2023 Merit Poker Western Series

$2,200 Warmup
Day: 2
Event Info

2023 Merit Poker Western Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a5
Prize
$181,200
Event Info
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$962,320
Entries
523
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
523
Players Left
102

Aydemir Winds Up With the Nuts Playing Blind

Level 16 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante

Recep Aydemir and Ermanno Di Nicola went to a flop of {j-Hearts}{4-Spades}{q-Diamonds}.

"25," Aydemir announced, betting 25,000. Di Nicola called as the turn came {6-Spades}.

"25," Aydemir said again, repeating the bet. Di Nicola again called the see the {k-Clubs}. Aydemir paused for a moment before announcing "25" yet again. Di Nicola called.

Aydemir turned over the {10-Hearts}, followed by Di Nicola showing the {a-Spades}. "Nine good. Four good," Aydemir said.

"Show really fast," Di Nicola said as Aydemir flipped over his other card, exposing the {a-Clubs} for the nut straight. The table burst out laughing as Di Nicola showed the {4-Diamonds}.

"We're playing bingo," Di Nicola said after the hand.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ermanno Di Nicola it
Ermanno Di Nicola
800,000
310,000
310,000
Day 1B Chip Leader
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Recep Aydemir tr
Recep Aydemir
600,000
430,000
430,000

Tags: Ermanno Di NicolaRecep Aydemir

End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)

Level 16 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Valeriy Pak uz
Valeriy Pak
1,320,000
720,000
720,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Ryan Mandara gb
Ryan Mandara
1,200,000
100,000
100,000
Profile photo of Paul Browne gb
Paul Browne
1,200,000
400,000
400,000
Profile photo of Maxime Chilaud fr
Maxime Chilaud
1,121,000
-79,000
-79,000
Profile photo of Andrew Hulme gb
Andrew Hulme
1,068,000
18,000
18,000
Profile photo of Valentin Tsoy uz
Valentin Tsoy
1,021,000
321,000
321,000
Profile photo of Zaid Al-Khashab ir
Zaid Al-Khashab
1,002,000
1,002,000
1,002,000
Profile photo of Jamie Nixon gb
Jamie Nixon
1,002,000
152,000
152,000
Profile photo of Nariman Yaghmai ir
Nariman Yaghmai
993,000
93,000
93,000
Profile photo of Arie Kliper il
Arie Kliper
934,000
284,000
284,000
Profile photo of Evgenii Katymaev ru
Evgenii Katymaev
921,000
216,000
216,000
Profile photo of Akin Guven tr
Akin Guven
910,000
170,000
170,000
Profile photo of Shaul Barnea us
Shaul Barnea
887,000
738,500
738,500
Profile photo of Bartlomiej Swieboda pl
Bartlomiej Swieboda
881,000
11,000
11,000
Profile photo of Baurzhan Akimov kz
Baurzhan Akimov
861,000
581,000
581,000
Profile photo of Ermanno Di Nicola it
Ermanno Di Nicola
847,000
47,000
47,000
Day 1B Chip Leader
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Koray Korkmaz tr
Koray Korkmaz
846,000
646,000
646,000
Profile photo of Dawid Kuliberda pl
Dawid Kuliberda
813,000
595,500
595,500
Profile photo of Huseyin Akgul tr
Huseyin Akgul
790,000
790,000
790,000
Profile photo of Eduard Barsegian ru
Eduard Barsegian
790,000
-10,000
-10,000
Profile photo of Halil Tasyurek tr
Halil Tasyurek
765,000
587,500
587,500
Profile photo of Vladislav Fedoseev ru
Vladislav Fedoseev
762,000
-78,000
-78,000
Profile photo of Itzhak Ashkenazi il
Itzhak Ashkenazi
762,000
554,500
554,500
Profile photo of Esper Sadek lb
Esper Sadek
750,000
449,000
449,000
Profile photo of Kemalettin Dogantekin tr
Kemalettin Dogantekin
744,000
346,000
346,000

Read full

Ryan Mandara, Paul Browne Back Near the Top on Day 2 of the $2,200 Warm Up

Level 16 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Ryan Mandara
Ryan Mandara

History repeated itself on Day 2 of the Merit Poker Western Series $2,200 Warm Up.

Paul Browne and Ryan Mandara entered the day as the two top stacks. They finished it right back where they started, near the top of the leaderboard each with 1,200,000 as 102 survivors have made it through to tomorrow's Day 3. They're looking up only at Valeriy Pak, who bagged a chip-leading stack of 1,320,000.

Maxime Chilaud, who won a high roller here at Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in November, is also part of the million-chip club after bagging up 1,121,000. He is joined by Andrew Hulme (1,068,000) and Jamie Nixon (1,002,000) as the top stacks heading into Day 3.

Top 10 chip counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Valeriy PakBelarus1,320,000132
2Ryan MandaraUnited Kingdom1,200,000120
3Paul BrowneUnited Kingdom1,200,000120
4Maxime ChilaudFrance1,121,000112
5Andrew HulmeUnited Kingdom1,068,000107
6Valentin TsoyUzbekistan1,021,000102
7Zaid Al-KhashabIran1,002,000100
8Jamie NixonUnited Kingdom1,002,000100
9Nariman YaghmaiIran993,00099
10Arie KliperIsrael934,00093

Other notable players still alive in the tournament include Bartlomiej Swieboda (881,000), Day 1b chip leader Ermanno Di Nicola (847,000), and Michael Lech (425,000). Katherina Aristotelos was the beneficiary of a fortunate runout when she hit a running full house to crack a set and double up, finishing the day with 627,000. Some of the players who weren't as lucky to survive Day 2 include Uri Reichenstein, Joseph Hebert, and Ugur Secilmis.

A total of 523 entries into the event generated a prize pool of $962,320. Only the top 62 players will finish in the money, so plenty of unhappy players will head home with nothing when play resumes tomorrow at noon local time.

PokerNews will be on hand throughout Day 3 as the field reaches the money bubble and plays onward to the final table and the eventual crowning of a new champion in North Cyprus.

Tags: Andrew HulmeBartlomiej SwiebodaErmanno Di NicolaJamie NixonKatherina AristotelosMaxime ChilaudMichael LechPaul BrowneRyan Mandara

$2,200 Warmup

Day 2 Completed