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$1,100 IPO Master
Day 3 Completed
2024 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
$1,100 IPO Master
Day: 3
Event Info
2024 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$862,040
Total Entries
937
Level
34
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
176
Players Left
42
Players Left 1 / 937
Filter
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Danesh Zargaran waited until the final moments of Day 3 before seizing the chip lead of the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series $1,100 IPO Master.
Zargaran busted George Phiniotis in a set-over-set cooler on one of the last hands of the night as he finished with 5,450,000 and atop the leaderboard over the remaining 42 players. A quarter of Italians follow behind him, including Candido Cappiello (4,960,000), Simone Pascucci (3,850,000), Francesco Canzonieri (3,840,000), and Nicolo Bartolone (3,445,000).
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danesh Zargaran | Iran | 5,405,000 | 68 |
| 2 | Candido Cappiello | Italy | 4,960,000 | 62 |
| 3 | Simone Pascucci | Italy | 3,850,000 | 48 |
| 4 | Francesco Canzonieri | Italy | 3,840,000 | 48 |
| 5 | Nicolo Bartolone | Italy | 3,445,000 | 43 |
| 6 | Deniz Dalgic | Turkey | 3,245,000 | 41 |
| 7 | Azizjon Rakhimov | Uzbekistan | 3,105,000 | 39 |
| 8 | Romain Retiere | France | 3,020,000 | 38 |
| 9 | Georgios Skarparis | Cyprus | 2,900,000 | 36 |
| 10 | Mazen El-Ayache | Lebanon | 2,875,000 | 36 |
Azizjon Rakhimov cracked aces and kings in the same hand to bust two players as he finished with 3,105,000. Other top stacks include Romain Retiere (3,020,000), newly-crowned WSOP bracelet winner Georgios Skarparis (2,900,000), Bakhos Joumaa (2,780,000), and start-of-day chip leader Jak Ferman (2,635,000). EPT champion Kalidou Sow made a big hero call to double up on his way to bagging up 2,700,000.
Day 3 began with 176 players remaining out a massive field of 937. The first order of business was to burst the bubble, and the likes of Selahaddin Bedir, Natan Chauskin, and Koray Korkmaz left without a payday. Murad Cakir ran his top pair into the kings of Joumaa to burst the bubble as the remaining 125 players were all in the money.
Simone Andrian (123rd), Fabio Peluso (116th), Day 1 chip leader Hassan Nashar (115th), Day 1a chip leader Seyedali Hosseinirami (100th), Maksim Shornikau (86th), Recep Aydemir (81st), and Mihai Niste (81st) were all sent to the payout desk after the bubble burst. Reigning Merit Poker Carmen Series champion Elie Farah built a big stack and was in contention for the chip lead before doubling up two players on consecutive hands; he eventually busted in 66th.
The remaining players return tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time to play down to a champion. The action picks up on Level 26 with blinds of 40,000-80,000 with an 80,000 big blind ante, making the average stack less than 30 big blinds at the start of the day. Everyone left is guaranteed $3,880 for making it this day. A spot at the final table is worth $14,600, while the champion walks away with $146,600 and the prestigious Merit Poker title.
Stay tuned as PokerNews brings all the action leading up to the final table tomorrow and the eventual crowning of a champion.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Day 3 has ended with 41 players remaining.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Heads-up on a board of 8♥K♠J♥2♥, George Phiniotis bet 300,000 from the button before Danesh Zargaran moved all in from the cutoff. Phiniotis snap-called for 500,000 more.
Phiniotis showed J♣J♦ for a set of jacks, but Zargaran had K♦K♣ for a set of kings. The river was the 2♣ and Zargaran took the massive pot, moving into contention for the chip lead on the last hand of the night.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Tournament officials announced that players will see two more hands before bagging up for the night.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Hassan Barakat moved all in for 705,000 under the gun and Marios Eracleous shoved in his last 565,000 from the hijack. Amir Saeid gave it some thought in the small blind before folding, leaving Barakat and Eracleous heads-up.
Marios Eracleous: A♦K♠ 
Hasssan Barakat: A♣8♠
Eracleous had Barakat dominated and was poised for a double up as the flop came 7♥5♥6♦. The turn was the 6♣, but the 4♦ fell on the river to give Barakat a straight and send Eracleous to the rail.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Heads-up on a flop of K♥5♥A♦, John Doe bet 150,000 from early position and Kalidou Sow called under the gun.
The turn was the 7♥ and Doe bet another 300,000. Sow again called and the 3♠ fell on the river. Doe then moved all in.
Sow spent several minutes in the tank before the clock was eventually called. He didn't even wait for the countdown to begin before sticking in his last 745,000 as Doe turned over K♦J♦. Sow, though, had A♥10♦ for a pair of aces to win the pot and double up.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Ali Fazel raised to 575,000 under the gun, leaving himself just 25,000 behind, and Bulent Kose called in early position. Hassan Barakat then stuck in his last 130,000 from the small blind.
The flop came K♦Q♦2♥ and Fazel checked to Kose who bet, and Fazel called for his last chips.
Hassan Barakat: A♠A♣
Ali Fazel: 7♠7♥
Bulent Kose: 4♥4♠
"Hassan, Hassan," tablemate Amir Saeid said to Barakat after he showed down two aces. The board ran out K♥6♦ and Barakat tripled up, while Fazel took the side pot off Kose to virtually double.
Level 25
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Tamas Barbarics moved all in for 600,000 under the gun, Bassel Moussa reshoved in the cutoff, and the rest of the table folded.
Bassel Moussa: A♥Q♦
Tamas Barbarics: 9♠9♦
Any hope Moussa had of winning the pot were completely eliminated when the flop came 9♥9♣8♥, giving Barbarics quads. The rest of the K♠Q♣ board was a mere formality.
"Death by quads," Moussa said as a count of the chips showed Barbarics had him barely covered, sending Moussa to the rail.
