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€1,650 Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
€1,650 Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
Buy-in
€1,650
Prize Pool
€571,320
Total Entries
414
Level
37
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
24
Players Left
9
Players Left 1 / 414
Filter
Level 30
: Blinds 50,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
Day 4 of the €1,650 Main Event at the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship has wrapped up inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva, with the tournament down to its final nine players and €110,000 top prize waiting for the eventual champion.
The Main Event drew 414 entries, creating a €571,320 prize pool and attracting players from all across the globe. After four gruelling days of poker, that field has been narrowed to a single table, with the remaining players returning on Sunday, January 25, at noon to decide the title.
Norway’s Jon Kyte will return to the baize as the chip leader after closing out Day 4 with 11,700,000. Germany’s Paul Esau moves up into second with 8,625,000, while Timur Margolin sits third on 5,275,000, as the same three names remain at the top heading into the final day.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 11,700,000 | 94 |
| 2 | Paul Esau | Germany | 8,625,000 | 69 |
| 3 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 5,275,000 | 42 |
| 4 | Nikolay Fal | Russian Federation | 4,325,000 | 34 |
| 5 | Eric Sands | San Marino | 3,600,000 | 29 |
| 6 | Ufuk Erkmen | Turkey | 2,800,000 | 22 |
| 7 | Yaser Sakarya | Turkey | 1,950,000 | 16 |
| 8 | Andrei Daniliuk | Russian Federation | 1,825,000 | 15 |
| 9 | Oleksii Shchukin | Ukraine | 1,125,000 | 9 |
Day 4 Action
When play began, 24 hopefuls took to the felt with the shared aim of reaching the final table. The action started fast, with a quarter of the field hitting the rail inside the first hour. Pasquale Di Ceglie and Never Maryanyan were the first to go, followed soon after by Bogdan Jontulovic, whose cowboys were cracked by Yaser Sakarya’s ladies.
Starting the day with the biggest stack, Kyte wasted little time turning up the aggression, raising often and involving himself in numerous pots. Shai Zurr was Kyte's first casualty when he three-bet jammed into Kyte’s aces and found no help with pocket sevens.
Kyte struck again shortly after, check-raising Aleksandar Tot on the flop with air before jamming the turn after picking up a flush draw. Tot called off with trips and was left with only his 19th-place payout when Kyte spiked his flush on the river.
The main headline from Day 3 was Nikolai Isaev’s climb from virtually a chip and a chair to one of the big stacks, but his run came to an end on Day 4. He first agonisingly folded when Milos Miskovic shoved over his river bet, before getting all in a few hands later with fours against Miskovic’s pocket jacks and coming out second best.
Hindsight can be cruel, and Miskovic may look back on one key moment from this series. Margolin opened, Miskovic three-bet, and Kyte cold four-bet jammed. Margolin tank-called off his top-three stack, prompting Miskovic to show queens and fold. Kyte and Margolin chopped the pot with ace-king, but Miskovic saw he would have flopped a full house, a result that would have tripled his stack with 16 players remaining.
The next shuffle proved fatal for Miskovic, as he got the rest of his chips in with pocket nines against the ace-king of Nikolay Fal, lost the race, and was eliminated. Kyte then won a massive flip to knock out Mohamed Ameur Hammi, opening a clear gap at the top, before becoming the first player to reach eight figures when his pocket kings held against Predrag Premovic.
Andrei Daniliuk was one card from the showers, but a miracle river gave him the nuts, leaving Pablo Redrado with just over a big blind. Redrado managed to ladder one pay jump before exiting after Dorjan Ushe was eliminated by Eric Sands, leaving the tournament on the final table bubble.
The final elimination of the day fell to Bljerim Imeri, who shoved pocket treys into the pocket kings of Paul Esau. With no help arriving, Imeri exited in tenth place, setting up the final table for the €1,650 Main Event.
The remaining nine players return to 40 minutes left in Level 30, where blinds will be 50,000/125,000 with a 125,000 big blind ante. All nine players are guaranteed €11,020 for reaching the final table, with play continuing until a winner is crowned and the €110,000 top prize is awarded.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|
| 1 | €110,000 |
| 2 | €75,000 |
| 3 | €51,500 |
| 4 | €36,800 |
| 5 | €28,000 |
| 6 | €22,500 |
| 7 | €18,600 |
| 8 | €14,800 |
| 9 | €11,020 |
Follow the final table action on PokerNews as the €1,650 Main Event plays down to a champion in Budva.
