€2,750 High Roller | 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship

01-19-2026 15:51 UTC+1

Pistalo Rivers a Miracle to Stay Alive

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Davor Pistalo open-jamemd form the hijack for 755,000 and Giorgiy Skhulukhiya moved in over the top from the cutoff for 1,055,000. Once the rest of the table folded, Pistalo, the start of the day chip leader, was at risk of busting.

Davor Pistalo: 5♥5♦ All in
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya: 9♠9♦

Skhulukhiya's pair of nines had Pistalo on the ropes heading to the A♠7♣A♦ flop, Pistalo was already out of his seat before seeing the 4♥ turn, as he knew he needed a miracle two-outer on the river to keep his tournament dreams alive.

The dealer burned a card, then dealt the 5♠ to complete the board, giving Pistalo the winner with a full house.

Pistalo doubled, and Skhulukhiya was the clear short stack with six big blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
Davor Pistalo	1,600,000 720,000	720,000

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	300,000 800,000	800,000

Tags: Davor Pistalo Giorgiy Skhulukhiya

01-19-2026 15:43 UTC+1

Bojan Berberovic Eliminated in 7th Place (€12,400)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya came in for a raise to 110,000 from the hijack and Nazar Buhaiov three-bet jammed for around 1,200,000 out of the small blind. Bojan Berberovic immediately called off his stack of 1,000,000 in the big blind, forcing Skhulukhiya to fold.

Bojan Berberovic: A♥K♥ All in
Nazar Buhaiov: 10♥10♦

It was a pivotal flip for both players' futures in the event, and it was Berberovic who needed to connect with the board to stay alive.

The flop of Q♦5♠3♠ was no help for Berberovic, and neither was the Q♣ turn. Only an ace or king on the river could save him. It didn't come as the 5♥ completed the board and Berberovic was out in seventh place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nazar Buhaiov	2,400,000 800,000	800,000
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	1,100,000 335,000	335,000
Bojan Berberovic	Busted

Tags: Bojan Berberovic Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Nazar Buhaiov

01-19-2026 15:28 UTC+1

Nikolai Ivanov Eliminated in 8th Place (€9,400)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Andrey Golubev raised from early position and Nikolai Ivanov called from the big blind.

Ivanov started with a check on the 9♥8♦2♠ flop, and Golubev put out a continuation-bet of 50,000. Ivanov check-raised to 200,000, and after a brief pause, Golubev jammed for Ivanov's remaining 700,000. Ivanov called, setting up the first all-in of the final table.

Nikolai Ivanov: A♥9♦ All in
Andrey Golubev: 9♠8♠

Ivanov had top pair top kicker, but was behind to Golubev's flopped two pair.

The rest of the board came 10♥ 6♦ keeping the two pair of Golubev in the lead, and Ivanov was the first casualty in eighth place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrey Golubev	4,200,000 1,025,000	1,025,000
Nikolai Ivanov	Busted

Tags: Andrey Golubev Nikolai Ivanov

01-19-2026 15:25 UTC+1

Anar Adds to His Stack

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Nikolai Ivanov raised to 100,000 under the gun with Seref Anar calling on the button, and Nazar Buhaiov defending his big blind.

Everyone checked the 4♥K♦9♦ flop to see the 6♦ arrive on the turn, Buhaiov checked again and Ivanov fired for 200,000. Anar and Buhaiov called.

A fourth diamond the 2♦ completed the board and the action checked to Anar. He fired 400,000, causing Buhaiov to tank-fold. Ivanov got out the way quickly, and Anar dragged in one of the first postflop hands of the final table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Seref Anar	3,900,000 850,000	850,000
Nazar Buhaiov	1,600,000 300,000	300,000
Nikolai Ivanov	1,100,000 350,000	350,000

Tags: Nazar Buhaiov Nikolai Ivanov Seref Anar

01-19-2026 15:12 UTC+1

Action Resumes

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

The eight finalists have been introduced to the room, and the final table of the €2,750 High Roller is underway.

01-19-2026 14:57 UTC+1

Final Table Seat Draw

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Merit Poker Montenegro €2,750 High Roller Final Table

Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	Georgia	765,000	15
2	Seref Anar	Turkey	3,050,000	61
3	Nemanja Tatar	Montenegro	520,000	10
4	Nazar Buhaiov	Ukraine	1,900,000	38
5	Nikolai Ivanov	Russia	1,450,000	29
6	Bojan Berberovic	Serbia	1,480,000	30
7	Andrey Golubev	Kazakhstan	3,175,000	64
8	Davor Pistalo	Croatia	880,000	18

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrey Golubev	3,175,000 25,000	25,000
Seref Anar	3,050,000
Nazar Buhaiov	1,900,000 100,000	100,000
Bojan Berberovic	1,480,000 280,000	280,000
Nikolai Ivanov	1,450,000
Davor Pistalo	880,000 220,000	220,000

Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	765,000 5,985,000	5,985,000
Nemanja Tatar	520,000 90,000	90,000

01-19-2026 14:50 UTC+1

Final Table; Short Break

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

There is a short break while the final table is set up.

01-19-2026 14:46 UTC+1

Illia Petrytsia Eliminated in 9th Place (€6,300); Serhat Cetiner Eliminated in 10th Place (€6,300)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 24 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Illia Petrytsia got his last 350,000 or so into the middle preflop from the button, and Seref Anar made the call to try and bust him from the blinds.

Illia Petrytsia: A♠8♠ All in
Seref Anar: K♠Q♠

Petrytsia hadn't got anything going so far on Day 3, but now had a chance to double his stack and be right back in the mix.

The flop came down Q♦7♣5♠, catapulting Anar into the lead with top pair. Petrytsia didn't improve through the 4♥ turn or K♥ river as Anar improved to two pair. Anar had around 3,600,000 and Petrytsia was out in ninth place.

At the same time, on the other table, Serhat Cetiner got all-in preflop with Giorgiy Skhulukhiya calling from the hijack, and Nikolai Ivanov calling out of the cutoff.

Skhulukhiya and Ivanov checked a runout of 7♣Q♠8♠10♦8♥ all the way down and all the players showed their cards.

Cetiner revealed 4x4x for a pair of fours, Ivanov had ace-high with AxJx, while Skhulukhiya showed the winner with 6♥6♣.

Because Cetiner and Petrytsia were both eliminated on the same hand, the prize money was split, with each taking home €6,300.

Player	Chips	Progress
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya	6,750,000 6,375,000	6,375,000
Seref Anar	3,050,000 700,000	700,000
Nikolai Ivanov	1,450,000 50,000	50,000
Illia Petrytsia	Busted
Serhat Cetiner	Busted

Tags: Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Nikolai Ivanov Seref Anar Serhat Cetiner

Level: 24

Blinds: 25,000/50,000

Ante: 50,000

01-19-2026 14:30 UTC+1

Golubev Takes the Chip Lead

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Tim Baker

Level 23 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Davor Pistalo raised from the cutoff and Andrey Golubev called from the big blind.

Golubev checked on the 8♦A♥6♦ flop, and Pistalo continued for 80,000. Golubev check-raised to 225,000, and after a few moments, Pistalo jammed for Golubev's remaining 1,200,000 or so. Golubev made the call, creating the biggest pot of the tournament so far.

Andrey Golubev: A♠8♣ All in
Davor Pistalo: A♦9♣

Golubev had flopped two pair and Pistalo was in trouble, needing a nine to win the pot.

The remainder of the board came K♣10♣, and Golubev won the pot of 3,200,000, making him the new chip leader.