$3,300 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2023 Merit Poker Western Series
$3,300 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
2023 Merit Poker Western Series
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$2,089,320
Entries
757
Level
38
Blinds
500,000 / 1,000,000
Ante
1,000,000
Entries
200
Players Left
92
M'Hiri Holds Heaps After Day 1b of the Merit Main Event
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Day 1b Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event has reached its end as it saw about 158 entries play down to around 95 players in nine levels of play here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel & Casino.
Ending the night as one of the largest stacks was Chakib M'Hiri of Tunisia who finished with 627,000. His big stack was made aware of in the later part of the day and he would build from there, at one point having well over 700,000 before losing a flip to a shorter stack in one of the final few hands but still emerging as the likely largest stack.
Just behind him at the end of play was Aleksandar Jakovljevic of Romania (607,000) who held a big stack for much of the day.
Fresh off of a third-place finish in The Warm-Up event, Paul Browne continued that momentum with a great start to the day as he more than doubled his stack within the first level. He would continue to build as the night wore on and ended the night with 528,000.
Top 10 Chip Counts Day 1b
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chakib M'Hiri | Tunisia | 627,000 |
| 2 | Alexander Jakovljevic | Romania | 607,000 |
| 3 | Paul Browne | United Kingdom | 528,000 |
| 4 | Anatloiy Shetyn | Russia | 515,000 |
| 5 | Michel Atallah | Lebanon | 440,000 |
| 6 | Valeriy Pak | Belarus | 438,500 |
| 7 | Idin Sedghinasab | United States | 424,000 |
| 8 | Denis Matafonov | Russia | 419,000 |
| 9 | Naji Abdo | Lebanon | 380,000 |
| 10 | Fadi El-Hany | Lebanon | 367,000 |
Several faces familiar to the North Cyprus poker scene were able to bag decent stacks and advance on to Day 2. They include; Belarusian Valeriy Pak (438,500), Gabi Livshitz (338,500) and his compatriot Uri Reichenstein (252,000).
About 60% of the players advanced to Day 2 where they will return to action on Monday January 23rd at 12 p.m. noon local time. They will join the 109 survivors of Day 1a and the ones who survive Days 1c and 1d tomorrow.
PokerNews will continue coverage of the Main Event tomorrow at 12 noon.
End of Day 1b Chip Counts (full)
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
627,000 | -43,000 |
|
607,000 | 607,000 |
|
528,000 | 48,000 |
|
515,000 | 515,000 |
|
440,000 | 224,000 |
|
438,500 | 216,500 |
|
424,000 | 424,000 |
|
|
419,000 | 310,000 |
|
|
380,000 | 380,000 |
|
367,000 | 367,000 |
|
356,500 | -48,500 |
|
338,500 | -1,500 |
|
|
329,500 | 329,500 |
|
323,000 | 323,000 |
|
314,500 | 19,500 |
|
310,500 | 310,500 |
|
310,000 | 55,000 |
|
304,000 | 304,000 |
|
299,500 | 299,500 |
|
|
298,500 | 298,500 |
|
|
298,000 | 298,000 |
|
291,000 | 291,000 |
|
289,500 | 289,500 |
|
284,000 | 284,000 |
|
283,000 | 283,000 |
Four More Hands
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Four more hands have been drawn before the end of play for the night.
Rumba Gets a Late Night Double
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Roberts Rumba jammed for about 80,000 over a three-bet from Dawid Smolka who called when it was back on him.
Roberts Rumba: 
Dawid Smolka: 
Rumba was looking good for a double up as the board ran out 
and his double was secured.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
164,000 | 164,000 |
|
105,000 | -125,000 |
M'Hiri Devouring Chips
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Three players committed 30,000 to the middle preflop as they saw a flop of 
.
Big stack Chakib M'Hiri bet 17,000 from middle position. The cutoff folded and Mikhail Katykin called under the gun.
The turn was the 
. Both players checked to the river which was the 
. The action went check-check once again.
Katykin tabled the 
but it was beaten by the 
of M'Hiri who reeled in the chips as he emerged as the late night chip leader.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
670,000 | 90,000 |
|
|
255,000 | 132,000 |
Chilaud Chizzles From Reichenstein
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Three players were on the turn with the board reading 
. Maxime Chilaud bet 14,000 from the big blind, Uri Reichenstein called under the gun and the button folded.
The river came the 
to brig four clubs to the board. Chilaud led out for 32,000. Reichenstein tanked for several moments before he folded his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
330,000 | 110,000 |
|
|
295,000 | 175,000 |
Level: 9
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Last Break of the Night
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The last 10-minute break of the night has been reached. Afterwards only one more level will be played before the chips are bagged and tagged.
Dedelov Takes One From Mandara
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The board read 
on the turn. Fedor Dedelov bet 25,000 from middle position. Ryan Mandara was under the gun and after confirming the amount of the bet he folded his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
285,000 | 87,000 |
|
190,000 | 190,000 |