$5,300 High Roller Day 2 | 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series

08-01-2025 19:58 UTC+3

Boellis Rivers the Best Hand

Tim Baker

Level 11 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Aleksandr Chernikov defended his big blind after Giuliano Boellis opened from the cutoff. The two players saw the dealer spread out a flop of 4♣J♦9♠, and Chernikov check-called a bet of 7,000 by Boellis.

Both players checked the 5♠ turn to see the K♣ roll off on the river. Chernikov checked, and Boellis bet 15,000. Chernokov tanked for a few moments before calling, and then mucking after Boellis flipped over a rivered pair of kings with K♠6♣.

Player	Chips	Progress
Giuliano Boellis	170,000 38,500	38,500
Aleksandr Chernikov	160,000 46,000	46,000

Tags: Aleksandr Chernikov Giuliano Boellis

08-01-2025 19:43 UTC+3

Introducing MyPlayers: Your Personalized Way to Follow Poker’s Biggest Names

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 11 : 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Whether you’re railing Daniel Negreanu or Phil Hellmuth at a final table, or checking in on a friend's deep run in a major tournament, there's now an easy way to follow the players that matters most to you.

Now live on PokerNews, MyPlayers is a free new feature that lets you track your favorite poker players across all our live-reported events, across all your devices. No more endless scrolling or missing crucial chip count updates.

With MyPlayers, your favorite players are just a click away - no hidden fees, no subscriptions, and no paywalls. Just log in and start following the players you care about.

Get Started with MyPlayers Here

08-01-2025 19:42 UTC+3

Some Big Stacks After Break

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 11 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Antoine Hasbani	735,000 160,000	160,000
Jingxuan Zhu	560,000 101,500	101,500
Aren Bezhanyan	555,000 302,500	302,500
Yilu Yuan	500,000 229,500	229,500
Yusuf Tekin	500,000 40,000	40,000
Basel Khabbazeh	480,000 40,000	40,000
Ghassan Abou Khalil	445,000 110,500	110,500
Kenar	430,000 430,000	430,000
Roman Stoika	400,000 200,000	200,000
Andrey Pateychuk	365,000 76,000	76,000

Salah Assi	330,000 12,000	12,000
Haydar Issa	330,000 69,500	69,500
Dmitry Gromov	330,000 85,500	85,500

Level: 11

Blinds: 1,000/2,500

Ante: 2,500

08-01-2025 19:25 UTC+3

Break Time

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Players are now on a 15-minute break.

08-01-2025 19:15 UTC+3

Largest Merit Poker High Roller Ever & It’s Not Done Yet

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Merit Poker High Roller Numbers

Rank	Event	Year	Buy-in	Entries	Prize Pool
1	Dolce Vita Series	2025	$5,300	277*	TBD
2	Carmen Series	2025	$5,300	270	$1,279,500
3	Western Series	2025	$5,300	198	$960,600
4	Carmen Series	2024	$5,300	175	$850,000
5	Western Series	2023	$3,300	165	$545,000
6	Dolce Vita Series	2024	$3,300	157	$525,000
7	Gatsby Gala Series	2023	$5,300	148	$700,000
8	Gangster Series	2023	$3,300	142	$478,000
9	Retro Series	2024	$3,300	136	$455,000
10	Carmen Series	2023	$3,300	125	$430,000

*This number is expected to increase with late registration open for a few more levels.

The 2025 Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series $5,300 High Roller has already made history, drawing 271 entries so far to become the largest & richest High Roller ever held at Merit Poker, surpassing the previous record of 270 entries set earlier this year during the Carmen Series.

With late registration still open for a few more levels, that number is expected to rise even higher before the field and prize pool are finalized.

08-01-2025 19:06 UTC+3

Set Over Set for El-Wely

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Mohamed El-Wely was all-in for his final 20,000 or so preflop with Giorgiy Skhulukhiya trying to send him to the reentry desk.

Mohamed El-Wely: K♠K♥ All in
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya: 8♠8♦

El-Wely was in great shape to begin his spin-up, but the 8♣ in the window was a disaster as Skhulukhiya hit a set. El-Wely got out of his chair, but was quick to sit back down when the flop was completed by the 7♥K♦ to give him a higher set. The rest of the board came 9♦3♠ and El-Wely doubled up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	165,000 165,000	165,000
Mohamed El-Wely	40,000 40,000	40,000

Tags: Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Mohamed El-Wely

08-01-2025 18:58 UTC+3

Hassan Isn't Happy With the River

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Antoine Hasbani made it 4,500 from the hijack and Amir Hassan three-bet from the small blind to 10,500. Hasbani four-bet to around 32,000, which Hassan called.

Hassan knuckled the action over to Hasbani on the 5♥10♥4♦ flop. Hasbani bet 20,000, and Hassan called.

The 3♦ dropped on the turn, and Hassan check-called another bet from Hasbani, this time for 65,000.

A final check came from Hassan on the K♥ river, and Hasbani unloaded the clip with a third and final barrel of 85,000. Hassan took some time before making the call.

Hasbani showed A♥K♠ for a rivered pair of kings, prompting Hassan to bash the table and throw his cards into the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Antoine Hasbani	575,000 150,000	150,000
Amir Hassan	240,000 254,000	254,000

Tags: Amir Hassan Antoine Hasbani

Level: 10

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 2,000

08-01-2025 18:43 UTC+3

Nashar Adds to His Stack

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante

There was a raise to 3,000 from an early position player with Hassan Nashar calling in the cutoff, and Marco Carravieri defending his big blind.

The action checked to Nashar on the 6♥3♦7♦ flop and he tossed out a bet of 9,000. Both Carravieri and the initial preflop raiser called.

The K♣ rolled off on the turn and after two checks, Nashar bet again, this time for 25,000. This was enough for Nashar to take down the pot, and add even more chips to his already huge stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Hassan Nashar	705,000 25,000	25,000

Marco Carravieri	175,000 8,000	8,000

Tags: Hassan Nashar Marco Carravieri