$5,300 High Roller Day 2 | 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series

03-17-2025 23:48 UTC+2

Flashback: Umberto Ruggeri Wrangles Record-Breaking Victory in Merit Western Series Main Event

Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Back in January, the $3,300 Main Event of the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series saw Umberto Ruggeri crowned the champion after overcoming a record-breaking field of 791 inside the stunning Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.

The Italian player battled through countless emotional highs and challenging moments to claim the coveted trophy after cutting an undisclosed deal with Mihai Niste and Muhtar Taysi when three players remained.

Ruggeri expressed his joy after the victory, stating, "I’m very enthusiastic, and I think I played very well in key spots." The final table was not without its difficulties, as Ruggeri acknowledged, "It was very hard. A single moment can change everything, but in the end, it all went very well."

2025 Merit Poker Western Series Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Umberto Ruggeri	Italy	$377,500
2	Mihai Niste	Romania	$251,000
3	Muhtar Taysi	Turkey	$180,300
4	Mario Colavita	Italy	$130,200
5	Xiaosheng Zheng	China	$94,600
6	Alexander Sokolovsky	Serbia	$75,900
7	Ryan Mandara	United Kingdom	$63,200
8	Renars Skanis	Latvia	$50,500
9	Edward Quinn	Jersey	$37,950

Read the Full Recap Here

03-17-2025 23:33 UTC+2

Break Time

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Players are now on a 15-minute break.

03-17-2025 23:29 UTC+2

Pateychuk's Double Barrel Gets Chauskin to Fold

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Natan Chauskin raised the button to 12,000 before Andrey Pateychuk three-bet to 50,000 out of the big blind. Chauskin made the call,

The flop came down a monotone 5♦Q♦2♦ and Pateychuk put out a continuation-bet of 25,000. Chauskin called.

Pateychuk fired another barrel upon seeing the 7♣ land on the turn, this time for 61,000. Chauskin quickly folded and forfeited the pot to Pateychuk.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrey Pateychuk	410,000 260,000	260,000

Natan Chauskin	20,000 91,500	91,500

Tags: Andrey Pateychuk Natan Chauskin

03-17-2025 23:19 UTC+2

Kozieja's Overbet gets Paid

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

On a flop of 10♠J♦7♠, Grzegorz Kozieja checked from the big blind and Dmitry Kataev bet 12,000 out of the cutoff. Kozieja called.

Both players checked the 10♥ turn to see the 7♣ land on the river. Kozieja fired out with an overbet of 90,000. Kataev thought about his options for quite some time before throwing in the call.

Kozieja flipped over a full house with K♠7♥, causing Kataev to muck his cards.

Player	Chips	Progress
Grzegorz Kozieja	420,000 130,000	130,000
Dmitry Kataev	310,000 30,000	30,000

Tags: Dmitry Kataev Grzegorz Kozieja

03-17-2025 23:05 UTC+2

Kolev Moves Up to Half a Million

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Johnny Lodden opened to 12,000 from the hijack before Boris Kolev three-bet to 50,000 out of the small blind. Lodden flicked in the call.

Kolev continued with a bet of 56,000 on the Q♦8♦5♣ flop. Lodden didn't long to make the call.

The 7♥ on the turn caused Kolev to slow down and check. Lodden bet 90,000, which Kolev called.

Both players checked when the 5♥ landed on the river and Kolev took down the pot with 10♥10♠ for a pair of tens.

Player	Chips	Progress
Johnny Lodden	520,000
Boris Kolev	500,000 219,000	219,000

Tags: Boris Kolev Johnny Lodden

Level: 15

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

03-17-2025 22:49 UTC+2

Payouts

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

With 270 entries recorded in this record-breaking Merit Poker $5,300 High Roller, the prize pool totaled $1,242,000 and 39 players will be paid. A min-cash is worth $7,600, while the eventual champion will walk away with $260,000.

Place	Prize	Place	Prize
1	$260,000	10-12	$19,650
2	$182,700	13-15	$16,170
3	$131,900	16-18	$13,935
4	$91,400	19-21	$12,320
5	$67,040	22-24	$11,080
6	$53,700	25-26	$9,840
7	$44,700	27-35	$8,720
8	$35,735	36-39	$7,600
9	$26,800

03-17-2025 22:34 UTC+2

Pora Stays Alive With a Straight

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Dumitru Pora put his last 17,000 into the middle from early position with Oleg Svintsov three-betting to 40,000 to insolate him. The rest of the table folded and the cards were revealed.

Dumitru Pora: Q♣3♣ All in
Oleg Svintsov: A♠10♥

Pora was already packing up his belongings as the dealer spread out the 10♦K♣J♠ flop to give him a straight draw. The 9♠ turn improved Pora to a straight, as the clean 5♦ landed on the river to secure him the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Oleg Svintsov	250,000 55,000	55,000
Dumitru Pora	44,000 44,000	44,000

Tags: Dumitru Pora Oleg Svintsov

03-17-2025 22:20 UTC+2

Kozieja Busts Two Players

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Grzegorz Kozieja opened the hijack to 10,000 before Boris Angelov stuck his 20,000 into the middle from the cutoff. Rui Querido Martins also shoved for roughly 35,000 from big blind. Kozieja called them both with the chance to get the double knockout.

Boris Angelov: A♠9♦ All in
Rui Querido Martins: A♣9♣ All in
Grzegorz Kozieja: K♣J♦

Angelov and Martins had the same hand, so Kozieja's cards were live. The flop of 3♥K♠4♣ put Kozieja firmly in the lead with top pair. The rest of the board ran out 2♠7♦ and Kozieja had busted two players.