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€880 Merit Poker Cup
Day 1cd Completed
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
€880 Merit Poker Cup
Day: 1cd
Event Info
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1cd
Buy-in
€880
Prize Pool
€305,440
Total Entries
415
Level
28
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
198
Players Left
38
Players Left 1 / 415
Filter
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Day 1c of the €880 Merit Poker Cup has come to an end inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva as part of the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship, drawing a field of 123 entries, the largest starting flight so far. After a full day of poker, just 18 players survived the cut, each locking up a cash and a seat into Day 2.
With Day 1c in the books, the tournament now stands at 340 total entries across three starting flights, with 50 players already advancing through to Day 2. That number is set to increase further with the fourth and final turbo flight, Day 1d, still in progress
France's Benjamin Nicault topped the counts at the end of the day, bagging 523,000 and becoming the only player from Day 1c to breach the half-million chip mark. Andrei Daniliuk, with 453,000, is placed in second position, while Bojan Berberovic rounded out the top three with 351,000.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Nicault | France | 523,000 | 65 |
| 2 | Andrei Daniliuk | Russia | 453,000 | 57 |
| 3 | Bojan Berberovic | Serbia | 351,000 | 44 |
| 4 | Genrik Alekian | Ukraine | 343,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 325,000 | 41 |
| 6 | Nikolay Fal | Russia | 312,000 | 39 |
| 7 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | Georgia | 241,000 | 30 |
| 8 | Danilo Stanisic | Czechia | 164,000 | 21 |
| 9 | Toni Ravnak | Serbia | 159,000 | 20 |
| 10 | Ohad Gelerenter | United Kingdom | 156,000 | 20 |
Nicault maintained a healthy stack throughout the day and turned up the aggression as the bubble approached, raising at almost every chance he got. Although he doubled up Nikolay Fal on the direct bubble when his ace-six fell to Fal’s ace-king, Nicault quickly recovered those chips by continuing to apply pressure to his tablemates, looking to squeeze into the money. Non-stop raises and bets allowed him to surge back to the top of the counts by the time bags were collected.
Russia’s Daniliuk was aided by a fortunate runout late in the day that helped propel his stack into the top ten. Daniliuk raised and then called it off from the small blind with king-jack, finding himself dominated by Hakan Varol’s pocket kings. The flop left Daniliuk needing running cards, and he found them when a spade fell on both the turn and river to complete a backdoor four flush, sending the pot his way and leaving Varol with nothing but a bad beat story.
As the tournament reached the direct bubble, it initially appeared that it would burst quickly, but a series of doubles for the shortest stacks changed that. After close to two full levels of hand-for-hand play, Shai Arbel became the final player to fall short of the money. Arbel got his chips in holding ace-queen against the pocket tens of Zivanovic, and a clean runout for Zivanovic ended Arbel's run, while the surviving 18 all had secured a min-cash and a seat in Day 2.
Some other notables to bag and tag on Day 1c included Norway’s Jon Kyte (325,000), Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (241,000), Toni Ravnak (159,000), Antoine Hasbani (104,000), Giulio Gallo (51,000), and Alain Hajj, who finished with just 27,000, good for fewer than four big blinds by the end of the day.
All remaining players from the four starting flights will combine for the first time at 12:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, January 17, when Day 2 of the €880 Merit Poker Cup gets underway. Blind levels will increase to 60 minutes in length, and before cards are in the air, the official prize pool and payout structure will be announced, with the full schedule for the day to be confirmed shortly once play begins.
PokerNews will be on the floor throughout Day 2, bringing you full chip counts, key hands, and all the action as the field combines inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva.
