$2,200 Warmup
Day 3 Started
2023 Merit Poker Western Series
$2,200 Warmup
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
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
102
Players Left
19
Day 3 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andre Mehreb | 366,000 | 36 |
| 1 | 2 | La Sengphet | 376,000 | 38 |
| 1 | 3 | Nuri Hadioglu | 613,000 | 61 |
| 1 | 4 | Ceyhan Tezcan | 341,000 | 34 |
| 1 | 5 | Gabriel Akiki | 457,000 | 46 |
| 1 | 6 | Andress Merheb | 95,000 | 10 |
| 1 | 7 | Mihai Niste | 440,000 | 44 |
| 1 | 8 | Dawid Smolka | 377,000 | 38 |
| 1 | 9 | Antoine Labaky | 356,000 | 36 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Jesse Wigan | 399,000 | 40 |
| 2 | 2 | Paul Browne | 1,200,000 | 120 |
| 2 | 3 | Timur Margolin | 620,000 | 62 |
| 2 | 4 | Vladislav Doroshkov | 389,000 | 39 |
| 2 | 5 | Zolbayar Batbold | 515,000 | 52 |
| 2 | 6 | Alexander Lakhov | 196,000 | 20 |
| 2 | 7 | Roman Kolotiuk | 434,000 | 43 |
| 2 | 8 | Ramez Haddad | 196,000 | 20 |
| 2 | 9 | Michael Allen | 617,000 | 61 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | Sergei Onoprienko | 375,000 | 38 |
| 3 | 2 | Jamie Nixon | 1,002,000 | 100 |
| 3 | 3 | Zaid Al-Khashab | 1,002,000 | 100 |
| 3 | 4 | Musa Genc | 412,000 | 41 |
| 3 | 5 | Baurzhan Akimov | 861,000 | 86 |
| 3 | 6 | Gokhan Ozbek | 500,000 | 50 |
| 3 | 7 | Giorgii Shkulukhiia | 477,000 | 48 |
| 3 | 8 | Bartlomiej Swieboda | 881,000 | 88 |
| 3 | 9 | Yury Bochkarev | 424,000 | 42 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | Iacopo Brandi | 325,000 | 33 |
| 4 | 2 | Hossein Zolghadriha | 295,000 | 30 |
| 4 | 3 | Jakub Michalak | 384,000 | 38 |
| 4 | 4 | Dawid Kuliberda | 813,000 | 81 |
| 4 | 5 | Kemalettin Dogantekin | 744,000 | 74 |
| 4 | 6 | Ran Ilani | 580,000 | 58 |
| 4 | 7 | Helmut Phung | 188,000 | 19 |
| 4 | 8 | Valentin Tsoy | 1,021,000 | 102 |
| 4 | 9 | Roelof Pepping | 418,000 | 42 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | Omer Segal | 268,000 | 27 |
| 5 | 2 | Alper Cankurtaranli | 138,000 | 14 |
| 5 | 3 | Jeffrey Hubbell | 260,000 | 26 |
| 5 | 4 | Shaul Barnea | 887,000 | 89 |
| 5 | 5 | Ilya Gulevich | 138,000 | 14 |
| 5 | 6 | Hakan Karakaya | 440,000 | 44 |
| 5 | 7 | Michele Guerrini | 155,000 | 16 |
| 5 | 8 | Itzhak Ashkenazi | 762,000 | 76 |
| 5 | 9 | Akin Guven | 910,000 | 91 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | Esper Sadek | 750,000 | 75 |
| 6 | 2 | Ido Aboudi | 708,000 | 71 |
| 6 | 3 | Gurcan Gungoren | 585,000 | 59 |
| 6 | 4 | Konstantin Generalov | 282,000 | 28 |
| 6 | 5 | Nikolay Fal | 480,000 | 48 |
| 6 | 6 | Andrey Litvinov | 310,000 | 31 |
| 6 | 7 | Osman Midik | 631,000 | 63 |
| 6 | 8 | Ahmad Rami Naall | 443,000 | 44 |
| 6 | 9 | Halil Baybars | 490,000 | 49 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | Marat Shafigullin | 80,000 | 8 |
| 7 | 2 | Samir Mrad | 102,000 | 10 |
| 7 | 3 | Lev Kydatov | 551,000 | 55 |
| 7 | 4 | Halil Tasyurek | 765,000 | 77 |
| 7 | 5 | Valeriy Pak | 1,320,000 | 132 |
| 7 | 6 | John Doe | 645,000 | 65 |
| 7 | 7 | Orthodoxos Orthodoxou | 335,000 | 34 |
| 7 | 8 | Evgenii Katymaev | 921,000 | 92 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | Sergej Babincev | 518,000 | 52 |
| 8 | 2 | Andrew Hulme | 1,068,000 | 107 |
| 8 | 3 | Barak-Haim David | 509,000 | 51 |
| 8 | 4 | Vladislav Ivanov | 165,000 | 17 |
| 8 | 5 | Ryan Mandara | 1,200,000 | 120 |
| 8 | 6 | Federico Macori | 627,000 | 63 |
| 8 | 7 | Algirdas Saveikis | 217,000 | 22 |
| 8 | 8 | Tamer Abdelzaher | 442,000 | 44 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | Recep Aydemir | 667,000 | 67 |
| 9 | 2 | Vladislav Fedoseev | 762,000 | 76 |
| 9 | 3 | Katherina Aristotelos | 627,000 | 63 |
| 9 | 4 | Nina Krasilnikova | 198,000 | 20 |
| 9 | 5 | Huseyin Akgul | 790,000 | 79 |
| 9 | 6 | Fedor Dedelov | 344,000 | 34 |
| 9 | 7 | Eduard Barsegian | 790,000 | 79 |
| 9 | 8 | Aleksandar Jakovljevic | 330,000 | 33 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | Aleksandr Pak | 278,000 | 28 |
