Oleg Semionov Leads the Way as Day 2 of the $10,400 Merit Millions Event Begins
Day 2 of the $10,400 Merit Millions Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Classic Millions kicks off today at 12:00 p.m. local time at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa. After the completion of the opening flights, a total of 144 entries have been recorded, with 79 players returning to the felt for the next stage of the tournament, all chasing the $1,000,000 guaranteed first-place prize..
Leading the charge into Day 2 is Oleg Semionov from Lithuania, who holds a commanding lead with a stack of 7,380,000, equating to 492 big blinds. Following him in second place is Russia’s Andrey Pateychuk, who sits with 6,105,000 chips, and rounding out the podium in third is Kirill Shcherbakov with 4,710,000. These players will be looking to maintain their momentum as Day 2 unfolds, with the field now narrowing toward the business end of the tournament.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oleg Semionov | Lithuania | 7,380,000 |
| 2 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | 6,105,000 |
| 3 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 4,710,000 |
| 4 | Tobias Duthweiler | Germany | 4,095,000 |
| 5 | Ali Al-Kubasi | Iraq | 4,000,000 |
| 6 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | 3,650,000 |
| 7 | Tahsin Cankurtaranli | Turkey | 3,230,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Shademanpour | Iran | 3,175,000 |
| 9 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 3,100,000 |
| 10 | Jan Petersen | Denmark | 2,890,000 |
A few other familiar faces taking their seats on the baize today include two-time bracelet winner Boris Kolev (3,650,000), and popular poker vlogger and DJ Johan Guilbert, known by his nickname 'Yoh Viral' (1,360,000). Also making it through is Dmitry Gromov (1,430,000), and Stephen Song (340,000), another bracelet winner, who is looking to make a deep run.
Blinds will resume at 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 big blind ante for Level 9, and levels will change to 60 minutes in length. Late registration remains open until the end of Level 12, giving players another chance to join the action before the field is locked. Following this, the official final table payouts will be announced, with only nine players set to cash in this unique event.
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 12 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| April 13 | Day 3 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates, chip counts, and all the action as Day 2 unfolds in one of the most anticipated poker tournaments of the year.