In a blind versus blind situation, Fady Kamar limped from the small blind, and Andrey Pateychuk checked his option.
The dealer revealed a flop of J♥Q♣K♥ that both players checked. The 2♣ came on the turn, and Kamar bet 25,000. Pateychuk called to see the river 7♥, where Kamar added 45,000 chips to the pot. Pateychuk called, but mucked his cards after Kamar showed K♠3♣ for a pair of kings.
Level: 18
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
There are 35 players left at the end of Level 17. They are on a 15-minute break. After that, they'll play two more levels before the end of the day.
Everybody folded to Petry Bartagov in the small blind who opened on Maxime Chilaud’s big blind. But the French player decided to go all in for 290,000. Bartagov called.
Maxime Chilaud: 8♦8♥
Petry Bartagov: A♥J♠
The 3♣9♣Q♦K♠2♥ didn’t change anything to the situation, and Chilaud secured a double up to reach 600,000 chips.
After reaching Day 4 of the Warmup (15th position, $15,780), Oleg Ustinovich is still in the High Roller. From under the gun, he opened to 16,000, but was raised by Denis Kapustin in the big blind to 65,000. Ustinovich called, and 6♣4♣3♣ came on the flop.
Kapustin bet another 45,000 on this first street. But this time, it was Ustinovich who raised, for all his chips. Kapustin called with fewer chips.
Denis Kapustin: A♣K♣
Oleg Ustinovich: Q♣10♣
In this big setup, Ustinovich couldn't do anything against the nut flush. The 8♦ and the 4♥ completed the board, and Kapustin doubled up.
Both having small stacks, Aziz Efe and Florian Guimond are cautious about taking risks. However, Efe, still in search of more chips, initiated the action by opening from the middle position with a bet of 23,000. Guimond in the big blind opted to call.
On the flop 2♦9♣10♠, Guimond chose to check, and Efe checked too. Seizing the opportunity, Guimond placed a bet of 30,000 when the 8♠ came on the turn.. After a few seconds, Efe decided to fold and let the pot to Guimond, who is back over 20 blinds.
Level: 17
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
Damir Zhugralin was in the cutoff when he raised to 16,000. On the button, Nikolay Ponomarev three-bet to 46,000. Then in the small blind, Kubanychbek Abakirov decided to four-bet all in for 377,000 chips. Zhugralin reshoved, prompting Ponomarev to fold.
Kubanychbek Abakirov: 9♠9♦
Damir Zhugralin: K♠K♣
In this massive pot of more than 900,000 chips, Zhugralin claimed the entire pot with his kings on 3♠7♠5♦2♠J♦. Abakirov was eliminated, and Zhugralin took the tournament's chiplead.
A total of 153 entrants were registered in this 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $10,500 High Roller event. It generated a prize pool of $1,407,600. And among all these entrants, only 20 players will finish "in the money" with a minimum cash prize of $16,500.
However, the winner's prize will be significantly larger, as there is a first-place prize of $350,000.
| PLACE | PRIZE |
|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 |
| 2 | $246,300 |
| 3 | $158,600 |
| 4 | $117,600 |
| 5 | $88,500 |
| 6 | $70,900 |
| 7 | $59,100 |
| 8 | $47,500 |
| 9 | $35,700 |
| 10-12 | $26,300 |
| 13-15 | $21,800 |
| 16-18 | $18,700 |
| 19-20 | $16,500 |
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