2023 Merit Poker Retro Series

$3,300 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2023 Merit Poker Retro Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
kk
Prize
$567,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$3,375,480
Entries
1,223
Level Info
Level
41
Blinds
600,000 / 1,200,000
Ante
1,200,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
435
Players Left
215

$3,300 Main Event

Day 2 Completed

Big Stacks For Guimond And Biz On Day 2

Level 18 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Florian Guimond
Florian Guimond

Players and tournament directors expected a record-breaking tournament. The 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $3,300 Main Event indeed broke records, with a total of 1,223 entrants. This field generated a total prize pool of $3,375,480, which is over the $3,000,000 guarantee.

Out of the 1,223 entrants, 215 players still had chips at the end of Day 2, and will come back on Wednesday, August 16 for Day 3. And they are led by Florian Guimond, who had the most chips of all (1,705,000). He is followed by Mustafa Biz (1,671,000), who already finished third in the High Roller a few days ago. The runner-up of the High Roller, Uri Reichenstein, also qualified for Day 3 with 1,079,000 chips.

RANKPLAYERCOUNTRYCHIP COUNTBLINDS
1Florian GuimondFrance1,705,000171
2Mustafa BizTurkey1,671,000167
3Daniel RezaeiAustria1,645,000165
4Geo 1,500,000150
5Zulfiya KolguKazakhstan1,494,000149
6Ruslan VolkovUkraine1,461,000146
7Milad Oghabian LangarIran1,433,000143
8Razvan SabauRomania1,352,000135
9Roman NovoselovRussia1,328,000133
10Kanan TaherkhaniTurkey1,310,000131

Other notable players also put chips in their bags, such as PSPC finalist Thomas Eychenne (1,158,000), WPT winners Dmitry Gromov (1,158,000), Benjamin Hamnett (779,000), Alessio Isaia (757,000), or Andrey Pateychuk, who has a stack not much bigger than the starting stack (146,000).

The situation is way better for bracelet winners Dominik Panka (1,012,000) or Ran Koller (701,000). It also should have been the same for Bart Lybaert, who had a nice stack all day long. But it decreased at the end of the day, and he'll come back with 180,000 chips.

However, Lybaert is still in the race for the money. And Day 3 will be an important day, because the last 143 players will win a minimum cash prize of $4,390. But the the road to the first prize of $567,000 is still very long. It will start at noon on Level 19 (5,000/10,000 BB Ante 10,000) with 60-minute levels.

PokerNews will once again be on hand to deliver you all of the action.

Tags: Alessio IsaiaAndrey PateychukBart LybaertBenjamin HamnettDaniel RezaeiDmitry GromovDominik PankaFlorian GuimondGeorges El-HachemKanan TaherkhaniMilad Oghabian LangarMustafa BizRan KollerRazvan SabauRoman NovoselovRuslan VolkovThomas EychenneUri ReichensteinZulfiya Kolgu

Day 2 Chip Count (full)

Level 18 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Florian Guimond fr
Florian Guimond
1,705,000
105,000
105,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Mustafa Biz tr
Mustafa Biz
1,671,000
891,000
891,000
Daniel Rezaei at
Daniel Rezaei
1,645,000
1,552,000
1,552,000
Geo
Geo
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,500,000
Zulfiya Kolgu kz
Zulfiya Kolgu
1,494,000
1,359,500
1,359,500
Ruslan Volkov ua
Ruslan Volkov
1,461,000
1,386,000
1,386,000
Milad Oghabian ir
Milad Oghabian
1,433,000
1,325,000
1,325,000
Razvan Sabau ro
Razvan Sabau
1,352,000
884,000
884,000
Roman Novoselov ru
Roman Novoselov
1,328,000
1,328,000
1,328,000
Kanan Taherkhani tr
Kanan Taherkhani
1,310,000
-90,000
-90,000
Day 1C Chip Leader
Vladislav Doroshkov ru
Vladislav Doroshkov
1,197,000
-103,000
-103,000
Karim Rebei dz
Karim Rebei
1,177,000
1,027,000
1,027,000
Dmitry Gromov ru
Dmitry Gromov
1,158,000
855,500
855,500
WPT 1X Winner
Mohammed Almiristany sy
Mohammed Almiristany
1,153,000
1,153,000
1,153,000
Farid Hobeiche
Farid Hobeiche
1,135,000
1,135,000
1,135,000
Hassan Nashar gm
Hassan Nashar
1,127,000
623,500
623,500
Oshri Lahmani il
Oshri Lahmani
1,100,000
1,100,000
1,100,000
Chrysi Phiniotis cy
Chrysi Phiniotis
1,100,000
358,000
358,000
Thomas Eychenne fr
Thomas Eychenne
1,088,000
1,088,000
1,088,000
Michael Magalashvili il
Michael Magalashvili
1,085,000
565,500
565,500
Uri Reichenstein il
Uri Reichenstein
1,079,000
299,000
299,000
Rachid El Yaacoubi fr
Rachid El Yaacoubi
1,079,000
249,000
249,000
Vlado Banicevic me
Vlado Banicevic
1,076,000
952,500
952,500
Sharky_Sams
Sharky_Sams
1,051,000
566,000
566,000
Ran Ilani il
Ran Ilani
1,051,000
326,000
326,000

