$3,300 Main Event Day 4 | 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series

03-23-2025 12:31 UTC+2

Simon Sends Apartoglou Into the Tank

Kai Cocklin

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

[Removed:553] opened to 80,000 from under the gun and Spyridon Apartoglou defended his big blind.

The flop came K♣7♠K♥ and Apartoglou check-caled a bet of 50,000 from Simon to see the 6♣ drop on the turn. Again Apartoglou went into check-call mode after Simon bet 275,000.

A bricky 2♥ landed on the river and after Apartoglou checked for a third time, Simon shoved for around 1,600,000. Apartoglou had 1,500,000 remaining in his stack and went deep into the tank while he decided if he wanted to commit them all. Close to two minutes passed and Apartoglou eventually settled on a fold, allowing Simon to take the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
[Removed:553]	2,400,000 500,000	500,000
Spyridon Apartoglou	1,500,000 600,000	600,000

Tags: Spyridon Apartoglou

03-23-2025 12:20 UTC+2

Tikhonov's Spin Up Begins

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Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Ludovic Geilich raised from under the gun to 85,000 and Sergey Tikhonov shoved for 130,000 from the cutoff. Geilich didn't hesitate to call when the action got back to him.

Sergey Tikhonov: K♠K♥ All in
Ludovic Geilich; Q♠8♠

Tikhonov had found a monster pair and was likely to double-up during the early stages of day. The runout came K♣2♣6♥A♦2♦, which left Geilich drawing dead on the turn to Tikhonov's set.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ludovic Geilich	3,650,000 150,000	150,000

Sergey Tikhonov	320,000 190,000	190,000

Tags: Ludovic Geilich Sergey Tikhonov

03-23-2025 12:12 UTC+2

Tuna Rakes an Early Pot

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Kai Cocklin

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Matas Cimbolas opened from the hijack to 80,000 and Soraya Estrada called on the button. Akin Tuna also called from the small blind.

On the flop of 5♥K♦Q♦, all three checked to the board-pairing K♣ turn, where Tuna led out for 100,000. Cimbolas called and Estrada quickly got out of the way.

A 5♦ double-paired the board on the river and Tuna reached for chips before putting 425,000 into the middle. Cimbolas quickly folded, and Tuna took the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Akin Tuna	3,500,000 300,000	300,000
Soraya Estrada	3,100,000 100,000	100,000
Matas Cimbolas	870,000 180,000	180,000

Tags: Akin Tuna Matas Cimbolas Soraya Estrada

03-23-2025 12:08 UTC+2

Simon Takes a Small Pot from Geilich

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Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

On one of the first hands of the day, Ludovic Geilich opened from early position to 85,000, with Spyridon Apartoglou and [Removed:553] calling out of the blinds.

The 4♣10♠3♦ flop was checked to Geilich and he fired a continuation-bet of 135,000. Apartoglou folded, but Simon stuck around with a call out of the big blind.

The 3♠ turn and Q♠ river checked through, and Simon flipped over 5♠4♦ for the winner with a pair of fours.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ludovic Geilich	3,800,000 155,000	155,000

Spyridon Apartoglou	2,100,000 105,000	105,000
[Removed:553]	1,900,000 250,000	250,000

Tags: Ludovic Geilich Spyridon Apartoglou

03-23-2025 12:05 UTC+2

Shuffle Up & Deal

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Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

After a short delay for players to take their seats. Cards are in the air for Day 4 of the Main Event.

Level: 25

Blinds: 20,000/40,000

Ante: 40,000

03-23-2025 09:00 UTC+2

Dawid Smolka in Striking Distance of Historic Merit Poker Treble

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Kai Cocklin

Day 4 of the $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series kicks off today at 12:00 p.m. local time, with just 60 players still in the hunt for the title and the massive $401,000 top prize. After three full days of action and a record-breaking turnout of 881 entries, the field has been whittled down to a talented group of contenders ready to battle for a seat at the final table inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.

Leading the charge is Ludovic Geilich, who returns with 3,955,000 chips and a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Right behind him is Dawid Smolka (3,500,000), who continues his historic run as he looks to win all three major Merit Poker titles.

Also sitting comfortably near the top are Akin Tuna and Soraya Estrada, both bagging 3,200,000, while Nenad Dukic (2,600,000), Bassel Alanaz (2,540,000), and Nichan Khorchidian (2,515,000) round out a tightly packed leaderboard. With eight players holding over 2,500,000 and several more close behind, the stage is set for an explosive Day 4.

Top Ten Chip Counts

Place	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Ludovic Geilich	Scotland	3,955,000	99
2	Dawid Smolka	Poland	3,500,000	88
3	Akin Tuna	Turkey	3,200,000	80
4	Soraya Estrada	Spain	3,200,000	80
5	Nenad Dukic	Serbia	2,600,000	65
6	Bassel Alanaz	Lebanon	2,540,000	64
7	Nichan Khorchidian	Lebanon	2,515,000	63
8	Gurcan Gungoren	Turkey	2,510,000	63
9	Ghassan Bitar	Lebanon	2,460,000	62
10	Andrei Konopelko	Belarus	2,410,000	60

The plan is to play down to the final table, and with blinds starting at 20,000/40,000 (40,000 big blind ante), the average stack of 1,468,000 gives players around 37 big blinds to maneuver. Every decision will carry weight as the payouts escalate, and with $2,400,00 in the prize pool, the pressure is on as the road to Carmen Series glory continues.

