Charbel Salloum shoved from the small blind and Serhat Cetiner called for his stack of around 250,000 from the big blind.
Serhat Cetiner: A♠J♠
Charbel Salloum: J♣3♥
Salloum was dominated by Cetiner and was unable to improve enough to win on the A♥9♦J♥7♥4♠ runout, as Cetiner flopped two pair. Cetiner doubled to 535,000 and Salloum was left with just 45,000.
The very next hand, Salloum jammed the button when it folded to him and Cetiner moved in over the top from the small blind. Once the big blind folded, Cetiner had the chance to finish off Salloum.
Charbel Salloum: A♣6♠
Serhat Cetiner: K♦5♦
Salloum had the best hand with ace-high, and he took a commanding lead on the 4♥A♥3♥ flop. Cetiner had a gutshot, which he found when the 2♣ rolled off on the turn. The river came the A♦ and Salloum was eliminated in 16th place.
The action folded around to Chady Ojeil in the small blind, who shoved for 215,000. Bojan Berberovic was in the big blind and after getting the count, he called.
Chady Ojeil: A♣7♥
Bojan Berberovic: Q♠10♦
Ojeil was ahead, but the Q♣8♦Q♦ flop gave Berberovic trips and a firm grip on the pot. Running aces is what Ojeil needed, but the 4♥6♥ runout didn't deliver the miracle, leaving him out in 17th.
Day 3 of the €2,750 High Roller gets underway at 1 p.m. local time inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva, as the 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship looksto crown one of its biggest winners. A total of 17 players return from 128 entries, all in the money and competing for the €294,400 prize pool, with €75,000 set aside for first place.
Coming into the final day as the big stack is Croatia's Davor Pistalo, who holds the chip lead with 1,800,000 after he burst the bubble earlier this morning. He is followed by Giorgiy Skhulukhiya on 1,675,000, while Nazar Buhaiov sits close behind in third place with 1,595,000.
Second-placed Skhulukhiya will be one to watch today, as the Georgian player boasts live tournament earnings of over $3,900,000, according to The Hendon Mob. Skhulukhiya has been a regular on the Merit Poker scene for many years, and his biggest cash of $683,285 came from winning the 2021 Merit Poker presents partypoker MILLIONS Main Event. Skhulukhiya won't be afraid to tussle with the other big stacks and give himself the best shot at glory.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Davor Pistalo
Croatia
1,800,000
72
2
Giorgiy Skhulukhiya
Georgia
1,675,000
67
3
Nazar Buhaiov
Ukraine
1,595,000
64
4
Timur Margolin
Israel
1,450,000
58
5
Andrey Golubev
Kazakhstan
1,285,000
51
6
Bojan Berberovic
Serbia
765,000
31
7
Fabrizio Lo Carbo
Italy
650,000
26
8
Illia Petrytsia
Ukraine
605,000
24
9
Nikolai Ivanov
Russia
585,000
23
10
Seref Anar
Turkey
575,000
23
Timur Margolin
A few other players worth mentioning, who have made it through a tough High Roller field, include two-time bracelet winner Timur Margolin (1,450,000), IIlia Petrytsia (605,000), Nikolai Ivanov (585,000), Milos Miskovic (370,000), Charbel Salloum (345,000), and Serhat Cetiner (285,000).
Cards get in the air at 1 p.m. local time on Level 21, with blinds of 10,000/25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante, and the plan for the day is to play down to a winner. Everyone has locked up at least €4,000 for their efforts but the top prize is now within reach for everyone.
Payouts
Place
Prize (EUR)
1
€75,000
2
€52,000
3
€37,000
4
€27,600
5
€21,000
6
€16,300
7
€12,400
8
€9,400
9
€7,100
10-11
€5,500
12-13
€4,500
14-17
€4,000
Stay tuned to PokerNews for full live coverage of the €2,750 High Roller, including chip counts and all the action as the tournament crowns its champion.
