2023 Merit Poker Western Series
Three players were at the turn with the board reading ![]()
![]()
![]()
. From the small blind, Aleksandr Ivanov bet 35,000. Toni Kaukua called in the big blind and Dawid Kuliberda also called in early position.
The river was the
. It checked all the way around. Ivanov tabled the ![]()
but that was second best to the ![]()
straight of Kaukua.
The aftermath of a hand was being deciphered as Ran Ilani was seen scooping a huge pot as his ![]()
was showing as the winner on a board of ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
.
The losing hand was turned over but it was Mohamad El-Sayed who was getting up and heading to the exits as he was eliminated. Meanwhile, Ilani's stack has grown to one of the largest in the room.
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 6,000
With registration closed, the prizepool has been finalized as $676,200, completely blowing past the $250,000 guarantee thanks to 147 entries. The top 17 players will be paid, the min-cash will be $9,200 and the grand prize will be $170,000.
Total Payouts
| Position | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1 | $170,000 |
| 2 | $119,400 |
| 3 | $77,100 |
| 4 | $57,200 |
| 5 | $43,000 |
| 6 | $34,500 |
| 7 | $28,700 |
| 8 | $23,100 |
| 9 | $17,500 |
| 10-12 | $12,900 |
| 13-15 | $10,700 |
| 16-17 | $9,200 |
There was a large pot of more than 100,000 in the middle already as the flop showed ![]()
![]()
.
From middle position, Michele D'Angelo moved all in and Giorgii Shkulukhiia snap-called.
Michele D'Angelo: ![]()
![]()
Giorgii Shkulukhiia: ![]()
![]()
The turn was the
and the rive the
to end the night for D'Angelo as he got up while Shkulukhiia zoomed up into the chip lead.
Level: 14
Blinds: 2,000/5,000
Ante: 5,000
Aleksei Istomin was all in preflop and dominated,
Aleksei Istomin: ![]()
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Alexandr Lakhov: ![]()
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The flop came ![]()
![]()
, the turn was the
and the river the
to end the night for Istomin.
On a completed board of ![]()
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![]()
![]()
, Dawid Kuliberda bet 35,000 into a pot of about 45,000 from under the gun.
Claudiu Jianu was early position on his left and had to think about it for quite a while before he decided to call.
Kuliberda tabled the ![]()
. Jianu gave him a thumbs up and Kuliberda took in the chips to his growing stack.