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

01-23-2026 19:00 UTC+2

Hammi Rivers the Nut Flush

Kai Cocklin

Level 23 : Blinds 15,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Mohamed Ameur Hammi just made the nut flush and extracted some value from Vladimir Lappo.

The pot had around 150,000 in it when Davor Mudric and Lappo checked from the big blinds and Hammi bet 50,000 from early position on the A♣K♥2♥ flop. Mudric folded, but Lappo called.

Both checked the 3♥ turn to the 7♥ river, where Lappo checked. Hammi then bet 175,000, and after a seemingly agonizing tank, Lappo called.

Hammi then showed A♥10♠ for the nut flush, and Lappo mucked his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aleksandar Tomovic	1,900,000
Predrag Premovic	1,000,000 370,000	370,000
Mohamed Ameur Hammi	900,000 10,000	10,000
Nikolay Ponomarev	750,000 350,000	350,000

Vladimir Lappo	310,000 590,000	590,000
Tommy Mokhtari	300,000 160,000	160,000
Davor Mudric	110,000 120,000	120,000

Tags: Davor Mudric Mohamed Ameur Hammi Vladimir Lappo

Level: 23

Blinds: 15,000/25,000

Ante: 25,000

01-23-2026 18:53 UTC+2

Razic's Run is Over; Ghioca Busts

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Danilo Razic was all-in for his last 130,000 with Milos Todorovic trying to bust him.

Danilo Razic: 10♦9♦ All in
Milos Todorovic: A♦10♣

Razic had a pretty hand in ten-nine suited, but was dominated by the ace-ten of Todorovic.

A runout of J♣K♥2♥5♦2♠ didn't help either player, which meant Todorovic's ace-high won the pot, and Razic was sent to the cashier's desk.

At a nearby table, Valentin Ghioca was seen getting out of his seat and was also eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Milos Todorovic	1,600,000 850,000	850,000
Danilo Razic	Busted
Valentin Ghioca	Busted

Tags: Danilo Razic Milos Todorovic Valentin Ghioca

01-23-2026 18:45 UTC+2

Kain Calls Off With Ace-High

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Kai Cocklin

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Ori Kain just called off his tournament life on the river with ace-high, and paid the ultimate price.

The action was missed but on a board of J♣3♥5♦K♣9♥, Kain checked the small blind and Jon Kyte shoved from middle position.

There was around 600,000 in the pot and Kain had around 700,000 behind. After being in the tank for some time, Kain did eventually toss in the call.

Kyte then flipped K♠J♦ for two pair, and Kain had to reveal A♣Q♣ for just ace-high before he was sent on his way.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jon Kyte	2,800,000 1,200,000	1,200,000

Nikolay Fal	2,200,000 140,000	140,000

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	1,800,000 330,000	330,000
Ori Kain	Busted

Tags: Jon Kyte Ori Kain

01-23-2026 18:43 UTC+2

Isaev Finds a Lifeline

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Grigoli Liklikadze raised to 40,000 from early position and Nikolai Isaev jammed his last 90,000 into the middle from the next seat. Liklikadze made the call when the action folded back to him.

Nikolai Isaev: 4♣4♥ All in
Grigoli Liklikadze: K♥Q♦

Isaev was down to less than five big blinds and needed to win this flip to begin his spin-up.

However, the flop of K♠6♥7♥ was a disaster for Isaev as Liklikadze took the lead with top pair. Fortunately for Isaev, he found the 4♠ on the turn to cement his double up with a turned set. The river came the 8♣ and Isaev remained in the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Grigoli Liklikadze	700,000 90,000	90,000
Nikolai Isaev	230,000 370,000	370,000

Tags: Grigoli Liklikadze Nikolai Isaev

01-23-2026 18:34 UTC+2

A Few More to Hit the Rail

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Mikhail Zavoloka	Busted
Farbod Nazari	Busted
Atilla Saracoglu	Busted

Valentin Ghioca	Busted

01-23-2026 18:25 UTC+2

Margolin's River Bet Does the Job

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Timur Margolin raised to 40,000 under the gun with Milos Miskovic calling on the button, and Aleksandar Tot defending his big blind.

After two checks on the 3♥4♣4♥ flop, Miskovic bet 75,000, and only Margolin came along with a call.

The J♥ on the turn checked through for the 5♠ to complete the board. Margolin bet 80.000 and Miskovic didn't take long to let go of his cards.

Player	Chips	Progress
Timur Margolin	1,100,000 100,000	100,000

Milos Miskovic	1,050,000 250,000	250,000
Aleksandar Tot	950,000 25,000	25,000

Tags: Aleksandar Tot Milos Miskovic Timur Margolin

01-23-2026 18:21 UTC+2

Esau and Kulibaba Play a Five-Bet Pot

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Kai Cocklin

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Ruslan Kulibaba opened the hijack and Paul Esau three-bet to 130,000 from the cutoff. When it got back to Kulibaba, he put in a four-bet to 290,000, only for Esau to five-bet to 450,000. Kulibaba called.

The flop came 6♦5♥2♣ and after Kulibaba checked, Esau put out a small bet of 165,000.

It took just two seconds for Kulibaba to let his cards go, which earned Esau the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Esau	2,100,000 900,000	900,000

Ruslan Kulibaba	1,200,000 150,000	150,000

Tags: Paul Esau Ruslan Kulibaba

01-23-2026 18:13 UTC+2

Hammi Shoves on Tomovic

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Heads-up to the turn on a board of 8♠6♠7♦Q♥, where Aleksandar Tomovic bet 80,000 from the small blind and Mohamed Ameur Hammi called out of the big blind.

A K♦ hit the river, and Tomovic decided to check. Hammi took a few moments, then jammed for around 450,000. Tomovic mulled it over for a while and then let go of his hand, surrendering the pot to Hammi.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aleksandar Tomovic	1,900,000 100,000	100,000
Mohamed Ameur Hammi	890,000 50,000	50,000

Tags: Aleksandar Tomovic Mohamed Ameur Hammi

01-23-2026 18:04 UTC+2

Poker Players Agree “Winner Take All” for Five Figures in Prize Money! | PokerNews Podcast #934

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Tim Baker

Level 22 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

In the 934th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow talk about the two players who made it all the way to heads-up play and then agreed to play winner take all for the prize money. It was a wild story that saw one player walk away with a five-figure payday and the other leave empty-handed.

The trio then discusses WPT Global's controversial signing of Ren Lin as an ambassador, which led to a discussion about ClubWPT Gold's social media strategy and how those two brands are related to the main World Poker Tour (WPT) brand. In between, former WPT Global Ambassador Xuan Liu called out the site for continuing to use her image in the Asia market.

Chad then shares highlights from his adventure with Phil Hellmuth and his son Phillip Hellmuth III playing in a Wisconsin home game, Alex Foxen winning PokerGO Tour (PGT) Player of the Year, and winners from the PokerGO Tour Last Chance Series. Then there was Daniel Negreanu at the final table of the PGT Championship, which was won by Chad Eveslage.

Other stories include GPI Player of the Year results, Maine becoming the ninth state to legalize online poker, and a look at Lost in the Shuffle, a documentary that explores the history of playing cards through the lens of magic. See the trailer and enter for your chance to win a limited edition deck of cards.

Speaking of giveaways, learn who won a copy of Jonathan Little's new book The Complete Poker Workout.

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!