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
531,000
531,000
|
531,000 |
|
||
|
475,000
475,000
|
475,000 |
|
274,000
274,000
|
274,000 |
|
268,000
268,000
|
268,000 |
|
180,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
178,000
178,000
|
178,000 |
|
110,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
87,000 | |
|
78,000
78,000
|
78,000 |
|
52,000
52,000
|
52,000 |
|
||
|
18,000
18,000
|
18,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The remaining 18 players are bagging their chips and play has concluded for Day 1c. Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
523,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
||
|
453,000
213,000
|
213,000 |
|
351,000 | |
|
343,000
93,000
|
93,000 |
|
325,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
312,000
112,000
|
112,000 |
|
||
|
241,000
106,000
|
106,000 |
|
164,000
56,000
|
56,000 |
|
159,000
159,000
|
159,000 |
|
156,000
81,000
|
81,000 |
|
131,000
41,000
|
41,000 |
|
104,000
66,000
|
66,000 |
|
101,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
|
94,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
90,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
66,000
54,000
|
54,000 |
|
51,000
49,000
|
49,000 |
|
27,000
27,000
|
27,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Shai Arbel raised to 20,000 from the cutoff with around 100,000 behind. Bojan Zivanovic jammed from the small blind with a stack that covered both the big blind and Arbel. Arbel called, and the cards were revealed.
Shai Arbel: A♣Q♦ 
Bojan Zivanovic: 10♠10♣
Arbel needed to connect with the board or he would be the final elimination of Day 1c.
A flop of 4♣J♠8♦ came down keeping Zivanovic's pocket tens ahead. The 7♣ turn meant only an ace or queen on the river would save Arbel. It wasn't to be as the 6♥ completed the board and Arbel bubbled the €880 Merit Poker Cup.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
300,000
195,000
|
195,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
In the 933rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Chad Holloway, Mike Holtz, and Ben Ludlow kick off Season 17 with some poker predictions for 2026. Will the Big Beautiful Bill's gambling tax situation be resolved or lead to big ramifications in the industry? Will Phil Hellmuth win his 18th gold bracelet? Would the World Series of Poker (WSOP) ever raise the buy-in for the Main Event?
The triumvirate also covers recent stories, including poker players Galen Hall and Jason Somerville winning big in the Circa Survivor content, arbitration ending between Maurice Hawkins and Denise Pratt, and Lex Veldhuis returning to the streaming streets, albeit not as a PokerStars Ambassador. Similarly, Caitlin Comeskey's ambassadorship with PokerStars US came to an end, and got the crew asking, "Is there still value in poker ambassadors?"
You'll also see a short interview of Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel chatting with Rep. Dina Titus about the aforementioned tax bill, hear about Jeremy Becker and Matthew Wantman winning titles at the Venetian, and another book giveaway for a copy of Jonathan Little's 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!
Level 17
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Benjamin Nicault has been raising almost every hand and that didn't change here as he min-raised to 16,000 out of the hijack. Nikolay Fal was the only caller from the big blind.
Fal knuckled the action over to Nicault on the 6♦K♣7♥ flop, and Nicault tossed out 8,000. Fal came along with a call.
The 5♥ turn and 8♦ river checked through and Fal announced "six". Nicault quickly turned over J♥7♠ for a pair of sevens, and the pot was awarded to him.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
530,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
200,000 | |
|
|
||
Level: 17
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Level 16
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Jon Kyte raised to 14,000 under the gun and only Benjamin Nicault called from the hijack.
Kyte check-called a bet of 9,000 from Nicault on the 7♥8♠3♦ flop.
The turn came the 10♠ and Kyte check-called another bet from Nicault, this time for 28,000.
Both players checked the 10♦ river and Kyte took down the pot with A♦7♦ for a pair of sevens.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
450,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
360,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
Level 16
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
With a stack that covered the entire table, Benjamin Nicault jammed from the cutoff. Nikolay Fal, who was seated in the big blind, took a few moments and then made the call for his stack of 100,000.
Nikolay Fal: A♥K♦
Benjamin Nicault: A♦6♥
Fal just had to fade a six on the runout to double up on the bubble.
A clean runout of 9♦5♥2♥5♦J♠ came out for Fal's big slick, and he managed to survive elimination.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
550,000
215,000
|
215,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
210,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
|
||
