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$3,500 Merit Poker Cup
Day 2 Completed
2026 NOIR Poker Series
$3,500 Merit Poker Cup
Day: 2
Event Info
2026 NOIR Poker Series
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
$3,500
Prize Pool
$1,260,032
Total Entries
428
Level
36
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Entries
274
Players Left
64
Players Left 1 / 428
Filter
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
The penultimate day of the $3,500 Merit Poker Cup has come to a close, with 64 players left standing and the money bubble still to burst at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Northern Cyprus.
The day began with 129 players who had navigated one of the three opening flights taking their seats, but by the time late registration closed five levels into the day, a further 125 had joined the field. That brought the total number of entries to 428 and swelled the prize pool to $1,260,032, comfortably eclipsing the $1 million guarantee.
Of those 428 entries, 63 will make the money, meaning the final day is set to begin with the bubble bursting and end with the 2026 Merit Poker Noir Series crowning its latest champion.
Leading the charge into the final day is Vyacheslav Kardash, one of just three players to surpass the two-million-chip mark, with 2,090,000. Ali Al-Kubasi and Stefan-Sebastian Ionita follow close behind, having bagged 2,050,000 and 2,035,000 respectively.
Merit Poker Cup Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vyacheslav Kardash | Russian Federation | 2,090,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Ali Al-Kubasi | Iraq | 2,050,000 | 103 |
| 3 | Stefan-Sebastian Ionita | Romania | 2,035,000 | 102 |
| 4 | Huseyin Akgul | Turkey | 1,800,000 | 90 |
| 5 | Bogdan Jontulovic | Serbia | 1,665,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Evgenii Chernyi | Russian Federation | 1,620,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Ohad Geiger | Israel | 1,555,000 | 78 |
| 8 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 1,500,000 | 75 |
| 9 | Yurii Zabrodotskyi | Ukraine | 1,480,000 | 74 |
| 10 | Pavel Shchitnikov | Russian Federation | 1,265,000 | 63 |
There is plenty of firepower further down the leaderboard, with Ohad Geiger (1,555,000), Dmitry Gromov (960,000), Adrian State (950,000), Xiaosheng Zheng (605,000), Simone Andrian (575,000), and Felipe Ketzer (465,000) all still in contention.
Among those falling short of the money, Shyngis Satubayev was unable to bag a single chip despite making a Royal Flush earlier in the day. Frequent high-roller Joris Ruijs, start-of-day chip leader Hassan Nashar, Martins Adeniya, Aren Bezhanyan, and Paul Esau were also among those unable to survive the day.
The surviving players will return on Friday, July 31 at noon local time, and play will resume on Level 22 with blinds of 10,000/20,000 and a 20,000 big blind ante. The tournament will restart on the stone bubble, with the action continuing until a champion is crowned and $240,000 and the tournament trophy are claimed.
$3,500 Merit Poker Cup Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $240,000 | 12-13 | $16,900 |
| 2 | $168,000 | 14-15 | $14,400 |
| 3 | $115,000 | 16-17 | $12,400 |
| 4 | $80,300 | 18-20 | $10,800 |
| 5 | $60,500 | 21-23 | $9,500 |
| 6 | $49,000 | 24-31 | $8,200 |
| 7 | $40,500 | 32-39 | $7,200 |
| 8 | $32,400 | 40-47 | $6,300 |
| 9 | $24,432 | 48-63 | $5,500 |
| 10-11 | $20,000 |
Be sure to tune into PokerNews and follow all the action as it unfolds until a 2026 Merit Poker Cup champion is crowned.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Play has ended for the day in the $3,500 Merit Poker Cup, with the tournament delicately poised on the stone bubble. When play resumes tomorrow, July 31, at noon local time, the 64 returning players will be one elimination away from making the payouts.
Stay tuned for the full chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer raised to 30,000 in the hijack before Damir Zhugralin three-bet all in for 177,000 from the small blind. Ali Al-Kubasi cold-called in the big blind, and Ketzer called as well.
The dealer spread a A♣8♠Q♥ flop, on which Al-Kubasi bet 100,000, which was enough to remove Ketzer from the equation, who folded 10♠10♣ face up.
Damir Zhugralin: A♦8♦ 
Ali Al-Kubasi: A♥K♣
Zhugralin had taken the lead on the flop, having flopped two pair, and stayed ahead on the 7♣ turn. However, the Q♦ river saw his two-pair counterfeited, sending him to the rail in the penultimate hand of the day, just shy of the money.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
The floor staff has announced that there will be three more hands before play concludes for Day 2.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Elio Farah raised to 60,000 from early position, and only Ohad Geiger called from the big blind.
Geiger checked to Farah on the 3♣3♦Q♠ flop, allowing Farah to bet 25,000. Geiger check-raised to 80,000, and Farah continued with a call.
Geiger fired 180,000 on the 10♦ turn, and once again Farah called.
The J♠ completed the board, and Geiger put out a third barrel of 325,000. Farah pondered the decision for some time, using three of his time banks before eventually making the call, only to be shown the A♠3♠ of Geiger for trip threes. Farah sent his cards into the muck as the pot was pushed to Geiger.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Dmitry Gromov raised to 30,000 from the hijack, Felipe Ketzer called from the cutoff, and Damir Zhugralin came along from the big blind.
After two checks on the K♥3♠5♦ flop, Ketzer bet 25,000, and both Zhugralin and Gromov called.
The 8♦ turn checked through before the 9♠ completed the board. Zhugralin led out for 125,000, which got Gromov to fold. Ketzer used his first time bank of the tournament before deciding to call.
The extra thought proved worthwhile, as Zhugralin revealed A♠2♠ for a bluff and Ketzer tabled A♦9♦ for a pair of nines to win the pot.
Level: 21
Blinds: 10,000/15,000
Ante: 15,000
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Atilla Saracoglu raised to 26,000 from under the gun, but when the action folded to Hadi Khadra on the button, he hadn't seen the raise and attempted to raise to 26,000 himself. He was forced to make it 40,000, and when the action returned to Saracoglu, he called.
Saracoglu opted to lead out with a bet of 24,000 on a A♥Q♦10♣, and called when Khadra raised to 60,000.
The 7♦ turn saw Saracoglu check, and Khadra continue with a larger 135,000 bet. Saracoglu then check-raised all in for roughly 600,000. Khadra opted to fold, and Saracoglu immediately tossed his J♦10♦ face up into the middle of the table.
