$2,200 Warm Up Day 3 | 2024 Merit Poker Western Series

01-18-2024 16:25 UTC+3

Hasbani Spikes a Queen to Bust Nigbolu

David Salituro

Level 19 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Cenk Nigbolu raised to 30,000 under the gun before Antoine Hasbani three-bet to 90,000 in the cutoff. Nigbolu then moved all in for 370,000 and Hasbani called.

Cenk Nigbolu: A♠K♠
Antoine Hasbani: A♣Q♥

Nigbolu remained ahead on the 8♣A♥6♦ flop as both players hit top pair, but Hasbani hit the Q♣ on the turn to improve to two pair. The river was the 6♣ and Nigbolu buried his face in his hands before heading off to the payout desk.

Hadi Khordbin was also eliminated at the same time on another table.

Player	Chips	Progress
John Doe	1,500,000 1,499,999	1,499,999
Abdullah Alajmi	1,400,000 -150,000	-150,000

Andreas Tomazou	1,400,000 700,000	700,000
Antoine Hasbani	900,000 262,000	262,000
Yury Bochkarev	300,000 -260,000	-260,000
Andrey Pateychuk	30,000 -137,000	-137,000

Hadi Khordbin	Busted
Cenk Nigbolu	Busted

Tags: Antoine Hasbani Cenk Nigbolu Hadi Khordbin

01-18-2024 16:03 UTC+3

Zhao Runs Into State's Higher Straight

David Salituro

Level 19 : Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

A massive pot of more than 600,000 was already in the middle as Adrian State and Cheng Zhao went heads-up to the river on a board of 10♣8♥9♠2♣4♦.

State, in the hijack, then moved all in and Zhao tanked for a moment before calling for his last 600,000 in the big blind. State turned over Q♠J♥ for the flopped nut straight and Zhao showed 7♣6♥ for a smaller straight before heading for the exit three spots short of the money.

Player	Chips	Progress
Adrian State	2,550,000 1,200,000	1,200,000
Cheng Zhao	Busted

Tags: Adrian State Cheng Zhao

01-18-2024 14:32 UTC+3

Andrian, Yang Tangle in the Pot of the Tournament

David Salituro

Level 18 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Simone Andrian in the hijack and Peng Yang in the cutoff got into a pre-flop raising war that ended with both players having their massive stacks in the middle.

Simone Andrian: A♣A♥
Peng Yang: K♠K♥

Yang had run into a massive cooler with the tournament chip lead at stake as the flop came Q♣A♠4♥, giving Andrian top set. The turn was the 8♠ and Yang was already drawing dead heading to the 6♦ river.

The stacks were counted down and Andrian had 1,370,000 remaining. Yang's stack was also counted, and he had the exact same 1,370,000 remaining as the Day 1 chip leader stopped to snap a photo of the board before heading for the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Simone Andrian	2,700,000 1,320,000	1,320,000

Peng Yang	Busted

Tags: Peng Yang Simone Andrian

01-18-2024 14:29 UTC+3

Gu Shoves on Cappiello

David Salituro

Level 18 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Yuefan Gu raised to 25,000 in the cutoff, Candido Cappiello three-bet to 110,000 in the small blind, and Gu called.

The flop came A♦2♠5♦ and Cappiello continued for 60,000. Gu called and the 5♦ fell on the turn.

Cappiello slowed down and checked as Gu bet 120,000. Cappiello called, then checked the 7♠ river. Gu announced he was all in and Cappiello quickly folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yuefan Gu	1,260,000 -40,000	-40,000
Candido Cappiello	320,000 -510,000	-510,000

Tags: Candido Cappiello Yuefan Gu

01-18-2024 14:17 UTC+3

Panagides Wins a Flip to Bust Nikitin

David Salituro

Level 18 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Anatoly Nikitin was down to around 80,000 and got his last chips in the middle from early position against George Panagides under the gun.

Anatoly Nikitin: A♦K♦
George Panagides: 10♥10♦

Nikitin was racing for his tournament life but found no help on the 6♥5♦8♠9♥4♠ board as Panagides' tens earned him the pot and sent Nikitin off to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
George Panagides	750,000 49,000	49,000
Anatoly Nikitin	Busted

Tags: Anatoly Nikitin George Panagides

01-18-2024 14:10 UTC+3

Drokin, Tashliyev Try to Take Out Sahin

David Salituro

Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

Bulent Sahin limped in from early position before Ildar Tashliyev raised to 30,000 in middle position. Volodymyr Drokin then three-bet to 72,000 in the hijack, Sahin committed his last 40,000, and Tashliyev called.

Drokin and Tashliyev both checked the A♣5♥2♥ flop. The turn was the 2♦ and Drokin bet 38,000. Tashliyev called to create a side pot, and the 10♠ river was also checked down.

Sahin showed K♣10♥ for two pair, Tashliyev had K♥Q♥ for a missed flush draw, while Drokin turned over K♦K♠ to take the pot and sent Sahin to the rail.

Catalin Moraru was also recently eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ildar Tashliyev	530,000 134,000	134,000
Volodymyr Drokin	500,000 -127,000	-127,000
Bulent Sahin	Busted
Catalin Moraru	Busted

Tags: Bulent Sahin Catalin Moraru Ildar Tashliyev Volodymyr Drokin

01-18-2024 13:51 UTC+3

Gu Gets There on the River to Bust Troyanovskiy

David Salituro

Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

Three-handed on a flop of 9♠5♣7♣, Vladimir Troyanovskiy bet 50,000 from the hijack and Yuefan Gu called on the button, as did big blind Xiang Lian.

