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$5,300 High Roller
Day 2 Completed
2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$1,462,800
Total Entries
318
Level
34
Blinds
200,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
170
Players Left
43
Players Left 1 / 318
Filter
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
The penultimate day of the $5,300 High Roller at the 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series saw the record books rewritten, as once late registration officially closed, the field stood at 318 entries. That makes this the largest High Roller ever held at a Merit Poker event. The massive turnout created a $1,462,800 prize pool, from which the eventual winner will walk away with a hefty $310,000.
After twelve 40-minute levels inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, just 43 players remain in contention heading into Day 3, the final day. Poland's Jakub Michalak leads the field after bagging 2,170,000 chips. Mohamed El-Wely sits just one big blind shy of the lead in second, as he accumulated 2,150,000 during the day.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jakub Michalak | Poland | 2,170,000 | 87 |
| 2 | Mohamed El-Wely | Mauritania | 2,150,000 | 86 |
| 3 | Ohad Geiger | Israel | 1,625,000 | 65 |
| 4 | Alper Kerim | Turkey | 1,310,000 | 52 |
| 5 | Ghassan Bitar | Lebanon | 1,305,000 | 52 |
| 6 | Osman Ihlamur | Turkey | 1,290,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Samir Nacer | France | 1,235,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Michael Iakovlev | Russia | 1,210,000 | 48 |
| 9 | Antoine Farhat | Lebanon | 1,100,000 | 44 |
| 10 | Danielle Noja | Australia | 1,040,000 | 42 |
Most of Michalak's chips came from two pivotal hands. First, he flopped a set of jacks in a three-way pot and got paid by Anton Danilov’s pocket queens. Later, he played what might have been the biggest pot of the tournament when he got it in preflop with kings against Chakib M'hiri’s aces. A brutal king on the flop sealed it, sending M’hiri to the rail and catapulting Michalak into the chip lead, a spot he held onto through the end of play.
Other notables still in the mix tomorrow include Michael Iakovlev (1,210,000), Aren Bezhanyan (1,000,000), and Adrian State (935,000), who picked up aces against Big Slick midway through the day to help him reach Day 3. Also returning are Day 1 chip leader Hassan Nashar (920,000), Grzegorz Kozieja (530,000), Kirill Burtin (290,000), and Quan Zhou (230,000), who flopped quads against Hady El-Asmar’s full house.
Day 3 gets underway at 1:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, August 2, with blinds at 10,000/25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante. The first goal for the remaining 43 players will be to outlast just two more eliminations and secure a $9,500 min-cash. From there, all eyes will be on reaching the final table and then putting themselves within touching distance of the cash, trophy, and bragging rights of being a Merit Poker champion.
Payouts
Stay locked in with PokerNews tomorrow, as Day 3 plays down to a winner and the newest Merit Poker High Roller champion is crowned. Live updates, chip counts, and all the key hands will be coming your way throughout the day.
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Play has finished for Day 2 of the $5,300 High Roller with 43 players managing to make it through to Day 3. Stay tuned for a full list of chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Hassan Nashar opened from middle position before Haydar Issa jammed for 256,000 from the button. Nashar made the call and the cards were turned over.
Haydar Issa: 4♦4♥ 
Hassan Nashar: A♥8♦
Nashar would be left on crumbs if he lost this flip, while Issa would be out. The flop came Q♦Q♣6♦ to give Nashar some counterfeit outs. The A♦ turn catapulted Nashar into the lead with a pair of aces. The 9♥ hit the river, and all of Issa's stack was sent over to Nashar.
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
The floor has announced that there will be four more hands before the players bag up their chips and come back tomorrow for Day 3.
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
When it folded to Peng Chen on the button, he came in with a min-raise to 40,000, which only the big blind player called.
The 3♥7♦8♠ flop checked through to see the 2♣ appear on the turn. The big lind player bet 20,000, and Chen called.
Two more checks followed the 2♦ river, and the big blind player revealed Q♦J♣ for queen-high. Chen showed A♣5♦ for ace-high, and the pot was pushed to him.
Level 20
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Salah Assi made it 40,000 from middle position before Mohamed El-Wely three-bet to 100,000 from the hijack.
When it folded back to Assi, he did some inventory, picked up his chips, and then tossed his cards into the muck. El-Wely revealed his cards to Assi, but then gasped when he saw his own holding.
Because of the show one show all rule, El-Wely turned over 7♦2♦, much to the amusement of some of his tablemates.
Level: 20
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
Level 19
: Blinds 8,000/16,000, 16,000 ante
Ghassan Bitar made it 32,000 from the cutoff, and only Aren Bezhanyan defended from the big blind.
Bezhanyan checked the 4♥Q♥8♣ flop, and Bitar placed out a continuation-bet of 25,000. Bezhanyan took a moment before making the call.
Both players checked the 6♦ turn for the 8♥ to appear on the river. Bezhanyan bet 27,000, causing Bitar to go into the tank. After thinking for a while, Bitar called. Bezhanyan revealed 10♠10♥ for a pair of tens to win the pot, as Bitar mucked his cards.
