$5,300 High Roller
Day 3 Started
2025 Merit Poker Western Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2025 Merit Poker Western Series
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$800,400
Entries
174
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Entries
46
Players Left
9
The $5,300 High Roller at the 2025 Merit Western Series marches into Day 3 today, with play resuming at 4:00 p.m. local time inside the luxurious Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. A total of 46 players remain from the 174-entry field that generated an impressive $800,400 prize pool, far surpassing the advertised $500,000 guarantee.
Leading the charge is France's Gregoire Auzoux, who enters Day 3 with a whopping 892,000 chips, firmly positioned at the top of the leaderboard. However, several fearless contenders, including Turkey's Mustafa Biz (820,000) and Romania's Mircea Flutur (780,000), are ready to challenge his lead when play resumes today.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregoire Auzoux | France | 892,000 | 89 |
| 2 | Mustafa Biz | Turkey | 820,000 | 82 |
| 3 | Mircea Flutur | Romania | 780,000 | 78 |
| 4 | Maher Achour | Tunisia | 731,000 | 73 |
| 5 | Yiannis Liperis | Cyprus | 724,000 | 72 |
| 6 | Ludovic Uzan | France | 673,000 | 67 |
| 7 | Suat Egilli | Turkey | 645,000 | 65 |
| 8 | Adrian State | Romania | 601,000 | 60 |
| 9 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 548,000 | 55 |
| 10 | Sergei Varnaev | Russia | 534,000 | 53 |
Romania's Adrian State begins Day 3 in eigth place with a healthy stack of 601,000. With over 100 lifetime cashes recorded on TheHendonMob and a recent fourth-place finish in this event at the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala series in October, State has proven himself as a consistent performer on the felt. Currently ranked ninth on Romania's all-time money list, a victory on Monday, January 20, would see him climb to seventh in the rankings. With his wealth of experience and strong track record, State is certainly one to keep an eye on as Day 3 unfolds.
The main goal for players returning today will be to survive the bubble and secure a spot in the money, where they will be guaranteed a min-cash of $9,000. Only then can they shift their focus to making it to the final table and competing for the coveted $200,000 top prize and the prestige of claiming a Merit High Roller title.
Payouts
Play begins at Level 17 (5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 big blind ante), and the tournament floor staff will announce the day's structure shortly after the cards are in the air. With the money bubble looming and plenty of big stacks in play, Day 3 promises thrilling action as players battle for their spot in Monday's final table.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates throughout Day 3 as we bring you big hands, bust-outs, and leaderboard changes in this exciting High Roller event!
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hala Karam | Lebanon | 341,000 | 34 |
| 1 | 2 | Xin Tang | China | 453,000 | 45 |
| 1 | 3 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 102,000 | 10 |
| 1 | 4 | Aliaksei Boika | Belarus | 349,000 | 35 |
| 1 | 5 | Mustafa Biz | Turkey | 820,000 | 82 |
| 1 | 6 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russia | 248,000 | 25 |
| 1 | 7 | Nemo Israel | France | 460,000 | 46 |
| 1 | 8 | Nikolay Ponomarev | United Kingdom | 191,000 | 19 |
| 2 | 1 | Sachin Joshi | United Kingdom | 126,000 | 13 |
| 2 | 2 | Michel Molenaar | Netherlands | 401,000 | 40 |
| 2 | 3 | Bogdan Jontulovic | Serbia | 166,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 4 | Suat Egilli | Turkey | 645,000 | 65 |
| 2 | 5 | Nicolae Paunescu | Romania | 150,000 | 15 |
