$2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day 1bc Completed
2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day: 1bc
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1bc
2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$844,560
Entries
459
Level
36
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
141
Players Left
65
Korkmaz Leads the Way in Day 1b of Carmen Series Merit Poker Cup
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Day 1b of the Carmen Series $2,200 Merit Poker Cup has come to a close here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. The second of four starting flights attracted a total of 141 entrants. After the dust had settled, 65 players were able to bag their chips at the end of the night and advance to Day 2. Koray Korkmaz finished the night with the biggest stack in the room, ending with 535,000 chips worth 214 big blinds going into Day 2. Korkmaz is most closely followed by Sergei Sokharev (504,500) and Iurii Saiapin (488,500).
Korkmaz got off to a great start during this festival after taking down the first event: $2,200 Mystery Bounty 6-handed for $85,000 including bounties. Korkmaz has just under $1,000,000 in lifetime tournament earnings and has momentum on his side going into Day 2 of the Merit Poker Cup.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koray Korkmaz | Turkey | 535,000 | 214 |
| 2 | Sergei Sokharev | Russian Federation | 504,500 | 202 |
| 3 | Iurii Saiapin | Russian Federation | 488,500 | 195 |
| 4 | Siavash Ziarat | Iran | 432,500 | 173 |
| 5 | Lyudmil Ivanov | Bulgaria | 420,000 | 168 |
| 6 | Halil Tasyurek | Turkey | 401,500 | 161 |
| 7 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 380,500 | 152 |
| 8 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 373,500 | 149 |
| 9 | Alexandru Papazian | Romania | 364,000 | 146 |
| 10 | Jenya Gavrilovich | Belarus | 343,500 | 137 |
Day 1b began with 16 players to start. The tournament's excellent structure, featuring 60-minute levels and a starting stack worth over 150 big blinds, ensured players had plenty of room to maneuver. Vadim Volkhonskiy got off to a hot start today after cracking pocket aces with a set of kings and was able to ride that early success all the way to the end of the night where he bagged an average stack. Giorgiy Skhulukhiya was also among the chip leaders in the first few levels of the day after cracking his opponent's trips with a full house in another early highlight.
Fresh off a runner up finish yesterday in the $5,300 High Roller for $123,100, Halil Tasyurek wasted no time accumulating chips. He would win a monster pot with aces full midway through the day and ultimately finish the night with the sixth-largest stack.
Other notables to end the night with chips in a bag include Alexandru Papazian (364,000), Maxime Chilaud (259,500), Ozgur Secilmis (245,000) and Dmitry Gromov (136,000), Others who entered Day 1b but fell before the end of the night include Skhulukhiya, Andrey Pateychuk and Nikolay Fal.
Two starting flights remain for this event. Day 1c is already underway, while a turbo Day 1d is scheduled at 10:00 a.m. local time on March 29. The final flight begins just a couple hours before the fields combine for Day 2 at 12:30 p.m. local time the same day. Unlimited reentries and late registration will remain open until the end of Level 12, midway through Day 2.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action from tomorrow's Day 2 on March 29 until a winner is crowned on March 31.
Day 1C Chip Counts
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
292,000
292,000
|
292,000 |
|
251,000
251,000
|
251,000 |
|
||
|
245,000
245,000
|
245,000 |
|
233,000
233,000
|
233,000 |
|
206,500
206,500
|
206,500 |
|
125,000
125,000
|
125,000 |
|
|
116,000
116,000
|
116,000 |
|
|
88,000
88,000
|
88,000 |
|
38,500
38,500
|
38,500 |
End of Night Chip Counts (full)
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
535,000
535,000
|
535,000 |
|
||
|
504,500
-35,500
|
-35,500 |
|
|
488,500
12,500
|
12,500 |
|
|
432,500
432,500
|
432,500 |
|
420,000
125,500
|
125,500 |
|
401,500
-82,500
|
-82,500 |
|
380,500
380,500
|
380,500 |
|
373,500
72,500
|
72,500 |
|
364,000
364,000
|
364,000 |
|
||
|
343,500
163,200
|
163,200 |
|
341,500
63,500
|
63,500 |
|
|
337,000
337,000
|
337,000 |
|
|
326,000
326,000
|
326,000 |
|
323,000
323,000
|
323,000 |
|
308,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
303,000
303,000
|
303,000 |
|
300,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
294,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
285,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
274,500
274,500
|
274,500 |
|
267,500
42,000
|
42,000 |
|
264,500
65,700
|
65,700 |
|
262,000
64,000
|
64,000 |
|
259,500
151,500
|
151,500 |
|
253,000
253,000
|
253,000 |
End of the Night
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Play has come to a close in Day 1b of the Merit Poker Cup.
Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of the night's action.
Final Three Hands
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The tournament staff have announced that three more hands will be played before the end of the night.
Saiapin Turns the Goods
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Roman Stoica opened to 5,000 from under the gun and received calls from Dmitry Gromov on the button and Iurii Saiapin in the big blind.
The flop came 7♣6♦2♦. Saiapin lead out with a 5,000 bet that was called by Stoica before Gromov raised to 15,000. Saiapin called while Stoica got out of the way.
Both players checked the 7♦ turn leading to the 4♦ river. Saiapin bet 25,000 and Gromov did not take long to fold.
Saiapin showed that he had A♦Q♦ for the nut-flush on the turn as he took the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
476,000
197,000
|
197,000 |
|
161,000
-214,000
|
-214,000 |
|
99,000
99,000
|
99,000 |
|
|
||
Scalia Flips Pateychuk to the Rail
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Mario Scalia opened to 6,000 from under the gun and received a call from Razvan Sabau in the hijack before Andrey Pateychuk shoved from the small blind for roughly 70,000. Scalia reshoved with a slightly bigger stack and Sabau got out of the way.
Andrey Pateychuk: A♥Q♦
Mario Scalia: 9♠9♣
It was a preflop flip that Scalia got the best of on the K♠7♠5♣5♥8♣ runout to send Pateychuk to the rail and score a full double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
225,500 | |
|
147,000
-52,000
|
-52,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level: 8
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Tasyurek Cracks Aces to Bust Aversa
Level 7
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
With two players seeing a boad of K♥10♠3♠ and 15,000 in the middle, Antonio Aversa found himself all in from middle position for roughly 40,000 and was up against Halil Tasyurek in the small blind who covered him.
Antonio Aversa: A♣A♥ 
Halil Tasyurek: Q♠9♠
Aversa was ahead with the overpair until the K♠ turn brought the flush in, leaving him drawing to just four outs. He couldn't catch an ace or a king on the Q♣ river and was sent to the rail while Tasyurek continued to add chips to his stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
484,000
91,500
|
91,500 |
|
Busted |