The $2,200 IPO Master at the 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series is heading into its next chapter as Day 2 gets underway today at 12:30 p.m. inside the luxurious Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. So far, the first three starting flights have drawn a combined 530 entries and 248 survivors will return to battle for a share of the $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Russia's Roman Kolotiuk comes into today's proceedings with the biggest stack, after he managed to accumulate a huge stack of 875,500 on Day 1b. Kolotiuk's closest rival is the Day 1a chip leader, Hassan Nashar, with 699,500 chips. Rounding out the top three is Afshin Afsharorumieh with 670,000, while the. Day 1c chip leader Konstantin Voronin starts today with 601,000, and is the only other player to bring through a stack of over six hundred thousand.
While Day 2 gets underway, the final turbo flight, Day 1d is still playing out. Late registration remains open until the end of Level 15, allowing last-minute entries and short stacks one final shot at building a stack before the field officially joins.
Current Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roman Kolotiuk | Russian Federation | 875,500 | 350 |
| 2 | Hassan Nashar | Guinea-Bissau | 699,500 | 280 |
| 3 | Afshin Afsharorumieh | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 670,000 | 268 |
| 4 | Konstantin Voronin | Russian Federation | 601,000 | 240 |
| 5 | Michael Iakovlev | Russian Federation | 540,000 | 216 |
| 6 | Kirill Burtin | Russian Federation | 534,000 | 214 |
| 7 | Imad Saab | Lebanon | 527,000 | 211 |
| 8 | Samuel Dray | France | 521,000 | 208 |
| 9 | Osman Ihlamur | Turkey | 513,500 | 205 |
| 10 | Gerard Carbo Santamaria | Spain | 506,000 | 202 |
Several big names will also carry healthy stacks into Day 2, including Michael Iakovlev (540,000), Osman Ihlamur (513,500), Imad Saab (527,000), and Maciej Toma (497,000). Others such as Danielle Noja (452,500), Aleksei Savenkov (444,000), Ivan Banovic (443,000), and Aleksandr Chernikov (388,000) are also in striking distance as the field begins to consolidate.
Day 1d kicked off this morning at 10:00 a.m. as the final turbo flight before all remaining players return at 12:30 p.m. to resume the race toward the IPO Master title. Levels will remain at 40 minutes until the field reaches Day 3, where the structure will extend to 60 minutes and the pressure will only intensify.
IPO Master Remaining Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 30 | Day 1d | 10 a.m. | 13 minutes |
| July 30 | Day 2 | 12:30 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| July 31 | Day 3 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| August 1 | Day 4 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
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