The turn was the A♦ and Troyanovskiy bet another 90,000. Only Gu called this time and the 8♦ fell on the river.

Troyanovskiy checked over to Gu who announced he was all in. Troyanovskiy took only a few seconds before calling for around 270,000.

Gu showed J♣10♣ for the rivered straight and Troyanovskiy flashed A♥7♥ for a beaten two pair before heading off to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yuefan Gu	1,300,000 380,000	380,000
Xiang Lian	300,000 -172,000	-172,000
Vladimir Troyanovskiy	Busted

Tags: Vladimir Troyanovskiy Xiang Lian Yuefan Gu

01-18-2024 13:36 UTC+3

Shornikau Wakes Up With Aces to Double

David Salituro

Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

Mohamad El-Sayed raised to 20,000 in early position before Maksim Shornikau moved all in for 134,000 in the big blind. El-Sayed confirmed the amount and took a minute until he committed the chips.

Maksim Shornikau: A♦A♣
Mohamad El-Sayed: A♠J♥

The 7♦10♦5♣3♥9♥ board was safe for Shornikau's aces and he earned a double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mohamad El-Sayed	380,000 -250,000	-250,000
Maksim Shornikau	275,000 101,000	101,000

Tags: Maksim Shornikau Mohamad El-Sayed

01-18-2024 13:15 UTC+3

Dichev Flops the Nuts to Bust Zhugralin

David Salituro

Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

On the first hand of the day, Justus Held raised to 20,000 in early position and received calls from Viliyan Petleshkov in middle position and cutoff Yasen Dichev. Damir Zhugralin then moved all in for 140,000 on the button and only Dichev called.

Damir Zhugralin: Q♦Q♥
Yasen Dichev: J♣10♣

Zhugralin was well ahead with his queens and spiked the Q♠ in the window to improve to a set, but it was followed by A♦K♥ as Dichev flopped a straight. The board ran out 8♦9♣ and Zhugralin was sent to a quick exit on Day 3.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justus Held	680,000 -25,000	-25,000
Yasen Dichev	640,000 170,000	170,000
Viliyan Petleshkov	460,000 -24,000	-24,000
Damir Zhugralin	Busted

Tags: Damir Zhugralin Justus Held Viliyan Petleshkov Yasen Dichev

01-18-2024 11:26 UTC+3

Race For the Money Begins on Day 3 of the $2,200 Warm Up

David Salituro

The 81 players who return today for Day 3 of the $2,200 Warm Up at the Merit Poker Western Series at noon local time have one goal in common: make it to the money.

Just 53 players will survive the money bubble and guarantee themselves a share of the $830,640 prize pool. One player who doesn’t have to worry about the bubble is Simone Andrian. The Italian pro and WSOP bracelet winner takes 1,398,000 into Day 3, good for second place on the leaderboard behind only Abdullah Alajmi (1,550,000).

Adrian State (1,160,000), Hadi Khordbin (1,075,000), and Aleksandar Tot (1,058,000) round out the top five. Other top stacks include Day 1 chip leader Peng Yang (1,027,000), Guoliang Wei (940,000), Cheng Zhao (794,000), Nina Krasilnikova (718,000), Justus Held (705,000), and Dzmitry Urbanovich (637,000).

Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Abdullah Alajmi	Kuwait	1,550,000	155
2	Simone Andrian	Italy	1,398,000	140
3	Adrian State	Romania	1,160,000	116
4	Hadi Khordbin	Iran	1,075,000	108
5	Aleksandar Tot	Montengro	1,058,000	106
6	Xixiang Luo	China	1,053,000	105
7	Baurzhan Akimov	Kazakhstan	1,045,000	105
8	Peng Yang	China	1,027,000	103
9	Ghassan Bitar	Monaco	1,003,000	100
10	Guoliang Wei	China	940,000	94

Further down the leaderboard are Ermanno Di Nicola (594,000), 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series Warm Up champion Hadi Khadra (548,000), Fahredin Mustafov (495,000), and Andrea Dato (378,000), who was runner-up in the EPT festival held here in Cyprus last October.

With late registration closing yesterday, the field ended up with 446 total entries. Everyone making the money is guaranteed $3,770, with a final-table payout worth at least $16,500. The eventual champion takes home $165,000 and the Merit Poker trophy.

The action on Day 3 picks up on Level 17 with blinds of 5,000-10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante. The plan is to play nine 60-minute levels, which should bring the field down toward the final table. Play will also be live-streamed with a 30-minute delay on Merit Poker’s YouTube channel.

Stay tuned as PokerNews brings you all the action as the field plays down past the money bubble and on toward the final table.

Tags: Abdullah Alajmi Adrian State Aleksandar Tot Andrea Dato Baurzhan Akimov Cheng Zhao Dzmitry Urbanovich Ermanno Di Nicola Fahredin Mustafov Ghassan Bitar Guoliang Wei Hadi Khadra Hadi Khordbin Justus Held Nina Krasilnikova Peng Yang Simone Andrian Xixiang Luo