$2,200 Warmup | 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series

$2,200 Warmup

Day 4 Started

08-11-2023 09:59 UTC+2

Day 4 Seat Draw

Maxime Taldir

Table	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	1	Ran Koller	Israel	1,380,000	14
1	2	Bogdan Jontulovic	Serbia	5,390,000	54
1	3	Aleksandr Chernikov	Russia	3,110,000	31
1	4	Alain Hajj	Lebanon	4,865,000	49
1	5	Huseyin Kaba	Turkey	1,240,000	12
1	6	Abulmuhsin Aydin	France	2,090,000	21
1	7	Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	Georgia	4,105,000	41
1	8	Wael Sarkis	Lebanon	1,575,000	16
1	9	Vladislav Doroshkov	Russia	3,065,000	31
					-
2	1	Oleg Eltsov	Russia	2,505,000	25
2	2	Oleg Ustinovich	Russia	4,500,000	45
2	3	Andrey Koks	Estonia	1,610,000	16
2	4	Hadi Khadra	Lebanon	3,385,000	34
2	5	Orestis Kanakopoulos	Greece	5,975,000	60
2	6	Mikhail Zamiatin	Russia	3,125,000	31
2	7	Afshin Taheri	Iran	6,360,000	64
2	8	Ran Ilani	Israel	1,740,000	17
					-
3	1	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	1,250,000	13
3	2	Rudolf Domin	Russia	1,390,000	14
3	3	Kristaps Vismanis	Latvia	1,895,000	19
3	4	Murat Cakir	Turkey	2,260,000	23
3	5	Ercan Gundogan	Turkey	985,000	10
3	6	Goku		1,150,000	12
3	7	Or Nezer	Israel	6,150,000	62
3	8	Nicolas Chouity	Lebanon	8,735,000	87

08-11-2023 10:03 UTC+2

Final Day Of The $2,200 Warm Up Starts At Noon

Maxime Taldir

It is the fourth and final day of the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $2,200 Warm-Up at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. Out of 809 entrants, there are 25 players left in the tournament, hoping to reach the final table and to win the $264,400 cash prize that will be offered to the winner.

Before that, there is still a long way to go. But for Nicolas Chouity, the day will start in the best possible conditions as he'll be back as the chipleader, with 8,735,000 chips. With more than 20 blinds behind, players like Afshin Taheri (6,360,000), Or Nezer(6,150,000), and Orestis Kanakopoulos (5,975,000) will also try to secure a spot at the final table.

Day 4 Chip Count

Rank	Player	Country	Chip count	Blinds
1	Nicolas Chouity	Lebanon	8,735,000	87
2	Afshin Taheri	Iran	6,360,000	64
3	Or Nezer	Israel	6,150,000	62
4	Orestis Kanakopoulos	Greece	5,975,000	60
5	Bogdan Jontulovic	Serbia	5,390,000	54
6	Alain Hajj	Lebanon	4,865,000	49
7	Oleg Ustinovich	Russia	4,500,000	45
8	Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	Georgia	4,105,000	41
9	Hadi Khadra	Lebanon	3,385,000	34
10	Mikhail Zamiatin	Russia	3,125,000	31

With slightly fewer chips but just as motivated as the chip leaders, Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (4,105,000), Aleksandr Chernikov (3,110,000), Vladislav Doroshkov (3,065,000), and Abulmuhsin Aydin (2,090,000) will also strive to be one of the final nine players, and perhaps the last one. The same situation applies to Ran Koller (1,380,000), Huseyin Kaba (1,240,000), or Ercan Gundogan (985,000), who will have nothing to lose since they already have the shortest stacks in the field.

2023 Merit Retro Series $2,200 Payout

Place	Prize	Place	Prize
1	$264,400	9	$26,500
2	$194,700	10-12	$19,500
3	$119,700	13-15	$15,780
4	$88,600	16-18	$13,545
5	$66,200	19-21	$12,055
6	$53,600	22-24	$10,720
7	$44,300	25	$9,380
8	$35,200

Play will resume at noon local time. Blinds will pick up in Level 27, at 50,000-100,000 and a 100,000 big blind ante. Then, Day 4 will continue until a winner is crowned. Also, each player will receive six time banks as shot clocks will be introduced.

PokerNews will follow the action all the way on Day 4! This final Day will also be on stream, with a 30 to 40-minute delay.

Tags: Afshin Taheri Alain Hajj Bogdan Jontulovic Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Hadi Khadra Mikhail Zamiatin Nicolas Chouity Oleg Ustinovich Or Nezer Orestis Kanakopoulos

Level: 27

Blinds: 50,000/100,000

Ante: 100,000

08-11-2023 11:11 UTC+2

Shuffle Up And Deal

Maxime Taldir

Level 27 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Table 1 has been chosen as the feature table. And a few minutes after noon, Day 4 of the $2,200 Warm Up started. PokerNews will respect a 30-minute delay to follow the stream.

08-11-2023 11:45 UTC+2

Early Double Up With Quads For Kaba

Maxime Taldir

Level 27 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

On the very first hand, Huseyin Kaba on the button raised to 235,000. In the big blind, Giorgiy Skhulukhiya wen all in for 4,010,000 chips, and Kaba quickly called with his 1,235,000 chips.

Huseyin Kaba: A♥Q♥
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya: 4♠4♣

It was an easy win for Kaba, because he found quads on A♣9♦A♠A♦4♦ to double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	2,800,000 -1,305,000	-1,305,000
Huseyin Kaba	2,600,000 1,360,000	1,360,000

Tags: Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Huseyin Kaba

08-11-2023 11:55 UTC+2

Shornikau Claims The First Elimination

Calum Grant

Level 27 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

In the hijack, "Goku" moved almost all in, pushing 1,075,000 chips into the middle, leaving only 15,000 behind. From the small blind, Maksim Shornikau reshoved with a slightly bigger stack, and Goku called.

Goku: K♥Q♥
Maksim Shornikau: Q♣Q♦

The 5♠4♠10♦J♣10♠ runout offered no help to Goku, and he became the first player eliminated on Day 4.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maksim Shornikau	2,500,000 1,250,000	1,250,000
Goku	Busted

Tags: Maksim Shornikau

08-11-2023 12:02 UTC+2

Wael Sarkis Eliminated in 24th Place ($10,720)

Calum Grant

Level 27 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya opened to 200,000 from early position and called when Wael Sarkis jammed for 1,515,000 on his direct left.

Wael Sarkis: A♦J♣
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya: K♦K♣

The 8♥7♦2♥ flop kept the kings in front and the 3♥4♥ runout confirmed Sarkis' departure.

Player	Chips	Progress
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	4,300,000 1,500,000	1,500,000
Wael Sarkis	Busted

Tags: Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Wael Sarkis

08-11-2023 12:02 UTC+2

Ercan Gundogan Eliminated In 23rd Place ($10,720)

Calum Grant

Level 27 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

After an open to 200,000 by Nicolas Chouity in middle position, Ercan Gundogan went all in from the small blind for 785,000. Chouity made the call.

Ercan Gundogan: A♦9♠
Nicolas Chouity: 9♥8♥

On the J♥J♣3♥ flop, Gundogan was safe. But the 8♦ turn paired Chouity up. The 4♠ river didn't change anything, and Gundogan finished 23rd for $10,720.