$5,300 High Roller
Day 1 Completed
2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$556,600
Entries
121
Level
29
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
63
Players Left
52
Dmitry Gromov Bags Day 1 Chip Lead in the $5,300 High Roller but Multiple Players are Close Behind
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Day 1 of the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,300 High Roller hosted by the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel attracted a total of 63 runners, with late registration still open till level 12 on Day 2 of the event.
After 8 levels of play, 52 players remained. Dmitry Gromov appeared to have bagged the chip lead with 255,500. This would only be the chip lead by a small margin as many others also bagged a similar stack. Some of those stacks were Lebanon’s Halil Tasyurek (243,000), Maksim Shornikau (249,000) of Belarus, local Turkish Pro Koray Korkmaz (251,000), and Ihar Soika (235,000) who also hails from Belarus.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dmitry Gromov | Russia | 255,500 | 170 |
| 2 | Koray Korkmaz | Turkey | 251,000 | 167 |
| 3 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | Russia | 250,000 | 167 |
| 4 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 249,000 | 166 |
| 5 | Halil Serdar Tasyurek | Turkey | 243,000 | 162 |
| 6 | Ihar Soika | Belarus | 235,500 | 157 |
| 7 | Simas Karaliunas | Lithuania | 234,500 | 156 |
| 8 | Navid Samavati | Iran | 220,500 | 147 |
| 9 | Danut Florin Chisu | France | 219,000 | 146 |
| 10 | Jakub Maciej Michalak | Poland | 214,500 | 143 |
Some other notable names to find a bag on Day 1 include the 2023 Merit Poker $2,200 Warm Up third-place finisher Ankit Ahuja (121,500), Erdal Gulseven (193,500), Nikolay Ponomarev and Damir Gabdullin who both had a top 15 finish in the Warm Up, and Romania’s Danut Chisu (219,000).
Speaking of Chisu, it's worth noting that the Romanian crusher has had some killer results in this exact tournament at this property in the past. He has a first-place finish at the 2020 Merit Poker Western $5,000 High Roller for $127,830, another first-place finish in the same event two years later in 2022 for $42,300, and two second-place finishes in other Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,000 high rollers for over $60,000 each. It's safe to say that the run-good at this property is real for Chisu and he will be a player to watch on Day 2.
Day 2 of the High Roller kicks off on Monday at the same 8:00 p.m. start time and is scheduled to play down to a final table of eight that will be live-streamed on the Merit Poker YouTube channel.
The current prize pool sits at $315,000 with late registration still open until level 12. Expect some players to find their seats right around that time. The players will be starting the day at level 9 with 1,000/1,500/1,500 blinds. The current average stack is 138,000, so it is still anyone's game with plenty of maneuverability to find some creative spots.
As always, stay tuned into PokerNews for all the updates on the Merit Poker Gangster Series and all the other best events happening around the world!
End of Night Chip Counts (full)
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
255,500
255,500
|
255,500 |
|
||
|
251,000
251,000
|
251,000 |
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
249,000
249,000
|
249,000 |
|
243,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
235,500
80,500
|
80,500 |
|
234,500
234,500
|
234,500 |
|
220,500
-9,500
|
-9,500 |
|
219,000
91,000
|
91,000 |
|
214,500
214,500
|
214,500 |
|
206,000
206,000
|
206,000 |
|
195,500
195,500
|
195,500 |
|
194,500
-15,500
|
-15,500 |
|
193,500
-86,500
|
-86,500 |
|
190,500
190,500
|
190,500 |
|
175,500
175,500
|
175,500 |
|
170,000
170,000
|
170,000 |
|
160,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
159,500
159,500
|
159,500 |
|
149,500
27,500
|
27,500 |
|
149,000
149,000
|
149,000 |
|
143,000
23,000
|
23,000 |
|
139,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
133,000
133,000
|
133,000 |
|
132,500
132,500
|
132,500 |
Play Has Concluded
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
After the announcement of the last two hands of the night the clock was paused and the players finished up. They are now bagging for the night.
Full Recap coming soon.
Ponomarev Turns a Big Hand on a Scary Board
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Nikolay Ponomarev opened under the gun to 3,500 and only got called by the button.
The J♦9♦8♦ flop landed and action quickly checked through to a 4♣ turn. Ponomarev checked again but the button had other plans and put out a pot-sized bet of 10,000.
After some thought Ponomarev put in the chips and the 3♥ rolled off on the river.
The action slowed back down and checked through. Ponomarev quickly tabled 4♥4♦ for a turned bottom set and his opponent shook his head and mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
115,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
Round of Chip Counts
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
280,000
232,000
|
232,000 |
|
|
230,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
|
|
222,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
215,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
|
210,000
-80,000
|
-80,000 |
|
170,000
42,000
|
42,000 |
|
|
155,000
-35,000
|
-35,000 |
|
|
130,000 | |
|
|
122,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
|
120,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
|
110,000
-8,000
|
-8,000 |
|
|
100,000 | |
|
88,000 | |
|
85,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
79,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
65,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
|
65,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 8
Blinds: 1,000/1,500
Ante: 1,500
Gabdullin Rips It In
Level 7
: 800/1,500, 1,500 ante
Damir Gabdullin opened in early position to 3,000 before the action folded to the button who put in a three-bet to 12,000. Navid Samavati cold-called out of the big blind and action was back on Gabdullin. He sat in thought for a moment and then turned to the dealer and let her know he wanted to play for all of his chips which was for 89,300
The button went deep into the tank but eventually folded. Samavati also tanked for about a minute but he also mucked.
Gabdullin dragged the pot to jump back over starting stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
260,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
|
|
118,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
Chisu Puts in the Big Flop Check-Raise
Level 7
: 800/1,500, 1,500 ante
Danut Chisu opened in early position to 2,400 before the action folded to the button who quickly put in a three-bet to 8,500. The action was back on Chisu who thought it over for awhile before just putting in a call.
The 4♥9♦5♦ flop hit the felt Chisu checked it over to the button who continued for another 6,000. Chisu thought it over and eventually he landed an big check-raise to 18,000.
His opponet made a comment that the way he threw the chips in the pot made him seem really strong. Eventually the button folded and Chisu dragged the pot.
Its worth noting that Chisu has finished top two in four different $5,000 high rollers here at the Merit Poker room.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
128,000 |
Level: 7
Blinds: 800/1,500
Ante: 1,500