€1,650 Main Event | 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship

01-25-2026 16:01 UTC+1

Margolin Bluffs Into Fal's Boat

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Kai Cocklin

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Nikolay Fal is the new chip leader!

Fal opened the button and Timur Margolin defended his big blind.

On the 10♣10♥8♥ flop, Margolin checked and Fal bet 325,000. Margolin then raised to 975,000, which Fal called.

A 4♠ on the turn saw Margolin bet 1,850,000, which Fal called to the 3♣ river. After some time, Margolin shoved, and Fal snap-called for his stack of 5,200,000.

Margolin then showed a busted straight draw with 9♣7♦, but Fal had flopped a full house with 8♦8♣ to win the pot and take the chip lead.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nikolay Fal	17,000,000 8,000,000	8,000,000

Timur Margolin	4,500,000 8,500,000	8,500,000

Tags: Nikolay Fal Timur Margolin

01-25-2026 15:50 UTC+1

Sands Finds the River; Esau Five-Bet Shoves

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Kai Cocklin

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Eric Sands shoved under the gun for 1,125,000 and Jon Kyte pondered for a while in the big blind before he called.

Eric Sands: A♥Q♣ All in
Jon Kyte: 9♥7♥

Kyte was live, and found a nine on the 2♦2♥9♣ flop to take the lead. A 10♦ on the turn left Sands one card away from the rail, but the Q♥ river kept him in the game as he paired his queen.

Just before that hand, Paul Esau five-bet shoved his stack over a Timur Margolin four-bet, which earned him the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Timur Margolin	13,000,000 1,000,000	1,000,000

Jon Kyte	9,000,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Paul Esau	8,500,000 2,000,000	2,000,000

Eric Sands	2,500,000 400,000	400,000

Tags: Eric Sands Jon Kyte

01-25-2026 15:44 UTC+1

Fal Doubles Through Kyte

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Kai Cocklin

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Nikolay Fal opened to 400,000 from the cutoff and Jon Kyte shoved the big blind. Fal called for his stack of 4,275,000.

Nikolay Fal: A♠Q♥ All in
Jon Kyte: A♣J♣

Fal was at risk but well in the lead with his superior ace. The 9♠A♥8♥9♣3♥ runout kept Fal's kicker in the lead, which earned him a double-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jon Kyte	10,500,000 3,300,000	3,300,000

Nikolay Fal	9,000,000 4,000,000	4,000,000

Tags: Jon Kyte Nikolay Fal

01-25-2026 15:41 UTC+1

Yaser Sakarya Eliminated in 6th Place (€22,500)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Yaser Sakarya shoved the button for 1,200,000 and after some time thinking it over, Timur Margolin called in the big blind.

Yaser Sakarya: Q♠10♣ All in
Timur Margolin: Q♣4♣

"You know queen-ten never wins on this final table," joked Jon Kyte to Sakarya.

Maybe Kyte was telling the truth as the 2♣9♥3♣ flop gave Margolin a flush draw and a real shot at winning the hand.

It was all over when the A♣ dropped on the turn as Margolin completed his flush, with the meaningless 10♥ dropping on the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Timur Margolin	14,000,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Yaser Sakarya	Busted

Tags: Jon Kyte Timur Margolin Yaser Sakarya

01-25-2026 15:33 UTC+1

Ufuk Erkmen Eliminated in 7th Place (€18,600)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Paul Esau opened to 400,000 from middle position and Ufuk Erkmen defended his big blind.

On the Q♣8♣5♦ flop, Erkmen shoved around 700,000, which Esau quickly called.

Ufuk Erkmen: Q♠5♠ All in
Paul Esau: K♥K♣

Erkman had drilled two pair on the flop and was a huge favorite to double up, especially after the 4♥ fell on the turn.

However, the 8♥ river gave Esau a better two pair, which ended Erkmen's run in seventh.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Esau	6,500,000 1,400,000	1,400,000

Ufuk Erkmen	Busted

Tags: Paul Esau Ufuk Erkmen

Level: 32

Blinds: 100,000/200,000

Ante: 200,000

01-25-2026 15:16 UTC+1

Player	Chips	Progress
Jon Kyte	13,800,000

Timur Margolin	12,500,000 1,200,000	1,200,000

Paul Esau	5,100,000 300,000	300,000

Nikolay Fal	5,000,000

Eric Sands	2,100,000 200,000	200,000
Yaser Sakarya	1,450,000 325,000	325,000
Ufuk Erkmen	1,200,000 1,600,000	1,600,000

Andrei Daniliuk Eliminated in 8th Place (€14,800); Oleksii Shchukin Eliminated in 9th Place (€11,020)

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Kai Cocklin

Level 31 : Blinds 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante

Just like that, Jon Kyte recovers!

Oleksii Shchukin shoved 1,500,000 from the hijack and Andrei Daniliuk shoved around 2,200,000 from the button. Kyte took one peek at his cards in the big blind and snap-called,

Oleksii Shchukin: A♠Q♣ All in
Andrei Daniliuk: A♦Q♥ All in
Jon Kyte: K♠K♦

A fantastic situation for Kyte, but the job wasn't done yet as the 10♥8♠9♥ flop gave both Shchukin and Daniliuk a gutshot.

The 4♣5♣ turn and river were clean, though, which meant Shchukin was out in ninth, Daniliuk out in eighth, and Kyte regained the chip lead!

Player	Chips	Progress
Jon Kyte	13,800,000 3,800,000	3,800,000

Oleksii Shchukin	Busted
Andrei Daniliuk	Busted

Tags: Jon Kyte Oleksii Shchukin Andrei Daniliuk

01-25-2026 15:04 UTC+1

Fal's Turn to Double Through Kyte

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Kai Cocklin

Level 31 : Blinds 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante

Jon Kyte is giving double-ups to the entire table!

The action was picked up with Kyte having a three-bet of 1,000,000 in front of him from middle position after an open and Nikolay Fal four-betting to around 2,000,000 from the cutoff, leaving himself 50,000 behind. When the action got back to Kyte, he called.

The flop came 3♠5♠2♥ and Fal's last 50,000 went in.

Nikolay Fal: K♦K♣ All in
Jon Kyte: Q♦10♣

Kyte was drawing super slim, but the 4♠ turn did bring around some chop outs as any ace or six would be a straight on board. However, the 4♣ river was a brick, and Fal doubled up.