€880 Merit Poker Cup Day 1cd | 2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship

01-16-2026 21:56 UTC+2

Vukomanovic Down to Fumes

Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Danilo Stanisic raised to 12,000 from the cutoff with Predrag Vukomanovic calling out of the small blind, and the player in the big blind calling.

All three checked the 10♠8♣6♥ flop to see the 10♣ appear on the turn. Vukomanovic checked again before the big blind bet 12,000. Stanisic called and Vukomanovic folded with just 12,000 left in his stack..

Check, check came after the K♥ river and the big blind player took down the pot with J♣8♦ for a pair of eights.

Player	Chips	Progress
Danilo Stanisic	220,000 130,000	130,000
Predrag Vukomanovic	12,000 53,000	53,000

Tags: Danilo Stanisic Predrag Vukomanovic

01-16-2026 21:47 UTC+2

Bubble Time

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

With the elimination of Dmytro Tulin, just 19 players remain, and only 18 spots are available on Day 2. The tournament has now entered hand-for-hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dmytro Tulin	Busted

01-16-2026 21:42 UTC+2

Alekian's Aces Hold Up

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Tim Baker

Level 16 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Velibor Jakovljevič came in for a raise from early position and Genrik Alekian three-bet to 30,000 out of the big blind. Jakovljevič chose to call and see a flop.

The dealer spread out a flop of 6♠3♠10♦ and Alekian continued for 25,000. Jakovljevič jammed for around 100,000, which Alekian instantly called.

Velibor Jakovljevič: 10♠9♠ All in
Genrik Alekian: A♠A♥

Alekian had the overpair, but Jakovljevič had top pair and a flush draw. The 5♣ came on the turn and Jakovljevič was one card away from hitting the rail.

A K♥ rolled off to complete the board, and Alekian's bullets held up, sending Jakovljevič to the exit

Player	Chips	Progress
Genrik Alekian	250,000 110,000	110,000
Velibor Jakovljevič	Busted

Tags: Genrik Alekian Velibor Jakovljevič

Level: 16

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

01-16-2026 21:32 UTC+2

Some Recent Eliminations

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Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Lennart Beumelburg	Busted
Ermogenis Asprogenous	Busted
Sebastian Russo	Busted
Urmo Velvelt	Busted
Nemanja Tatar	Busted

01-16-2026 21:24 UTC+2

Hasbani Gets Outdrawn

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Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

The player in the cutoff shoved his stack of 59,000 into the middle and only Antoine Hasbani made the call out of the small blind.

Cutoff Player: J♠10♠ All in
Antoine Hasbani: K♦J♦

Hasbani had his opponent crushed and looked poised to send everyone one step closer to Day 2.

The 2♥8♥4♦ flop was safe for Hasbani's king-high, but the 10♦ on the turn was not, as the cutoff player improved to a pair of tens. Hasbani had a flush draw that he was unable to find after the 9♣ completed the board.

Player	Chips	Progress
Antoine Hasbani	170,000 70,000	70,000

Tags: Antoine Hasbani

01-16-2026 21:16 UTC+2

Gallo Flops a Boat

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Tim Baker

Level 15 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

When it folded to Giulio Gallo in the small blind, he jammed for around 44,000 with just Nikolay Fal to get through in the big blind. Fal looked at his cards and then made the call to put Gallo at risk.

Giulio Gallo: A♣8♥ All in
Nikolay Fal: 4♠4♥

Gallo found himself in a flip with ace-eight against the sailboats of Fal. The dealer fanned out a flop of A♠A♥8♠ to give Gallo a full house, and only runner-runner quads would see him bust.

Fal was drawing dead after the Q♥ arrived on the turn, as the 6♥ river was just a necessity.

Gallo doubled to roughly 100,000, and Fal was down to 145,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nikolay Fal	145,000 35,000	35,000

Giulio Gallo	100,000 30,000	30,000

Tags: Giulio Gallo Nikolay Fal

Level: 15

Blinds: 2,000/5,000

Ante: 5,000

01-16-2026 21:06 UTC+2

Flashback: Boris Kolev Dominates 2025 Merit Millions Final Table

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Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

The inaugural $10,400 Merit Millions event at the 2025 Merit Poker Classic Millions wrapped up last April, with Boris Kolev rising above a talented field of 212 entries to become the first-ever Merit Millions champion. Held inside the stunning Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, the unique event ended with Kolev capturing the coveted title and the massive $1,000,000 guaranteed top prize.

Kolev, who began the final table third in chips, put on a clinical display to systematically dismantle his opponents on the way to victory. In doing so, he became the first player in Merit Poker history to walk away with a seven-figure payday. The Bulgarian pro made quick work of Mehdi Chaoui in a brief heads-up battle to seal the title and etch his name in the record books.

2025 Merit Millions Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Boris Kolev	Bulgaria	$1,000,000
2	Mehdi Chaoui	Morocco	$300,000
3	Romans Lihacovs	Latvia	$200,000
4	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russian Federation	$140,000
5	Rafael Aslanli	Turkey	$100,000
6	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	$75,000
7	Andrey Pateychuk	Russian Federation	$55,000
8	Ali Al-Kubasi	Iraq	$45,000
9	Alexandr Lakhov	Russian Federation	$35,400

Read the Full Recap Here

01-16-2026 21:00 UTC+2

Velvelt Fades Asprogenous' Outs to Double

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Tim Baker

Level 14 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Ermogenis Asprogenous raised from the cutoff before Urmo Velvelt three-bet shoved for 42,000 out of the big blinds. Asprogenous chose to call and the players went to a showdown.

Urmo Velvelt: 6♥6♣ All in
Ermogenis Asprogenous: K♥Q♥

Velvelt had sent two players to the rail earlier in the day with pocket sixes, and now he needed them to win a flip versus Asprogenous' suited Broadway cards to stay alive.

The 9♠A♥7♥ flop gave Asprogenous some more outs in the form of a flush draw. A J♦ on the turn offered Asprogenous even more chances to win, but he missed them all on the 7♠ river, and Velvelt doubled up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Urmo Velvelt	105,000 45,000	45,000
Ermogenis Asprogenous	88,000 3,000	3,000

Tags: Ermogenis Asprogenous Urmo Velvelt