Oleg Furman Holds Chip Lead on for Day 1c of $3,300 La Notte Degli Assi

The penultimate starting flight of the 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series $3,300 La Notte Degli Assi wrapped up at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. Day 1c attracted 192 entries, bringing the overall field to 692 so far. After eight 40-minute levels, 111 players successfully bagged up chips and secured their seats in Day 2.

At the end of the night, Oleg Furman of Russia finished as the chip leader with 434,500. Kemal Aydogdu is placed in second place with 410,500 to work with on Day 2, while Mohamed Mokrani holds the third spot, having bagged 406,500 as he looks for his second Merit Poker Main Event title. Today, these were the only three players to have crossed the four-hundred thousand chip mark.

Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Oleg Furman	Russian Federation	434,500	217
2	Kemal Aydogdu	Turkey	410,500	205
3	Mohamed Mokrani	France	406,500	203
4	Gerard Carbo Santamaria	Spain	390,000	195
5	Xiaohui Tan	China	390,000	195
6	Haydar Issa	Lebanon	372,500	186
7	Vadim Kazykhanov	Russian Federation	350,000	175
8	Samuel Dray	France	329,500	165
9	Ma	France	325,000	163
10	Ionut-Alexandru Moldovan	Romania	324,500	162

Some other notable players who managed to bag up some chips today include the IPO Master runner-up Gerard Carbo Santamaria (390,000) and the record-breaking $5,300 High Roller champion Cedric Schwaederle (314,000). Also making it through to tomorrow are Xuming Qi (296,500) and Alessio Isaia (240,000), who used his kicker to eliminate a player early in the day when they both held trip aces. A few more to return to the baize are Nils Pudel (107,000), Mark Saad (67,500), and Daniel Yerin (33,000).

The final starting flight, Day 1d, is currently underway. This evening’s flight features a turbo structure with 25-minute levels and will be the last opportunity for players to secure a stack before Day 2. Late registration remains open until the end of Level 14 on Day 2, giving everyone one last shot at the $2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

All surviving players from the four starting flights will return for Day 2 tomorrow, August 5, at 12 p.m. local time. The blinds will start at 1,000/2,000 with a big blind ante of 2,000, and levels will return to 60 minutes in length. Tomorrow marks the first time all remaining players will be in the same field, with the prize pool set to be finalized shortly after late registration closes.

Remaining Main Event Schedule

Date	Day	Time	Blind Levels
August 4	Day 1d	7:00 p.m.	25 minutes
August 5	Day 2	12:00 p.m.	60 minutes
August 6	Day 3	12:00 p.m.	60 minutes
August 7	Day 4	12:00 p.m.	60 minutes
August 8	Day 5	1:00 p.m.	60 minutes