Level 30
: Blinds 50,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
The final table of the Main Event is set!
Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
11,700,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
||
|
8,625,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
||
|
5,275,000
875,000
|
875,000 |
|
||
|
4,325,000
425,000
|
425,000 |
|
||
|
3,600,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
2,800,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
|
1,950,000 | |
|
1,825,000
525,000
|
525,000 |
|
1,125,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
Level 30
: Blinds 50,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
Bljerim Imeri moved all in from under the gun for 1,575,000 and was put at risk by Paul Esau from the next seat.
Bljerim Imeri: 3♥3♣ 
Paul Esau: K♥K♦
Imeri didn't like what he saw as his pocket threes were crushed by the cowboys of Esau. There was still a runout to come, but after the dealer put out J♦5♠9♦10♥J♠, Imeri was sent to the rail in 10th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,600,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 30
: Blinds 50,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
Yaser Sakarya raised to 400,000 from the small blind and Jon Kyte defended out of the big blind.
Sakarya started with a check on the 10♣7♥8♠ flop and Kyte bet 400,000. Sakarya called.
Sakarya checked again on the 5♣ turn and Kyte jammed, covering Sakarya. The bet was for all of Sakarya's 1,950,000 chips, and after giving a lot of thought, Sakarya reluctantly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
11,500,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,000,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
|
|
1,950,000
585,000
|
585,000 |
Level 30
: Blinds 50,000/125,000, 125,000 ante
Oleksii Shchukin raised to 500,000 in the cutoff and when it got to Pablo Redrado in the big blind, he called off his last 25,000 after having invested 250,000 already.
Pablo Redrado: 9♣6♥
Oleksii Shchukin: K♦Q♥
Redrado was live, but despite finding a pair on the K♣6♦J♠ flop, he still needed some luck to stay alive as Shchukin paired his king.
The 2♦ turn and 7♦ river provided no assistance, which meant Redrado was out in 11th.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,500,000
2,100,000
|
2,100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,400,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
Busted | |
Level: 30
Blinds: 50,000/125,000
Ante: 125,000
Level 29
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Dorjan Ushe raised to 650,000 on the button with just 25,000 left in his stack. Eric Sands only called out of the big blind.
Sands put Ushe all in on the A♦Q♣J♠ flop and Ushe called.
Dorjan Ushe: A♣6♣
Eric Sands: A♥9♣
Both players had a pair of aces, but Sands' nine kicker had him out in front, although a chopped pot was a likely outcome.
However, the 9♦ turn gave Sands two pair, and Ushe needed a queen or jack on the river to split the pot. It wasn't to be as the 4♠ completed the runout, and Ushe was out in 12th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,850,000
950,000
|
950,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 29
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
When it folded to Andrei Daniliuk in the small blind, he jammed for 1,125,000. Pablo Redrado paused for a while and asked the dealer for an exact count. Redrado started the hand with one big blind more than Daniliuk, and after giving it a little bit of thought, stuck in the call.
Andrei Daniliuk: K♣10♥
Pablo Redrado: A♥5♥
Redrado was ahead with ace-high, but Daniliuk had two live cards working for him with five cards to come.
Daniliuk picked up a gutshot straight draw on the 6♠9♥Q♠ flop, although the A♣ on the turn gave Redrado top pair and left Daniliuk needing to spike a jack.
Daniliuk and Nikolay Fal began repeating the same word in their native language as the dealer burned a card and then produced the J♥ on the river to give Daniliuk the nuts.
Elated, Daniliuk fist pumped the air and began dragging in the pot of over two million. Redrado was left with just 150,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,350,000
750,000
|
750,000 |
|
|
150,000
2,025,000
|
2,025,000 |
Level 29
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Predrag Premovic raised the cutoff to 200,000 and then shoved around 1,700,000 over the small blind three-bet of Jon Kyte, who quickly called.
Predrag Premovic : 9♥9♣
Jon Kyte: K♦K♣
Kyte was looking to ride the heater, and did so as the 7♥4♦2♥3♥Q♠ runout kept his kings in the lead, sending Premovic to the rail in 13th.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,900,000
1,900,000
|
1,900,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
