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

01-22-2026 21:24 UTC+2

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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Vladas Burneikis	400,000 35,000	35,000
Danila Solovyev	135,000 9,500	9,500

Tags: Danila Solovyev Vladas Burneikis

01-22-2026 21:21 UTC+2

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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Esau	1,550,000 280,000	280,000

Nazar Buhaiov	625,000 125,000	125,000
Atilla Saracoglu	600,000 310,000	310,000

Pablo Redrado	500,000 176,000	176,000
Christoforos Chrysochoidis	290,000 45,000	45,000
Safi Haidar	Busted

Tags: Atilla Saracoglu Nazar Buhaiov Paul Esau Safi Haidar

01-22-2026 21:09 UTC+2

A Round of Chip Counts

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Tim Baker

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

Player	Chips	Progress
Ruslan Kulibaba	1,540,000 40,000	40,000
Paul Esau	1,270,000 70,000	70,000

Anton Markachev	1,150,000 530,000	530,000
Atilla Saracoglu	910,000 10,000	10,000

Timur Margolin	900,000 200,000	200,000

Bogdan Jontulovic	815,000 365,000	365,000
Antoine Hasbani	810,000 40,000	40,000
Nikolai Isaev	800,000 40,000	40,000

Andrey Litvinov	720,000 40,000	40,000
Milos Miskovic	640,000 80,000	80,000
Ufuk Erkmen	615,000 105,000	105,000
Jon Kyte	600,000 50,000	50,000

Andrei Daniliuk	600,000 50,000	50,000
Vladimir Lappo	590,000 10,000	10,000
Mazalahedwa Bako	550,000 60,000	60,000
Erdal Gulseven	510,000 140,000	140,000
Aleksandar Tomovic	450,000 100,000	100,000
Vladas Burneikis	435,000 115,000	115,000
Pasquale Di Ceglie	415,000 85,000	85,000
Zhengpeng Liu	410,000 120,000	120,000
Fausto Tantillo	300,000 320,000	320,000

Level: 17

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

01-22-2026 20:53 UTC+2

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.

01-22-2026 20:52 UTC+2

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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Atilla Saracoglu	900,000 170,000	170,000

Fabrod Nazari	440,000 150,000	150,000
Christoforos Chrysochoidis	245,000 75,000	75,000
Zhicheng Miao	170,000 280,000	280,000

Tags: Atilla Saracoglu Zhicheng Miao

01-22-2026 20:47 UTC+2

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

01-22-2026 20:40 UTC+2

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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ruslan Kulibaba	1,500,000 370,000	370,000
Nikolai Isaev	840,000 60,000	60,000

Andrey Litvinov	680,000 530,000	530,000
Mazalahedwa Bako	490,000 160,000	160,000
Andrey Golubev	290,000 290,000	290,000

Tags: Andrey Golubev Andrey Litvinov Nikolai Isaev

01-22-2026 20:40 UTC+2

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

01-22-2026 20:27 UTC+2

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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Antoine Hasbani	770,000 490,000	490,000
Rio Nimni Ben	320,000 118,000	118,000

Tags: Antoine Hasbani Rio Nimni Ben