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€1,650 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
€1,650 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
€1,650
Prize Pool
€571,320
Total Entries
414
Level
37
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
149
Players Left
59
Players Left 1 / 414
Filter
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Day 1a of the €1,650 Main Event at the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship is complete inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva, with the opening flight drawing 149 entries to kick off the festival’s headline event.
Players began with 100,000 chips and worked their way through nine 60-minute levels, with only 59 managing to survive the day and find a bag for Day 2.
Italy’s Fausto Tantillo once again finished the day with the biggest stack, bagging 825,000 to claim his second chip lead of the series in Budva. Tantillo also topped the counts at the end of Day 2 in the €880 Merit Poker Cup earlier this week, continuing a strong run of form.
He finished ahead of Igor Abelmasov (545,000) and Andrei Daniliuk (540,000), with Bobby James (520,000) and Vladimir Lappo (519,000) also finding bags after productive sessions.
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 |
Tantillo’s day included a few moments that helped him separate from the pack. Early on, he extracted maximum value with pocket aces against Lennart Beumelburg, then later picked off a bluff from Erdal Gulseven with a pair of tens, continuing to build as the levels ticked over.
One of the biggest pots of the flight came late, when James scooped a huge pot against Giorgiy Skhulukhiya. After check-calling the flop and turn, James pulled the trigger with a check-shove on the river and was quickly called, only to table a flopped set that cracked Skhulukhiya’s pocket aces and sent a mountain of chips his way.
Lappo also featured in one of the day’s standout hands, but this time on the other side of it. On a board that had already produced a flush, he correctly let his hand go when Davor Mudric showed a flopped straight flush after betting the river.
Elsewhere, Ivan Bozhenko won a last-level flip against Nikolay Fal, spiking top set to secure a double late in the day, while Srdan Milicevic made a big call to put himself at risk and was rewarded with a clean river to double through Mihail Ketlerov.
Several other familiar faces ended the day with healthy stacks, including Timur Margolin (449,500), Uri Reichenstein (438,500), Viktoria Shalneva (388,000), and Milicevic (370,500), with Mazalahedwa Bako (329,000) also making it through.
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 |
Day 1b gets underway tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. local time with the same 60-minute structure, offering another full-day grind for players looking to secure a bag.
There are still two more flights after that, including a 40-minute Day 1c and a 25-minute turbo Day 1d, with late registration remaining open until the end of Level 14 on Day 2.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage from Budva as the €1,650 Main Event continues at the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
While the counts are being verified, these are a collection of stacks from the bags.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
825,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
||
|
545,000
55,000
|
55,000 |
|
540,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
520,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
519,000
69,000
|
69,000 |
|
487,000
237,000
|
237,000 |
|
453,500
453,500
|
453,500 |
|
449,500
99,500
|
99,500 |
|
||
|
438,500
208,500
|
208,500 |
|
388,500
388,500
|
388,500 |
|
388,000
88,000
|
88,000 |
|
370,500
200,500
|
200,500 |
|
367,500
367,500
|
367,500 |
|
329,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
321,500
321,500
|
321,500 |
|
319,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
317,500
317,500
|
317,500 |
|
305,500
105,500
|
105,500 |
|
302,500
52,500
|
52,500 |
|
296,000
296,000
|
296,000 |
|
290,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
282,000
42,000
|
42,000 |
|
||
|
281,000
156,000
|
156,000 |
|
278,000
72,000
|
72,000 |
|
274,000
24,000
|
24,000 |
|
||
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The tables are starting to finish their final hands and the bags are coming out.
Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action and the chip counts.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
A huge pot just played out between Giorgiy Skhulukhiya and Bobby James, with the latter recalling the action.
Skhulukhiya opened middle position to 5,000 and James called in the small blind.
The flop came 6♠3♥J♣ and James check-called a bet of 5,000 from Skhulukhiya to the 3♠ turn. James went into check-call mode again when Skhulukhiya bet 21,000.
A third check came from James on the Q♥ river, then Skhulukhiya unloaded the third bullet of 100,000. James went into the tank for around three minutes before he shoved 218,000.
Skhulukhiya only needed around 30 seconds before he called, but saw the bad news as James rolled over a set with 6♥6♦. As James was all-in, Skhulukhiya was forced to reveal his hand and flipped over pocket aces!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
550,000
285,000
|
285,000 |
|
|
200,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The floor have announced that five more hands will be played before the survivors bag up for the evening.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Ivan Bozhenko and Nikolay Fal got into a last-level flip as the clock continued to tick toward the finish line.
Bozhenko opened from middle position and after a series of raises, his stack of around 73,000 was in the middle and at risk against Fal, who was in the small blind.
Ivan Bozhenko: Q♠Q♦ 
Nikolay Fal: AxKx
Bozhenko needed his pair to hold, and had most of the work done ont he 7♥Q♥2♠ flop as he made top set. Only running Broadway cards could earn Fal the knockout. but the 6♣ turn left him drawing dead.
Just to add a little salt into the wound, Fal drilled an ace on the A♥ river, but still had to send the chips in Bozhenko's direction.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
160,000
52,000
|
52,000 |
|
60,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
||
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
450,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
|
400,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
|
400,000 | |
|
|
350,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
|
350,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
300,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
265,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
|
250,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
|
||
|
160,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
160,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
|
||
|
50,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Another player with a stack is Igor Abelmasov.
Abelmasov took the chip lead early on in the flight and has kept growing his stack to be among the chip leaders in the final level. Both Petr Rudnev and Salim Usmanov are on the same table as Abelmasov, and the trio just played out a rather passive pot.
Abelmasov raised the cutoff to 5,000 and Usmanov called in the small blind. Rudnev also came along from the big blind.
All three checked to showdown on the connected A♦J♠Q♥10♥9♣ board, where Usmanov's Q♦9♦ was good for the pot with two pair.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
600,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
180,000
82,000
|
82,000 |
|
90,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Fausto Tantillo is running up a stack!
There was a raise from Shai Zurr under the gun to 5,500 and Tantillo put in a three-bet from the cutoff. Zurr called.
On the 10♣K♥8♦ flop, Zurr check-called a bet of 12,500 from Tantillo to the 9♠ turn, where both checked.
The 5♦ completed the runout and after Zurr checked, Tantillo went massive with a bet of 87,000. Zurr had around 140,000 behind and after thinking for around thirty seconds, he decided to let it go.
After that hand, Tantillo has around 750,000 in front of him!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
750,000
425,000
|
425,000 |
|
|
||
|
140,000 | |
|
|
||
