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

03-20-2025 13:38 UTC+2

Demirkol Gets Paid With Aces

Kai Cocklin

Level 3 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante

Mehmet Demirkol is moving up the leaderboard after just getting a value bet paid off with pocket aces.

The full board of J♠8♥6♦5♥6♠ was showing with around 45,000 in the pot when the action was checked to Demirkol, who bet 21,000. The under-the-gun player took some time and played with his chips before he finally made the call, then mucked when Demirkol revealed A♠A♥ for the rockets.

Demirkol, who has several Merit Poker Main Event cashes under his belt, sits in the top 75 on Turkey's all-time money list and all of his 24 live cashes have come in Cyprus.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mehmet Demirkol	160,000 40,000	40,000

Tags: Mehmet Demirkol

03-20-2025 13:24 UTC+2

Main Event Surpasses 500 Entries as Field Continues to Grow

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Kai Cocklin

Level 3 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante

The 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event has officially hit 500 entries, marking another milestone as Day 1c continues to unfold. With registration still open and one more flight to come, the tournament is on pace to smash past its $1,500,000 guarantee, further cementing its place as one of the biggest Main Events in Merit Poker history.

So far, Day 1a saw 235 entries, while Day 1b added another 197 to the tally. With Day 1c currently sitting at 67 and more players expected to join, the field continues to grow as the final two flights push the tournament toward record territory.

Level: 3

Blinds: 400/800

Ante: 800

03-20-2025 13:15 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Mehmet Demirkol	120,000
Sofia Merkulova	110,000 10,000	10,000
Konstantin Kvashin	110,000 10,000	10,000
Danut Chisu	100,000
Tobias Peters	95,000 5,000	5,000

Elie Farah	60,000 60,000	60,000

03-20-2025 13:07 UTC+2

Kochev Goes Big on the River

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Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

There were already around 10,000 chips in the middle on a board of Q♥9♠9♦7♥ when Aleksandr Razinkov in early position check-called a bet of 5,500 from Petar Kochev in middle position.

The two saw the 3♥ drop on the river and after Razinkov checked, Kochev bet 25,500. Razinkov thought for a few moments but eventually elected to fold, and Kochev won the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aleksandr Razinkov	105,000
Petar Kochev	95,000

Tags: Aleksandr Razinkov Petar Kochev

03-20-2025 12:58 UTC+2

Vismanis Starts Well

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Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Alexander Sokolovsky raised from early position to 1,200 and Stefanos Kechagias called from the cutoff before Kristaps Vismanis three-bet the button to 3,400. Both Sokolovsky and Kechagias called.

The trio saw a flop of K♣A♥7♣ that was checked to Vismanis, who fired out 6,000. Sokolovsky quickly folded, but Kechagias called.

A 9♣ on the turn saw Kechagias switch up his strategy a little and he led out for 6,000 when the flush completed, but Vismanis wasn't going anywhere just yet and called.

When the 7♠ paired the board on the river, Kechagias continued to tell a story that he was strong and bet 11,000, only for Vismanis to raise to 42,000. Kechagias thought about it for about 30 seconds and eventually found the fold, allowing Vismanis to scoop in the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kristaps Vismanis	160,000 60,000	60,000
Stefanos Kechagias	75,000 25,000	25,000

Tags: Alexander Sokolovsky Kristaps Vismanis Stefanos Kechagias

03-20-2025 12:50 UTC+2

Become a Bigger Part of the Action With MyStack by PokerNews

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Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

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MyStack is a free poker tool and PokerNews activates MyStack for every event it is live reporting from, regardless of that tournament's buy-in. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!

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Level: 2

Blinds: 300/600

Ante: 600

03-20-2025 12:43 UTC+2

Player	Chips	Progress
Konstantin Kvashin	100,000 100,000	100,000
Sofia Merkulova	100,000
Peteris Enders	100,000 100,000	100,000
Uri Reichenstein	100,000
Alfred Nader	100,000

Senno Makes the Right Call

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Kai Cocklin

Level 1 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Fredrico Senno just made the right call to earn himself a pot in the opening level.

In a single-raised pot with Senno in the cutoff, him and the two players in the blinds saw a flop of K♠10♥9♦ where Stephane Gabarre checked and the big blind led for 3,000. Senno made it 7,500, Gabarre folded, and the big blind called.

Both checked the 9♥ turn to the J♣ river, where the big blind led out for 11,000. Senno folded his arms and leant back in his chair while he mulled it over, and after around 45 seconds, he called.

The big blind then revealed J♥8♠ for a pair of jacks, but Senno held the winner with A♥K♦ for a pair of kings.