€1,650 Main Event Day 3 | 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship

Jan 23, 2026

Erkmen Rides His Cowboys to a Double

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Ufuk Erkmen raised to 300,000 on the button with just 55,000 behind. Andrei Daniliuk jammed from the small blind with a big stack, and once the big blind folded, Erkmen called the remainder of his stack.

Ufuk Erkmen: K♠K♦ All in
Andrei Daniliuk: A♦Q♣

Erkmen was in the perfect spot to double up if he could dodge an ace on the runout.

Daniliuk paired his queen on the Q♥4♦7♣ flop to give him a few extra outs. The 9♦ turn was safe for Erkmen's cowboys and so was the 9♣ river, meaning he doubled up.

Tags: Andrei Daniliuk Ufuk Erkmen

Jan 23, 2026

Ushe's Big Slick Good; Bako Gone

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Kai Cocklin

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Dorjan Ushe opened the cutoff and Milos Miskovic defended his big blind.

They went to a flop of 7♣A♠6♦, where Miskovic check-called a bet of 55,000 from Ushe to the J♠ turn. Miskovic checked again, and Ushe showed no signs of slowing down with a bet of 130,000. Miskovic called again.

On the 3♥ river, Miskovic checked for a third time and Ushe decided to check it back.

Miskovic then tabled a pair of sevens with 8♠7♠, but that was no good as Ushe had a pair of aces with A♣K♦.

On another table, Mazalahedwa Bako just hit the rail.

Tags: Dorjan Ushe Mazalahedwa Bako Milos Miskovic

Jan 23, 2026

Ponomarev Picks Up Some Chips

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Nikolay Ponomarev raised under the gun to 60,000 and Zhicheng Miao defended his big blind.

Miao led out for 50,000 on the 3♣4♠5♦ flop and was met by a raise to 155,000 from Ponomarev. Miao elected to call.

A J♥ arrived on the turn and after Miao checked, Ponomarev jammed for 455,000. Miao thought about it for a while but decided a fold was best, and the pot was sent to Ponomarev.

Arsen Grigoryan was standing up and leaving a nearby table after losing all his stack to Pablo Redrado.

Tags: Nikolay Ponomarev Zhicheng Miao

Jan 23, 2026

Hammi's Kicker Helps Him Double Through Tomovic

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Kai Cocklin

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Aleksandar Tomovic opened to 60,000 from under the gun and Mohamed Ameur Hammi called from the next seat.

On the 4♠7♣8♣ flop, Tomovic bet 55,000 and Hammi called to see the Q♥ fall on the turn. Another bet came in from Tomovic for 190,000, and again Hammi called.

When the 6♦ fell on the river, Tomovic shoved, which left Hammi with a decision for his remaining 325,000. After around thirty seconds, Hammi called.

Tomovic then showed top pair with Q♣9♣, but he was out-kicked as Hammi flipped K♠Q♠ to win the pot.

Tags: Aleksandar Tomovic Mohamed Ameur Hammi

Jan 23, 2026

Jontulovic's Double Barrel Gets Grigoryan to Fold; Litvinov Busts

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Bogdan Jontulovic raised to 60,000 from middle position and Arsen Grigoryan defended his big blind.

Grigoryan started out with a check on the A♥9♦2♥ flop, and Jontulovic fired a continuation-bet of 40,000. Grigoryan stuck around with a call.

A 10♣ came on the turn and Grigoryan checked again. Jontulovic placed out a second barrel and Grigoryan quickly tossed his cards away.

At the same time, Andrey Litvinov was seem putting is jacket back on and leaving the tournament area as he had been eliminated.

Tags: Arsen Grigoryan Bogdan Jontulovic

Jan 23, 2026

Cetiner Rivers the Winner to Survive

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Serhat Cetiner jammed from early position for 245,000 and Bljerim Imeri made the call from the next seat to try and win and his chips.

Serhat Cetiner: A♠9♠ All in
Bljerim Imeri: 5♦5♠

Cetiner's ace-nine remained unimproved until the river on the 10♣3♥Q♣K♣A♦ runout, as he spiked an ace to stay alive and beat the pocket fives of Imeri.

Tags: Serhat Cetiner Bljerim Imeri

Jan 23, 2026

Miao Doubles With Kings

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Kai Cocklin

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Zhicheng Miao was under the gun and ended up getting in his stack of just under 700,000 against Serhat Cetiner, who was in middle position.

Zhicheng Miao: K♠K♥ All in
Serhat Cetiner: A♦Q♠

Miao had the goods, but still needed to fade an ace on the runout to stay alive. The 9♣6♥3♥2♥7♣ board was without any aces, which meant Miao took the pot as Cetiner dropped to around 250,000.