| 10 | 2 | Nariman Yaghmai | 993,000 | 99 |
| 10 | 3 | Bassel Moussa | 531,000 | 53 |
| 10 | 4 | Maxime Chilaud | 1,121,000 | 121 |
| 10 | 5 | Milen Stefanov | 97,000 | 10 |
| 10 | 6 | Martin Stoyanov | 219,000 | 22 |
| 10 | 7 | Oleksandr Malakhov | 313,000 | 31 |
| 10 | 8 | Gabi Livshitz | 209,000 | 21 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | David Hu | 667,000 | 67 |
| 11 | 2 | Koray Korkmaz | 846,000 | 85 |
| 11 | 3 | Antoine Hasbani | 66,000 | 7 |
| 11 | 4 | Ondrej Drozd | 274,000 | 27 |
| 11 | 5 | Ayrat Shakirov | 216,000 | 22 |
| 11 | 6 | Eli Saad | 320,000 | 32 |
| 11 | 7 | Daniel Henriques | 532,000 | 53 |
| 11 | 8 | Chadi Ojelli | 154,000 | 15 |
| Table | Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | Arie Kliper | 934,000 | 93 |
| 12 | 2 | Ermanno Di Nicola | 847,000 | 85 |
| 12 | 3 | Julian Selinger | 560,000 | 56 |
| 12 | 4 | Ran Koller | 355,000 | 36 |
| 12 | 5 | Michael Lech | 425,000 | 43 |
| 12 | 6 | Iulian-Remus Blebea | 271,000 | 27 |
| 12 | 7 | Maksim Skripkin | 140,000 | 14 |
| 12 | 8 | Jacek Pustula | 270,000 | 27 |
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.
Level: 17
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
Shuffle Up and Deal
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
The remaining 102 players have taken their seats and Day 3 is now underway.
Abdelzaher Invites Shove to Bust Ivanov
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
The board read 
on the turn. Vladislav Ivanov made a bet and was called by Tamer Abdelzaher.
The river was the 
. Ivanov jammed all in and was snap-called by Abdelzaher.
Ivanov tabled the 
but that was no good against the 
of Abdelzaher and Ivanov was gone.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
608,000 | 166,000 |
|
Busted |
Lech Gets Value From Di Nicola
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Michael Lech limped in from under the gun as action folded to Ermanno Di Nicola on the button, who fumbled his chips before putting in a raise to 35,000.
"That's a sign that it's all about to crumble down," Lech said as he called. The flop came 
and Di Nicola continued for 31,000. Lech called and both players checked the 
turn.
The river came the 
and Lech led out for 47,000. Di Nicola spent some time in the tank before calling as Lech turned over 
. Di Nicola mucked, saying he had pocket nines as he gave up the pot.
Elsewhere, Samir Mrad, Nina Krasilnikova, and Konstantin Generalov have all had their Day 3 come to an early end.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
660,000 | -187,000 |
|
500,000 | 75,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Smolka Gets a Shove Through
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Action was joined on the river, with the board reading 
. Dawid Smolka jammed from the big blind for about 190,000 into a pot of around 185,000.
Andre Mehreb had the decision on him. He sat back and rubbed his face while he thought. Eventually he folded to send the pot over to Smolka.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
285,000 | -81,000 |
|
275,000 | -102,000 |
Naall Finds a Double Through Midik
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Osman Midik three-bet from the big blind to 85,000 before Ahmad Rami Naall, from under the gun, moved all in for 320,000. Midik tanked for about a minute before he called.
Ahmad Rami Naall: 
Osman Midik: 
The board ran out 
and Naall's queens stayed in front to earn him the double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
650,000 | 207,000 |
|
400,000 | -231,000 |
Kolotiuk Withstands Raise
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
The flop read 
. From the button, Roman Kolotiuk bet 17,000. Jesse Spatuzzi raised it up to 50,000 from the big blind and Kolotiuk called after a moment.
The turn came the [kcc]. Kolotiuk bet 65,000 which was enough to clear out Soatuzzi as he took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
792,000 | 358,000 |
|
|
325,000 | 325,000 |