$2,200 Warmup
Day 1bc Completed
2023 Merit Poker Western Series
$2,200 Warmup
Day: 1bc
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1bc
2023 Merit Poker Western Series
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$962,320
Entries
523
Level
36
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
201
Players Left
99
Bartlomiej Swieboda Rides the Roller Coaster to the Top of the Leaderboard on Day 1b
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The Merit Poker Western Series evokes imagery from the wild, wild west, and no one had a wilder day than Bartlomiej Swieboda on Day 1b of the $2,200 Warm Up.
Knocked down to just a few thousand chips, Swieboda got involved in a three-way all in with pocket sevens. He flopped a set, then hit quads on the river to triple up. But his excitement wouldn’t last long, as on the very next hand he again flopped a set, this time with pocket eights, but had Ben Hershkovich river a flush.
Swieboda’s roller-coaster day wasn’t over quite yet, however. Forced to reenter, he made the most of his second bullet, bagging up 463,000 and finishing Day 1b in fourth place on the chip leaderboard. He trails chip leader Ermanno Di Nicola (583,000), as well as Valentin Tsoy (545,000) and Arie Kliper (475,000).
Israeli pros Uri Reichenstein and Gabi Livshitz spent most of the day sharing a table and quite a bit of table banter as each enjoyed a fruitful Day 1b. Reichenstein ended up with 355,000, while Livshitz, who won this event in 2020, has 351,000. Other notables to survive the day include Koray Korkmaz (359,000), Maxime Chilaud (271,500), and Dawid Smolka (94,500).
Day 1b Top 10 chip counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | 583,000 | 233 |
| 2 | Valentin Tsoy | Uzbekistan | 545,000 | 218 |
| 3 | Arie Kliper | Israel | 475,000 | 190 |
| 4 | Bartlomiej Swieboda | Poland | 463,000 | 185 |
| 5 | Vasili Firsau | Belarus | 385,000 | 154 |
| 6 | Roman Kolotiuk | Russia | 371,000 | 148 |
| 7 | Eduard Barsegian | Russia | 370,000 | 148 |
| 8 | Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | 363,000 | 145 |
| 9 | Evgenii Katymaev | Russia | 360,500 | 144 |
| 10 | Koray Korkmaz | Turkey | 359,000 | 144 |
A total of 201 entries gathered in the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino poker room to chase a portion of the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool, and only 99 made it through to Day 2 tomorrow. They’ll join the 60 who survived Day 1a, as well as players from the turbo Day 1c flight later tonight. With late registration open for the first four levels of Day 2, the field will grow substantially larger before players reach the money.
Stay tuned for more action from the Merit Poker Western Series as PokerNews will be providing all the action up to a champion being crowned.
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
583,000 | 583,000 |
|
545,000 | 545,000 |
|
475,000 | 135,000 |
|
463,000 | 463,000 |
|
385,000 | 155,000 |
|
371,000 | 111,000 |
|
370,000 | 15,000 |
|
363,000 | |
|
360,500 | 240,500 |
|
359,000 | 89,000 |
|
355,000 | |
|
355,000 | 95,000 |
|
351,000 | 1,000 |
|
332,500 | -27,500 |
|
319,000 | -71,000 |
|
316,000 | 316,000 |
|
|
315,500 | 315,500 |
|
|
288,000 | 288,000 |
|
|
285,500 | 285,500 |
|
285,000 | 155,000 |
|
|
284,500 | 99,500 |
|
284,500 | 164,500 |
|
|
283,500 | 283,500 |
|
279,500 | 29,500 |
|
276,500 | -63,500 |
Three More Hands
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Tournament officials have announced that players will see three more hands before bagging up for the night.
Chilaud's Kings Send Out Chisu
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Maxime Chilaud and Danut Chisu built a pot of around 50,000 heading to the turn on a board of 
. Chilaud, on the button, tossed out three 25,000 chips, enough to put Chisu all in.
Chisu tanked for several minutes before he committed his last chips. Chilaud quickly turned over 
, and Chisu got out of his seat and showed 
.
The 
river was no help and Chisu was sent to the rail late in the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
250,000 | 60,000 |
|
Busted |
Baranski Raises Big on the River
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Sergey Baranski and Paulius Jucys built up a pot of around 42,000 heading to the river on a board of 
.
Jucys, in the big blind, paused for a moment before betting 35,000. Now it was Baranski's turn to tank before he raised to 115,000.
Jucys spent a moment considering the decision before sliding his cards into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
250,000 | 120,000 |
|
225,000 | -50,000 |
Livshitz Can't Connect Against Shalaev
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Danill Shalaev was all in for 34,000 from the button and was called by Gabi Livshitz in early position.
Danill Shalaev: 
Gabi Livshitz: 
Shalaev hit top pair on the 
flop, while Livshitz picked up a straight draw. The board ran out 
and Shalaev stayed in front to secure the double up.
"When's it my turn," Livshitz joked after the hand, given the massive stack that still sits in front of him despite that hit.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
350,000 | -10,000 |
|
|
70,000 | -60,000 |
Late Night Chip Counts
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
355,000 | |
|
|
300,000 | 105,000 |
|
|
275,000 | 190,000 |
|
|
260,000 | 35,000 |
|
|
200,000 | 120,000 |
|
|
190,000 | -10,000 |
|
185,000 | 25,000 |
|
130,000 | 25,000 |
|
105,000 | -5,000 |
Level: 8
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Kliper Calls Down Levy
Level 7
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Arie Kliper in the small blind reraised to 37,000 before the flop and was called by Andrey Litvinov under the gun, and Yehoshua Levy in middle position.
The flop came 
and Levy opened the betting for 32,000. Only Kliper called to see the 
on the turn.
Levy bet another 42,000 and Kliper quickly called. Both players checked the 
river as Kliper turned over 
for top pair to win the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
340,000 | 340,000 |
|
|
185,000 | 185,000 |
|
185,000 | 45,000 |