$2,200 Warm Up
Day 2 Completed
2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series
$2,200 Warm Up
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$833,520
Entries
453
Level
34
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
175
Players Left
79
Andrei Daniliuk Leads the Final 79 on Day 2 of Merit Poker Gangster Series $2,200 Warm Up
Level 16
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Day 2 of the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $2,200 Warm Up has reached a conclusion here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. After another eight hour-long levels of play Andrei Daniliuk has emerged as the overall chip leader, bagging 2,175,000 chips worth 218 big blinds. He is most closely followed by Lithuania's Vladas Burneikis (1,871,000) and Lebanon's Hadi Khadra (1.866.000).
Daniliuk started today with the fourth-biggest stack and was one among the chip leaders in the room throughout the day. Towards the later levels he skyrocketed up the counts, which according to Daniliuk was the result of him flopping a full house and winning a colossal three-way all in.
Clearly adept at navigating large tournament fields, Daniliuk has just over $1,500,000 in live tournament earnings to his name. That includes a first-place finish in a $2,200 event here in Cyprus in 2022 for $21,420, as well as a fourth-place finish in a €10,000 event at the 2011 EPT Madrid for €400,000 ($593,692).
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrei Daniliuk | Russian Federation | 2,175,000 | 218 |
| 2 | Vladas Burneikis | Lithuania | 1,871,000 | 187 |
| 3 | Hadi Khadra | Lebanon | 1,866,000 | 187 |
| 4 | Bakhos Joumaa | Lebanon | 1,696,000 | 170 |
| 5 | Razvan Sabau | Romania | 1,366,000 | 137 |
| 6 | Leonid Sidelkovskiy | Russian Federation | 1,203,000 | 120 |
| 7 | Feyzullah Karaarslan | Turkey | 1,188,000 | 119 |
| 8 | Damir Gabdullin | Russian Federation | 1,074,000 | 107 |
| 9 | Tugce Hursoz | Turkey | 1,052,000 | 105 |
| 10 | Sultan Meirbekov | Kazakhstan | 923,000 | 92 |
Day 2 began with 175 players. Late registration was available for the first four levels of the day during which approximately 60 more players joined. That brought the field to 453 total entrants by the time late registration had closed to generate a prize pool of $833,520. Of those initial entrants, 79 players managed to bag and tag at the end of the night and will advance to tomorrow's Day 3.
The slow structure of the tournament ensured there was plenty of time to maneuver and several of the bigger stacks to start the day got off to a hot start. Inas Eldeghedy won a sizable pot with pocket aces early in the day to put herself among the chip leaders. In another early highlight, Day 1a chip leader Mustafa Sancak rivered a flush to crack Zhun Wang's pocket kings and become the first player to surpass one million chips. Both players were not able to sustain their momentum and would ultimately bust in the later levels of the day.
As the blinds increased later in the evening the action picked up significantly with many players hitting the rail while others put themselves in prime positions to make a deep run. In one noteworthy example, Sultan Meirbekov hero called on the river with pocket kings to surge up the chip counts. In another highlight later in the evening, Razvan Sabau scored a double knockout to take down a massive pot. Both players would end up as one of the top ten biggest stacks in the room by the end of the night.
Some notables to advance to Day 3 today include Benjamin Hamnett (789,000), Day 1b chip leader Dmitry Yurasov (741,000), Day 1c chip leader Arun Sood (463,000), Ankit Ahuja (414,000) and Guoliang Wei (167,000). Others not as fortunate to survive Day 2 include Halil Tasyurek, Selahaddin Bedir and Victor Yugay.
Day 3 begins tomorrow November 25 at 12:00 p.m. local time and is scheduled to play ten hour-long levels, with blinds starting at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 big blind ante. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates for this event until a winner is crowned on November 26.
End of Night Chip Counts (full)
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,175,000
52,000
|
52,000 |
|
||
|
1,871,000
51,000
|
51,000 |
|
1,866,000
6,000
|
6,000 |
|
1,696,000
411,000
|
411,000 |
|
1,366,000
196,000
|
196,000 |
|
1,203,000
1,203,000
|
1,203,000 |
|
1,188,000
268,000
|
268,000 |
|
1,074,000
706,000
|
706,000 |
|
1,052,000
563,000
|
563,000 |
|
923,000
373,000
|
373,000 |
|
877,000
297,000
|
297,000 |
|
866,000
68,000
|
68,000 |
|
850,000
731,000
|
731,000 |
|
810,000
540,000
|
540,000 |
|
789,000
568,000
|
568,000 |
|
||
|
778,000
699,000
|
699,000 |
|
|
774,000
376,000
|
376,000 |
|
754,000
556,000
|
556,000 |
|
741,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
||
|
739,000
254,000
|
254,000 |
|
709,000
-231,000
|
-231,000 |
|
700,000
-175,000
|
-175,000 |
|
696,000
486,000
|
486,000 |
|
665,000
641,000
|
641,000 |
|
659,000
659,000
|
659,000 |
Play Concludes for Day 2
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The action has come to an end in Day 2 of the $2,200 warm up. A total of 79 players found a bag and will advance to Day 3.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action and chip counts that will follow shortly.
Assorted Late Night Chip Counts
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,860,000
1,860,000
|
1,860,000 |
|
|
1,820,000
1,124,000
|
1,124,000 |
|
|
1,285,000
554,000
|
554,000 |
|
|
1,170,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
|
740,000
138,000
|
138,000 |
|
|
||
|
655,000
-203,000
|
-203,000 |
Final Five Hands
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The tournament staff have announced there will be five more hands played before Day 2 reaches a conclusion.
Michalak Doubles with Rockets
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Jakub Michalak opened to 16,000 from the button and Parahat Nurmuhammedov three-bet to 36,000 from the small blind. Michalak made the call.
The flop came J♠7♥6♣. Nurmuhammedov bet 35,000, Michalak moved all in for 75,000 and Nurmuhammedov called with a covering stack to put MIchalak at risk.
Jakub Michalak: A♣A♥
Parahat Nurmuhammedov: K♠J♥
Nurmuhammedov had flopped top pair but was in rough shape against Michalak's overpair. The 4♠ turn and A♦ river were clean for Michalak who collected a full double up at Nurmuhammedov's expense.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
238,000
238,000
|
238,000 |
|
144,000
-160,000
|
-160,000 |
Pudel Doubles Through the Chip Leader
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Nils Pudel opened to 16,000 from the hijack and Andrei Daniliuk moved all in from the big blind, covering Pudel's stack of 123,000. Pudel made the call and was at risk.
Nils Pudel: J♥J♦
Andrei Daniliuk: K♥Q♦
The board ran out A♥5♥8♦9♠A♦. Pudel's pocket jacks held and he secured a full double up through Daniliuk who still has easily the largest stack in the tournament currently despite the minor setback.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,123,000
-237,000
|
-237,000 |
|
|
||
|
258,000
-24,000
|
-24,000 |
Fal Forces a Fold
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
With two players seeing a board of 10♠2♠6♦ and roughly 100,000 already in the middle, Joseph Sabe checked from under the gun and called a 22,000 bet from Nikolay Fal in early position.
Sabe checked again on the J♠ turn and Fal bet 76,000 which was enough to force a fold from Sabe.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
415,000
284,500
|
284,500 |
|
370,000
272,500
|
272,500 |
Level: 16
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000