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

01-22-2026 18:16 UTC+2

Abelmasov Doubles; Di Ceglie Passes Half a Million

Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/3,500, 3,500 ante

Igor Abelmasov opened up the action from the hijack and was three-bet to 27,000 by Viktoria Shalneva out of the big blind. Abelmasov four-bet to 70,000, and after thinking it over, Shalneva five-bet ripped it, covering Abelmasov. Abelmasov called for his stack of 279,000.

Viktoria Shalneva: 10♥10♣ All in
Igor Abelmasov: A♥K♠

Shalneva needed her pocket tens to hold to increase her stack to over 600,000 and send Abelmasov to the rail.

Shalneva remained ahead on the J♣4♠J♥ flop, but the A♦ turn propelled Abelmasov into the lead with top pair. A 5♣ completed the board and Abelmasov doubled through Shalneva.

At a nearby table, Pasquale Di Ceglie dragged in a massive pot after finding himself on the right side of a classic preflop cooler, with his AxAx holding up against an opponent’s KxKx, boosting his stack to around 600,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Pasquale Di Ceglie	600,000 465,000	465,000
Igor Abelmasov	470,000 120,000	120,000
Viktoria Shalneva	200,000 100,000	100,000

Tags: Igor Abelmasov Pasquale Di Ceglie Viktoria Shalneva

01-22-2026 18:07 UTC+2

Yilmaz Has Kicker Issues Against Buhaiov

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/3,500, 3,500 ante

Vedat Yilmaz opened middle position to to 8,500 and Nazar Buhaiov three-bet to 28,000 on the button. When it got back to Yilmaz, he wasted no time in calling.

On the 8♠10♠A♠ flop, both checked to the Q♦ turn, where Yilmaz shoved for 69,000. Buhaiov went into the tank for a while, but ultimately decided on a call.

Vedat Yilmaz: A♣3♥ All in
Nazar Buhaiov: A♥9♣

Yilmaz was behind, but did have a lot of chop outs if a high card came. However, the 4♠ river was pretty low, which meant Buhaiov's nine played, sending Yilmaz to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nazar Buhaiov	500,000 350,000	350,000
Vedat Yilmaz	Busted

Tags: Nazar Buhaiov Vedat Yilmaz

01-22-2026 18:04 UTC+2

88-Year-Old Grandma Spanks Poker Players for $10,000 | PokerNews Podcast #935

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Chad Holloway

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/3,500, 3,500 ante

In the 935th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow talk about Linda “Granny” Hammons, an 88-year-old who discovered her favorite slot machines had been removed so decided to play her first-ever poker tournament. It took place at the Beau Rivage Million Dollar Heater down in Mississippi, and she did quite well while capturing the hearts of the poker community. Bill Phillips from the Gulf Coast Poker event caught up with her in a set-down interview he shared with PokerNews.

From there, the trio looks at the straight flush misclick by Sebastian Huber, Martin Zamani's video of a poker bot farm that had the community up in arms, and a pair of poker cheats caught down at The Lodge in Austin, Texas. Speaking of which, the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) is headed to the cardroom, and Andrew Neeme is happy to tell you about it.

From there, it's welcoming 8131 Media as the official photography partner of PokerNews, and a preview of this weekend's Daniel “Jungleman” Cates vs. sports bettor "Elf", where PokerNews will be on-site to report all the action.

Finally, learned who won our giveaway for a limited edition deck of cards tied to Lost in the Shuffle, a documentary that explores the history of playing cards through the lens of magic.

Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.

A new PokerNews Podcast drops every Thursday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!

Click here to listen to the new PN Podcast!

01-22-2026 17:50 UTC+2

Vukomanovic Clicks it Back

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Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/3,500, 3,500 ante

When it folded to Uri Reichenstein on the button, he made it 8,000 to go and only Predrag Vukomanovic called from the big blind.

Vukomanovic started out with a check on the A♦5♣A♣ flop and Reichenstein decided to continuation-bet for 5,500. Vukomanovic called.

