Level: 8
Blinds: 1,000/1,500
Ante: 1,500
2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$2,200 Warm Up
Day: 1bc
Event Info
2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1bc
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$1,188,640
Entries
646
Level
37
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
251
Players Left
136
Players Left 1 / 646
Filter
Level 7
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Boris Smuskevicius' stack just took a tumble after an ill-timed bluff.
On a flop of 4♦K♠9♦, the big blind checked and Smuskevicius fired out 7,000 into three players, which only the cutoff called.
On the 4♥ turn, Smuskevicius didn't let off and put out another bet of 17,000, which again was called to see the A♣ on the river. A final bet of 30,000 came in from Smuskevicius, and after a while in the tank, his opponent flicked in the call.
Smuskevicius then showed a bluff with J♥10♦, and his opponent rolled over K♥10♠ to take the pot with a pair of kings.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
40,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
Level 7
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
The $2,200 Warm Up is on a record-breaking pace at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series, with over 400 entries already on the board and plenty more action still to come. With Day 1b in full swing and Day 1c set to kick off tonight, the question is no longer if this edition will be massive—but how massive.
Looking at past editions, the 2023 Carmen Warm Up saw 611 entries, with Arie Kliper taking home $206,800 after navigating a tough field. The biggest Warm Up in Merit Poker history came at the 2023 Retro Series, where Hadi Khadra topped a huge 809-entry field to capture $264,400. Meanwhile, the 2022 Vintage Series Warm Up saw 624 entries, proving that big numbers are nothing new for this event.
| Year | Event | Entries | 1st Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Retro Series Warm Up | 809 | $264,400 |
| 2023 | Carmen Series Warm Up | 611 | $206,800 |
| 2022 | Vintage Series Warm Up | 624 | $200,000 |
With the prize pool growing and more top players still jumping in, this year’s Warm Up is quickly shaping up to be one of the largest ever. Could we see a new all-time record?
Stay tuned as the action heats up inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino!
Level 7
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
280,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
280,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
270,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
250,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
240,000 | |
|
240,000
240,000
|
240,000 |
|
190,000
170,000
|
170,000 |
|
|
190,000
190,000
|
190,000 |
|
170,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Level: 7
Blinds: 1,000/1,500
Ante: 1,500
Level 6
: Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante
The players have been sent on a 20-minute break.
When they return, four more levels will be played before the day comes to an end.
Level 6
: Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante
The $2,200 Warm Up has smashed past 400 entries with over four levels still to play in Day 1b, keeping it on track to be one of the biggest editions ever. With Day 1c still to come tonight, Day 1d tomorrow, and late registration open until Level 15, could this be a record-breaker? Stay tuned!
Level 6
: Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante
Paul Amsellem just stacked a player and brought his stack up to around 230,000 as the penultimate break looms closer.
On a 2♣2♦Q♣ flop with around 70,000 in the middle, Wissam Turkie bet 10,000 from the hijack and Amsellem clicked it to 20,000 on the button. Turkie called.
A 6♦ landed on the turn and Turkie shoved for around 50,000, which Amsellem snap-called.
Wissam Turkie: Q♦J♦ 
Paul Amsellem: K♥K♦
Amsellem had his man right where he wanted him and Turkie needed to find one of two outs in order to stay alive. The 3♥ wasn't the card that Turkie needed, which meant he made his way to the exit while Amsellem raked in a chunky pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
230,000 | |
|
Busted |
Level 6
: Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
220,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
200,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
200,000 | |
|
|
170,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
170,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
140,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
||
|
120,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
110,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
100,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
50,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
Level 6
: Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante
Last year in the 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event, It took nearly 12 hour-long levels for a winner to emerge from the 41 players who entered the final day at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
Elie Farah was the last player standing, scoring five final table knockouts and last defeating Felipe Ketzer in heads-up play to take home the title and top prize of $338,500.
Farah notably was down to his last 125,000 chips on the stone bubble during Day 3 aciton, worth just five big blinds at that time. His previous best score before this comes from an eighth-place finish in the 2022 Merit Poker Retro Series Main Event for $30,255. This victory not only exceeds his previous best more than tenfold, it also triples his total live tournament earnings which before this event stood at just under $150,000.
2024 Carmen Series Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elie Farah | Lebanon | $338,500 |
| 2 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | $249,200 |
| 3 | Dinesh Alt | Switzerland | $153,000 |
| 4 | Bart Lybaert | Belgium | $113,100 |
| 5 | Dmitry Gromov | Russian Federation | $84,700 |
| 6 | Tahsin Cankurtaranli | Turkey | $68,400 |
| 7 | Andrey Litvinov | Russian Federation | $56,600 |
| 8 | Maher Achour | Tunisia | $45,100 |
| 9 | Danut Chisu | Romania | $33,900 |
