000 |
|
1,730,000 | -900,000 |
Duta Doubles Through Geilich
Level 26
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Florian Duta shoved from under the gun for 1,270,000 and was called by Ludovic Geilich on the button.
Florian Duta:
Ludovic Geilich: 
The board ran out 
for Duta to flop a set to double up and for Geilich to pay up again.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,725,000 | -1,270,000 |
|
2,790,000 | 795,000 |
Bicknell Doubles Through Morgenstern
Level 26
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Anton Morgenstern raised to 225,000 from the cutoff and Kristen Bicknell three-bet to 675,000 in the cutoff. Action folded back to Morgenstern who four-bet shoved with the bigger stack and Bicknell called for the 3,685,000 she had behind.
Kristen Bicknell:
Anton Morgenstern: 
The board ran out 
for Bicknell to flop top two pair to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,620,000 | 2,640,000 |
|
1,715,000 | -2,585,000 |
Geilich Shoves on Levi
Level 26
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Shahar Levi raised to 250,000 from the button and Ludovic Geilich three-bet to 875,000 in the big blind. Levi responded with a four-bet to 2,000,000 and now Geilich shoved. Levi tanked for a while and then folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,100,000 | 3,375,000 |
|
5,050,000 | -2,205,000 |
Shahar Levi Eliminated in 16th Place ($29,005)
Level 26
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Shahar Levi raised to 250,000 from the hijack and Ludovic Geilich three-bet to 795,000 on the button. Action folded back to Levi who shoved for around 5,000,000 and Geilich quickly called.
Shahar Levi:
Ludovic Geilich:
The board ran out 
for Levi to turn the queen for a glimmer of hope but he bricked the river to get eliminated in 16th place for $29,005.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,480,000 | 5,380,000 |
|
|
Busted |