€1,650 Main Event Day 2 | 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship

Jan 22, 2026

Burneikis Gambles With Solovyev

Tim Baker

Level 17 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Vladas Burneikis raised to 12,000 from middle position before Danila Solovyev jammed for 55,000 from the small blind. Burneikis said, "Let's gamble!" and then stuck in the call.

Danila Solovyev: K♥K♠ All in
Vladas Burneikis: 9♥6♦

Burneikis was gambling and needed to a lot of help to crack the kings of Solovyev.

The flop of J♥4♥2♠ offered little help to Burneikis, but he picked up a gutshot on the 3♦ turn. The 10♦ river left Burneikis with nine-high and Solovyev earned the double-up with pocket kings.

Tags: Danila Solovyev Vladas Burneikis

Jan 22, 2026

Esau Contesting the Chip Lead

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Kai Cocklin

Level 17 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Paul Esau is contesting for the chip lead after just winning a chunky pot against Atilla Saracoglu.

Saracoglu had opened from middle position to 17,000 and Esau three-bet to 45,000 on the button. Saracoglu called.

On the 2♥5♥10♣ flop, Saracoglu check-called a bet of 25,000 from Esau to the 8♦ turn, where he again check-called after Esau bet 110,000.

A Q♦ fell on the river and Saracoglu took around thirty seconds before he checked, then Esau bet 135,000. Saracoglu called.

Esau then flipped over top pair with A♣Q♣, and Saracoglu sighed as he mucked his cards.

While that hand was going on, Nazar Buhaiov stacked a player to boost his stack to around 625,000, and Safi Haidar was eliminated on another table.

Tags: Atilla Saracoglu Nazar Buhaiov Paul Esau Safi Haidar

Jan 22, 2026

A Round of Chip Counts

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Tim Baker

Level 17 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Level: 17

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

Jan 22, 2026

Break Time

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

The remaining players are now on their last 15-minute break of the day. After this break, they will play one more level before bagging up for the night.

Jan 22, 2026

Miao's Stack is Diminishing

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Zhicheng Miao made it 11,000 on the button and Atilla Saracoglu defended his big blind.

On the 3♠3♣J♥ flop, Saracoglu started with a check, and Miao bet 6,000. Saracoglu snap-called.

Saracoglu opted to lead out for 25,000 on the 6♣ turn. Miao continued with a call.

Before the river card was dealt, Saracoglu checked, and then the 8♦ completed the board. Miao checked behind and Saracoglu tabled J♣5♣ for a pair of jacks to take down the pot.

Tags: Atilla Saracoglu Zhicheng Miao

Jan 22, 2026

Flashback: Boris Kolev Dominates 2025 Merit Millions Final Table

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Kai Cocklin

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

The inaugural $10,400 Merit Millions event at the 2025 Merit Poker Classic Millions wrapped up last April, with Boris Kolev rising above a talented field of 212 entries to become the first-ever Merit Millions champion. Held inside the stunning Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, the unique event ended with Kolev capturing the coveted title and the massive $1,000,000 guaranteed top prize.

Kolev, who began the final table third in chips, put on a clinical display to systematically dismantle his opponents on the way to victory. In doing so, he became the first player in Merit Poker history to walk away with a seven-figure payday. The Bulgarian pro made quick work of Mehdi Chaoui in a brief heads-up battle to seal the title and etch his name in the record books.

2025 Merit Millions Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Boris Kolev	Bulgaria	$1,000,000
2	Mehdi Chaoui	Morocco	$300,000
3	Romans Lihacovs	Latvia	$200,000
4	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russian Federation	$140,000
5	Rafael Aslanli	Turkey	$100,000
6	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	$75,000
7	Andrey Pateychuk	Russian Federation	$55,000
8	Ali Al-Kubasi	Iraq	$45,000
9	Alexandr Lakhov	Russian Federation	$35,400

Read the Full Recap Here

Jan 22, 2026

Litvinov Pressures Golubev Out

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Andrey Litvinov came in for a raise to 10,000 on the button with Nikolai Isaev calling in the small blind and Andrey Golubev defending his big blind.

When it was checked to Litinov on the J♦7♠2♥ flop, he bet 15,000, and only Golubev called.

A 3♥ arrived on the turn and Golubev checked again. Litinov fired a second barrel of 26,000, which was enough to get Golubev to fold. Litinov showed he had the goods with J♥7♥ for two pair.

Tags: Andrey Golubev Andrey Litvinov Nikolai Isaev

Jan 22, 2026

Prize Pool and Payouts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

With a total of 414 entries being recorded in the €1,650 Main Event at the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship, a prize pool of €571,320 was generated.

A total of 63 players will be paid, with a min-cash worth €2,400. However, all eyes will be on the top prize of €110,000.

Place	Prize (EUR)	Place	Prize (EUR)
1	€110,000	10-11	€8,600
2	€75,000	12-13	€7,500
3	€51,500	14-15	€6,600
4	€36,800	16-17	€5,800
5	€28,000	18-20	€5,100
6	€22,500	21-23	€4,400
7	€18,600	24-31	€3,800
8	€14,800	32-39	€3,300
9	€11,020	40-47	€2,800
		48-63	€2,400

Jan 22, 2026

Hasbani Cracks Aces

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Rio Nimni Ben raised to 10,000 from under the gun and was called by a player in middle position and Antoine Hasbani in the big blind.

When it got to the middle position player on the 8♠3♦9♥ flop, he bet 15,000, and only Hasbani called.

Hasbani checked again when he saw a 8♣ turn, and his opponent bet around 20,000. Hasbani called once more.

The 7♥ came on the river and after Hasbani checked, the middle position player bet 35,000. Hasbani paused momentarily and then jammed, covering his opponent.

The middle position player quickly called for his remaining 78,000 and was shown a rivered straight from Hasbani with J♥10♥. Hasbani's opponent showed A♠A♦ for a slowplayed pair of aces as he headed to the rail.

Tags: Antoine Hasbani Rio Nimni Ben