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$1,100 IPO Master
Day 2 Completed
2024 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
$1,100 IPO Master
Day: 2
Event Info
2024 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$862,040
Total Entries
937
Level
34
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
601
Players Left
176
Players Left 1 / 937
Filter
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
The poker room at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino was buzzing all day long, as the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series continued to see lots of exciting action. That includes the $1,100 IPO Master, as a total of 284 entries joined the 317 players who bagged over the first two days of the event for Day 2. At the end of play, only 176 remain in contention heading into the weekend.
Among the big stacks at the end of nine more levels of action is Turkey’s Jak Ferman, who will return to action with more than 140 big blinds after bagging 1,908,000 chips. Two of the leaders from the opening flights are also near the top of the leaderboard, as Day 1b pace-setter Hassan Nashar collected 1,585,000 while Day 1a leader Seyedali Hosseinirami has 1,410,000.
Not far behind sits Abdelrahman Moursy, who bagged a healthy stack of 1,243,000 after finding value with pocket aces during the final few hands of the day. Moursy scored his largest recorded live tournament cash right here during the 2022 Merit Poker Retro Series, scoring a fourth-place finish for $9,885.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jak Ferman | Turkey | 1,908,000 | 159 |
| 2 | John Doe K | n/a | 1,705,000 | 142 |
| 3 | Hassan Nashar | Senegal | 1,585,000 | 132 |
| 4 | Seyedali Hosseinirami | Iran | 1,410,000 | 118 |
| 5 | Mousa Barakat | Paraguay | 1,305,000 | 109 |
| 6 | Andrea Monteriso | Italy | 1,274,000 | 106 |
| 7 | Eros Nastasi | Italy | 1,250,000 | 104 |
| 8 | Abdelrahman Moursy | United Kingdom | 1,243,000 | 104 |
| 9 | Ettore Cuzzone | Italy | 1,201,000 | 100 |
| 10 | Riccardo Santagostino | Italy | 1,191,000 | 99 |
There will be plenty of eyes on the payouts in this event, as 937 total entries helped smash the $500,000 guarantee by creating a prize pool of $862,040. The top 125 players will earn at least $1,300, with action on the money bubble likely to occur fairly quickly on Day 3. The $1,100 IPO Master champion will take home the coveted title, along with the first-place prize of $146,600.
Among the notable names to advance was Kalidou Sow, who needed another bullet after running into pocket kings twice. The second hand sent him to the rail momentarily, but a reentry saw him build up a stack of 708,000.
WSOP bracelet winner Fabio Peluso also managed to find a bag, collecting 834,000 chips for Saturday's action.
Day 3 begins on Level 19, with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and a 12,000 big blind ante. Each level will now be extended to 60 minutes in length, with 20-minute breaks after every two hours of play.
The Dolce Vita Series is just getting started, so be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for full coverage as the $1,100 IPO Master event works its way toward the money bubble on Saturday.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Day 2 has ended with approximately 175 players remaining.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.
In the 13th episode, Connor speaks with 888poker ambassador and Twitch streamer Ian Simpson, who talked about first learning poker as a kid, getting a degree in biotechnology and becoming a biology teacher, poker streaming and his breakout year of live poker in 2013 that saw him winning the Irish Poker Open for $339,604.
Simpson also discussed the importance of being a responsible poker ambassador and how science can change the world for the better.
The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Ian Simpson by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
On a completed board of 7♣Q♦Q♠8♦A♠, Abdelrahman Moursy led out by moving all in for his last 225,000 from the small blind.
Daniyar Aubakirov took some time before tossing in a single calling chip. Moursy quickly turned over A♣A♥ for a full house, taking down a big pot late in the day as Aubakirov mucked.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Tournament officials announced that players will see three more hands before bagging up for the night.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Eskeneder Biru was in the small blind and got his last 250,000 in the middle against Timur Imaev on the button.
Eskeneder Biru: K♦K♠ 
Timur Imaev: A♣A♥
Biru found himself on the wrong side of the ultimate cooler and received no help on the 6♥10♦8♥7♦7♥ board. Both players snapped photos of the board before Biru headed for the exit with a few minutes left in the day.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Andrey Pateychuk moved all in for around 60,000 in the small blind and Renato Minicuci called in early position.
Andrey Pateychuk: A♥10♥
Renato Minicuci: Q♦J♠
The 8♦5♠4♠ flop kept Pateychuk in the lead, but Minicuci hit the Q♥ on the turn to make a pair of queens. The J♦ river improved him to two pair and sent Pateychuk to the rail.
Level 18
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
George Panagides bet 36,000 from the small blind on a flop of J♥7♣2♦ and Azizjon Rakhimov called in middle position.
The turn was the 4♥ and Panagides bet another 80,000. Rakhimov again called and the 10♥ fell on the river. Panagides then bet 100,000, Rakhimov moved all in, and Panagides snap-called for 219,000.
Rakhimov turned over 4♣4♠ for a set, but Panagides had J♣J♠ for a set of jacks as he took the pot to double up.
