$3,300 Main Event Day 2 | 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series

08-15-2023 22:55 UTC+2

Big Stacks For Guimond And Biz On Day 2

Maxime Taldir

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

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.

RANK	PLAYER	COUNTRY	CHIP COUNT	BLINDS
1	Florian Guimond	France	1,705,000	171
2	Mustafa Biz	Turkey	1,671,000	167
3	Daniel Rezaei	Austria	1,645,000	165
4	Geo		1,500,000	150
5	Zulfiya Kolgu	Kazakhstan	1,494,000	149
6	Ruslan Volkov	Ukraine	1,461,000	146
7	Milad Oghabian Langar	Iran	1,433,000	143
8	Razvan Sabau	Romania	1,352,000	135
9	Roman Novoselov	Russia	1,328,000	133
10	Kanan Taherkhani	Turkey	1,310,000	131

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 Isaia Andrey Pateychuk Bart Lybaert Benjamin Hamnett Daniel Rezaei Dmitry Gromov Dominik Panka Florian Guimond Georges El-Hachem Kanan Taherkhani Milad Oghabian Langar Mustafa Biz Ran Koller Razvan Sabau Roman Novoselov Ruslan Volkov Thomas Eychenne Uri Reichenstein Zulfiya Kolgu

08-15-2023 18:45 UTC+2

$567,000 For The Winner Of The Main Event

Maxime Taldir

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

The payout of the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $3,300 Main Event has just been displayed on the screens. The 1,223 entrants generated a total prize pool of $3,375,480.

There will be 143 places in the money in this event, with a minimum cash prize of $4,390. But most importantly, there will be a massive prize of $567,000 for the winner of the tournament.

2023 Merit poker Retro Series $3,300 Main Event Payout

PLACE	PRIZE	PLACE	PRIZE	PLACE	PRIZE
1	$567,000	9	$56,700	36-44	$14,850
2	$417,900	10-12	$42,900	45-53	$12,490
3	$257,900	13-15	$34,430	54-62	$10,470
4	$191,100	16-18	$29,700	63-71	$8,770
5	$142,400	19-21	$26,330	72-80	$7,420
6	$115,100	22-24	$23,290	81-89	$6,410
7	$95,900	25-26	$20,250	90-98	$5,400
8	$76,300	27-35	$17,210	99-143	$4,390

08-15-2023 17:55 UTC+2

1,223 Entrants For The 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series Main Event

Maxime Taldir

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Late registrations were closed at the end of Level 14. In total, the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series Main Event had 1,223 entrants, with 253 entering or reentering on Day 2. It is more than twice last year's number of entrants (409).

Among these 1,223 entrants, 335 players are currently remaining and are approaching the money. The payout details should be revealed soon.

Day	Entrants	Remaining
Day 1a	418	179
Day 1b	286	123
Day 1c	225	108
Day 1d Turbo	41	25
Day 2	253
Total	1,223

08-15-2023 17:40 UTC+2

Big Pot For Doroshkov

Maxime Taldir

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

From middle position, Vladislav Doroshkov opened to 9,000, but saw the hijack on his left three-bet to 18,000. The action came back to Doroshkov, and who chose to four-bet to 50,000.

He was called, and the flop K♣J♣10♦ appeared on the table. On the first street, Doroshkov bet, putting 65,000 chips in front of him. Once called, he increased the bet slightly to 75,000 on the turn Q♠.

After the river 4♠ was revealed, he asked for an extra 50,000. His opponent seemed like he had no choice but to call. However, when he did, he discovered K♥K♠ for a set in Doroshkov's hands. The hijack showed KxQx and stood up to take a deep breath.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vladislav Doroshkov	1,300,000 300,000	300,000

Tags: Vladislav Doroshkov

08-15-2023 16:22 UTC+2

Afrah Runs Into Aces

Maxime Taldir

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/3,500, 3,500 ante

On the feature table, Boris Tabiyev raised from under the gun to 7,000. Seated on his left, Paolo three-bet to 21,000. He was called by Afrah Afrah in the hijack, and by Tabiyev.

The flop 10♥5♠5♣ appeared on the table, and Tabiyev checked to let Paolo bet 37,000. Afrah called again, but Tabiyev folded pocket sevens.

The J♦ came on the turn, allowing Paolo to fire a second barrel of 68,000. Afrah went into the tank, but eventually called. Her decision was quicker on the river 2♥, as she simply checked back with K♠K♦. Unfortunately for her, Paolo had the best possible pair with A♠A♥.

Player	Chips	Progress
Boris Tabiyev	478,000 8,000	8,000
Afrah A	232,000 -158,000	-158,000

Tags: Afrah Afrah Boris Tabiyev

08-15-2023 15:14 UTC+2

After The High Roller, The Main Event

Maxime Taldir

Level 13 : Blinds 1,500/3,500, 3,500 ante

Winner of the $10,500 High Roller this week, Damir Zhugralin is now playing in the Main Event to try to win a second event in the festival. He is doing great so far with 340,000 chips, more than average.

