Michel Habib bet 10,500 from the hijack on a flop of 6♦10♣7♣ and Artur Vyborov then raised to 36,000 in the small blind. Dmitrii Astratov called in the big blind, while Habib gave it some thought before folding.
The turn was the 9♦ and Vyborov bet 35,000. Astratov again called to the 3♥ river, where Vyborov bet another 70,000. Astratov called once more.
"Eight-nine," Habib said, and sure enough Vyborov showed 9♥8♥ for the flopped straight. Astratov mucked.
"He's your friend," Habib said to Vyborov.
"He was my friend," Vyborov replied as he stacked up the big pot.
At the same time at another table, Florian Guimond and Ramzi Karam went to the river on a board of A♦K♣8♣4♦9♦ when Karam moved all in for 200,000 from early position.
Guimond had around 155,000 remaining and called from under the gun. Karam then showed A♠K♠ for top two pair and Guimond mucked his cards and headed for the exit. Tablemate Seref Dursun Anar then asked the dealer to retrieve Guimond's cards from the muck and A♣J♥ was shown.
A player in middle position raised to 7,000 before Andrey Litvinov three-bet to 20,000 on the button. Yunsheng Sun then moved all in for 180,500 in the small blind and action folded back to Litvinov, who tanked for a minute before calling.
Yunsheng Sun: A♥K♠
Andrey Litvinov: J♣J♦
The flop came 5♥8♣J♥ and Sun was already standing up from his seat as Litvinov hit top set. The rest of the board came 2♣9♦ and Litvinov took the pot to send Sun to the rail.
Heads-up on a flop of 9♣3♥A♠, Michel Habib bet 50,000 from the button and Ivan Tukmachev called in middle position.
The turn was the 8♣ and Habib moved all in. Tukmachev had around 40,000 remaining and called with K♠9♠ for a pair of nines. Habib, though, had A♦K♦ for top pair.
The river came the 7♦ and Tukmachev was sent to the rail.
"It's Christmas time," Habib said as he took the pot.
Dmitrii Astratov moved all in before the flop and Andreas Christoforou called for 175,000.
Andreas Christoforou: J♣J♥
Dmitrii Astratov: Q♠Q♥
"Jack of diamonds. Sorry, man," Christoforou said as he pleaded for a jack, but the dealer instead turned over a board of 7♣8♣5♠3♠2♠ to keep Astratov's queens in the lead and send Christoforou to the rail.
Heads-up on a flop of 3♥J♣6♥, Ozcan Barut bet 18,000 from the hijack before Liviu Ignat moved all in for 80,000 from under the gun. Barut called.
Liviu Ignat: K♥9♥
Ozcan Barut: A♣K♦
Barut was ahead with ace-high, while Ignat was on a flush draw. The Q♣ turn was no help to Ignat, while the J♦ river improved Barut to a straight and sent Ignat to the rail.
Action folded to Michel Habib in the small blind who raised to 10,000. The big blind then three-bet to 50,000 and Habib called.
Habib checked dark as the flop came 4♦7♣2♥. The big blind then bet another 50,000 and Habib moved all in. His opponent let out a deep sigh before calling for 170,000.
All-In Player: A♦Q♦
Michel Habib: 10♥10♣
Habib was ahead with his two tens and the at-risk player found no help on the 6♣ turn or 9♠ river and made a quick exit from the tournament area.
Three players saw a flop of 8♦5♥5♦ when Dogan Dinler moved all in for around 150,000 from early position. Nemanja Lukovic called in the big blind, but Ahmet Akyun then reshoved for around 450,000. Lukovic open-folded J♣5♣.
Dogan Dinler: A♦A♣
Ahmet Akyun: 8♣8♥
Lukovic found out he made the right fold as Akyun showed a flopped full house against Dinler's pocket aces. The board ran out 9♠4♥ and Akyun took the big pot to send Dinler to the rail.
Dmitrii Kuzin raised to 10,000 in early position before Miad Shakiba three-bet to 29,000 in middle position. Kuzin then moved all in for 112,000 and Shakiba called.
Dmitrii Kuzin: 8♥8♠
Miad Shakiba: A♦Q♦
Kuzin began filming the action as he was flipping for his tournament life. He remained in the lead through the turn on a board of 9♥2♣10♠K♦, but Shakiba hit the Q♠ on the river and Kuzin, who began the day second in chips, was sent to the rail.
A miraculous double knockout helped catapult Fausto Tantillo to the top of the chip counts on Day 2 and put him in a position for a repeat run at the 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event.
The Italian pro, who made the final table of this event last year, went runner-runner for a full house to crack Tony Aziz's flopped set of kings in a three-way all in that helped him finish with 1,158,000 to end the day. He’s joined near the top by Kacper Pyzara (1,024,000), Denis Vlasov (950,000), Uladzimir Zhyharau (839,000), and Kemal Aslan (833,000), who rivered quads in a massive pot earlier in the day.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Fausto Tantillo
Italy
1,158,000
193
2
Adria Diaz
Spain
1,102,000
184
3
Kacper Pyzara
Poland
1,024,000
171
4
Adrian State
Romania
935,000
156
5
Alisa Sibgatova
Russia
898,000
150
6
Razvan Sabau
Romania
845,000
141
7
Uladzimir Zhyharau
Belarus
839,000
140
8
Kemal Aslan
Turkey
833,000
139
9
Rashad Iskandarov
Azerbaijan
815,000
136
10
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya
Georgia
807,000
135
Alisa Sibgatova, the start-of-day chip leader, kept up her good run and ended Day 2 with 898,000. Other notable big stacks include Andrey Pateychuk (802,000), Boris Kolev (462,000), Felipe Ketzer (462,000), and Bart Lybaert (359,000), while Mikalai Vaskaboinikau (247,000), Andrea Dato (182,000), and Benjamin Hamnett (112,000) are further down the leaderboard.
Andrey Pateychuk
Among the players who failed to survive the day include defending champion Maxime Chilaud and Dmitrii Kuzin, the Day 1a chip leader who began Day 2 in second place on the leaderboard.
Day 2 began with 241 players from the 502 who entered the four opening flights returning to play at noon local time. They were joined by 162 new arrivals until late registration closed, creating a total field of 664 and building a prize pool of $1,832,640. Just 172 remain and will begin Day 3 at noon to play down to the money bubble. Just 80 players will guarantee themselves a payday, with the champion earning $338,500.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the action leading up to the money and past the bubble tomorrow as the field continues to whittle down toward the final table and the eventual crowning of a new champion.
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