A 3♥ on the turn got another check by Vukomanovic, and another bet from Reichenstein, this time for 26,000. After a few moments, Vukomanovic clicked it back to 52,000, and Reichenstein immediately folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Predrag Vukomanovic	350,000 143,000	143,000
Uri Reichenstein	350,000 255,000	255,000

Tags: Predrag Vukomanovic Uri Reichenstein

01-22-2026 17:48 UTC+2

Saracoglu Adds More Chips to His Stack

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Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/3,500, 3,500 ante

Atilla Saracoglu raised to 7,500 from middle position with Dzmitry Baitsou calling in the hijack and Zhicheng Miao defending his big blind.

Once Miao checked the J♥3♣9♣ flop, Saracoglu bet 8,000. Baitsou and Miao stuck around with a call.

The A♦ arrived on the turn, causing Miao to check again. Saracoglu fired a second barrel of 18,000, and this time, only Miao called.

Two checks followed the 2♥ river and Miao showed a pair of nines with 10♥9♠. Saracoglu tabled the winner with J♦10♦ for a pair of jacks to win the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Atilla Saracoglu	850,000 60,000	60,000

Zhicheng Miao	500,000 150,000	150,000
Dzmitry Baitsou	210,000 40,000	40,000

Tags: Atilla Saracoglu Dzmitry Baitsou Zhicheng Miao

01-22-2026 17:37 UTC+2

A Round of Counts

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Kai Cocklin

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/3,500, 3,500 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Esau	1,150,000 100,000	100,000

Nikolai Isaev	980,000 70,000	70,000

Timur Margolin	750,000 50,000	50,000

Mazalahedwa Bako	700,000 200,000	200,000
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	525,000 50,000	50,000
Bogdan Jontulovic	450,000 30,500	30,500
Bobby James	400,000
Viktoria Shalneva	300,000 140,000	140,000
Alexander Sokolovsky	210,000 132,500	132,500
Nazar Buhaiov	150,000 80,000	80,000

Level: 14

Blinds: 2,000/3,500

Ante: 3,500

01-22-2026 17:31 UTC+2

Chrysochoidis Smacks the River to Survive

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Tim Baker

Level 13 : Blinds 1,500/3,500, 3,500 ante

Christoforos Chrysochoidis raised to 7,000 from early position and Maor Zaharagi three-bet to 17,500 from middle position. Fabrod Nazari cold-called out of the big blind, and Chrysochoidis shoved for 74,000. Zaharagi folded, but Nazari made the call to try and eliminate Chrysochoidis.

Christoforos Chrysochoidis: A♠K♦ All in
Fabrod Nazari: Q♣J♣

Chrysochoidis' big slick was ahead, but Nazari suited Broadway cards were live with five cards to come.

Nazari took the lead on the 7♥Q♥8♣ flop by improving to top pair. A 7♠ on the turn meant only an ace of king on the river could save Chrysochoidis. An A♦ hit the river, saving Chrysochoidis from the rail and he doubled up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Fabrod Nazari	290,000 290,000	290,000
Maor Zaharagi	200,000 26,500	26,500
Christoforos Chrysochoidis	170,000 70,000	70,000

Tags: Christoforos Chrysochoidis Maor Zaharagi

01-22-2026 17:31 UTC+2

Kulibaba Flips Out Nikiforov

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 1,500/3,500, 3,500 ante

Pavel Nikiforov opened early position to 7,000 and the small blind called. Ruslan Kulibaba then made it 33,500 to go in the big blind, Nikiforov shoved 64,500, the small blind folded, and Kulibaba called.

Pavel Nikiforov: A♠K♦ All in
Ruslan Kulibaba: J♦J♣

It was a classic flip, and one that went the way of Kulibaba as his jacks held through the Q♦5♠5♦2♠3♦ board.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ruslan Kulibaba	550,000 440,000	440,000
Pavel Nikiforov	Busted

Tags: Pavel Nikiforov Ruslan Kulibaba

01-22-2026 17:22 UTC+2

Add PokerNews to Your Mobile Home Screen

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Kai Cocklin

Level 13 : Blinds 1,500/3,500, 3,500 ante

The PokerNews desktop and mobile browser websites are as feature-rich as ever, so our tech gurus have decided to call time on the PokerNews mobile app.

Don't fret if you spend your time reading PokerNews articles and live tournament updates from your mobile device because adding PokerNews to your Android or iOS-powered device is simple. Doing so enables you to continue enjoying PokerNews in its glory, including seeing badges, using emojis, browsing famously easy-to-navigate pages, and getting closer to the action with MyStack.

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