$10,400 Merit Millions
Day 1cd Completed
2025 Merit Millions
$10,400 Merit Millions
Day: 1cd
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1cd
2025 Merit Millions
Buy-in
$10,400
Prize Pool
$1,950,400
Entries
212
Level
28
Blinds
600,000 / 1,200,000
Ante
1,200,000
Entries
47
Players Left
29
Level 8
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Day 1c of the $10,400 Merit Millions Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Classic Millions saw 47 entries recorded at the prestigious Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, adding another exciting chapter to the tournament. After another eight 40-minute levels of poker, only 29 players managed to bag up their chips and secure their spot in Day 2, continuing their pursuit of the $1,000,000 guaranteed first-place prize.
Russia's Andrey Pateychuk finished Day 1c at the top of the chip counts with a stack of 6,105,000, largely thanks to a massive double knockout hand right at the end of the day. Pateychuk flopped the wheel against Dakar1 and Razvan Sabau, who both held two pair. With a clean runout, Pateychuk surged to the top of the counts, becoming only the second player to surpass the six-million chip mark in the tournament.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | 6,105,000 | 407 |
| 2 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | 3,650,000 | 243 |
| 3 | Mustafa Ercan | Turkey | 2,640,000 | 176 |
| 4 | Mark Saad | Egypt | 2,570,000 | 171 |
| 5 | Elias Talvitie | Finland | 2,155,000 | 144 |
| 6 | Ian Bradley | United Kingdom | 2,045,000 | 136 |
| 7 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 1,800,000 | 120 |
| 8 | Gurcan Gungoren | Turkey | 1,705,000 | 114 |
| 9 | Erik Smith | Denmark | 1,705,000 | 114 |
| 10 | Seyed Ghavam | Iran | 1,680,000 | 112 |
The closest rival to Pateychuk is Bulgaria's Boris Kolev, who will carry 3,650,000 chips into tomorrow’s proceedings. Two-time bracelet winner Kolev quickly climbed the leaderboard thanks to a set of fives that bested Kadir Altinbasak’s two pair, sending Altinbasak to the rail. Rounding out the podium positions is Mustafa Ercan of Turkey, who accumulated a healthy stack of 2,640,000 throughout the day.
Other notables advancing to Day 2 include Mark Saad (2,570,000), who eliminated Nichan Khorchidian with a flush. Dawid Smolka (1,800,000), Dmitry Gromov (1,430,000), and Albert Daher (1,430,000) also secured their spots for Day 2, as did popular poker vlogger and DJ, Johan Guilbert (1,360,000), known by his nickname 'Yoh Viral'. The two ladies who entered Day 1c also made it through, with Aylar Lie finishing with a starting stack of 1,000,000 after a rollercoaster day, and Hala Karam (615,000) doubling up with Big Slick in one of the final hands of the night.
With three opening flights now complete, the total field stands at 144 entries, with 80 players already securing their spot for Day 2. The turbo flight, Day 1d, is currently underway, featuring fast-paced 30-minute levels for those seeking a final shot at building a big stack for Day 2.
Late registration remains open until the end of Level 12 on Day 2, giving players a final chance to join the action. Day 2 will begin tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. local time with blinds at 10,000/15,000 and a 15,000 big blind ante. This will be the first time all the survivors from the opening flights come together as they continue their quest for the $1,000,000 first-place prize.
Remaining Merit Millions Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 11 | Day 1d | 8 p.m. | 30 minutes |
| April 12 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| April 13 | Day 3 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Be sure to tune into PokerNews as Day 2 gets underway to see who can build their stack and progress toward the business end of the tournament.
Level 8
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,105,000
805,000
|
805,000 |
|
||
|
3,650,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
||
|
2,640,000
240,000
|
240,000 |
|
2,570,000
370,000
|
370,000 |
|
2,155,000
2,155,000
|
2,155,000 |
|
2,045,000
1,295,000
|
1,295,000 |
|
1,800,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
1,705,000
955,000
|
955,000 |
|
1,705,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
1,680,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
1,575,000
375,000
|
375,000 |
|
1,515,000
615,000
|
615,000 |
|
1,475,000
375,000
|
375,000 |
|
1,430,000
330,000
|
330,000 |
|
1,430,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
||
|
1,365,000
185,000
|
185,000 |
|
1,360,000
910,000
|
910,000 |
|
||
|
1,305,000
295,000
|
295,000 |
|
1,300,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
||
|
|
1,130,000
1,130,000
|
1,130,000 |
|
1,095,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
1,080,000
220,000
|
220,000 |
|
1,000,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
910,000
290,000
|
290,000 |
|
|
775,000
525,000
|
525,000 |
Level 8
: 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
The surviving players are now bagging up their chips and Day 1c has now finished.
Stay tuned for the full chip counts of the survivors and a recap of the day's action.
Level 8
: 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Dawid Smolka raised from the hijack to 35,000 with Boris Kolev calling on the button and Erik Smith calling out of the big blind.
Smith checked the 2♥5♠Q♣ flop and Smolka continued with a bet of 35,000. Kolev and Smith called to see the A♠ roll off on the turn. Smith checked again and Smolka fired a second barrel, this time for 155,000. Only Kolev stuck around with a call.
The 10♣ hit the river and Smolka unloaded the clip with a third and final barrel of roughly 475,000. Kolev quickly called and was shown the nuts by Smolka with K♣J♠.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,000,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,700,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
|
1,700,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Level 8
: 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
The floor has announced that three more hands will be played before the players bag up for the day.
Level 8
: 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Razvan Sabau raised under the gun to 30,000 with Andrey Pateychuk calling on the button and Dakar1 calling out of the small blind.
Dakar1 checked the 5♠4♣2♥ flop and Sabau continued with a bet of 50,000. Pateychuk raised to 125,000 and then Dakar1 three-bet shoved for around 1,000,000. Sabau moved all in over the top for roughly 1,100,000 and Pateychuk snap-called with the covering stack.
Dakar1: 4♥2♠ 
Razvan Sabau: 5♦4♦
Andrey Pateychuk: A♦3♦
Dakar1 and Sabau had both flopped two pair and had each other's outs covered, which was great for Pateychuk as he had flopped the wheel. There was no board pair on the J♣ turn or 8♥ river and Pateychuk scored the double knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,300,000
3,750,000
|
3,750,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
Level 8
: 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Life Outside Poker is a 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 26th episode, Connor speaks with chess streamer and GGPoker ambassador Alexandra Botez about learning chess and poker from her dad, getting into streaming at Stanford, dealing with online trolls, creating content with her sister Andrea Botez and the similarities between chess and poker.
Botez also talked about winning $456,900 in a legendary 2022 Hustler Casino Live stream that included Phil Hellmuth, Mr. Beast and Ninja, as well as signing on as a GGPoker ambassador and securing two career-high cashes at World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise (she finished 60th in the $10,000 GGMillion$ Championship for $22,190 before finishing 187th in the $25,000 Super Main Event for $67,300).
The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Alexandra Botez by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.
Be sure to follow Alexandra Botez and Connor Richards on X.
Level 8
: 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Mehdi Chaoui raised to 30,000 from the cutoff with Dmitry Gromov calling on the button, and Ran Azor calling out of the small blind.
Azor knucked the table on the K♠5♣3♦ flop and Chaoui bet 30,000. Only Gromov called.
The two players checked the J♠ turn and 4x river down. Chaoui turned over 7♦6♠ for a rivered straight to drag in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,400,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,100,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
|
1,000,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
Level: 8
Blinds: 10,000/15,000
Ante: 15,000
