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€1,650 Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
€1,650 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
Buy-in
€1,650
Prize Pool
€571,320
Total Entries
414
Level
37
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
90
Players Left
24
Players Left 1 / 414
Filter
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Day 3 of the €1,650 Main Event at the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship played out inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva, with the field reduced from 90 players to 24 by the time action was stopped.
Play was paused with 43 minutes remaining in Level 25 (20,000/40,000/40,000), and Day 4 on Saturday, January 24 will play down to the final table, starting at 12 p.m. local time.
Norway’s Jon Kyte closed the day as the chip leader with 5,330,000, continuing a strong run through the middle and later stages. He is followed by Timur Margolin (4,235,000) and Paul Esau (3,825,000), with the top end of the leaderboard separating itself as the tournament approaches its final phase.
End of Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 5,330,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 4,235,000 | 106 |
| 3 | Paul Esau | Germany | 3,825,000 | 96 |
| 4 | Yaser Sakarya | Turkey | 2,625,000 | 66 |
| 5 | Eric Sands | San Marino | 2,500,000 | 63 |
| 6 | Nikolai Isaev | Russian Federation | 2,065,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Bljerim Imeri | North Macedonia | 1,955,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Dorjan Ushe | Albania | 1,850,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Predrag Premovic | Serbia | 1,710,000 | 43 |
| 10 | Nikolay Fal | Russian Federation | 1,660,000 | 42 |
The defining storyline belonged to Nikolai Isaev, whose day swung violently in both directions. Isaev picked up chips early in Level 20 after winning a pot against Zhicheng Miao with ace-king, but later suffered a crushing setback when his pocket kings ran into the pocket aces of Andrei Daniliuk. The board offered no help, leaving Isaev with just a small blind and seemingly on the brink of elimination.
Isaev managed to survive, rebuild, and then produced one of the moments of the tournament late in the day. In Level 24, he tangled with Anton Markachev and fired all three streets before facing a shove on the river after a brief moment of confusion over the action. Isaev called and revealed king-queen for Broadway, beating Markachev’s pair of aces to vault himself back into contention and completely flip the mood around his table.
Elsewhere, the early levels saw steady attrition. Gabi Livshitz eliminated Toni Ravnak after holding with pocket jacks, while Bogdan Jontulovic applied pressure to Navot Golan and picked up a pot by showing a flush after a river raise forced a fold. Predrag Premovic also built early after flopping kings full against Amir Hassan.
The money bubble burst in dramatic style. Mihael Barun got all in with pocket aces against Milos Miskovic and looked set to double, only for Miskovic to spike a ten on the river to make a full house. Barun exited as the bubble, and the remaining 63 players were guaranteed at least €2,400.
Once in the money, Kyte took control of several key pots, including a three-barrel sequence that forced Vladas Burneikis to fold after calling twice. Kyte later picked up another sizable pot when Ori Kain called off on the river with ace-high, only to be shown two pair.
The final stretch of the day saw rapid movement toward the final three tables. Tommy Mokhtari was eliminated when Yaser Sakarya flopped a flush, while Golan exited just before the final break after his pocket tens ran into the kings of Dorjan Ushe. Andrey Litvinov was also eliminated during Level 24, and Mohamed Ameur Hammi found a key double through Aleksandar Tomovic by calling off on the river with the better kicker.
Play concluded shortly after Isaev’s comeback hand, with Markachev becoming the final elimination of the night when he was sent to the rail by Margolin. The action was then halted with 24 players remaining.
Remaining Payouts
Each remaining player has secured at least €3,800, while a final table appearance guarantees €11,020. The winner will take home the €110,000 top prize.
Day 4 begins on Saturday, January 24 at 12 p.m. local time, with play continuing down to the final table, and PokerNews will remain on the floor with live coverage as the Main Event reaches its final stages.
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Play has stopped with 43 minutes remaining of Level 25. The remaining 24 players have bagged up their chips and will return on January 24 at noon for Day 4.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a full recap of the day's action.
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Heads-up to the turn on a board of 6♠J♦4♣K♥ between Anton Markachev in the big blind, and Timur Margolin on the button. Markachev checked, which caused Margolin to bet 350,000. After a long tank, Markachev check-shoved for 1,130,000 and Margolin quickly made the call.
Anton Markachev: A♠10♣ 
Timur Margolin: A♣K♣
Margolin was way ahead with top pair top kicker and only a queen on the river could save Markachev from being the last elimination of the day.
The dealer burned a card and put out the 8♣ on the river, meaning Markachev was out, and Margolin had over four million.
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Dorjan Ushe raised from middle position with Milos Miskovic calling out of the small blind and Nikolay Fal defending his big blind.
Everyone checked the 3♦9♦5♣ flop to see the 3♥ fall on the turn. Miskovic checked again and Fal bet 105,000. Ushe and Miskovic called.
Another round of checks followed the A♦ river and Miskovic turned over 5♦4♦ for a rivered flush. This won him the pot as Fal mucked, and Ushe flasehd A♥Q♠ for a rivered top pair.
Level: 25
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 40,000
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Though there may be some controversy in the hand, Nikolai Isaev has risen from the ashes. Just a few hours ago, Isaev lost with pocket kings to aces and was left with 15,000, but now he has 2,300,000!
The hand started with Isaev making it 60,000 from the hijack and Anton Markachev defending his big blind.
After the flop came 4♠J♦A♥, Markachev check-called a bet of 60,000 from Isaev to the 6♥ turn, Again Markachev checked, and again Isaev fired, this time for 150,000. Markachev called.
On the 10♥ river, Isaev bet 400,000.
"I didn't check," said Markachev, who asked the dealer what happens next. The action was on Markachev, and perhaps without knowing the full ruling, he shoved.
The floor were then called and they told Isaev as the action had changed, he could take his bet back if he were to fold. Instead, Isaev quickly called for his stack of 830,000 total.
Markachev then revealed A♣9♣ for a pair of aces, but Isaev rivered Broadway with K♦Q♦ to win the pot.
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
