$5,300 High Roller | 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series

03-18-2025 18:18 UTC+2

Dmitry Kataev Eliminated in 11th Place ($19,650)

Tim Baker

Level 27 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Merijn van Rooij limped in from the small blind and Dmitry Kataev shoved for roughly 900,000 from the big blind. Van Rooij instantly called to put Kataev at risk.

Dmitry Kataev: A♠J♥ All in
Merijn van Rooij: K♦K♥

Van Rooij's plan to limp in with kings had worked perfectly, as he had Kataev crushed. However, Kataev did have an overcard to Van Rooij's big pair. A clean runout of 10♦5♥4♥J♣7♦ came out though for Van Rooij's Cowboys, and Kataev was out in eleventh.

Player	Chips	Progress
Merijn van Rooij	2,000,000 700,000	700,000
Dmitry Kataev	Busted

Tags: Dmitry Kataev Merijn van Rooij

03-18-2025 18:05 UTC+2

Simas Karaliunas Eliminated in 12th Place ($19,650)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 27 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Simas Karaliunas raised to 200,000 on the button and Johnny Lodden three-bet to 425,000 out of the big blind. Karaliunas four-bet shoved for 1,800,000, and Lodden snap-called.

Simas Karaliunas: Q♣Q♦ All in
Johnny Lodden : A♥A♦

A brutal cooler looked likely to be end for Karaliunas if he couldn't find a queen on the runout. The board came 5♦K♥3♠K♠4♠ which meant and all of Karaliunas' chips were sent over to Lodden.

Player	Chips	Progress
Johnny Lodden	4,000,000 2,050,000	2,050,000
Simas Karaliunas	Busted

Tags: Johnny Lodden Simas Karaliunas

03-18-2025 18:03 UTC+2

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

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Kai Cocklin

Level 27 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 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

Level: 27

Blinds: 50,000/100,000

Ante: 100,000

03-18-2025 17:52 UTC+2

Axel Halley Eliminated in 13th Place ($16,170)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Kai Cocklin

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

The action folded around to Axel Hallay in the small blind, who had his stack of around 600,000 in the middle and was put at risk by Simas Karaliunas in the big blind.

Axel Hallay: A♣3♥ All in
Simas Karaliunas: A♦10♥

Hallay was behind but not for long as he spiked two pair on the A♥3♦4♥ flop to take the lead. Though he had a lot of outs to dodge as the Q♥ turn gave Karaliunas a better flush draw, counterfeit outs, two pair outs, and chop outs! One of those came in on the river as the 9♥ gave Karaliunas a flush, sending Hallay to the rail in unlucky number 13th.

Player	Chips	Progress
Simas Karaliunas	2,000,000 300,000	300,000
Axel Hallay	Busted

Tags: Axel Hallay Simas Karaliunas

03-18-2025 17:46 UTC+2

Maxime Chilaud Eliminated in 14th Place ($16,170)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

After an early position raise to 160,000 and a call from Kirill Shcherbakov on the button, Maxime Chilaud squeezed all in for roughly 750,000 from the big blind. The initial opened folded, but Shcherbakov called to put Chilaud at risk.

Maxime Chilaud: A♣9♦ All in
Kirill Shcherbakov: 5♠5♦

Chilaud had made a move, and found himself in a race for his tournament life. The A♠3♣4♠ flop put Chilaud in the lead having paired his ace, but Shcherbakov had a straight draw. The Q♥ turn didn't change anything, but the 2♦ fell on the river to give Shcherbakov a wheel, and send Chilaud to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kirill Shcherbakov	5,700,000 650,000	650,000
Maxime Chilaud	Busted

Tags: Kirill Shcherbakov Maxime Chilaud

03-18-2025 17:37 UTC+2

Kyosuke Nagami Eliminated in 15th Place ($16,170)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

Peteris Enders raised to 230,000 from the cutoff before Kyosuke Nagami shoved for roughly 1,100,000 from the small blind. After getting a count, Enders called.

Kyosuke Nagami: K♥Q♥ All in
Peteris Enders: A♦3♦

Enders was slightly ahead with his ace-high. The J♠9♦7♦ flop gave Nagami a straight draw, but Enders picked up a flush draw. The 2♥ turn meant Nagami was one card away from elimination. The 8♦ river improved Enders to a flush, and Nagami was out in fifteenth.

Player	Chips	Progress
Peteris Enders	4,800,000 1,800,000	1,800,000
Kyosuke Nagami	Busted

Tags: Kyosuke Nagami Peteris Enders

03-18-2025 17:24 UTC+2

Malinov the Master of Winning Flips

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

Atanas Malinov got his 730,000 chips into the middle preflop with Cedric Schwaederle making the call to try and bust him.

Atanas Malinov: 4♠4♣ All in
Cedric Schwaederle: A♠K♦

Malinov needed to win this flip to keep his hopes of a second final table this series alive. The board ran out 2♠3♦10♥6♦8♦, which kept Malinov ahead the whole way, and he doubled at the expense of Schwaederle.

Player	Chips	Progress
Atanas Malinov	1,500,000 800,000	800,000
Cedric Schwaederle	1,150,000 650,000	650,000

Tags: Atanas Malinov Cedric Schwaederle

03-18-2025 17:13 UTC+2

Welcome to Club PokerNews

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 26 : 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

Welcome to the Club! Club PokerNews is the one-stop hub where you can access an array of added value from many of our partners. From exclusive poker freeroll passwords and special poker offers to private PokerNews events, take advantage of all the benefits at Club PokerNews!

We have found the best value on all of your favorite sites, locked up added value for our readers in private MTTs and freerolls, and give you all a chance to play in some of the biggest tournaments in the world for a minimal outlay!

There are many ways for you to get involved in the action, but one of the simplest is to sign up for the newsletter, above. You will receive the latest freeroll passwords and bonuses directly to your inbox so you can start taking advantage. If you prefer to be more involved in the PokerNews Community, then you can access the PokerNews Discord Channel and be first to all the latest offers, giveaways and passwords, while engaging in the growing community we have on the platform.

Join the Club Here

Level: 26

Blinds: 40,000/80,000

Ante: 80,000