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

01-19-2026 15:05 UTC+2

James Backdoors a Straight

Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Bobby James just took down a chunky pot to grow his stack to around 150,000.

James recalled the action where he raised under the gun and got four callers, including Davor Mudric in the cutoff.

All five checked the 9♠A♦9♣ flop to the Q♦ turn, where James bet 2,500. Only Mudric called and the J♠ fell on the river.

After thinking it over, James bet a hefty 21,000, and Mudric didn't take too long before he called.

James then revealed he backdoored a straight with 10♥8♥, and Mudric flashed AxQx before sending the chips over.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bobby James	150,000 57,000	57,000
Davor Mudric	65,000 65,000	65,000

Tags: Bobby James Davor Mudric

01-19-2026 14:54 UTC+2

Tantillo Gets the Max with Aces Against Beumelburg

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Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

The action was picked up with Lennart Beumelburg having a three-bet of 5,000 in front of him from the cutoff and Fausto Tantillo making a four-bet to 15,200 from the hijack. Beumelburg called.

On the 3♣2♦3♠ flop, Tantillo continued for 6,900 and Beumelburg called to the 2♥ turn. Tantillo didn't slow down and put out 10,500, which again Beumelburg called.

An 8♦ on the river kept the board low and Tantillo went for it all by shoving. Beumelburg had around 45,000 behind and was in the tank for some time while he figured out how to proceed. Eventually, he did call.

Tantillo then confidently rolled over aces with A♠A♥, and that was good as Beumelburg's A♣Q♣ went into the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Fausto Tantillo	200,000

Lennart Beumelburg	Busted

Tags: Fausto Tantillo Lennart Beumelburg

01-19-2026 14:42 UTC+2

Szychulski Checks Back Trip Aces

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Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Sebastian Szychulski opened to 1,500 from the hijack and Nikolai Isaev called in the small blind. Vladimir Lappo also called from the big blind.

On the 3♥A♥2♥ flop, it checked to Szychulski, who bet 1,000. Isaev called before Lappo raised to 5,200. Szychulski called, but Isaev folded.

The A♠ turn saw Lappo fire 12,000, which Szychulski called to the 7♦ river. After some time thinking, Lappo checked, and Szychulski immediately knuckled back.

Lappo showed 4♠4♥ for a pair of fours, which missed two draws, but Szychulski had the winner with trip aces holding A♣K♥.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nikolai Isaev	160,000 20,000	20,000

Sebastian Szychulski	100,000
Vladimir Lappo	85,000

Tags: Nikolai Isaev Sebastian Szychulski Vladimir Lappo

01-19-2026 14:30 UTC+2

Early Stacks

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Kai Cocklin

Level 2 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Stefan Cupic	200,000 100,000	100,000
Danila Solovyev	200,000 200,000	200,000
Adam Graeser	170,000 170,000	170,000
Miroslav Forman	150,000 60,000	60,000
Nikolai Isaev	140,000 140,000	140,000

Nikolay Fal	140,000 40,000	40,000

Dmitriy Reznichenko	125,000 125,000	125,000

Level: 2

Blinds: 300/600

Ante: 600

01-19-2026 14:12 UTC+2

Add PokerNews to Your Mobile Home Screen

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Kai Cocklin

Level 1 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

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01-19-2026 14:02 UTC+2

Abelmasov's Kings Dispatch Romanov in Level 1

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Kai Cocklin

Level 1 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

There's the first elimination of the Main Event.

Igor Abelmasov opened the hijack to 1,000 and Salim Usmanov called on the button. Maksim Romanov three-bet the small blind to 4,200, which was met with a four-bet to 11,000 from Abelmasov. Usmanov folded, and Romanov called.

On the 10♥10♦3♠ flop, Romanov checked and Abelmasov bet 7,400. Romanov then check-raised to 17,000, and Abelmasov called.

The 2♠ turn checked through to the 4♣ river, where Romanov checked and Abelmasov bet 80,000. Romanov had around 60,000 behind and after pondering for a while, he flicked in the call.

Abelmasov then showed a pair of kings with K♠K♥, and that was good as Romanov showed 8♠8♦ for a pair of eights.

Things are going quite well for Abelmasov, who won the Deep Stack tournament yesterday, and now chip leads Day 1a of the Main Event.

Player	Chips	Progress
Igor Abelmasov	210,000
Salim Usmanov	98,000
Maksim Romanov	Busted

Tags: Igor Abelmasov Maksim Romanov Salim Usmanov

01-19-2026 13:45 UTC+2

Become a Bigger Part of the Action With MyStack by PokerNews

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Kai Cocklin

Level 1 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

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01-19-2026 13:38 UTC+2

Nicault Looking to Top the Counts Again

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Kai Cocklin

Level 1 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Benjamin Nicault got off to a good start after taking down a sizable pot against Miroslav Forman.

The board read 2♥K♣K♦9♠ and with around 30,000 in the middle, Nicault bet 15,500 from under the gun. Forman was on the button and after thinking it over, he decided to make the fold.

Nicault came through Day 1c of the Merit Poker Cup as the chip leader, and will be looking to repeat that feat in the Main Event.

Player	Chips	Progress
Benjamin Nicault	115,000
Miroslav Forman	90,000

Tags: Benjamin Nicault Miroslav Forman

01-19-2026 13:30 UTC+2

Bozhenko and James Clash Early

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Kai Cocklin

Level 1 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Ivan Bozhenko and Bobby James were talking with each other while playing out a pot.

The full board read 6♥8♠J♠2♣10♣ and with around 6,000 in the middle, Bozhenko bet 5,000 from the big blind. James was on the button and thinking about how to proceed.

"I should have overbet, that would have made you fold faster," said Bozhenko.

"It's not that easy," replied James. "I rivered a pair,"

Eventually, James did call and saw that Bozhenko had top pair with J♥9♣, which was good for the pot.