Every remaining player has already locked up a guaranteed payday of at least $8,690, but with the stakes rising quickly and six-figure sums now within reach, the tension is only going to climb from here. The next few pay jumps will be crucial, and the pressure will be felt with every all-in and every river card as the field draws closer to the final nine.

Remaining Payouts

Place	Prize	Place	Prize
1	$401,000	13-15	$25,800
2	$265,000	16-18	$22,400
3	$185,250	19-21	$20,135
4	$132,100	22-24	$17,930
5	$99,050	25-26	$15,730
6	$80,500	27-35	$13,545
7	$65,700	36-44	$11,840
8	$52,200	45-53	$10,140
9	$39,600	54-60	$8,690
10-12	$32,000

Stay locked in with PokerNews for full Day 4 coverage, including live updates, key hands, and the road to the final table.

Tags: Akin Tuna Andrei Konopelko Bassel Alanaz Dawid Smolka Ghassan Bitar Gurcan Gungoren Ludovic Geilich Nenad Dukic Nichan Khorchidian Soraya Estrada

03-23-2025 09:00 UTC+2

Day 4 Seat Draw

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Kai Cocklin

Table	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	1	Timur Mukhamedaminov	Uzbekistan	1,995,000	50
1	2	Marek Tatar	Slovakia	575,000	14
1	3	Hilmi Tekin	Turkey	1,680,000	42
1	4	Lukas Pazma	Slovakia	505,000	13
1	5	Paul Amsellem	France	2,260,000	57
1	6	Daniil Kiselev	Russia	1,650,000	41
1	7	Bassel Moussa	Lebanon	285,000	7
1	8	Walid Bou Habib	Lebanon	1,900,000	48

2	1	Zhen Chen	China	280,000	7
2	2	Safi Haidar	Lebanon	415,000	10
2	3	Daniel Foldesi	Hungary	1,710,000	43
2	4	Vladas Tamasauskas	Lithuania	1,240,000	31
2	5	Maxim Toldin	Russia	700,000	18
2	6	Iulian Blebea	Romania	1,005,000	25
2	7	Ghassan Bitar	Lebanon	2,460,000	62
2	8	Andrei Spataru	Romania	585,000	15

3	1	Soraya Estrada	Spain	3,200,000	80
3	2	Akin Tuna	Turkey	3,200,000	80
3	3	Chady Ojeil	Lebanon	1,610,000	40
3	4	Gurcan Gungoren	Turkey	2,510,000	63
3	5	Maher Achour	Tunisia	1,015,000	25
3	6	Fahredin Mustafov	Bulgaria	1,000,000	25
3	7	Matas Cimbolas	Lithuania	1,050,000	26
3	8	Andrey Pateychuk	Russia	2,055,000	51

4	1	BLT Good	Romania	1,550,000	39
4	2	Alireza Akbarzadehbeshroyeh	Iran	1,000,000	25
4	3	Evgenii Chernyi	Russia	1,070,000	27
4	4	Vladislav Ivanov	Russia	1,080,000	27
4	5	Kirill Shcherbakov	Russia	710,000	18
4	6	Bassel Alanaz	Lebanon	2,540,000	64
4	7	Jakub Michalak	Poland	280,000	7
4	8	Tomer Lahav	Israel	1,385,000	35

5	1	Sergey Tikhonov	Russia	130,000	3
5	2	Spyridon Apartoglou	Greece	2,205,000	55
5	3	[Removed:553]	Netherlands Antillies	1,650,000	41
5	4	Tommy G	Israel	1,200,000	30
5	5	Ludovic Geilich	Scotland	3,955,000	99
5	6	Nichan Khorchidian	Lebanon	2,515,000	63
5	7	Dmitrii Kopyl	Russia	1,255,000	31

6	1	Han Han	Israel	1,700,000	43
6	2	Tudor Lazar	Romania	970,000	24
6	3	Kuljinder Sidhu	India	680,000	17
6	4	Gregoire Auzoux	France	965,000	24
6	5	Andrei Konopelko	Belarus	2,410,000	60
6	6	Alessio Isaia	Italy	1,450,000	36
6	7	Kutay Taskin	Turkey	510,000	13

7	1	Aleksandar Jakovljevic	Romania	1,465,000	37
7	2	Aleksey Cherkasov	Russia	1,115,000	28
7	3	Dawid Smolka	Poland	3,500,000	88
7	4	Konstantin Voronin	Russia	2,165,000	54
7	5	Tarmo Tammel	Estonia	340,000	9
7	6	Mikhail Zavoloka	Russia	615,000	15
7	7	Grzegorz Kozieja	Poland	1,700,000	43

8	1	Leonid Orman	Russia	1,340,000	34
8	2	Nenad Dukic	Serbia	2,600,000	65
8	3	Darius Neagoe	Romania	1,800,000	45
8	4	Eimantas Adomavicius	Lithuania	1,590,000	40
8	5	Traian Stanciu	Romania	645,000	16
8	6	Carlos Aoun	Lebanon	1,580,000	40
8	7	Axel Hallay	France	1,640,000	41

$3,300 Main Event

Day 4 Started