$3,300 Main Event Day 1a | 2025 Merit Poker Western Series

01-20-2025 21:09 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts at the Final Break

Kai Cocklin

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Antoine Vranken	700,000 100,000	100,000

Edward Quinn	650,000 175,000	175,000

Menikos Panagiotou	550,000 550,000	550,000

Kamil Sokol	500,000 270,000	270,000
Boris Kolev	470,000 40,000	40,000

Aliaksei Boika	400,000 75,000	75,000

Wael Sarkis	375,000 45,000	45,000
Konstantin Kvashin	350,000 25,000	25,000
Andrey Pateychuk	320,000 30,000	30,000

Paul Newey	240,000 110,000	110,000

Level: 9

Blinds: 1,000/2,500

Ante: 2,500

01-20-2025 20:54 UTC+2

Break Time

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Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The players are heading on their last 15-minute break of the day.

When they return, one more level will be played before they bag up for the evening, and return for Day 2 on Thursday, January 23.

01-20-2025 20:49 UTC+2

Table #5 Update

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Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The seat that Tom Verbruggen had been sitting in all day is now vacant, and the Dutchman was seen making his way to the exit after an action-packed day on the felt.

On the same table is Antoine Vranken, who may be the chip leader right now with around 600,000. Dawid Smolka is also on seated on that table and has around 400,000 as the day approaches the last break.

Player	Chips	Progress
Antoine Vranken	600,000 150,000	150,000

Dawid Smolka	400,000 50,000	50,000
Hakim Zoufri	250,000 110,000	110,000
Ihar Soika	170,000 60,000	60,000
Tom Verbruggen	Busted

Tags: Antoine Vranken Dawid Smolka Tom Verbruggen

01-20-2025 20:41 UTC+2

Pateychuk Four-Bet Shoves

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Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Adam Wagner opened the button to 4,500 and Andrey Pateychuk three-bet from the small blind to 20,000. The player in the big blind then made it 54,000, which got a quick fold out of Wagner.

Pateychuk, though, was having none of it and shoved all in, for almost 300,000. The big blind folded instantly, and Pateychuk added to his stack without seeing a flop.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrey Pateychuk	350,000 90,000	90,000

Adam Wagner	190,000 40,000	40,000

Tags: Adam Wagner Andrey Pateychuk

01-20-2025 20:41 UTC+2

Ehsan Amiri

150,000 250,000

Table 3Seat 6

01-20-2025 20:32 UTC+2

Kashani Takes It on the Turn

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Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

With around 25,000 chips in the pot on a A♦K♦Q♣ flop, both the small blind and Aleksandr Chernikov checked, then Arian Kashani fired out a bet of 10,000 from early position. Stanislaw Grodek folded the cutoff, the small blind called, and Chernikov folded from the big blind.

A J♠ dropped on the turn and after the small blind checked, Kashani managed to forced a fold with a bet on the turn, which earned him the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aleksandr Chernikov	275,000 45,000	45,000
Stanislaw Grodek	160,000 60,000	60,000
Arian Kashani	130,000 25,000	25,000

Tags: Aleksandr Chernikov Arian Kashani Stanislaw Grodek

01-20-2025 20:22 UTC+2

Guilbert Busts in Three-Way Pot

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Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Johan Guilbert had his last 19,000 in the middle and was called by two players. Both checked it down on the 8♥A♥J♥2♠Q♠ runout where Guilbert's A♠Q♣ was no good against the K♣10♣ of his opponent, who had rivered Broadway.

Player	Chips	Progress
Johan Guilbert	Busted

Tags: Johan Guilbert

01-20-2025 20:18 UTC+2

Selected Chip Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Boris Kolev	430,000 245,000	245,000

Ehsan Amiri	400,000 69,000	69,000

Konstantin Kvashin	375,000 215,000	215,000
Dawid Smolka	350,000 50,000	50,000
Tommy Kemter	300,000 200,000	200,000
Andrey Pateychuk	260,000 50,000	50,000

Darko Svesko	220,000 80,000	80,000
Xin Yuan	200,000 20,000	20,000
Luke Marsh	200,000
Adam Wagner	150,000
Traian Stanciu	150,000 10,000	10,000
Sandra Cotescu	105,000 20,000	20,000
Arian Kashani	105,000 35,000	35,000
Shankui Li	100,000
Grigorii Rodin	80,000
Tom Verbruggen	80,000 110,000	110,000
Johan Guilbert	20,000 10,000	10,000

01-20-2025 20:09 UTC+2

Quinn Makes Quads to Double Through Hu

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Kai Cocklin

Level 8 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The full action was missed but Edward Quinn just doubled up through Jinlong Hu to move his stack to almost half a million.

On a board of Kx9♥J♦J♣Xx, all of the chips were in the middle by the time showdown came around and Hu showed A♠K♥ for top pair. However, Quinn had quads with J♠J♥ to scoop the pot and bring his stack up to around 475,000.

Perhaps Hu is being punished by the poker gods after all.

Player	Chips	Progress
Edward Quinn	475,000 305,000	305,000

Jinlong Hu	50,000 220,000	220,000

Tags: Edward Quinn Jinlong Hu