$3,300 Main Event Day 1cd | 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series

03-20-2025 17:17 UTC+2

Plenty of Action Ahead at Merit Poker!

Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 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!

Find More Information Here

Level: 8

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 2,000

03-20-2025 17:10 UTC+2

Seyedahmad Makes the Right Call

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Kai Cocklin

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Haghgou Seyedahmad dug deep and found a call that sprung him up the leaderboard.

There were already 50,000 chips in the pot on the turn with the board reading 3♦J♠10♥4♦ when Banksy checked from the small blind and Seyedahmad bet 25,500 from the big blind. Viktor Iarilov called from early position, and Banksy took a while before he folded.

A 2♠ hit the river and Seyedahmad checked, the Iarilov put out a bet of 34,500. Seyedahmad went into the tank for some time and with around 75,000 left in his stack, he eventually made the call.

Iarilov sheepishly turned over a bluff with K♦Q♠, and Seyedahmad showed a pair of jacks with J♣8♣ to win the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Haghgou Seyedahmad	220,000 155,000	155,000
Viktor Iarilov	80,000 30,000	30,000

Tags: Haghgou Seyedahmad Viktor Iarilov

03-20-2025 16:58 UTC+2

Xi's Stack Takes a Hit

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Kai Cocklin

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Ming Xi's stack just took a hit as he doubled up Banksy.

The chips were all in the middle by the time the Q♣Q♠10♦10♥5♦ board was run, and Banksy's A♣Q♦ had turned a full house, besting the A♥J♦ of Xi.

Xi has just one recorded cash in Cyprus, finishing 29th in the Warm Up at the 2023 Gangster Series. With no recorded results in 2024, it’s possible he took a year away from the grind—but now, he’s back and looking to make his mark. Whether it's a fresh start or a return to form, Xi is once again in the hunt for a title!

Player	Chips	Progress
Banksy	100,000 20,000	20,000
Ming Xi	60,000 60,000	60,000

Tags: Ming Xi

03-20-2025 16:51 UTC+2

Tommy G Doubles Through Senno

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Kai Cocklin

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Fredrico Senno just lost a chunky pot and sent a portion of his stack over to Tommy G.

The action was missed but all the chips had found themselves in the middle on a 6♠A♠7♣Q♠3♥ board with Senno in the small blind and Tommy G in the cutoff.

At showdown, Senno showed two pair with 7♦6♥, but Tommy G had a set holding A♦A♣ to double up!

Player	Chips	Progress
Tommy G	210,000 210,000	210,000
Fredrico Senno	190,000 90,000	90,000

Tags: Tommy G Fredrico Senno

03-20-2025 16:37 UTC+2

Day 1c Breaks Records with 137 Entries and Two Levels Left to Play

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Kai Cocklin

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

The Carmen Series Main Event continues to surge as Day 1c reaches 137 entries, officially setting a new record for the largest Day 1c flight in Carmen Series history. The previous mark of 135 from 2023 has now been surpassed, further solidifying this year’s tournament as one of the biggest yet. With just two levels left to play, 95 players remain in contention, battling to secure a stack for Day 2.

With each passing level, the field inches closer to setting a new overall Main Event record, and with one more starting flight still to come, there’s plenty of room for the prize pool to grow. The intensity is building, and as players jockey for position in these final levels, every pot could be the difference between a deep run or an early exit.

03-20-2025 16:34 UTC+2

Big Stacks at Final Break

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Kai Cocklin

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Tomer Lahav	420,000 100,000	100,000
Maxim Toldin	375,000
Anthony Khouzami	310,000

Fredrico Senno	280,000 157,000	157,000
Adrian State	240,000 60,000	60,000
Jamie Dale	220,000 20,000	20,000
Dawid Smolka	200,000 60,000	60,000
Mustafa Ercan	180,000 100,000	100,000
Tiberiu Tirca	170,000

Level: 7

Blinds: 1,000/1,500

Ante: 1,500

03-20-2025 16:19 UTC+2

Break Time

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Kai Cocklin

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,500, 1,500 ante

Players are on a 15-minute break.

When they return, two more levels will be played before the survivors bag up for tomorrow's Day 2.

03-20-2025 16:17 UTC+2

Flashback: Elie Farah Takes Down 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event

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Kai Cocklin

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

Read the Full Recap Here