Abdullah Alajmi again limped in and Ermanno Di Nicola raised to 140,000 in middle position. Justus Held called in the cutoff, while Alajmi also called.
The flop came 8♦K♠K♣ and Di Nicola bet 130,000. Held called, but Alajmi raised to 475,000.
Di Nicola folded and Held called to see the 6♠ turn. Alajmi then bet 600,000, Held moved all in for 700,000, and Alajmi snap-called with K♥8♥ for a flopped full house.
Held showed K♦Q♣ and couldn't find any help on the 5♣ river as he was eliminated in 26th place.
"It's your tournament, my friend. Running unbelievable," Di Nicola told Alajmi.
Guoliang Wei raised to 80,000 in early position before Emrah Daban moved all in for 200,000 in the cutoff. Eren Eroglu called on the button, Qusai Albakeer reshoved in the small blind, and Wei folded. Eroglu, though, called for 680,000.
Emrah Daban: 4♥4♦
Eren Eroglu: Q♠Q♣
Qusai Albakeer: K♦K♠
Albakeer had woken up with kings and was poised for a double knockout as the board ran out 10♣5♦10♦3♦J♠, sending both Daban and Eroglu to the rail.
Simone Andrian raised to 100,000 in early position and was called by Ramez Haddad on the button and big blind Mateusz Wozniak.
The flop came J♠7♥3♣ and action checked to Haddad who bet 240,000. Andrian called, while Wozniak got out of the way.
Both players checked the 6♥ turn and the 3♠ fell on the river. Andrian then moved all in and Haddad lowered his head on to the rail of the table before calling for his last 900,000.
He showed 10♦10♠, but Andrian had K♠J♣ for two pair to send Haddad to the rail in 23rd place.
Andrei Daniliuk raised to 110,000 in middle position before Nina Krasilnikova moved all in on the button.
"550," Daniliuk asked.
"555," tablemate Yasen Dichev corrected. Daniliuk eventually called.
Nina Krasilnikova: K♣K♥
Andrei Daniliuk: 7♦7♥
Krasilnikova had Daniliuk dominated as the flop came 8♠J♥K♦, giving her top set. She improved to a full house on the J♦ turn, and Daniliuk was left paying off a double up once the 10♠ completed the board.
Gang Zhao raised to 110,000 under the gun as action folded to big blind Simone Andrian who three-bet to 400,000. Zhao then moved all in for 1,955,000 and Andrian called.
Gang Zhao: Q♦Q♣
Simone Andrian: A♣A♥
Zhao had run right into aces as Andrian was poised for another knockout to add to his chip lead. The board ran out 8♠J♦8♥3♥9♥ and Zhao couldn't find any miracles as he was sent to the rail in 21st place.
Guoliang Wei raised to 110,000 before Simone Andrian again three-bet to 440,000 in the small blind. Xiang Lian moved all in for 770,000 in the big blind, Wei folded, but Andrian went for another knockout and called.
Xiang Lian: A♠K♥
Simone Andrian: A♥K♦
Both players were poised for a chop as the board came 4♣Q♦7♦9♦. The river, though, was the 6♦ and Andrian continued his spectacular run through the feature table by making a flush to bust Lian in 19th place.
The remaining 18 players are now drawing for seats at the final two tables.
Mateusz Wozniak raised to 100,000 in early position before George Panagides three-bet to 320,000 in the big blind. Wozniak moved all in and Panagides called for 1,415,000.
George Panagides: K♦K♣
Mateusz Wozniak: J♣J♦
Wozniak was crushed by Panagides' kings as the board ran out 7♣8♠Q♠6♥A♣, earning Panagides a double up and leaving Wozniak with just four big blinds.
Azamat Tulepbergenov raised to 100,000 in the hijack and Mateusz Wozniak defended his big blind, leaving just 55,000 behind.
The flop was Q♣9♣Q♥ and Wozniak got his last chips in the middle as Tulepbergenov called to put him at risk.
Mateusz Wozniak: J♠3♥
Azamat Tulepbergenov: A♠8♣
Tulepbergenov was ahead with ace-high as the board ran out 9♦A♦, giving. him two pair and sending Wozniak to the rail right before the end of the night.
