$5,300 High Roller
Day 2 Started
2025 Merit Poker Western Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
2025 Merit Poker Western Series
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$800,400
Entries
174
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Entries
174
Players Left
46
Players Left 1 / 174
Filter
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The $5,300 High Roller event at the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series continues tonight with Day 2 starting at 8:00 p.m. local time inside the glamorous Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. After an action-packed Day 1, 69 players remain from a total of 95 entries, all vying for the prestigious title and a share of the $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Romania’s Mircea Flutur leads the pack after an impressive opening day, bagging 522,500 chips to secure the top spot heading into today. Trailing behind him is Serbia’s Bogdan Jontulovic, who accumulated 367,000, while Poland’s Marcin Dziubdziela rounds out the top three with 351,500 chips.
Start of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mircea Flutur | Romania | 522,500 | 348 |
| 2 | Bogdan Jontulovic | Serbia | 367,000 | 245 |
| 3 | Marcin Dziubdziela | Poland | 351,500 | 234 |
| 4 | Nemo Israel | France | 333,000 | 222 |
| 5 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 321,500 | 214 |
| 6 | Edgard Raffoul | Lebanon | 311,500 | 208 |
| 7 | Jianfeng Sun | China | 306,000 | 204 |
| 8 | Paul Runcan | Romania | 296,500 | 198 |
| 9 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | 296,500 | 198 |
| 10 | Motokatsu Uhara | Japan | 281,500 | 188 |
Day 2 begins with blinds at 1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 big blind ante. With late registration remaining open for the first four levels of today, the number of entries is expected to rise, likely smashing the $500,000 guaranteed prizepool as more players take their shot at the title.
$5,300 High Roller Remaining Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 18 | Day 2 | 8 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| January 19 | Day 3 | 4 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| January 20 | Day 4 | 1 p.m. | 40 minutes |
Stay locked in right here to PokerNews for live updates from the tournament floor, as Day 2 promises another thrilling chapter in this high-stakes affair.
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Level: 9
Blinds: 1,000/1,500
Ante: 1,500
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Cards are now in the air!
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Michel Molenaar opened to 3,000 under the gun with only Damir Gabdullin calling out of the big blind.
Gabdullin checked the 3♥A♦8♦ flop and Molenaar fired out a bet of 4,500. Gabdullin check-raised to 11,000 and Molenaar stuck around with a call.
The K♠ fell on the turn and Gabdullin continued with a bet of 10,500. Molenaar thought it over briefly before he elected to fold and give up the pot to Gabdullin.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
105,000
11,000
|
11,000 |
|
75,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Suat Egilli raised the minimum to 3,000 from early position and Recep Aydemir shoved for 19,000 from a few seats over. After it folded back to Egilli, he called to put Aydemir at risk.
Recep Aydemir: A♠7♠ 
Suat Egilli: Q♥10♠
Aydemir came in as one of the short stacks and might be headed to the cashier's desk to rebuy if Egilli found a queen or ten. The board ran out Q♠6♥6♠5♦6♣, giving Egilli the winner with a full house and sending Aydemir out the door.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
145,000
25,500
|
25,500 |
|
Busted |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Mircea Flutur raised to 3,000 ffrom middle position with Aleksandr Chernikov calling from the next seat before Darius Neagoe squeezed to 13,000 from the hijack. Flutur folded, but Chernikov made the call.
Chernikov immediately shoved for 29,000 when the flop of 8♥Q♣4♠ was put out and Neagoe called.
Aleksandr Chernikov: J♠10♣
Darius Neagoe: A♥Q♦
Neagoe was way ahead with top pair as Chernikov only had a gutshot straight draw. However, the A♦ turn improved Chernikov to an open-ender which he managed to spike on the river when the 9♣ fell.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
540,000
17,500
|
17,500 |
|
||
|
88,000
88,000
|
88,000 |
|
80,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
||
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Uri Reichenstein raised to 3,000 from middle position and Giorgiy Skhulukhiya three-bet to 12,000 from the button. After the blind folded, Reichenstein called to see a flop.
The flop came down 8♠5♠4♠ and Reichenstein check-called a bet of 6,500 from Skhulukhiya.
Reichenstein checked again when the 3♥ appeared on the turn and then faced a second barrel from Skhulukhiya, this time for 21,000. Skhulukhiya had roughly 40,000 remaining in his stack and after a thinking for a while, Reichenstein shoved to put Skhulukhiya all in. Skhulukhiya snap-called.
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya: A♠K♠
Uri Reichenstein: 9♣9♥
Skhulukhiya had flopped the nut flush and Reichenstein was drawing dead with his pair of nines. An inconsequential 2♣ came on the river and Skhulukhiya doubled up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
200,000
76,000
|
76,000 |
|
150,000
61,000
|
61,000 |
Level: 10
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000
