$5,300 High Roller Day 3 | 2025 Merit Poker Western Series

01-19-2025 21:42 UTC+2

Gaspare Sposato Elimianted in 14th Place ($11,000)

Tim Baker

Level 23 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Hala Karam raised to 80,000 from early position and Sergei Varnaev three-bet to 225,000 from late position. Gaspare Sposato four-bet out of the blinds to 865,000. Karam folded, but Varnaev shoved to put Sposato all in. Sposato called for his remaining 250,000.

Gaspare Sposato: K♥K♦ All in
Sergei Varnaev: A♣A♦

Varnaev was on the right end of a cooler and looked likely to eliminate Sposato. The runout of Q♣7♥9♣10♣10♠ kept Varnaev ahead the entire with pocket aces and Sposato was out in fourteenth.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sergei Varnaev	2,350,000 1,150,000	1,150,000
Hala Karam	600,000 125,000	125,000
Gaspare Sposato	Busted

Tags: Gaspare Sposato Hala Karam Sergei Varnaev

01-19-2025 21:29 UTC+2

Paul Runcan Eliminated in 15th Place ($11,500)

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Tim Baker

Level 23 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Paul Runcan shoved for 180,000 from the cutoff and Sergei Varnaev made the call from the big blind to put him at risk.

Paul Runcan: K♥8♦ All in
Sergei Varnaev: 10♣8♣

Runcan had Varnaev dominated and looked likely to double-up. The flop of A♣K♣6♠ put Runcan in the lead with a pair of kings but did give Varnaev a flush draw. The 9♣ turn gave Varnaev the flush and left Runcan drawing dead as the 4♦ came on the river and Runcan was out.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sergei Varnaev	1,200,000 300,000	300,000
Paul Runcan	Busted

Tags: Paul Runcan Sergei Varnaev

01-19-2025 20:37 UTC+2

Mustafa Biz Eliminated in 16th Place ($10,000)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 22 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Mustafa Biz shoved for 410,000 from early position and Dmitry Gromov put him at risk from the small blind.

Mustafa Biz: A♠3♠ All in
Dmitry Gromov: A♣A♦

Biz was in a world of pain and needed a miracle after the 8♣8♥5♥ flop. No such miracle was in sight as the 5♦ turn meant Biz was drawing dead, with an inconsequential Q♣ dropping on the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dmitry Gromov	1,500,000 100,000	100,000

Mustafa Biz	Busted

Tags: Dmitry Gromov Mustafa Biz

01-19-2025 20:31 UTC+2

Suat Egilli Eliminated in 17th Place ($10,000)

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Suat Egilli opened to 60,000 under the gun with Aliaksandr Hirs defending out of the big blind.

Hirs checked when the dealer fanned out the 4♠7♥2♠ flop and Egilli immediately shoved for roughly 350,000. Hirs looked back at his cards before making the call.

Suat Egilli: J♠9♠ All in
Aliaksandr Hirs: 7♦5♦

Egilli had two overacards and a flush draw but was behind to the top pair of Hirs. The 10♦ turn gave Egilli a few more outs with a gunshot, but the 5♣ river didn't help him as Hirs improved to two pair, sending Egilli to the cashier's desk.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aliaksandr Hirs	1,350,000 675,000	675,000
Suat Egilli	Busted

Tags: Aliaksandr Hirs Suat Egilli

01-19-2025 20:27 UTC+2

Roman Stoika Eliminated in 18th Place ($10,000)

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Roman Stoika shoved under the gun for 275,000 and Gaspare Sposato called to try and bust him.

Roman Stoika: K♣J♦ All in
Gaspare Sposato: K♥Q♥

Stoika was in trouble and needed some help for the dealer to stay alive. The board ran out K♦3♦6♠A♦5♣, giving both players a pair of kings, but Sposato's queen-kicker played and he won the pot, sending Stoika to the rail in eighteenth place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gaspare Sposato	1,100,000 50,000	50,000
Roman Stoika	Busted

Tags: Gaspare Sposato Roman Stoika

01-19-2025 20:20 UTC+2

Ramazan Akyel Eliminated in 19th Place ($9,000)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 22 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Bogdan Jontulovic raised to 60,000 from under the gun and Ramazan Akyel shoved for his short stack of 140,000 from the next seat. Maher Achour then four-bet to 220,000 from the button, which got Jontulovic to fold.

Ramazan Akyel: A♥7♥ All in
Maher Achour: A♣Q♣

Akyel was well behind, but did flop a flush draw on the 3♥J♠9♥ flop. However, neither the 5♠ turn nor 9♦ river could save him from elimination, and he was out in 19th.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maher Achour	1,700,000 200,000	200,000
Ramazan Akyel	Busted

Tags: Bogdan Jontulovic Maher Achour Ramazan Akyel

01-19-2025 20:17 UTC+2

Nemo Israel Eliminated in 20th Place ($9,000)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 22 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Nemo Israel had his stack of round 300,000 in the middle preflop, and was put at risk by Maxime Chilaud on his direct left.

Nemo Israel: K♦10♦ All in
Maxime Chilaud: K♥J♥

Israel was in a tough spot and it didn't get any better on the J♦A♥5♥ flop as Chilaud paired his jack and picked up a flush draw. It was all over on the 6♥ turn as Chilaud made his flush, with the meaningless K♣ dropping on the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maxime Chilaud	1,000,000 700,000	700,000
Nemo Israel	Busted

Tags: Maxime Chilaud Nemo Israel

01-19-2025 20:13 UTC+2

Mircea Flutur Eliminated in 21st Place ($9,000)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 22 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

On a board of 6♠7♥J♣5♣A♠, Mircea Flutur had his chips in the middle with KxQx, but was unable to beat the hand of Dmitry Gromov, who had turned a straight with 9♦8♦.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dmitry Gromov	1,400,000 495,000	495,000

Mircea Flutur	Busted

Tags: Dmitry Gromov Mircea Flutur

01-19-2025 20:08 UTC+2

Ihar Soika Eliminated in 22nd Place ($9,000)

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Ihar Soika got the last of his chips in the middle preflop with Gaspare Sposato making the call to try and bust him.

Ihar Soika: Ax10x All in
Gaspare Sposato: A♦5♦

Soika looked poised to earn the much-needed double-up if he could fade a five or some diamonds.

The flop of A♣5♠J♠ was terrible for Soika as Sposato flopped two pair to take the lead. The K♠ turn offered Soika with a lot more outs to stay alive. However, the 8♣ on the river wasn't one of them and Soika was sent to the cashier's desk.

Player	Chips	Progress
Gaspare Sposato	1,050,000 325,000	325,000
Ihar Soika	Busted

Tags: Gaspare Sposato Ihar Soika

01-19-2025 20:00 UTC+2

Edward Quinn Eliminated in 23rd Place ($9,000)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Edward Quinn raised from under the gun to 50,000 and Xin Tang three-bet to 140,000 on the button. Bogdan Jontulovic then made a four-bet to 230,000 out of the big blind, and Quinn shoved for 1,135,000. Tang quickly folded, and after some deliberation, Jontulovic called with a slighty covering stack.

Edward Quinn: A♠K♠ All in
Bogdan Jontulovic: Q♣Q♠

It was a huge flip between two of the top stacks in the tournament, and Quinn took a huge leap towards doubling up on the J♥A♥A♦ flop as he made trips. However, Jontulovic binked a full house on the Q♦ turn, which meant Quinn was again behind and needing help on the river.

Unfortunately for Quinn, the 7♠ river wasn't what he needed, and he was the first player heading to the payout desk.