$5,300 High Roller
Day 2 Completed
2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$1,242,000
Entries
270
Level
32
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
270
Players Left
39
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Day 2 of the $5,300 High Roller at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series has officially wrapped up, with 39 players securing a bag for Day 3 inside the magnificent Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
A total of 124 new entries joined the 146 from Day 1, pushing the field to a record-breaking 270 entries—the largest Merit Poker high roller event to date. This surge in participation generated a $1,242,000 prize pool, more than doubling the $500,000 guarantee. When all is said and done, the eventual champion will walk away with a massive $260,000 first-place prize, the biggest ever awarded in a Merit Poker high roller.
After all the bags were collected, Poland’s Dawid Smolka topped the chip counts with an impressive 2,700,000. With close to $1,000,000 in live tournament earnings and a third-place finish in the 2023 Merit Poker Gatsby Series High Roller, Smolka is no stranger to making deep runs in big buy-in events. Armed with both a formidable chip stack and the skills to put it to use, he will be a menace at any table tomorrow as he looks to navigate his way onto the final table.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 2,700,000 | 135 |
| 2 | Simas Karaliunas | Lithuania | 2,170,000 | 109 |
| 3 | Dmitry Kataev | Russia | 1,840,000 | 92 |
| 4 | Kyosuke Nagami | Japan | 1,540,000 | 77 |
| 5 | Iurii Grigorev | Russia | 1,220,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Ibrahim Ghasan | Lebanon | 1,055,000 | 53 |
| 7 | Charbel Salloum | Lebanon | 940,000 | 47 |
| 8 | Peteris Enders | Latvia | 925,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Martynas Vitkauskas | Lithuania | 880,000 | 44 |
| 10 | Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 860,000 | 43 |
A large portion of Dawid Smolka’s chips came in a massive pot against Aren Bezhanyan, where Smolka check-shoved over Bezhanyan’s sizable river bet. Bezhanyan quickly called with an overpair, only to be left devastated when Smolka tabled two pair, sending him to the rail. This pivotal hand propelled Smolka into the chip lead—a position he never relinquished as he continued accumulating chips for the rest of the day.
Trailing Smolka in the chip counts is Simas Karaliunas, who bagged 2,170,000 to enter Day 3 second in the standings. The Lithuanian collected a significant portion of his stack after eliminating Felipe Ketzer close to the bubble, after Ketzer four-bet ripped pocket fives into Karaliunas' pocket queens. Sitting in third place is Dmitry Kataev, who will return for Day 3 with 1,840,000 chips, putting himself in a strong position to make a push for the final table.
Once late registration closed, eliminations came at a rapid pace, and it wasn’t long before tournament staff announced that play would conclude for the night once the money bubble had burst. Unfortunately for Yayun Liu, he was the last player to leave empty-handed. Liu three-bet shoved pocket tens over an open from Kataev, only to run straight into Kataev’s pocket kings. With no miracle runout from the dealer, Liu was officially crowned the bubble boy of this record-breaking High Roller.
Other notables returning to the baize for Day 3 include Kyosuke Nagami (1,540,000), Mario Colavita (790,000), bracelet winner Tobias Peters (630,000), old-school poker legend Johnny Lodden (620,000), Axel Hallay (585,000), and Samuel Ju (470,000), who already picked up some silverware at this series by winning a bounty tournament yesterday. Also joining them will be Soraya Estrada (460,000), Fahredin Mustafov (425,000), and Andrey Pateychuk (390,000).
Day 3 kicks off at 1:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, March 18, with five minutes remaining in Level 20, where blinds are 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. With all remaining players guaranteed at least $7,600, the focus now shifts to navigating their way onto the final table before setting their sights on the $260,000 top prize.
Payouts
As always, PokerNews will provide live updates from the tournament floor as players battle it out to secure a spot at the final table and beyond. Stay tuned for all the action!
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,700,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
||
|
2,170,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
1,840,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
1,540,000
840,000
|
840,000 |
|
1,220,000
420,000
|
420,000 |
|
1,055,000
1,055,000
|
1,055,000 |
|
940,000
610,000
|
610,000 |
|
925,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
880,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
860,000
840,000
|
840,000 |
|
845,000
155,000
|
155,000 |
|
835,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
810,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
790,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
700,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
650,000
150,000
|
150,000 |
|
630,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
||
|
620,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
615,000
365,000
|
365,000 |
|
585,000
135,000
|
135,000 |
|
550,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
470,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
465,000
305,000
|
305,000 |
|
465,000
505,000
|
505,000 |
|
460,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
With the elimination of Yayun Liu, the remaining 39 players in the $5,300 High Roller are bagging up their chips and will return tomorrow for Day 3 to play down to a winner.
Stay tuned for chip counts, and a full recap of the day's action.
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
After three hands of hand-for-hand play, Dmitry Kataev raised to 40,000 from the cutoff and Yayun Liu shoved for roughly 500,000 from the button. Once the blinds folded, Kataev called to put Liu at risk.
Yayun Liu: 10♥10♠ 
Dmitry Kataev: K♥K♠
Kataev was ahead with his Cowboys and if the board didn't contain any help for Liu, the remaining 39 players would be in the money and play would conclude for the night.
The 9♥2♣2♠ flop didn't change anything, and the 5♠ turn meant only a two-outer on the river could save Liu from being the last player to leave the tournament empty-handed. The 7♥ landed on the river, meaning Liu bubbled the $5,300 High Roller.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,700,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Simas Karaliunas raised to 40,000 under the gun before Volodymyr Drokin shoved for 165,000 from the hijack. When it got back to Karaliunas, he called to put Drokin at risk.
Volodymyr Drokin: 9♣9♦
Simas Karaliunas: 10♠10♦
Drokin was pipped by one and needed to find a nine to stay alive, or the tournament would be on the direct bubble. The board ran out 4♥7♦8♦5♥5♠ and Karaliunas won the pot with his pocket tens, eliminating Drokin on the soft bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,100,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
It has been announced that play will stop once the money bubble has been broken. There are currently 41 players remaining, with 39 pay spots available.
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer opened the hijack to 40,000 with the cutoff player making the call. Simas Karaliunas squeezed to 160,000 out of the small blind and Ketzer four-bet shoved for roughly 600,000. The cutoff player folded, but Karaliunas snap-called.
Felipe Ketzer: 5♦5♣
Simas Karaliunas: Q♠Q♥
Ketzer had run into the Ladies of Karaliunas, and needed a lot of help from the dealer to have a chance of making the money. The flop of Q♦6♥J♠ was disastrous for Ketzer, as Karaliunas hit top set. Ketzer was drawing dead on the 9♦ turn as an inconsequential 7♦ fell on the river. Ketzer was out, and Karaliunas added more chips to his already huge stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,700,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Fahredin Mustafov raised to 40,000 from middle position before Dawid Smolka three-bet to 85,000 from the hijack. Mustafov called.
The flop came down 3♠4♥5♦ and Mustafov checked. Smolka bet 30,000, which Mustafov called.
The turn came the K♠, causing Mustafov to check again. Smolka bet 40,000 and Mustafov stuck around with a call.
Both players checked the 6♦ river and Mustafov showed K♦Q♦ for top pair to win a much-needed pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,900,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
500,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
Level: 20
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
