€1,650 Main Event Moves on to Day 1b
After a steady opening flight to the €1,650 Main Event, Day 1b gets underway today at 12:00 p.m. local time inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva as the 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship continues.
Day 1a attracted 149 entries across nine levels of play, with 59 players successfully navigating the day to secure a seat in Day 2. The opening flight set an early benchmark for the festival’s headline event, producing several healthy stacks and plenty of late-day action.
Italy’s Fausto Tantillo led the way after bagging 825,000 at the end of Day 1a, claiming his second chip lead of the series in Budva. He was joined through the opening flight by a mix of familiar Merit regulars and international names, including Igor Abelmasov, Andrei Daniliuk, Bobby James, and Vladimir Lappo, all of whom return with workable stacks.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fausto Tantillo | Italy | 825,000 | 330 |
| 2 | Igor Abelmasov | Russia | 545,000 | 218 |
| 3 | Andrei Daniliuk | Russia | 540,000 | 216 |
| 4 | Bobby James | United Kingdom | 520,000 | 208 |
| 5 | Vladimir Lappo | Belarus | 519,000 | 208 |
| 6 | Oleksii Shchukin | Ukraine | 487,000 | 195 |
| 7 | Ufuk Erkmen | Turkey | 453,500 | 181 |
| 8 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 449,500 | 180 |
| 9 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 438,500 | 175 |
| 10 | Danilo Razic | Montenegro | 388,500 | 155 |
Day 1b follows the same format as the opening flight, with players starting on 100,000 chips and playing through nine 60-minute levels. This is the second of four starting flights, with late registration remaining open until the end of Level 14 on Day 2.
Remaining Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 20 | Day 1b | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Jan 21 | Day 1c | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| Jan 21 | Day 1d | 7 p.m. | 25 minutes |
| Jan 22 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Jan 23 | Day 3 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Jan 24 | Day 4 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| Jan 25 | Day 5 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
With two further Day 1s still to come, Day 1b offers another full-day opportunity to build a stack and secure a place in the combined field when play resumes on Day 2.
PokerNews will once again be on the floor throughout the day, bringing you live updates, chip counts, and key hands as the €1,650 Main Event continues in Budva.