$5,300 High Roller
Day 2 Completed
2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
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
66
Players Left
22
Maxime Chilaud Runs Over the Competition to Bag Huge Chip Lead on Day 2 Of $5,300 High Roller
Level 18
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Day 2 of the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,300 High Roller hosted by the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel saw a total field of 121 players after late registration had closed.
After 18 levels of play, France’s Maxime Chilaud bagged a massive chip lead with an impressive stack of 1,729,000. Chilaud was quiet early on, but seemingly out of nowhere, he was the first player to surpass the million-chip mark. He would not lose the chip lead for the remainder of the night and will go into Day 3 as the only player still sitting with over 100 big blinds.
Chilaud is also no stranger to winning big at this property. Earlier this year he took down the 2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event for a cool $376,800. Is there another Merit Poker Trophy in his future? Chances are he will let his chips answer that question by day's end.
This would be followed by the Turkish crusher Recep Aydemir (1,055,000), Poland’s Dawid Smolka (1,000,000), Bracelet winner Guo Liang Wei (971,000), and Rytis Strigunas (907,000) to round out the top five.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 1,729,000 | 108 |
| 2 | Recep Aydemir | Turkey | 1,055,000 | 66 |
| 3 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 1,000,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Guo Liang Wei | China | 971,000 | 61 |
| 5 | Rytis Strigunas | United Kingdom | 907,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | Russia | 865,000 | 54 |
| 7 | Leonid Sidelkovskii | Russia | 839,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Kully Sidhu | United Kingdom | 632,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Dmitrij Pokhabov | Cyprus | 505,000 | 32 |
| 10 | Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 451,000 | 28 |
Some other notable names to find a bag on Day 2 include two-time bracelet winner Dmitry Yurasov with 228,000, Giorgiy Skhulukhiya of Georgia with 451,000, Natan Chauskin of Belarus with 451,000, and Day 1 chip leader Dmitry Gromov with 255,000.
Unfortunately, not everyone is still in the mix for the $149,200 top prize. Ivan Govorov, who won the $2,200 Warm Up fell short of a cash, Warm Up third place finisher Ankit Ahuja had a good showing but couldn’t break through to the third day, and Danut Chisu could not secure another win in the Gangster Series High Roller.
Day 3 of the High Roller kicks off on Tuesday at an earlier time of 2:00 p.m. and is scheduled to play down to a winner. The final table is set to be live-streamed on the Merit Poker YouTube channel.
There is a total of $556,660 in the prize pool, but as of now, none of the players have made the money. There are still 22 players remaining, and only 15 of them will earn a minimum cash of $8,900. The players will begin the day at level 19 with blinds of 8,000/16,000/16,000. The current average stack is still at 34 big blinds, and there will still be a lot of movement up and down the leaderboard for players. Make sure you don't miss any of the action!
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!
Day 3 Seat Draw
Level 18
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
| Full Name | Country | Table | Seat | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yigit Tinay Aksoy | Turkey | 1 | 1 | 120,000 | 8 |
| Ivan Zhechev | Bulgaria | 1 | 2 | 450,000 | 28 |
| Clement Jacky Bonnant | France | 1 | 3 | 260,000 | 16 |
| Huseyin Akgul | Turkey | 1 | 4 | 392,000 | 25 |
| Rytis Strigunas | Lithuania | 1 | 5 | 907,000 | 57 |
| Halil Serdar Tasyurek | Turkey | 1 | 6 | 241,000 | 15 |
| Maxime Chilaud | France | 1 | 7 | 1,729,000 | 108 |
| Navid Samavati | Iran | 1 | 8 | 80,000 | 5 |
| Full Name | Country | Table | Seat | Chips | Big Blinds |
| Dawid Wiktor Smolka | Poland | 2 | 1 | 1,000,000 | 63 |
| Dmitry Pokhabov | Russia | 2 | 2 | 505,000 | 32 |
| Liwei Sun | China | 2 | 3 | 214,000 | 13 |
| Jakub Maciej Michalak | Poland | 2 | 4 | 292,000 | 18 |
| Ryan Jonathan M Mandara | United Kingdom | 2 | 5 | 217,000 | 14 |
| Kuljinder Singh Sidhu | India | 2 | 6 | 632,000 | 40 |
| Aleksandr Kirichenko | Russia | 2 | 7 | 860,000 | 54 |
| Full Name | Country | Table | Seat | Chips | Big Blinds |
| Recep Aydemir | Turkey | 3 | 1 | 1,055,000 | 66 |
| Guoliang Wei | China | 3 | 2 | 971,000 | 61 |
| Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 3 | 3 | 479,000 | 30 |
| Dmitry Yurasov | Russia | 3 | 4 | 228,000 | 14 |
| Leonid Sidelkovskii | Russia | 3 | 5 | 839,000 | 52 |
| Dmitry Gromov | Russia | 3 | 6 | 255,000 | 16 |
| Giorgii Shkulukhiia | Georgia | 3 | 7 | 451,000 | 28 |
End of Night Chip Counts (full)
Level 18
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,729,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
||
|
1,055,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
1,000,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
971,000
631,000
|
631,000 |
|
||
|
907,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
860,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
839,000
244,000
|
244,000 |
|
632,000
502,000
|
502,000 |
|
505,000
505,000
|
505,000 |
|
479,000
54,000
|
54,000 |
|
451,000
-399,000
|
-399,000 |
|
450,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
|
392,000
321,500
|
321,500 |
|
292,000
77,500
|
77,500 |
|
260,000 | |
|
255,000
-35,000
|
-35,000 |
|
||
|
241,000
96,000
|
96,000 |
|
228,000
-82,000
|
-82,000 |
|
||
|
217,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
214,000
18,500
|
18,500 |
|
120,000
-225,000
|
-225,000 |
|
80,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
Play has Concluded
Level 18
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Day 2 has come to a close and the players are bagging up their chips for the night.
Recap coming soon.
Mandara Gets a Late Double
Level 18
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Maxime Chilaud opened in late position to 25,000 before it folded to Ryan Mandara on the button who moved all in for his last 69,000. (nice)
The action was then on the small blind who took a moment before jamming over the top. Chilaud got out of the way and the cards hit their backs.
Ryan Mandara: A♠4♠
Small Blind: K♠Q♣
The full board ran out 6♠4♥10♣7♥5♥ and with just a pair of fours Mandara earned the double as the floor announced the final two hands of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,700,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
187,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
Level: 18
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
Sidelkovskii Gets Big Double Thanks to a Cold Deck
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Leonid Sidelkovskii opened in middle position to 20,000 before the action folded to the big blind who asked for a count and then put in a three-bet to 75,000.
Sidelkovskii sat in the tank for a moment and then moved his last 290,000 chips into the middle. The big blind snap called.
Leonid Sidelkovskii: K♠K♣
Big Blind: Q♦Q♣
The dealer put out the K♦10♦5♥ and there was little sweat for Sidelkovskii. The 8♣ turn and 2♥ river sealed the deal and Sidelkovskii would earn a missive, much-needed double late in the day as the bubble approaches.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
595,000
542,000
|
542,000 |
Action is Picking Up and Players are Accumulating
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,200,000
1,200,000
|
1,200,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,000,000
490,000
|
490,000 |
|
|
900,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
850,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
|
840,000
705,000
|
705,000 |
|
|
700,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
Level: 17
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000