| 2 | 6 | Motokatsu Uhara | Japan | 427,000 | 43 |
| 2 | 7 | Mircea Flutur | Romania | 780,000 | 78 |
| 2 | 8 | Ihar Soika | Belarus | 256,000 | 26 |
| 3 | 1 | Ozgur Arda | Turkey | 355,000 | 36 |
| 3 | 2 | Ramazan Akyel | United Kingdom | 339,000 | 34 |
| 3 | 3 | Tom Verbruggen | Netherlands | 162,000 | 16 |
| 3 | 4 | Luke Marsh | United Kingdom | 338,000 | 34 |
| 3 | 5 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 548,000 | 55 |
| 3 | 6 | Damir Gabdullin | Russia | 314,000 | 31 |
| 3 | 7 | Sergei Varnaev | Russia | 534,000 | 53 |
| 3 | 8 | Umberto Ruggeri | Italy | 325,000 | 33 |
| 4 | 1 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | 141,000 | 14 |
| 4 | 2 | Paul Runcan | Romania | 508,000 | 51 |
| 4 | 3 | Joseph Sabe | Lebanon | 108,000 | 11 |
| 4 | 4 | Arthur Thiriat | Belgium | 158,000 | 16 |
| 4 | 5 | Dmitry Gromov | Russia | 250,000 | 25 |
| 4 | 6 | Roman Stoika | Russia | 373,000 | 37 |
| 4 | 7 | Andras Matrai | Hungary | 259,000 | 26 |
| 4 | 8 | Alisa Sibgatova | Russia | 120,000 | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | Aliaksandr Hirs | Belarus | 154,000 | 15 |
| 5 | 2 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 316,000 | 32 |
| 5 | 3 | Edward Quinn | Jersey | 452,000 | 45 |
| 5 | 4 | Adrian State | Romania | 601,000 | 60 |
| 5 | 5 | Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 254,000 | 25 |
| 5 | 6 | Lyudmil Ivanov | Bulgaria | 357,000 | 36 |
| 5 | 7 | Maher Achour | Tunisia | 731,000 | 73 |
| 6 | 1 | Alexander Sokolovsky | Serbia | 273,000 | 27 |
| 6 | 2 | Gaspare Sposato | Italy | 501,000 | 50 |
| 6 | 3 | Mehmet Demirkol | Turkey | 438,000 | 44 |
| 6 | 4 | Ludovic Uzan | France | 673,000 | 67 |
| 6 | 5 | Yiannis Liperis | Cyprus | 724,000 | 72 |
| 6 | 6 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 385,000 | 39 |
| 6 | 7 | Gregoire Auzoux | France | 892,000 | 89 |
Level: 17
Blinds: 5,000/10,000
Ante: 10,000
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Cards are in the air for Day 3 of the $5,300 High Roller!
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Heads-up to a turn of a board that read 4♣4♠K♦A♥ and with roughly 90,000 in the middle. Maher Achour checked from under the gun and Adrian State fired out a bet of 60,000 from the button. Achour slid in the call.
The two players saw the 9♠ come on the river and Achour checked again. State thought about betting briefly, but ultimately checked and was shown A♠10♥ by Achour for a pair of aces. State mucked and Archour pulled in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
810,000
79,000
|
79,000 |
|
540,000
61,000
|
61,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Ramazan Akyel opened from the button with Kirill Shcherbakov defending out of the big blind.
The flop came down 10♥2♥3♣ and Shcherbakov check-called a bet of 20,000 from Akyel.
The 4♣ fell on the turn and Shcherbakov check-folded after Akyel bet 55,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
430,000
118,000
|
118,000 |
|
390,000
51,000
|
51,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante
Nicolae Paunescu got his last 120,000 into the middle preflop with Michel Molenaar being the player to try and bust him.
Nicolae Paunescu: 7♦7♠ 
Michel Molenaar: K♦K♥
Paunescu would need to find a lucky seven or he would be headed to the rail. The board came A♣10♣9♣Q♠4♥ which kept Molenaar's Cowboys ahead the whole way, eliminating Paunescu.
At another table, last year's champion Maksim Shornikau was seen exiting the tournament as he has been eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
480,000
79,000
|
79,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Level: 18
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 12,000
