$2,200 Warmup Day 2 | 2023 Merit Poker Western Series

01-18-2023 14:34 UTC+3

Chilaud Coolers Skhirtladze to the Exit

David Salituro

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Maxime Chilaud three-bet to 18,000 from the button and was called by Tamazi Skhirtladze in the cutoff.

The flop came and Chilaud continued for 12,000. Skhirtladze called as the fell on the turn.

Skhirtladze checked over to Chilaud once again, and Chilaud splashed in enough white 25,000 chips to put Skhirtladze all in. Skhirtladze snap-called for his last 61,000 and turned over for flopped trips.

Chilaud, though, had and Skhirtladze quickly got out of his seat and was already heading for the exit by the time the dealer turned over the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maxime Chilaud	370,000 90,500	90,500
Tamazi Skhirtladze	Busted

Tags: Maxime Chilaud Tamazi Skhirtladze

01-18-2023 13:53 UTC+3

Jucys Flips Fagunes to the Exit

David Salituro

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Braz Borges Fagunes raised to 6,000 before Paulius Jucys, next to act, three-bet to 16,500. Fagunes tanked for a moment before shoving all in for around 80,000 more, and Jucys snap-called.

Braz Borges Fagunes:
Paulius Jucys:

Fagunes was flipping for his tournament life but some bad news as the flop gave Jucys two pair. Left with a straight draw, Fagunes got no help on the turn or and became another early casualty on Day 2.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paulius Jucys	420,000 166,000	166,000
Braz Borges Fagunes	Busted

Tags: Paulius Jucys Braz Borges Fagunes

01-18-2023 12:17 UTC+3

Paul Browne Leads 185 Survivors into Day 2 of the Warm Up

David Salituro

After four starting flights, the entire field in the Merit Poker Western Series $2,200 Warm Up will join together into one room when Day 2 begins at 12:30 p.m. local time.

Paul Browne leads the way, having amassed a massive stack of 635,500 on Day 1a. He's followed closely by the likes of Arie Kliper (475,000), Bartlomiej Swieboda (463,000), Vasili Firsau (385,000), Uri Reichenstein (355,000), and Gabi Livshitz (351,000).

Top 10 chip counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Paul Browne	United Kingdom	635,500	254
2	Ryan Mandara	United Kingdom	621,000	248
3	Ermanno Di Nicola	Italy	583,000	233
4	Valentin Tsoy		545,000	218
5	Aibek Kozhomzharov	Kyrgyzstan	535,000	214
6	Arie Kliper	Israel	475,000	190
7	Bartlomiej Swieboda	Poland	463,000	185
8	Roelof Pepping	Netherlands	461,000	184
9	La Sengphet	United States	442,000	177
10	Simeon Spasov	Bulgaria	417,000	167

Further down the leaderboard are Maxime Chilaud (279,500), Nikolay Fal (210,500), Ran Koller (155,500), and Michael Lech (141,500). They'll each have an eye on capturing a portion of the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool as the field inches toward the money bubble today.

The field currently stands at 380 total entries, with 185 players remaining. Late registration is open through the end of Level 12, which should come around 5 p.m. Players are allowed unlimited reentries, so the field should grow considerably before the prize pool is confirmed.

Blinds pick up on Level 9 at 1,000-2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante. Levels again will be 60 minutes long, with a 10-minute break after every two levels.

The money bubble awaits the surviving players, and PokerNews will be on hand to capture all the action throughout the day at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.

Tags: Arie Kliper Bartlomiej Swieboda Gabi Livshitz Maxime Chilaud Michael Lech Nikolay Fal Paul Browne Ran Koller Uri Reichenstein Vasili Firsau