$2,200 IPO Master Day 2 | 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series

07-30-2025 16:48 UTC+2

Chilaud Wins a Multi-Way Pot

Tim Baker

Level 17 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Maxime Chilaud raised to 12,000 from under the gun and found four callers.

After the big blind checked the 3♣K♥3♦ flop, Chilaud fired out a continuation-bet of 16,000. Only Nejat Erman stuck around with a call from the hijack.

Chilaud fired a second barrel of 40,000 upon seeing the 5♣ roll off on the turn. Erman went into the tank for quite some time, doing some inventory of his stack. Eventually, Erman opted to fold and relinquish the pot to Chilaud.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maxime Chilaud	800,000 250,000	250,000
Nejat Erman	150,000 70,000	70,000

Tags: Maxime Chilaud Nejat Erman

07-30-2025 16:34 UTC+2

El-Sayed Hits the Rail

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Tim Baker

Level 17 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Dragos-Florin Anton raised to 12,000 from middle position and Mohamad El-Sayed jammed for 39,000 from the hijack. When it got back to Anton, he called to put El-Sayed at risk.

Mohamad El-Sayed: K♥10♣ All in
Dragos-Florin Anton: J♠10♦

El-Sayed had Anton dominated and was in a favorable position to earn the much-needed double-up. However, the J♣6♦3♥ flop gave Anton the lead with top pair. The 5♠ turn and Q♥ river didn't help El-Sayed and he headed to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dragos-Florin Anton	600,000
Mohamad El-Sayed	Busted

Tags: Dragos-Florin Anton Mohamad El-Sayed

Level: 17

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

07-30-2025 16:19 UTC+2

Huang Heads the Showers

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Yuxi Huang got all of he 71,000 chips into the middle preflop with Khalil Jabra trying to end her tournament.

Yuxi Huang: A♥Q♦ All in
Khalil Jabra: A♦A♠

Huang got out of her seat upon seeing she was up against the aces of Jabra. The runout provided no help to Huang as it came K♠4♥9♦6♠K♣. The pot was pushed to Jabra and Huang was out.

Player	Chips	Progress
Khalil Jabra	350,000
Yuxi Huang	Busted

Tags: Khalil Jabra Yuxi Huang

07-30-2025 16:00 UTC+2

Ketzer Can't Get Kolonias to Let Go of His Ladies

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Alexandros Kolonias raised to 10,000 from early position and found four callers.

After four checks, Felipe Ketzer bet 12,000 from the button on the flop of K♠7♣2♥. Artur Shupa called from the small blind, and Kolonias also called.

Three ways now to the 4♣ turn. After two checks, Ketzer fired a second barrel of 38,000. Shupa folded, but Kolonias stuck around with a call.

Kolonias checked for the last time on the 6♥ river, and after a few moments, Ketzer checked behind. Kolonias turned over Q♥Q♣ for a pair of queens, which was good enough to win the pot as Ketzer mucked his cards.

Player	Chips	Progress
Artur Shupa	600,000 10,000	10,000
Felipe Ketzer	360,000 80,000	80,000
Alexandros Kolonias	290,000 110,000	110,000

Tags: Alexandros Kolonias Artur Shupa Felipe Ketzer

07-30-2025 15:42 UTC+2

Some Big Stacks After the Second Break

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Alexey Savenkov	1,370,000 595,000	595,000
Ege Guven	1,150,000 1,150,000	1,150,000
Aren Bezhanyan	900,000 45,000	45,000
Fadi Nakhoul	900,000 50,000	50,000
Gerard Carbo Santamaria	810,000 304,000	304,000
Konstantin Kvashin	730,000 594,500	594,500
Yilu Yuan	650,000 60,000	60,000
Hassan Nashar	640,000 120,000	120,000

Artur Shupa	610,000 347,000	347,000
Ivan Banovic	610,000 167,000	167,000
Denis Vladimirov	600,000 206,000	206,000
Joseph Sabe	590,000 590,000	590,000
Benjamin LeBlond	580,000 120,000	120,000
Maxime Chilaud	550,000 70,000	70,000
Abdou Antoun	510,000 270,000	270,000
Mazen Halabi	510,000 412,000	412,000

07-30-2025 15:38 UTC+2

Flashback: Boris Kolev Dominates 2025 Merit Millions Final Table

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Back in April, the inaugural $10,400 Merit Millions Event saw Boris Kolev rising above a talented field of 212 entries to become the first-ever champion. Held inside the stunning Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, the unique event ended with Kolev capturing the coveted title and the massive $1,000,000 guaranteed top prize.

Kolev, who began the final table third in chips, put on a clinical display to systematically dismantle his opponents on the way to victory. In doing so, he became the first player in Merit Poker history to walk away with a seven-figure payday. The Bulgarian pro made quick work of Mehdi Chaoui in a brief heads-up battle to seal the title and etch his name in the record books.

2025 Merit Million Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Boris Kolev	Bulgaria	$1,000,000
2	Mehdi Chaoui	Morocco	$300,000
3	Romans Lihacovs	Latvia	$200,000
4	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russian Federation	$140,000
5	Rafael Aslanli	Turkey	$100,000
6	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	$75,000
7	Andrey Pateychuk	Russian Federation	$55,000
8	Ali Al-Kubasi	Iraq	$45,000
9	Alexandr Lakhov	Russia	$35,400

Read the Full Recap Here

Level: 16

Blinds: 2,000/5,000

Ante: 5,000

07-30-2025 15:17 UTC+2

Break Time; Last Chance to Register

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Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Players are now on a 20-minute break. At the conclusion of this break, late registration will officially close.

07-30-2025 15:14 UTC+2

Merheb Rivers a Higher Set to Bust Moldovan

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Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

After an open from under the gun to 12,000, Ionut-Alexandru Moldovan jammed from the next seat for 67,000. Andress Merheb cold-called from the hijack, forcing the rest of the table to fold.

Ionut-Alexandru Moldovan: 9♦9♣ All in
Andress Merheb: 10♥10♠

Moldovan was behind to the pocket tens of Merheb, and he needed to find a nine from the dealer to stay alive. The dealer provided that nine as she fanned out the flop of 9♥5♠7♦. The 5♥ turn meant only a ten on the river would send Moldovan to the rail. The brutal 10♣ fell on the river to give Merheb a higher set, and Moldovan headed for the exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andress Merheb	370,000 185,000	185,000
Ionut-Alexandru Moldovan	Busted

Tags: Andress Merheb Ionut-Alexandru Moldovan