2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series

$3,300 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q5
Prize
$338,500
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$1,832,640
Entries
664
Level Info
Level
37
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
185
Players Left
83

Day 1a of Merit Poker $3,300 Carmen Series Main Event Kicks Off at Noon

Carmen Series Feature Table
Carmen Series Feature Table

The 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series is underway here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus, with the $3,300 Main Event set to begin today at 12 p.m. local time. The seven-day tournament consists of four starting flights and an impressive $2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

France's Maxime Chilaud took down this same event last year after overcoming a field of 765 entrants and last defeating Michael Magalashvili in heads-up play to take home the title and $376,800. Chilaud went on to have a stellar year in 2023 following that win and enjoyed another six-figure score this past December when he finished 11th at the WPT World Championship for $456,500. Clearly no stranger to tournament success, Chilaud will be a force to be reckoned with should he attempt a title defense in today's event.

2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series Final Table Results

PlacePlayerPrize (USD)
1Maxime Chilaud$376,800
2Michael Magalashvili$277,500
3Yuksel Savsa$170,300
4Simeon Spasov$125,900
5Eduard Barsegyan$94,300
6Atanas Pavlov$76,200
7Fausto Tantillo$63,000
8Walter Treccarichi$50,200
9Denis Kapustin$37,700

Players in the Main Event will begin with 100,000 chips and today's Day 1a will play 60-minute levels. Each Day 1 will play nine levels. Late registration will be available until the end of Level 14, midway through Day 2. Day 1b will begin tomorrow, March 22 at noon and also feature 60-minute levels. Day 1c and Day 1d will take place on March 23 and feature a faster structure, with 40-minute levels on Day 1c and 25-minute levels on Day 1d. The fields combine for Day 2 on March 24 and a winner will be crowned on the fourth and final day, taking pace March 26.

As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all your live coverage needs for this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned.

Tags: Atanas PavlovDenis KapustinEduard BarsegyanFausto TantilloMaxime ChilaudMichael MagalashviliSimeon SpasovWalter TreccarichYuksel Savsa

Koray Korkmaz Claims First Title of 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Koray Korkmaz
Koray Korkmaz

Yesterday featured the final day of the first event of the 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series: The $2,200 Mystery Bounty 6-Handed. Koray Korkmaz emerged victorious from that event, last defeating Sergei Sokharev in heads-up play to take home the top prize of $43,000 and an additional $42,000 in bounties.

Damir Zhugralin also won big in that event after pulling the $50,000 top bounty.

Damir Zhugralin
Damir Zhugralin

Merit Poker Carmen Series Mystery Bounty Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Koray KorkmazTurkey$43,000
2Sergei SokharevRussia$31,540
3Mustafa ErcanTurkey$19,500
4Tomy GreineisenGermany$14,300
5Walid HabibLebanon$10,800
6Maximilian SilzGermany$8,600

Tags: Damir ZhugralinKoray KorkmazMaximilian SilzMustafa ErcanSergei SokharevTomy GreineisenWalid Habib

Gabdullin Pipped by Heart

Level 3 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante
Damir Gabdullin
Damir Gabdullin

Damir Gabdullin opened to 2,000 from middle position and Richard Heart three-bet to 8,200 from the small blind. Gabdullin moved all in for roughly 70,000 and Heart snap-called to put Gabdullin at risk.

Damir Gabdullin: JJ All in
Richard Heart: QQ

Gabdullin was in rough shape with the lower pocket pair and couldn't find a jack on the A10259 runout. Heart's pocket queens were good at showdown and he took in a sizable pot while Gabdullin made his exit.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Richard Heart
Richard Heart
218,000
218,000
218,000
Profile photo of Damir Gabdullin ru
Damir Gabdullin
Busted

Tags: Damir GabdullinRichard Heart

Puczylowski Doubles Through Skrbic

Level 3 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante
Marcin Puczylowski
Marcin Puczylowski

With two players seeing a final board of 34882 and roughly 35,000 in the middle, Marcin Puzylowski checked and Milos Skrbic bet 11,000. Puczylowski moved all in for 48,700 and Skrbic snap-called with a covering stack.

Skrbic showed Q9 for a flush but Puczylowski tabled 22 for a full house to score a full double up at Skrbic's expense.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Marcin Puczylowski pl
Marcin Puczylowski
131,400
41,300
41,300
Profile photo of Milos Skrbic rs
Milos Skrbic
36,600
-53,400
-53,400

Tags: Marcin PuzylowskiMilos Skrbic

Ketzer Takes Down Four-Bet Pot

Level 4 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer
Felipe Ketzer

A player from early position opened to 2,000 from early position only for Asem Tageldin to three-bet to 6,500 from middle position. Felipe Ketzer then put in a four-bet to 14,000 from the hijack, folding out the original raiser while Tageldin made the call.

Both players checked the flop and turn leading to a final board of Q7535. Tageldin bet 20,000 and Ketzer snap-called.

