Hugo De La Fouchardiere raised to 12,000 from early position with Soraya Estrada calling on the button and Felipe Ketzer defending out of the big blind.
The three players checked the 3♠Q♦10♠ flop to see the J♦ land on the turn. The action checked to Estrada and she put out a bet of 26,000. Ketzer, and Fouchardiere called.
It was checked the Estrada again when the 6♦ came on the river and she bet 80,000. Ketzer went deep into the tank, thinking about the decision for quite some time. Eventually, he folded, and Fouchardiere folded instantly.
Nichan Khorchidian is sitting comfortably with around 1,100,000 as the day winds down, but apparently, he had his sights set on squeezing out another 4,000.
The action folded to Fabio Peluso in the small blind, who limped in. Khorchidian tossed in 30,000, only to see Peluso shove for 239,000. A bit puzzled, Khorchidian insisted he had only made it 26,000, not 30,000. The floor was called to sort it out, and the bet of 30,000 stood.
After a lengthy tank and the clock being called on him, Khorchidian finally let it go with just seconds to spare.
Back-to-back hands saw Edgard Raffoul's stack evaporate in the closing stages of Day 2.
In the first hand, the action was picked up on a K♥5♥6♥ flop with around 125,000 in the middle. Alexander Sokolovsky from the small blind bet 15,000, and Raffoul made it 42,000 from the cutoff. Sokolovsky called.
Both checked the 3♥ turn to the 4♥ river, where Sokolovsky fired out 100,000, and Raffoul immediately called.
Sokolovsky showed Q♥Q♦ for a flush, and Raffoul mucked.
The very next hand, Raffoul shoved for 152,000, and a player in the small blind called.
Edgard Raffoul: A♥J♠
Opponent: A♣Q♣
Raffoul paired his jack, but was eliminated after the Q♥J♦3♣9♠K♦ runout paired his opponent's queen.
With around 40,000 in the pot on a flop of A♥8♥A♠, Aliaksei Boika bet 12,000 from the small blind and Simeon Spasov called out of the big blind.
The turn came the 3♣ and Boika slowed down and checked. Spasov fired out a bet of 16,000 and Boika quickly let go of his hand, forfeiting the pot to Spasov.
Day 2 of the $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series has officially etched its name in the record books, with a staggering 791 entries confirmed at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. This remarkable turnout not only shatters the previous high of 757 runners set back in 2023 but also underscores the ever-growing prestige of this marquee event. By the end of the day, 157 players had secured a bag to bring back for Day 3.
The tournament saw 251 players advance through the opening four flights, with an additional 186 entries pouring in before the close of late registration at the end of Level 14. This surge of last-minute entries propelled the prize pool to a massive $2,183,160, far exceeding the $1,500,000 guarantee and creating life-changing payouts for those who make it to the top.
Leading the charge is China's Zhen Chen, who bagged a commanding 1,281,000 chips to claim the top spot on the leaderboard. Chen, no stranger to success at flagship Merit Poker tournaments, took down the $5,300 High Roller at the Gatsby Gala just a few months ago and now looks poised for another deep run.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Zhen Chen
China
1,281,000
160
2
Anton Danilov
Russia
1,276,000
160
3
Renars Skanis
Latvia
1,250,000
156
4
Bugra Karsli
Turkey
1,184,000
148
5
Dmitry Gromov
Russia
1,154,000
144
6
Nichan Khorchidian
Lebanon
1,149,000
144
7
Georgios Skarparis
Cyprus
1,133,000
142
8
Ali Fkih
Tunisia
1,128,000
141
9
Nikolay Ponomarev
Russia
1,092,000
137
10
Motokatsu Uhara
Japan
1,014,000
127
Dmitry Gromov ended Day 2 of the Main Event with an impressive stack of 1,154,000 chips, firmly positioning himself for another deep run. The Russian player, who finished third in the Gatsby Gala Main Event just a few months ago, has turned Cyprus into his personal playground, boasting over 100 career cashes. With cashes in no less than ten previous Merit Poker Main Events, Gromov is well on track to add an eleventh to his growing list of accomplishments.
In that same Gatsby Gala event, Nichan Khorchidian outlasted the field to claim the top prize of $307,700. Khorchidian is once again in prime position to make a deep run, having bagged the sixth-largest stack of 1,149,000 chips heading into Day 3.
Nichan Khorchidian
Georgios Skarparis continues to ride high, finishing Day 2 with an impressive 1,133,000 chips. Skarparis, who claimed victory in the Warm Up earlier in the series, is now chasing an extraordinary second major title in just a matter of days.
Other notables advancing to Day 3 include Dawid Smolka (1,000,000), Dan Borlan (887,000), Sergei Varnaev (861,000), Michel Molenaar (757,000), Philipp Wood (640,000), and start-of-Day-2 chip leader Ehsan Amiri (585,000).
The first objective on the players to-do list tomorrow will be to make the money, and from the 157 returning, only 103 will be able to do so. When play resumes on Day 3, the average stack will be just over 500,000, which is around 63 big blinds.
Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$377,500
2
$251,000
3
$180,300
4
$130,200
5
$94,600
6
$75,900
7
$63,200
8
$50,500
9
$37,950
10-12
$28,900
13-15
$23,440
16-18
$20,170
19-21
$17,985
22-24
$16,020
25-26
$14,055
27-35
$12,305
36-44
$10,560
45-53
$9,030
54-62
$7,505
63-71
$6,630
72-80
$5,760
81-89
$5,105
90-103
$4,450
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates, chip counts, and all the action as the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series Main Event heats up!
