$3,300 La Notte Degli Assi Day 3 | 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series

08-06-2025 15:13 UTC+2

Some Updated Bubble Chip Counts

Tim Baker

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Paris Dedes	1,900,000 300,000	300,000
Uri Reichenstein	1,800,000 698,000	698,000
Dawid Smolka	1,800,000 300,000	300,000
Aleksandr Chernikov	1,750,000 500,000	500,000

Paul Esau	1,650,000
Ahmad Abdelhadi	1,400,000 707,000	707,000
Xiaosheng Zheng	1,200,000
Ma	1,100,000 300,000	300,000
Ohad Geiger	1,000,000 150,000	150,000

Alexander Sokolovsky	1,000,000 100,000	100,000
Paul Grummitt	975,000 325,000	325,000
Ren Lin	575,000 295,000	295,000

08-06-2025 15:12 UTC+2

Kuliberda Survives

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Kai Cocklin

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

During hand-for-hand play, Dawid Kuliberda had the last of his stack in on a board of Q♦4♦7♣9♥ and was put at risk by Vadim Kazykhanov, contesting a pot of 500,000.

Dawid Kuliberda: Q♣10♠ All in
Vadim Kazykhanov: J♣10♦

Kuliberda just needed to fade a king or an eight to double up, and did just that as the 3♥ river bricked off. It was no harm done for Kazykhanov, though, as he still has around 1,600,000 to play with.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vadim Kazykhanov	1,600,000 400,000	400,000
Dawid Kuliberda	500,000 131,000	131,000

Tags: Dawid Kuliberda Vadim Kazykhanov

08-06-2025 15:04 UTC+2

Hand-For-Hand Play

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Kai Cocklin

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

The floor staff have decided to go hand-for-hand a little earlier than usual due to excessive tanking on many of the tables.

Currently, 155 players remain and 151 will make it into the money.

08-06-2025 15:02 UTC+2

State Bets Alalam Out

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Tim Baker

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Three players to a turn on a board of 2♠2♦10♠J♠ and with around 170,000 in the pot. The big blind checked before Adrian State bet 50,000 from middle position. Bakhos Alalam called on the button, but the big blind folded.

Stated fired again on the 7♣ river, this time for 250,000. Alalam deliberated for a short time before folding and surrendering the pot to State.

Player	Chips	Progress
Adrian State	950,000 130,000	130,000
Bakhos Alalam	700,000 140,000	140,000

Tags: Bakhos Alalam Adrian State

08-06-2025 14:47 UTC+2

Isaia Risks it All Before the Money Bubble

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Tim Baker

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Yilu Yuan raised to 25,000 from early position before Alessio Isaia three-bet the hijack to 80,000. When it folded back to Yuan he four-bet to 185,000. Isaia looked across the table at Yuan, rechecked his cards, and then five-bet ripped it for 755,000.

Yuan got an exact count from the dealer and thought about whether to call or fold for a while, but in the end decided to let go of his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yilu Yuan	1,075,000 75,000	75,000
Alessio Isaia	955,000 255,000	255,000

Tags: Alessio Isaia Money Bubble Yilu Yuan

08-06-2025 14:46 UTC+2

Yankov Rivers a Straight Against Miskovic

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Kai Cocklin

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

A pot of around 500,000 had brewed between start-of-day chip lead Milos Miskovic and Krasimir Yankov on a board of K♠9♦J♦8♣7♠.

Miskovic was in the small blind and put out a small bet of 50,000, then Yankov raised the button to 385,000. Miskovic went into the tank for some time while he tried to come to a decision, and eventually put in the call.

Yankov then showed A♦10♣ for a rivered straight, and Miskovic mucked his cards.

Player	Chips	Progress
Milos Miskovic	1,620,000 580,000	580,000

Krasimir Yankov	1,600,000 802,000	802,000
Cedric Schwaederle	770,000 270,000	270,000

Tags: Krasimir Yankov Milos Miskovic

08-06-2025 14:35 UTC+2

Zheng Unloads the Clip, Forcing Aydin to Fold

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Tim Baker

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

The player under the gun raised to 25,000 and Fatih Aydin called from the next seat. Xiaosheng Zheng queezed to 105,000 from the cutoff, which only Aydin called.

Aydin knuckled the action over to Zheng on the K♦7♥10♠ flop, and Zheng placed out a continuation-bet of 55,000. Aydin paused briefly before making the call.

The 3♥ turn caused Aydin to check again, and Zheng to fire again, this time for 155,000. After around a minute, Aydin slid in the call.

Aydin checked for the last time on the 4♦ river. Zheng fired out 300,000, which was for about half of Aydin's stack. Aydin returned his cards to the dealer and surrendered the pot to Zheng.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Esau	1,650,000 763,000	763,000
Xiaosheng Zheng	1,200,000 300,000	300,000
Fatih Aydin	600,000 200,000	200,000

Tags: Fatih Aydin Xiaosheng Zheng Zheng Unloads

08-06-2025 14:28 UTC+2

A Round of Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Milos Miskovic	2,200,000 350,000	350,000

Aleksandr Kirichenko	1,800,000 450,000	450,000
Paris Dedes	1,600,000 500,000	500,000
Ma	1,400,000 300,000	300,000
Guo Liang Wei	1,200,000 525,000	525,000

Aleksandr Razinkov	1,200,000 400,000	400,000
Yilu Yuan	1,150,000 550,000	550,000
Alexander Sokolovsky	1,100,000 728,000	728,000
Alessio Isaia	700,000 145,000	145,000

Yiannis Liperis	650,000 61,000	61,000

08-06-2025 14:22 UTC+2

Flashback: Boris Kolev Dominates 2025 Merit Millions Final Table

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Kai Cocklin

Level 20 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 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: 20

Blinds: 6,000/12,000

Ante: 12,000