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

01-19-2025 23:13 UTC+2

Joshi Wins Round 2 vs Varnaev

Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Sachin Joshi got his final 990,000 into the middle preflop and it was Sergei Varnaev who called, with the hopes of making it second time lucky when trying to bust him.

Sachin Joshi: A♠K♥ All in
Sergei Varnaev: K♦Q♠

Joshi had Varnaev dominated this time and was in a prime spot to double through him and have a healthy stack. The runout of 6♥6♣8♦2♥5♣ didn't improve either player, so it was Joshi's Big Slick that earned him a double-up to two million chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sachin Joshi	2,000,000 1,000,000	1,000,000
Sergei Varnaev	1,100,000 400,000	400,000

Tags: Sachin Joshi Sergei Varnaev

01-19-2025 23:28 UTC+2

Karam Spikes the River to Triple Up

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Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Sachin Joshi raised to button to 120,000 and Ludovic Uzan called from the small blind before Hala Karam shoved from the big blind for 200,000. Joshi called and then Uzan jammed with a stack that covered Joshi. Joshi folded and the cards were revealed with Karam having a chance to triple up.

Hala Karam: 6♠5♦ All in
Ludovic Uzan: A♠Q♥

Karam was behind but she did have live cards to work with. The flop of A♦7♠8♥ gave both players something. Uzan hit top pair, while Karam had a straight draw. The 6♣ on the turn gave Karam a few more outs, and when the 9♠ came on the river to give her the straight, she jumped up in the air in celebration of staying in the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ludovic Uzan	2,100,000 200,000	200,000
Sachin Joshi	1,700,000 300,000	300,000
Hala Karam	660,000 110,000	110,000

Tags: Hala Karam Ludovic Uzan Sachin Joshi

01-19-2025 23:28 UTC+2

Demirkol Rivers the Winner to Keep the Dream Alive

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Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Dmitry Gromov shoved from the small blind and Mehmet Demirkol called for his last 450,000 out of the big blind.

Mehmet Demirkol: A♥8♦ All in
Dmitry Gromov: Q♦9♦

Demirkol was slightly ahead with ace-high. The board came K♥2♥2♠Q♥6♥ which gave Gromov a pair of queens on the turn, but the heart on the river saved Demirkol as he improved to a flush, earning him the much-needed double-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mehmet Demirkol	1,000,000 250,000	250,000
Dmitry Gromov	400,000 1,400,000	1,400,000

Tags: Dmitry Gromov Mehmet Demirkol

01-19-2025 23:31 UTC+2

Ladies Help Varnaev to Double

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Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Ludovic Uzan raised to 120,000 under the gun with Ludovic Uzan calling on the button before Sergei Varnaev squeezed all in for 850,000. Ivanov folded, but Uzan snap-called.

Sergei Varnaev: Q♦Q♠ All in
Ludovic Uzan: 10♥10♦

Varnaev was way ahead with his two Ladies and looked likely to double-up. The runout of K♦7♥7♦J♦3♥ was exactly what Varnaev needed, as his queens won him the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sergei Varnaev	1,900,000 800,000	800,000
Lyudmil Ivanov	1,300,000 1,000,000	1,000,000

Ludovic Uzan	1,100,000 1,000,000	1,000,000

Tags: Ludovic Uzan Sergei Varnaev

01-19-2025 23:32 UTC+2

Break TIme

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Tim Baker

Level 25 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Players are now on a 15-minute break.

Level: 26

Blinds: 40,000/80,000

Ante: 80,000

01-19-2025 23:38 UTC+2

Updated Chip Counts

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Tim Baker

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Maxime Chilaud	2,950,000
Maher Achour	2,700,000
Sergei Varnaev	1,920,000
Lyudmil Ivanov	1,850,000

Xin Tang	1,800,000
Sachin Joshi	1,700,000
Bogdan Jontulovic	1,200,000
Ludovic Uzan	1,050,000
Mehmet Demirkol	1,000,000
Hala Karam	950,000
Dmitry Gromov	400,000

01-19-2025 23:51 UTC+2

Jontulovic Calls For his Tournament Life With Ace-High

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Tim Baker

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

Maher Achour raised to 160,000 from early position and Bogdan Jontulovic three-bet out of the small blind to roughly 400,000. After the big blind folded, Achour called to see a flop.

The flop came down 7♥8♣5♠ and Jontulovic continued with a bet of 150,000. Achour carved out the call.

Upon seeing the 5♣ land on the turn Jontulovic checked. Achour now took the betting lead by firing out 260,000. Jontulovic called with 495,000 behind.

The 4♦ hit the river and Jontulovic checked for the last time. Achour shoved to put Jontulovic all in and Jontulovic went deep into the tank. After burning through a lot of his time bank cards, Jontulovic flicked in the call.

Achour turned over Q♦9♦ for just queen-high. Jontulovic had that beat with A♥10♦ and had correctly called for his tournament life with ace-high, picking off Achour's bluff.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bogdan Jontulovic	2,700,000 1,500,000	1,500,000
Maher Achour	1,150,000 1,550,000	1,550,000

Tags: Bogdan Jontulovic Maher Achour

01-20-2025 00:00 UTC+2

Dmitry Gromov Eliminated in 11th Place ($14,000)

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Tim Baker

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

Maher Achour raised the button to 160,000 and Dmitry Gromov shoved from the big blind for around 400,000. Achour snap-called.

Dmitry Gromov: A♦4♣ All in
Maher Achour: A♠Q♠

Gromov needed a lot of help if he was to have a chance of making it to the final table. The flop of J♠10♣10♥ gave Gromov some chop-outs. The A♥ turn meant Gromov could only chop the pot. The river came the 4♥ and Achour won the pot with two pair, aces and tens, but with the queen-kicker, eliminating Gromov in eleventh place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maher Achour	2,300,000 1,150,000	1,150,000
Dmitry Gromov	Busted

Tags: Dmitry Gromov Maher Achour

01-20-2025 00:10 UTC+2

Hala Karam Eliminated in 10th Place ($14,000)

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Tim Baker

Level 26 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

Ludovic Uzan raised from the button to 160,000 and Hala Karam three-bet shoved out of the small blind for 540,000. Uzan thought it over for a few while before making the call to put Karam at risk.

Hala Karam: 5♠4♠ All in
Ludovic Uzan: K♥10♦

Karam had made a move with a suited connector but was live against Uzan's two overcards. However, the flop of K♦Q♥J♣ was disastrous for Karam as Uzan paired his king and she could only win the pot with running cards.

The 6♠ fell on the turn, which cemented Karam's elimination from the tournament as the final table bubble girl. An inconsequential K♠ hit the river to give Uzan trips, and with that, the final table of the $5,300 High Roller was set.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ludovic Uzan	1,770,000 720,000	720,000
Hala Karam	Busted

Tags: Hala Karam Ludovic Uzan