Valeriy Pak Leads the Way to the Money Bubble on Day 3 of the Warm Up
The race to the money bubble will be on when Day 3 of the Merit Poker Western Series $2,200 Warm Up begins at noon local time.
Belarus’ Valeriy Pak leads the 102 remaining players with 1,320,000. Right behind him are Ryan Mandara and Paul Browne with 1,200,000, both of whom have been near the top of the leaderboard for the entire tournament.
They are followed by Maxime Chilaud (1,121,000), Andrew Hulme (1,068,000), and Jamie Nixon (1,002,000). Further down the leaderboard are Day 1b chip leader Ermanno Di Nicola (847,000), Koray Korkmaz (846,000), Recep Aydemir (667,000), Timur Margolin (620,000), and Ran Ilani (580,000).
Top 10 chip counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valeriy Pak | Belarus | 1,320,000 | 132 |
| 2 | Ryan Mandara | United Kingdom | 1,200,000 | 120 |
| 3 | Paul Browne | United Kingdom | 1,200,000 | 120 |
| 4 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 1,121,000 | 112 |
| 5 | Andrew Hulme | United Kingdom | 1,068,000 | 107 |
| 6 | Valentin Tsoy | Uzbekistan | 1,021,000 | 102 |
| 7 | Zaid Al-Khashab | Iran | 1,002,000 | 100 |
| 8 | Jamie Nixon | United Kingdom | 1,002,000 | 100 |
| 9 | Nariman Yaghmai | Iran | 993,000 | 99 |
| 10 | Arie Kliper | Israel | 934,000 | 93 |
The first task of Day 3 is to burst the money bubble. Only the top 62 finishers will earn a piece of the $962,320 prize pool, so 40 players would have come all this way only to leave empty-handed.
Blinds will pick up on Level 17 at 5,000-10,000, with a 10,000 big blind ante. Levels will again be 60 minutes long, with a 15-minute break after every two levels.
The money bubble awaits. Then it’s a race to the final table and the eventual crowning of a champion. PokerNews will be following all the action and providing live updates throughout the day from the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus.