Konstantin Kvashin raised to 80,000 from the button and Abdullah Akbarpoor three-bet to 220,000 out of the big blind. After thinking for a few moment,s Kvashin four-bet shoved for roughly 1,000,000 and Akbarpoor snap-called for his remaining 700,000.
Abdullah Akbarpoor: A♥10♠
Konstantin Kvashin: K♥Q♠
Akbarpoor was ahead with ace-ten, but needed a safe runout from the dealer to boost his stack just before the end of today's play.
The flop of 6♦6♠2♦ was safe for Akbarpoor, and the 10♣ turn meant only a king or queen on the river would end his tournament. The dealer put out the Q♦ on the river to give Kvashin the winner with a pair of queens, sending Akbarpoor to the cahsier's desk.
Day 2 of the $2,200 Warm Up at the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series concluded with 38 players remaining from the 501-strong field that turned up to play at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
After battling through fourteen 40-minute levels, it was bracelet winner Georgios Skarparis of Cyprus who ended the day atop the chip counts with a whopping stack of 3,400,000. Trailing closely behind him in second place, and the only other player to surpass the three-million chip mark, is Mario Fata, who brings 3,135,000 into the event's penultimate day. Rounding out the top three is Italy's Gaspare Sposato, who bagged a healthy 2,555,000 to position himself well for a deep run.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Georgios Skarparis
Cyprus
3,400,000
68
2
Mario Fata
France
3,135,000
63
3
Gaspare Sposato
Italy
2,555,000
51
4
Danielle Noja
Lebanon
2,190,000
44
5
Xin Yuan
China
2,160,000
43
6
Andrei Roscan
Romania
2,095,000
42
7
Albert Sapiano
United Kingdom
2,000,000
40
8
Dan Borlan
Romania
1,905,000
38
9
Ali Zebarjad
Iran
1,860,000
37
10
Konstantin Kvashin
Russia
1,860,000
37
Day 2's Action
All eyes were on Luke Marsh once cards went in the air. Marsh began the day as the chip leader with just shy of one million chips and looked poised for a deep run after maintaining a steady stack throughout much of the day. However, Marsh was ultimately unable to capitalize on his early momentum and fell short of making the money.
Luke Marsh
When late registration closed at the end of Level 15, the payouts for the series' first major event were finalized. A total of 63 players would make it into the money, with the minimum cash set at $3,415, and the eventual winner set to take home a staggering $180,200.
The eliminations came quickly as the day progressed, with several notable players failing to reach the money. Among those who fell short were Andrey Pateychuk, three-time bracelet winner Timur Margolin, Aleksandr Shevliakov, Tobias Peters, Aliaksei Boika, and Paul Runcan.
Sergei Varnaev
Once hand-for-hand play began during the penultimate level, it took only three hands for the bubble to burst. Unfortunately for Sergei Varnaev, he earned the unenviable title of bubble boy after being forced all in from the big blind. Varnaev found himself in a race with sailboats against Sofia Merkulova's queen-six. A queen in the window sealed Varnaev's fate, and with his elimination, the remaining 63 players secured their spot in the money.
The eliminations continued at a rapid pace, with several players falling short of Day 3 after reaching the money. Among them were Stanislaw Grodek (58th - $3,415), Imad Saab (57th - $3,415), Traian Stanciu (51st - $4,055), Soraya Estrada (49th - $4,055), Edward Quinn (48th - $4,055), and Candido Cappiello (47th - $4,055). Cappiello's elimination came after his pocket queens were bested by the pocket kings of Mario Fata, the current second in chips.
Alisa Sibgatova
Some notables to advance to Day 3 include Danielle Noja (2,190,000), Dan Borlan (1,905,000), and Kianoosh Matin (1,810,000) after Paul Runcan made an audacious river bluff into Matin's two pair. Esper Sadek (1,525,000) rivered a miracle straight to crack Sachin Joshi's queens earlier in the day. Bracelet winners Darius Neagoe (1,420,000) and Boris Kolev (965,000) made it through in the middle of the pack. Nestled toward the bottom of the pack with the most work to do tomorrow are Joshi (410,000), Merkulova (340,000), and the current tournament short stack Alisa Sibgatova (110,000).
Day 3 begins January 17th, at 12:00 p.m. local time. The blinds will remain 40 minutes in duration, and players will return to blinds of 25,000/50,000 with a big blind ante of 50,000. The goal for tomorrow is to play down until the final table of nine is set.
Remaining Schedule
Date
Day
Time
Blind Levels
January 17
Day 3
12:00 p.m.
40 minutes
January 18
Day 4
12:00 p.m.
40 minutes
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates as we follow this event to its conclusion. A winner will be crowned on Saturday, January 18.