Tageldin showed down 22 for the smallest possible flush. Ketzer tabled JJ for a bigger flush and scooped the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Asem Tageldin aw
Asem Tageldin
145,200
145,200
145,200
Profile photo of Felipe Ketzer br
Felipe Ketzer
138,000
138,000
138,000
Day 3 Chip Leader

Tags: Asem TageldinFelipe Ketzer

Silz Doubles with Big Slick

Level 4 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Maximilian Silz
Maximilian Silz

Khalil Tawil opened to 2,000 from early position and received a caller from middle position before Maximilian Silz three-bet to 8,000 from the hijack. Adem Marjanovic then four-bet to 18,500 from the button, forcing folds from Tawil and the middle position player. Silz moved all in for 81,900 and Marjanovic called with a covering stack to put Silz at risk.

Maximilian Silz: AK All in
Adem Marjanovic: AQ

Silz was in excellent shape with a bigger ace and remained ahead on the A886K runout to score a full double up through Marjanovic.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Khalil Tawil lb
Khalil Tawil
312,000
47,000
47,000
Profile photo of Maximilian Silz de
Maximilian Silz
170,500
170,500
170,500
Profile photo of Adem Marjanovic at
Adem Marjanovic
75,500
75,500
75,500

Tags: Adem MarjanovicKhalil TawilMaximilian Silz

Tantillo Takes Commanding Lead After Multiway Clash

Level 6 : Blinds 700/1,500, 1,500 ante
Fausto Tantillo
Fausto Tantillo

Fausto Tantillo opened to 3,300 from middle position and receieved calls from a player in the hijack, a player in the cutoff, Dawid Smolka in the small blind and Dinesh Alt in the big blind.

All five players checked the A64 flop leading to the 8 turn. Smolka bet 13,000, forcing a fold from Alt while the other three players all made the call.

Smolka moved all in for 76,600 on the 3 river. Tantillo made the call with a covering stack while the other two players got out of the way. Smolka could only show 55 for a pair of fives turned into a bluff. Tantillo turned over 66 for a set to take down a gargantuan pot and the current chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Fausto Tantillo it
Fausto Tantillo
554,000
448,000
448,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Dinesh Alt ch
Dinesh Alt
204,000
-38,000
-38,000
Profile photo of Dawid Smolka pl
Dawid Smolka
Busted

Tags: Dawid SmolkaDinesh AltFausto Tantillo

Tot Asks for All Of It

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Aleksandar Tot
Aleksandar Tot

With two players seeing a board of 10A2K, Aleksandar Tot moved all in from early position, covering Ege Guven in the cutoff who had roughly 70,000. Guven thought for a moment before making the call to put himself at risk.

Ege Guven: AJ All in
Aleksandar Tot: 22

Guven had flopped top pair and a gutshot straight draw but was in dire straits against Tot's bottom set. Guven could not catch a queen on the 3 river and was eliminated while Tot collected the last of his chips.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Aleksandar Tot me
Aleksandar Tot
298,000
128,000
128,000
Profile photo of Ege Guven tr
Ege Guven
Busted

Tags: Aleksandar TotEge Guven

Kuzin Sets the Pace on Day 1a of Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event

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

Play has reached a conclusion for the first of four starting flights in the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. The first flight attracted 185 total entrants with 83 players advancing to Day 2 at the end of the night.

Dmitrii Kuzin bagged the biggest stack of the evening, finishing with 647,500 chips worth 259 big blinds going into Day 2. Kuzin is most closely followed by Fausto Tantillo (602,000) and Jovan Kenjic (547,500). Tantillo took a commanding chip lead midway through the day only to be overtaken by Kuzin in the last two levels of the night.

Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Dmitrii KuzinRussian Federation647,500259
2Fausto TantilloItaly602,000241
3Jovan KenjicSerbia547,500219
4George TomescuRomania514,000206
5Uladzimir ZhyharauBelarus507,500203
6Florian GuimondFrance448,500179
7Kacper PyzaraPoland444,000178
8Simone AndrianItaly436,500175
9Daniel KyosevBulgaria417,000167
10Maximilian SilzGermany405,500162

Kuzin has already made a few deep runs in Merit Poker tournaments here in Cyprus, including a fourth-place finish in the Merit Poker Retro Series $2,200 Warm Up in 2022 for a career-best score of $59,300. The Russian player will undoubtedly be looking to top that score with a another deep run in this event.

Fausto Tantillo
Fausto Tantillo

Some more notables to end the day with chips in a bag include Simone Andrian (436,500), Milos Skrbic (404,000), Vladimir Bozinovic (388,000), Andrea Dato (276,000), Felipe Ketzer (164,500) and Victor Yugay (125,000). Others who entered Day 1a but were not fortunate enough to advance include Fabio Peluso, Bart Lybaert, Anton Markov and Dawid Smolka.

Both Ketzer and Andrian had big scores at the Merit Poker Western Series this past January. Ketzer took third place in the $3,300 Main Event of that festival for $155,000 while Andrian won the $2,200 Warm Up for $165,000. Both players will be a force to be reckoned with going into Day 2 as they look to replicate the success they had from the last Merit Poker Series.

Felipe Ketzer
Felipe Ketzer

Stay tuned for more coverage as PokerNews brings you all the action from the remainder of the festival along the shores of the Mediterranean in North Cyprus.

Tags: Andrea DatoAnton MarkovBart LybaertDawid SmolkaDmitrii KuzinFabio PelusoFausto TantilloFelipe KetzerJovan KenjicMilos SkrbicSimone AndrianVictor YugayVladimir Bozinovic