A late flurry of eliminations ensured that Simone Andrian would be the man to beat following Day 3 of the $2,200 Warm Up at the Merit Poker Western Series.
The Italian pro and WSOP bracelet winner ended the event’s penultimate day as chip leader over the remaining 17 players with a massive stack of 8,410,000 as he chases another prestigious title. Andrian already has nearly $1,000,000 in live career earnings, including his bracelet from 2021 and a WPT title in June. Just last month, he made a deep run in the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas, finishing in 29th place for $159,200.
Andrian began the day second in chips but didn’t wait long before he built an even more massive stack. He won with aces against the pocket kings of Day 1 chip leader Peng Yang when, incredibly, they were found to have the exact same 1,340,000 remaining in their stack. He later picked off a massive bluff in a 4,000,000-chip pot against Justus Held.
He saved his best for last, however. Andrian flopped top pair to beat Ramez Haddad’s pocket tens and send him out in 23rd place. He then busted Gang Zhao in 21st with aces against queens, and Xiang Lian in 19th when they both showed ace-king but Andrian rivered a flush.
The 16 opponents who will try to track down Andrian when the final day begins at noon local time are led by Abdullah Alajmi. The start-of-day chip leader adopted an unconventional limping strategy late on Day 3 and used it to bust Held in 26th place, flopping a full house against trip kings. He bagged up 6,010,000 as, together, he and Andrian control nearly a third of the chips in play between them.
Day 3 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Simone Andrian
Italy
8,410,000
140
2
Abdullah Alajmi
Kuwait
6,010,000
100
3
Adrian State
Romania
3,900,000
65
4
Guoliang Wei
China
2,810,000
47
5
Andrea Dato
Italy
2,750,000
46
6
George Panagides
Cyprus
2,750,000
46
7
Baurzhan Akimov
Kazakhstan
2,450,000
41
8
Yuefan Gu
China
2,230,000
37
9
Sari Haddad
Lebanon
2,170,000
36
10
Qusai Albakeer
Jordan
2,025,000
34
11
Fahredin Mustafov
Bulgaria
1,940,000
32
12
Azamat Tulepbergenov
Kazakhstan
1,930,000
32
13
Antoine Hasbani
Lebanon
1,320,000
22
14
Andrei Daniliuk
Russia
1,190,000
20
15
Ermanno Di Nicola
Italy
975,000
16
16
Nina Krasilnikova
Russia
925,000
15
17
John Basta
Egypt
790,000
13
The top five on the leaderboard are rounded out by Adrian State (3,900,000), Guoliang Wei (2,810,000), and veteran Italian pro Andrea Dato (2,750,000). Baurzhan Akimov (2,450,000), Yuefan Gu (2,230,000), Fahredin Mustafov (1,940,000), Antoine Hasbani (1,320,000), Andrei Daniliuk (1,190,000), Ermanno Di Nicola (975,000), and Nina Krasilnikova are also still alive in the hunt for the title.
Andrea Dato
Day 3 began with 81 players remaining out of a total field of 446 entries. With only the top 53 guaranteeing themselves a payday, the likes of Vladimir Troyanovskiy, Dzmitry Urbanovich, Dmitry Gromov, and Cheng Zhao busted before the money. Qiang Xu was eliminated right before the start of hand-for-hand play and proved to be the bubble boy as tournament officials determined there were already 53 players remaining.
Andrey Pateychuk (49th), Ara Melkisetian (41st), and Koray Korkmaz (34th) were among those to make their way to the payout desk. Matthew Davenport was eliminated in 27th place after the redraw for the final three tables. Emrah Daban and Eren Eroglu were then knocked out in the same hand against Qusai Albakeer’s kings, Daban taking 25th and Eroglu 24th as the larger stack.
The action on Day 4 picks up on Level 25 with blinds of 30,000-60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante. Everyone has already locked up $8,450, with a spot at the final table worth at least $16,500. The champion will walk away with $165,000 and the title of Merit Poker champion.
Stay tuned as PokerNews returns tomorrow to bring you all the action as the field plays down to the final table and onward to the crowning of a champion.
