$2,200 Warm Up | 2025 Merit Poker Western Series

01-18-2025 14:55 UTC+2

Chen's Pair Good at Showdown

Kai Cocklin

Level 34 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Ali Zebarjad limped in from the small blind and Zhen Chen checked his option in the big blind.

On the A♠Q♦7♦ flop, Zebarjad bet 400,000 and Chen called to see the A♥ turn, which went check-check.

The 5♥ turn was also checked through and Zebarjad showed K♠9♥ for king-high, but Chen's 9♣7♥ was good with a pair of sevens.

Player	Chips	Progress
Zhen Chen	15,000,000
Ali Zebarjad	4,800,000 1,100,000	1,100,000

Tags: Ali Zebarjad Zhen Chen

01-18-2025 14:48 UTC+2

Wood's Decline Continues, Skarparis Pulling Away

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Kai Cocklin

Level 34 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Philipp Wood made it 1,000,000 to go from the hijack and Georgios Skarparis called in the small blind.

Both checked the K♠4♦4♥ flop and Skarparis led out for 650,000 on the 9♥ turn. Wood folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Georgios Skarparis	17,000,000 2,900,000	2,900,000

Philipp Wood	3,800,000 1,200,000	1,200,000

Tags: Georgios Skarparis Philipp Wood

01-18-2025 14:41 UTC+2

Wood Loses Two in a Row

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Kai Cocklin

Level 34 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

Philipp Wood's stack just took a hit in back-to-back hands.

First, Wood raised from under the gun to 800,000 then folded to the shove of Danielle Noja from the big blind.

Then, Zhen Chen raised from the hijack and Wood defended from the big blind.

On the 4♦8♦5♥ flop, Wood check-folded to Chen's continuation-bet.

Player	Chips	Progress
Zhen Chen	15,000,000 200,000	200,000
Danielle Noja	7,000,000 1,500,000	1,500,000
Philipp Wood	5,000,000 2,000,000	2,000,000

Tags: Danielle Noja Philipp Wood Zhen Chen

01-18-2025 14:28 UTC+2

Kvashin Goes Aggressive

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Kai Cocklin

Level 34 : Blinds 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante

The first two hands since play restarted have both gone to Konstantin Kvashin. In the first hand he shoved 2,900,000 from the cutoff and got it through, and in the second he made it 2,600,000 from the hijack and again picked up the blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
Konstantin Kvashin	4,900,000 2,000,000	2,000,000

Tags: Konstantin Kvashin

Level: 34

Blinds: 200,000/400,000

Ante: 400,000

01-18-2025 14:03 UTC+2

Updated Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 33 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Zhen Chen	14,800,000 800,000	800,000
Georgios Skarparis	14,100,000 100,000	100,000

Philipp Wood	7,000,000 2,300,000	2,300,000
Ali Zebarjad	5,900,000 600,000	600,000
Danielle Noja	5,500,000 500,000	500,000
Konstantin Kvashin	2,900,000 2,300,000	2,300,000

01-18-2025 14:02 UTC+2

Break Time

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Kai Cocklin

Level 33 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

The remaining six players are on a 15-minute break.

01-18-2025 14:00 UTC+2

Chen Makes Noja Fold the River

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Kai Cocklin

Level 33 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Zhen Chen made it 600,000 from the button and Danielle Noja called in the big blind.

Both players knuckled the table on the 7♠2♣4♥ flop to see the J♠ on the turn, where Noja bet 400,000 and Chen called.

When the K♣ landed on the river, Noja checked it over to Chen, who bet 1,500,000. After some time, Noja decided to give it up, and Chen took down another pot.

"Did you get there on the river?" asked Noja. Chen didn't reply but just let out a smile.

Player	Chips	Progress
Zhen Chen	14,000,000 2,500,000	2,500,000
Danielle Noja	5,000,000 1,700,000	1,700,000

Tags: Danielle Noja Zhen Chen

01-18-2025 13:46 UTC+2

Grigorii Rodin Eliminated in 7th Place ($30,035)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 33 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Zhen Chen opened from the cutoff to 625,000 and Georgios Skarparis made it 1,800,000 from the button. Grigorii Rodin then shoved for around 3,000,000 from the big blind, which got Chen to fold, and Skarparis quickly called.

Grigorii Rodin: A♥Q♣ All in
Georgios Skarparis: 10♥10♠

Rodin was flipping for his tournament life and caught no piece of the 5♥J♥6♣ flop. Skarparis took a huge step toward scooping the pot on the 10♦ turn as he made a set, which left Rodin with just four outs to Broadway. However, the 7♣ river wasn't what he needed, and Rodin was out in 7th.

Player	Chips	Progress
Georgios Skarparis	14,000,000 4,200,000	4,200,000

Zhen Chen	11,500,000 1,000,000	1,000,000
Grigorii Rodin	Busted

Tags: Georgios Skarparis Grigorii Rodin Zhen Chen

01-18-2025 13:32 UTC+2

Noja Gets a Three-Bet Through

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Kai Cocklin

Level 33 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Danielle Noja has been pretty quiet so far, but just got a timely three-bet through to boost his stack.

Georgios Skarparis raised the button to 600,000 and Noja made it 1,600,000 from the small blind. Skarparis thought for a few moments, but ultimately decided to pass, and Noja padded out his stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Georgios Skarparis	9,800,000

Danielle Noja	6,700,000 1,600,000	1,600,000

Tags: Danielle Noja Georgios Skarparis