$2,200 Warm Up Day 3 | 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series

03-16-2025 18:35 UTC+2

Danielle Noja Eliminated in 17th Place ($11,455)

Kai Cocklin

Level 30 : Blinds 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante

Alessio Isaia opened from the button and Danielle Noja shoved from the big blind for a little over 1,000,000. Isaia called.

Danielle Noja: K♣Q♥ All in
Alessio Isaia: A♥10♥

Both made a pair on the 6♦K♦A♦ flop and Noja was left drawing dead when the A♣ hit the turn as Isaia improved to trips. An inconsequential J♣ dropped on the river, and Noja was out in 17th.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alessio Isaia	5,500,000 1,300,000	1,300,000

Danielle Noja	Busted

Tags: Alessio Isaia Danielle Noja

03-16-2025 18:45 UTC+2

Nikolay Ponomarev Eliminated in 16th Place ($11,455)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 30 : Blinds 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante

Nikolay Ponomarev shoved for 900,000 from under the gun and Atanas Malinov was the only one to flick in a chip on the button.

Nikolay Ponomarev: A♦Q♣ All in
Atanas Malinov: 4♠4♥

Malinov was looking to thin down the field with his Sailboats and got off to a good start on the 6♠5♠J♣ flop. A 10♠ on the turn did give him Ponomarev a few more outs with a gutshot, but the 2♥ river was a brick, leaving him on the sidelines in 16th.

Player	Chips	Progress
Atanas Malinov	7,600,000 3,300,000	3,300,000
Nikolay Ponomarev	Busted

Tags: Atanas Malinov Nikolay Ponomarev

03-16-2025 18:54 UTC+2

Break Time

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Kai Cocklin

Level 30 : Blinds 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante

Players are on a 20-minute break.

03-16-2025 19:07 UTC+2

Flashback: Umberto Ruggeri Wrangles Record-Breaking Victory in Merit Western Series Main Event

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Kai Cocklin

Level 30 : Blinds 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante

Back in January, the $3,300 Main Event of the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series saw Umberto Ruggeri crowned the champion after overcoming a record-breaking field of 791 inside the stunning Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.

The Italian player battled through countless emotional highs and challenging moments to claim the coveted trophy after cutting an undisclosed deal with Mihai Niste and Muhtar Taysi when three players remained.

Ruggeri expressed his joy after the victory, stating, "I’m very enthusiastic, and I think I played very well in key spots." The final table was not without its difficulties, as Ruggeri acknowledged, "It was very hard. A single moment can change everything, but in the end, it all went very well."

2025 Merit Poker Western Series Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Umberto Ruggeri	Italy	$377,500
2	Mihai Niste	Romania	$251,000
3	Muhtar Taysi	Turkey	$180,300
4	Mario Colavita	Italy	$130,200
5	Xiaosheng Zheng	China	$94,600
6	Alexander Sokolovsky	Serbia	$75,900
7	Ryan Mandara	United Kingdom	$63,200
8	Renars Skanis	Latvia	$50,500
9	Edward Quinn	Jersey	$37,950

Read the Full Recap Here

Level: 31

Blinds: 100,000/200,000

Ante: 200,000

03-16-2025 19:13 UTC+2

Updated Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Humberto Lopes Galindo	12,100,000 3,800,000	3,800,000
Daniel Abrahamsson	11,200,000 1,700,000	1,700,000
Atanas Malinov	8,200,000 600,000	600,000
Alessio Isaia	5,500,000

Kirill Shcherbakov	5,400,000 1,700,000	1,700,000
Dmitrii Kopyl	3,200,000 200,000	200,000
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	2,900,000 1,300,000	1,300,000

Atanas Pavlov	2,800,000 3,000,000	3,000,000
Dmitry Gromov	2,600,000 100,000	100,000

Rui Querido Martins	2,300,000 1,600,000	1,600,000
Andrii Novak	2,200,000 1,300,000	1,300,000
Erdal Gulseven	1,800,000 1,100,000	1,100,000
Wojciech Frankowski	1,700,000 1,200,000	1,200,000
Oleh Frantsevych	1,700,000 1,800,000	1,800,000
Damien Gayer	750,000 350,000	350,000

03-16-2025 19:21 UTC+2

Andrii Novak Eliminated in 15th Place ($13,120)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Alessio Isaia opened to 400,000 from under the gun and Andrii Novak shoved for around 2,000,000 from the cutoff. When the action got back to Isaia, he quickly called.

Andrii Novak: A♦J♦ All in
Alessio Isaia: A♥K♣

Novak was way behind and at risk, needing to find some help from the runout. The flop of 8♥2♣6♠ offered next to nothing, and he was left with just three outs after the 5♦ turn. None of those three outs appeared when the 10♦ river hit the table, which meant Novak was out in 15th.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alessio Isaia	8,000,000 2,500,000	2,500,000

Andrii Novak	Busted

Tags: Alessio Isaia Andrii Novak

03-16-2025 19:28 UTC+2

Damien Gayer Eliminated in 14th Place ($13,120)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Damien Gayer made it 400,000 to go off a short stack and Atanas Malinov min-raised to 600,000 from the cutoff. Gayer then shoved for around 700,000, and Malinov quickly called.

Damien Gayer: A♣7♠ All in
Atanas Malinov: K♣Q♥

Gayer was in the lead but the flop of K♠5♦6♥ paired Malinov's king and gave him a commanding lead. No help arrived on the J♥ turn nor 10♥ river, and Gayer was eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Atanas Malinov	10,000,000 1,800,000	1,800,000
Damien Gayer	Busted

Tags: Atanas Malinov Damien Gayer

03-16-2025 19:35 UTC+2

Wojciech Frankowski Eliminated in 12th Place ($16,330); Oleh Frantsevych Eliminated in 13th Place ($13,120)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

A double knockout has just brought the field two eliminations away from the final table!

Atanas Malinov made it 450,000 from the hijack and Oleh Frantsevych shoved for 850,000 from the cutoff. When the action got to Wojciech Frankowski in the big blind, he shoved for around 1,000,000, and Malinov called to put both players at risk.

Oleh Frantsevych: J♥10♠ All in
Wojciech Frankowski: A♦K♠ All in
Atanas Malinov: 9♦9♥

Malinov had a chance to send two players to the rail, but the flop of 2♣J♣2♠ put Frantsevych in a great spot to triple up. However, everything changed when the 9♠ fell on the turn as Malinov improved to a full house, which left Frankowski drawing dead.

Only a jack on the river could save Frantsevych, but instead the 8♥ peeled off, leaving two players on the sidelines and Malinov with a mountain of chips!