$2,200 Warm Up
Day 2 Completed
2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$2,200 Warm Up
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$2,200
Prize Pool
$1,188,640
Entries
646
Level
37
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
279
Players Left
105
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Day 2 of the $2,200 Warm Up at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series wrapped up with 105 players securing a bag for Day 3. A total of 646 entries packed the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, generating a $1,188,640 prize pool. Once the final card hits the felt, one player will claim the $210,000 top prize.
After grinding through eleven 40-minute levels, Russia’s Kirill Burtin closed out Day 2 as the chip leader, bagging 1,825,000 chips. His biggest boost came in the penultimate level when his flopped set of treys cracked Kadir Altinbasa’s pocket aces. Burtin kept the pressure on, later forcing Adem Marjanovic to fold after raising over his turn double barrel.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirill Burtin | Russia | 1,825,000 | 91 |
| 2 | Danielle Noja | Australia | 1,530,000 | 77 |
| 3 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 1,420,000 | 71 |
| 4 | Razvan Nicolae Sabau | Romania | 1,350,000 | 68 |
| 5 | Erdal Gulseven | Turkey | 1,325,000 | 66 |
| 6 | Radoslav Stoyanov | Bulgaria | 1,240,000 | 62 |
| 7 | Yilu Yuan | China | 1,170,000 | 59 |
| 8 | Bassel Moussa | Lebanon | 1,165,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Baltazar Five | Lebanon | 1,165,000 | 58 |
| 10 | Berik Mussin | Kazakhstan | 1,160,000 | 58 |
Right behind Burtin is Australia's Danielle Noja, who takes 1,530,000 chips into the event's penultimate day. Rounding out the top three is Kirill Shcherbakov, with a healthy stack of 1,420,000, setting himself up for a deep run.
Other notables advancing to Day 3 include Radoslav Stoyanov (1,240,000), Hassan Nashar (930,000), and Alexandru Lupuleac (850,000). Day 1a chip leader Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (755,000) also made it through, after pocket kings helped him in two key all-in spots. Joining them are 2025 Merit Poker Western Series High Roller champion Sergei Varnaev (650,000), Day 1b chip leader Aren Bezhanyan (571,000), and two-time bracelet winners Alexandru Papazian (515,000) and Simeon Spasov (435,000).
Day 3 begins Sunday, March 16, at noon local time. The blinds will remain 40 minutes in duration, and players will return to blinds of 10,000/20,000 with a big blind ante of 20,000. The first hurdle for players tomorrow will be to navigate the money bubble and secure themselves at least a minimum payout of $3,015 for their efforts.
Payouts
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates as we follow this event to its conclusion. A winner will be crowned on Monday, March 17.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,825,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
||
|
1,530,000
1,364,000
|
1,364,000 |
|
1,420,000
1,420,000
|
1,420,000 |
|
1,350,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
1,325,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
1,240,000
1,160,000
|
1,160,000 |
|
1,170,000
1,170,000
|
1,170,000 |
|
1,165,000
1,165,000
|
1,165,000 |
|
1,165,000
839,000
|
839,000 |
|
1,160,000
944,500
|
944,500 |
|
1,150,000
460,000
|
460,000 |
|
1,135,000
1,135,000
|
1,135,000 |
|
1,070,000
722,000
|
722,000 |
|
1,025,000
1,025,000
|
1,025,000 |
|
995,000
832,000
|
832,000 |
|
985,000
675,000
|
675,000 |
|
950,000
950,000
|
950,000 |
|
930,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
900,000
792,000
|
792,000 |
|
895,000
552,500
|
552,500 |
|
880,000
678,500
|
678,500 |
|
865,000
425,500
|
425,500 |
|
850,000
805,000
|
805,000 |
|
850,000
330,000
|
330,000 |
|
850,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Day 2 of the $2,200 Warm Up has come to an end with 105 players still in contention.
Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action and the chip counts of the survivors.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
The floor have announced that three more hands will be played before play wraps up for the evening.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Andrey Pateychuk raised from early position to 30,000 with Damir Zhugralin and Imad Saab calling out of the blinds.
The flop came down a monotone Q♣J♣3♣ and after the blinds checked, Pateychuk put out a continuation-bet of 25,000. This was enough to force two folds from his opponents, and Pateychuk dragged in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
550,000
390,000
|
390,000 |
|
||
|
530,000
430,000
|
430,000 |
|
200,000
230,000
|
230,000 |
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya raised to 40,000 from the small blind and instantly called after the player in big blind shoved for roughly 220,000.
Big Blind: QxQx 
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya: KxKx
It was a brutal cooler that was in Skhulukhiya's favor. The dealer put out the flop of 10♦J♠9♣ which gave the big blind player some additional outs in the form of a straight draw. He hit the dream 8♠ on the turn, giving him the straight and leaving Skhulukhiya needing a two-outer queen on the river to win the hand.
The dealer dropped the Q♠ on the river to improve Skhulukhiya to the king-high straight, sending the big blind player to the rail in horrible fashion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
900,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
||
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Don’t miss any of the exciting poker action at Merit this spring, as both the Merit Millions and Mediterranean Poker Party are on the way.
The special Merit Millions event will run from April 8-13, with a buy-in of $10,400 over four starting flights. The champion will earn $1,000,000, with the rest of the prize pool distributed between players at the final table.
The Mediterranean Poker Party (MPP) returns to Merit from May 3-13, bringing with it more than $10 million in guaranteed prize pools, including a monster-sized $5,300 buy-in, $5 million guaranteed MPP Main Event.
Featuring four flights, the MPP Main Event runs from May 8-12 and could see the champion reel in a million-dollar score. In 2024, some 1,260 entries resulted in a $6,048,000 prize pool, much more than the advertised $5 million guarantee.
Look out for satellites running on GGPoker and win your way to Merit this spring!
Level: 21
Blinds: 10,000/15,000
Ante: 15,000
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Erdal Gulseven opened from early position with a raise to 25,000, and only the player in the big blind called.
After the big blind checked the 9♦9♥3♣ flop, Gulseven opted to check behind to see the Q♣ land on the turn. The action checked to Gulseven again and he put out a delayed continuation-bet of 15,000, which forced a fold from his opponent.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,350,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
