Papazian Takes Day 1b Chip Lead; Romero, Margolin, Hallaert, Riess All Make Day 2
After eight levels of 60 minutes each, Day 1b of the $5,300 Main Event at the Merit Poker Classic has come to an end. As expected, the second of five starting flights was busier than the first with 161 entries (132 uniques with 29 reentries) coming in throughout the day and 80 of them making it through to Day 2 which will take place on Thursday, May 9. At the top of the chip counts at the end of the day is Romania’s Alexandru Papazian with 727,900 in chips.
Following Papazian on the podium are [Removed:61] (617,700) and Aleksandr Chernikov (510,400). Other notable players to make it through include James Romero (406,700), Duff Charette (384,300), Timur Margolin (364,500), Kenny Hallaert (323,900), Uri Reichenstein (285,000), Ryan Riess (240,000), Vladimir Troyanovskiy (217,000), and many more.
The partypoker team members were represented by Dzmitry Urbanovich, Josip Simunic, Ludovic Geilich, and Kristen Bicknell. Urbanovich was the only one to not make it through out of the four players but will have enough chances to make it through as there are three more starting flights and the registration and reentry period will remain open for the first four levels of Day 2 till approximately 5:30 PM local time on Thursday May 9.
The PokerNews live reporting team will on the floor to bring you all the Day 1c action from the first bet until the final chip has been bagged here in the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
2019 Merit Poker Classic $5,300 Main Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Starting Time | Late Reg | Entries | Survivors | Further Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | Monday May 6th | 12:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 93 | 43 | Play 8 Levels of 60 minutes |
| 1b | Tuesday May 7th | 12:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 161 | 80 | Play 8 Levels of 60 minutes |
| 1c | Wednesday May 8th | 12:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | - | - | Play 8 Levels of 60 minutes |
| 1d | Wednesday May 8th | 21:30 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | - | - | Play 8 Levels of 30 minutes |
| 1e | Thursday May 9th | 10:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | - | - | Play 8 Levels of 20 minutes |
| 2 | Thursday May 9th | 13:30 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | - | - | Play 6 Levels of 75 minutes |
| 3 | Friday May 10th | 12:00 | Closed | - | - | TBD |
| 4 | Saturday May 11th | 12:00 | Closed | - | - | TBD |
| 5 | Sunday May 12th | 12:00 | Closed | - | - | Play down to a winner |
flop to the 
on the turn. Geilich now bet 19,500 and Simunic called.
and now Geilich shoved. Simunic tanked, going through the options, but opted to fold in the end.
for Mnatsakyan to turn a set and improve to a full house to triple up so he sat back down. The rest of Lakkhosrvi's stack went Mnatsakyan's way and Lakkhosravi made his way to the cashier to reenter once more.
with 51,700 in the middle already. 
to give Mustafov the full house to double up. The dealer counted out Mustafov's stack and determined he had 131,900 behind. After paying Mustafov, Razavi was left with less than 30,000.
and Utrobin bet another 20,000 which Koop called.
