2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series

$5,300 High Roller
Day: 2
123
Event Info
2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series
Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
10♥8♠
Prize
$310,000
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$1,462,800
Total Entries
318
Level Info
Level
34
Blinds
200,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
170
Players Left
43
Players Left 1 / 318
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Farhat More Than Doubles; Hajj Busts

Tim Baker
Tim Baker
Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Antoine Farhat
Antoine Farhat

Alain Hajj, Antoine Farhat, and Xuming Qi just got all in preflop with Hajj having the chance to triple his stack of 50,000. Farhat was all-in for around 200,000 and Qi had the opportunity to send two players home.

Alain Hajj: K♥Q♦ All in
Antoine Farhat: J♥10♥ All in
Xuming Qi: K♣Q♣

The flop came down J♦4♥A♣ to put Farhat in the lead with second pair. The A♦ turn and 7♥ river didn't help Hajj or Qi, and Farhat won the pot. Hajj hit the rail, while Farhat more than doubled his stack.

Tags: Alain HajjAntoine FarhatXuming Qi

Yang Doubles Through Voronin

Tim Baker
Tim Baker
Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

Kirill Burtin raised from the hijack with Konstantin Voronin calling from the cutoff, Tommy G calling out of the small blind, and Tao Yang defending his big blind.

The action checked to Voronin on the 8♠5♣10♠ flop, and he fired out 24,000. G folded, but Yang check-raised to 100,000. Burtin got out the way before Voronin jammed to put Yang all in. Yang had around 150,000 remaining in his stack, and thought for around two minutes before making the call.

Tao Yang: Q♠9♠ All in
Konstantin Voronin: K♦8♦

Voronin just had a pair of eights and needed to fade a lot of outs on the turn and river to send Yang home. The 9♦ turn put Yang into the lead with a pair of nines. He improved to two pair on the Q♥ river, and doubled up at the expense of Voronin.

Tags: Kirill BurtinKonstantin VoroninTao YangTommy G

Flashback: Boris Kolev Dominates 2025 Merit Millions Final Table

Tim Baker
Tim Baker
Level 17 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Boris Kolev
Boris Kolev

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

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Boris KolevBulgaria$1,000,000
2Mehdi ChaouiMorocco$300,000
3Romans LihacovsLatvia$200,000
4Aleksandr KirichenkoRussian Federation$140,000
5Rafael AslanliTurkey$100,000
6Maksim ShornikauBelarus$75,000
7Andrey PateychukRussian Federation$55,000
8Ali Al-KubasiIraq$45,000
9Alexandr LakhovRussia$35,400

Read the Full Recap Here

Level: 17

Blinds: 5,000/10,000

Ante: 10,000

Brutal Two-Outer Sees M'Hiri Lose the Biggest Pot of the Tournament So Far

Tim Baker
Tim Baker
Level 16 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Chakib M'Hiri
Chakib M'Hiri

Chakib M'Hiri raised to 23,000 from early position before Jakub Michalak three-bet the button to 70,000. After the blinds folded, M'Hiri four-bet to 205,000. Michalak jammed for M'Hiri's remaining 450,000, and M'Hiri snap-called.

Chakib M'Hiri: A♥A♠ All in
Jakub Michalak: K♠K♥

It was poker's classic cooler in what was the biggest pot of the tournament so far.

The dealer slowly revealed the flop of K♣Q♠2♠ to propel Michalak into the lead with a set of kings. The 3♠ turn gave M'Hiri a flush draw, but the 4♦ hit the river. Michalak moved up to around 1,500,000, while M'Hiri just had a bad beat story to tell for his efforts.

Tags: Chakib M'HiriJakub Michalak

Prize Pool & Payouts

Tim Baker
Tim Baker
Level 16 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Merit Poker
Merit Poker

With 318 entries recorded in the record-breaking $5,300 High Roller here at the 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series, the prize pool totaled $1,462,800.

There will be 41 players paid, with a min-cash being worth $9,500, while the eventual champion will walk away with $310,000.

PlacePrizePlacePrize
1$310,00010–12$22,500
2$216,50013-15$18,700
3$155,00016-19$15,500
4$111,00020-23$13,000
5$81,00024-31$11,000
6$60,50032-41$9,500
7$45,700  
8$35,000  
9$27,500  

Big Stacks After Break

Tim Baker
Tim Baker
Level 16 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante

Level: 16

Blinds: 4,000/8,000

Ante: 8,000

Zhivkovikj Doubles With the Bigger Pair

Tim Baker
Tim Baker
Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Ghassan Bitar raised to 12,000 under the gun and Boban Zhivkovikj jammed fo 123,000 from middle position. When it got back to Bitar, he briefly tanked before gathering up the chips and making the call.

Ghassan Bitar: 10♦10♣ All in
Nejat Erman: 7♦7♠

Zhivkovikj had the higher pair and just needed to avoid a seven on the runout to double up. Zhivkovikj won the pot with his tens as the board came Q♣J♥J♠9♦9♠, and he stayed alive in the tournament.

Tags: Boban ZhivkovikjGhassan Bitar

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