Andrei Spataru Bags Big as Day 1a Surpasses Last Year’s Turnout

Day 1a of the $3,300 La Notte Degli Assi Main Event is in the books, and it got the 2025 edition of the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series off to a flying start. A total of 262 entries were recorded across the eight 60-minute levels inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, surpassing last year's Day 1a turnout of 237 despite the increased buy-in.

By the time chips were bagged for the night, 119 players had made it through to Day 2. Leading the charge is Andrei Spataru, who soared past the one-million mark to finish with 1,041,500. He is followed by Aleksandr Chernikov (721,000), Maxime Chilaud (677,500), and Denis Vladimirov (533,000), all of whom will return in strong position when play resumes on Monday.

Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Andrei Spataru	Romania	1,041,500	521
2	Aleksandr Chernikov	Russia	721,000	361
3	Maxime Chilaud	France	677,500	339
4	Ivan Zabiiakin	Russia	587,500	294
5	Denis Vladimirov	Russia	533,000	267
6	Xiaosheng Zheng	China	494,000	247
7	Grzegorz Kozieja	Poland	469,000	235
8	Yilu Yuan	China	464,000	232
9	Nina Krasilnikova	Russia	435,000	218
10	Darius Neagoe	Romania	429,500	215

Other players to finish above average include Grzegorz Kozieja (469,000), Robert Burlacu (263,500), and Nichan Khorchidian (164,500). Khorchidian may have ended the day with a smaller stack, but he’s no stranger to deep runs at Merit.

He won the $3,300 Gatsby Gala Main Event here last year and seemed optimistic once again. During the final level, he pointed out that he was seated at Table 1, Seat 1, and joked that it had to be a sign he was going to win.

For those who didn’t make it through Day 1a, there will be more opportunities to rejoin the action. The tournament allows unlimited reentries across all flights, and late registration remains open until the end of Level 14 on Day 2.

Day 1b kicks off tomorrow at 12 p.m. local time with the same structure as today. Players will start with 100,000 chips and play eight one-hour levels, with 15-minute breaks after every two levels. The $2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool remains the target, and with three more starting flights to come, the tournament is well on its way to another massive field.

Remaining Schedule

Date	Day	Time	Blind Levels
August 3	Day 1b	12 p.m.	60 minutes
August 4	Day 1c	12 p.m.	40 minutes
August 4	Day 1d	7 p.m.	25 minutes
August 5	Day 2	12 p.m.	60 minutes
August 6	Day 3	12 p.m.	60 minutes
August 7	Day 4	12 p.m.	60 minutes
August 8	Day 5	1 p.m.	60 minutes