Jeremie Zouari was caught in action on a board of 4♥5♠9♦K♠ from the button, where he fired 15,500 once checked to. The big blind called.
A K♣ paired the board on the river and again the big blind checked, then Zouari bet 25,000. The big blind was a non-believer and eventually called, which forced Zouari to showed his A♥6♣ for a bluff. The big blind revealed 7♣5♦ for a pair of fives, and that was good for the pot.
Damir Gabdullin fired 4,000 first to act on a board of 6♠K♠3♠, which Parahat Nurmuhammedov called in early position.
With the pot at around 15,000, both checked the 6♦ turn to the 9♦ river, where Gabdullin shoved for 15,300. Nurmuhammedov confirmed the count and after thinking it over for around 30 seconds, he called.
Gabdullin then flipped A♠A♦ for a pair of aces, and Nurmuhammedov flashed his K♦5♦ before mucking.
Level: 5
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 1,200
Players are heading on their second 15-minute break of the day.
Four levels have been played, and four more are scheduled before play ends for the day at around 8:50 p.m.
Fres off of a third-place finish in the $5,300 High Roller for $155,000, Aren Bezhanyan is back to business in the Main Event.
Bezhanyan just picked up pocket jacks and had a player all-in and at risk with pocket tens. A clean runout later and Bezhanyan's stack surged to around 175,000 as the half-way mark nears
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.
| 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 |
On a board of Q♥5♥3♥A♦, there were around 15,000 in the pot when Damir Gabdullin fired 10,500 from under the gun and Said Karam called in the hijack.
A 9♣ dropped on the river and Gabdullin fired again, this time for 27,000. Karam wasted no time in putting in a raise to 75,000, which Gabdullin called after around 30 seconds.
Karam instantly showed A♥4♥ for the nut flush and dragged in the pot, which boosted his stack to around 230,000.
Michael Iakovlev opened from middle position and Roman Pshyk three-bet the button to 5,500. When it got back to Iakovlev, he four-bet to 15,000, and Pshyk called.
Both watched the 4♥5♠6♣ flop hit the table, and Iakovlev continued with a bet of 12,000. Pshyk didn't want anything more to do with the pot and folded, which allowed Iakovlev to scoop in the pot.
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