And he keeps winning small pots, like when he three-bet from the button to 22,000 after an open by the cutoff to 7,500. On the flop 4♦7♣K♣, he bet 16,500 on the first street, then 54,000 on the river Q♥. He was called the first time, but not the second time.

A few hands later, he found himself in the hijack against the big blind on K♣J♠6♦. Once again, he made a continuation bet and was called. But shortly after he bet on the turn 4♠, his opponent folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Damir Zhugralin	360,000

Tags: Damir Zhugralin

08-15-2023 14:58 UTC+2

Chaoui Raises On The River

Maxime Taldir

Level 13 : Blinds 1,500/3,500, 3,500 ante

After an open to 7,000 by the player in the hijack, Mehdi Chaoui called on the button, and Samir Moukawem defended his big blind.

On a low flop of 3♦5♠6♣, Moukawem bet 7,000 directly. This action led to a fold from the hijack player, but not from Chaoui. The turn was the 9♣, and Moukawem asked for 8,000 more chips. Chaoui kept calling to see the river 7♠.

Moukawem fired a third barrel of 7,000. However, this time, Chaoui raised to 32,000. Moukawem eventually called with K♥5♥, but lost against Chaoui's 9♦8♦.

With his stack down to 13,000, Moukawem was eliminated a few hands later.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mehdi Chaoui	330,000 186,500	186,500

Gaspare Sposato	270,000 -67,500	-67,500
Karim Rebei	150,000 150,000	150,000
Samir Moukawem	Busted

Tags: Mehdi Chaoui Samir Moukawem

08-15-2023 13:25 UTC+2

Rachedi In The Rail

Maxime Taldir

Level 11 : Blinds 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante

Ali Rachedi started the day with a small stack of 48,500 chips, but he only had 16,000 chips left when he moved all in. He was called by Denis Rosina.

Ali Rachedi: 10♥10♦
Denis Rosina: A♣J♣

Rachedi had a 50% chances to double up. But an ace came directly on the flop of 9♠A♦6♠ to put Rosina in the lead. And after the turn 7♠ and the river 3♠, Rachedi left the area.

Player	Chips	Progress
Denis Rosina	340,000 -6,000	-6,000
Ali Rachedi	Busted

Tags: Ali Rachedi Denis Rosina

08-15-2023 10:02 UTC+2

435 Players Out Of 970 Entrants Qualified For Day 2

Maxime Taldir

After four Day 1s, 435 players will gather at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino for Day 2 of the 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series $3,300 Main Event. In total, 920 entrants have been registered after Days 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d Turbo. But out of those 920 registrations, only half of them qualified for today's Day 2.

	Entrants	Remaining
Day 1a	418	179
Day 1b	286	123
Day 1c	225	108
Day 1d Turbo	41	25
Total	970	435

For now, Abdallah Jamal Eddine holds the title of the overall chipleader, as he finished Day 1b with 842,500 chips. Day 1c's chipleader, Kanan Taherkhani, follows closely behind (825,000). The biggest stack from Day 1a, Bahram Sakettaromsari (805,000), is the third and final stack with over 800,000 chips. To complete the picture, Carlos Aoun ended Day 1d Turbo as the chipleader as well, although his stack is considerably smaller than the others, with (only) 362,000 chips.

Day 1 Overall Top 10

RANK	PLAYER	COUNTRY	CHIP COUNT	BLINDS
1	Abdallah Jamal Eddine	Lebanon	842,500	281
2	Kanan Taherkhani	Turkey	825,000	275
3	Bahram Sakettaromsari	Iran	805,000	268
4	Ali Al-Kubasi	Iraq	760,000	253
5	Fahredin Mustafov	Bulgaria	739,000	246
6	Darko Svesko	Serbia	731,000	244
7	Michael Allen	United Kingdom	696,500	232
8	Jakub Koleckar	Czech Republic	691,500	231
9	Giora Tsimmerman	Israel	679,500	227
10	Vladislav Doroshkov	Russia	672,000	224

But at the beginning of Day 2 at noon, it will still be challenging to have a complete view of the field, as late registrations remain open until the end of Level 14. So for the players eliminated, there will be five more 60-minute levels to enter or re-enter the tournament if needed. Day 2 will start on Level 10 (1,000/2,500 BB Ante 2,500, with a 15-minute break every two levels.

PokerNews will be following the action the entire way, providing live updates.

Tags: Abdallah Jamal Eddine Ali Al-Kubasi Carlos Aoun Darko Svesko Fahredin Mustafov Giora Tsimmerman Jakub Koleckar Kanan Taherkhani Michael Allen Vladislav Doroshkov