button in Safari
$10,500 High Roller
Day 2 Completed
2023 Merit Poker Retro Series
$10,500 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
2023 Merit Poker Retro Series
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
$10,500
Prize Pool
$1,407,600
Total Entries
153
Level
31
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
83
Players Left
22
Players Left 1 / 153
Filter
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
The tournament director announced earlier that the day would end after Level 19 or when the bubble burst. It was a close call, but the first option concluded Day 2 of the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $10,500 High Roller at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
Out of the 153 entrants, 22 players bagged their chips and qualified for Day 3. However, two of them will return for nothing, as only 20 players will be in the money. For those securing the minimum cash prize of $16,500, the next goal will be to claim the first-place prize of $350,000.
Currently, Maxime Chilaud is the closest to this prize, as he emerged as the chipleader at the end of Day 2. "I won every hand", he exclaimed as he soared from 290,000 chips to 1,895,000 in just a few hands. "What a day for you" remarked, with a hint of amusement, the second qualified French player, Sonny Franco (345,000).
Following Chilaud, a small group composed of Uri Reichenstein (1,570,000), Aleksandr Chernikov (1,555,000), and Damir Zhugralin (1,520,000) will carry the same stack into Day 3.
End Of Day 2 Chip Count
| RANK | PLAYER | COUNTRY | CHIP COUNT | BLINDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 1,895,000 | 95 |
| 2 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 1,570,000 | 79 |
| 3 | Aleksandr Chernikov | Russia | 1,555,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | 1,520,000 | 76 |
| 5 | Milos Petakovic | Serbia | 1,085,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Denis Kapustin | Russia | 930,000 | 47 |
| 7 | Daniel Kyosev | Bulgaria | 895,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Mustafa Biz | Turkey | 705,000 | 35 |
| 9 | Hassan Barakat | Lebanon | 665,000 | 33 |
| 10 | Amarbayasgalan Sainjargal | Mongolia | 615000 | 31 |
Behind the Top 10, Oleg Ustinovich (375,000), Nikolay Ponomarev (290,000), or Adi Rajkovic (225,000) will have to stay focused to be in the money. But for Tinay Aksoy, the situation seems very difficult because he'll have only 50,000 chips on Day 3. But it is still better than nothing.
The 22 players left will play Day 3 on Saturday, August 12th at 2 p.m. on 40-minute levels, starting with Level 20 (10,000/20,000 BB Ante 20,000). This Day 3 will be the final day of the event, so it will come to an end only when there will be a winner.
PokerNews will once again be on hand to deliver you all of the action until the conclusion.
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
| TABLE | SEAT | PLAYER | COUNTRY | CHIP COUNT | BLINDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Nikolay Ponomarev | Russia | 290,000 | 15 |
| 1 | 2 | George Alahwal | Jordan | 500,000 | 25 |
| 1 | 3 | Denis Kapustin | Russia | 930,000 | 47 |
| 1 | 4 | Oleg Ustinovich | Russia | 375,000 | 19 |
| 1 | 5 | Amarbayasgalan Sainjargal | Mongolia | 615,000 | 31 |
| 1 | 6 | Rustam Khamatgareev | Russia | 515,000 | 26 |
| 1 | 7 | Milos Petakovic | Serbia | 1,085,000 | 54 |
| 1 | 8 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 1,570,000 | 79 |
| 2 | 1 | Adi Rajkovic | Austria | 225,000 | 11 |
| 2 | 2 | Sonny Franco | France | 345,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 3 | Mustafa Biz | Turkey | 705,000 | 35 |
| 2 | 4 | Nichan Khorchidian | Lebanon | 300,000 | 15 |
| 2 | 5 | Daniel Kyosev | Bulgaria | 895,000 | 45 |
| 2 | 6 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 1,895,000 | 95 |
| 2 | 7 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | 1,520,000 | 76 |
| 3 | 1 | Aleksandr Chernikov | Russia | 1,555,000 | 78 |
| 3 | 2 | Naryman Yaghmaie | Iran | 280,000 | 14 |
| 3 | 3 | Tinay Aksoy | Turkey | 50,000 | 3 |
| 3 | 4 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | 165,000 | 8 |
| 3 | 5 | Kemal Aslan | Turkey | 455,000 | 23 |
| 3 | 6 | Hassan Barakat | Lebanon | 665,000 | 33 |
| 3 | 7 | Jovan Kenjic | Serbia | 385,000 | 19 |
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
22 players reached the end of Day 2 and put chips in their bags. They have qualified for the final day.
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
With around 400,000 chips, Fady Kamar decided to shove from the button after an open to 32,000 by Uri Reichenstein in early position. Unfortunately for him, Reichenstein had to call.
Fady Kamar: 9♥9♥
Uri Reichenstein: A♠A♣
Bad timing for Kamar, who ran into aces just a few minutes before the end of the day. The board 10♣J♣10♦4♥Q♣ didn't help his hand, and he has been eliminated.
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
The tournament director announced that there will be five more hands before the end of the day.
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Left with 600,000 chips, after he doubled up, Maxime Chilaud now has 1,800,000 chips. "I win every hand", he said to justify his stack. He took all the chips of Nicolas Chouity, for example, but not George Alahwal's stack.
Under the gun, Alahwal pushed all his chips in for a total of 148,000 chips. And from the big blind, Chilaud called.
George Alahwal: A♣5♥
Maxime Chilaud: K♣Q♠
Alahwal hit a pair of aces on the flop on A♥9♦3♣9♠8♣. He doubled his stack to 340,000 chips but remained significantly behind Chilaud. At the same time, his friend Florian Guimond was eliminated (7x7x>8x8x).
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Daniil Kyosev opened from the cutoff, but saw Toni Kaukua in the small blind going all in for approximately 225,000 chips. With less than 60,000 chips in the big blind, Rachid Amamou shoved as well, and Kyosev called.
Rachid Amamou: A♦5♠
Toni Kaukua: A♥9♥
Daniil Kyosev: A♣K♠
Kyosev was in a good position to eliminate his two opponents, and that's exactly what happened on 10♣J♦10♥4♠3♣. After this hand, the field is now down to less than 30 players.
Level: 19
Blinds: 8,000/16,000
Ante: 16,000