Read full

Livshitz Folds Flush

Level 18 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante

In early position, Nenad Dukic opened to 18,000. He was called by Gabi Livshitz in the big blind, who defended and saw a 31010 flop.

But when Dukic bet 11,000, Livshitz decided to check-raise to 31,000. Dukic called, and the 5 appeared on the turn. Livshitz continued his aggression, adding 42,000 chips to the pot. However, Dukic didn't back down and called.

The river card was the 9. Livshitz sized big, betting 127,000 in a pot of 197,000 chips. But he was surprised to see Dukic moving all in for 442,000 chips, which was more than his remaining 267,000 chips.

Facing a very tough decision, Livshitz eventually folded a flush with 76. The stream revealed Dukic had AQ for a bluff.

Player Chips Progress
Nenad Dukic rs
Nenad Dukic
763,000
599,500
599,500
Gabi Livshitz il
Gabi Livshitz
267,000
-143,000
-143,000

Tags: Gabi LivshitzNenad Dukic

Ustinovich Out Before The End

Level 18 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante

Adrien Sanz initiated the action, betting 18,000 from the button. But in the small blind, Oleg Ustinovich raised all in for approximately 165,000 chips. In the big blind, Mehdi Chaoui looked at his cards and reraised all in. Sanz immediately folded.

Oleg Ustinovich: KQ
Mehdi Chaoui: KK

Ustinovich was on the edge of elimination on the flop of 543, but the 8 gave him hope with a flush draw. However, the 5 didn't complete this flush, and he was eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Mehdi Chaoui ma
Mehdi Chaoui
790,000
460,000
460,000
Winamax
Adrien Sanz fr
Adrien Sanz
300,000
300,000
300,000
Oleg Ustinovich ru
Oleg Ustinovich
Busted

Tags: Adrien SanzMehdi ChaouiOleg Ustinovich

Subramaniam Eliminated From The TV Table

Level 18 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante

Under the spotlights, Mariappan Subramaniam raised to 18,000 from under the gun. Gabi Livshitz called from middle position, and there were only two players left on the flop 4A5.

On this first street, Mariappan Subramaniam didn't wait to go all in for 49,000 chips. Livshitz quickly called.

Mariappan Subramaniam: A10
Gabi Livshitz: AJ

Subramaniam's only chance of survival was to get a ten. However, the 9 on the turn and the 5 on the river completed the board, leading to his elimination.

Player Chips Progress
Gabi Livshitz il
Gabi Livshitz
410,000
43,500
43,500
Mariappan Subramaniam sg
Mariappan Subramaniam
Busted

Tags: Gabi LivshitzMariappan Subramaniam

Extra Life For Drokin

Level 18 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante

Volodymyr Drokin had only 36,00 chips left when he raised to 26,000 from middle position. In the big blind, Michael Allen seemed to have no other choice but to raise to force him to go all in. And that's Drokin did.

Volodymyr Drokin: Q3
Michael Allen: A4

Drokin was lucky enough to hit a three on the flop on 3859J and to double up to 84,000 chips.

Player Chips Progress
Michael Allen gb
Michael Allen
570,000
Volodymyr Drokin ua
Volodymyr Drokin
84,000

Level: 18

Blinds: 4,000/8,000

Ante: 8,000