button in SafariDmitrii Nazarov Holds Chip Lead as Four Starting Flights Combine in NOIR Poker Series Main Event
A total of 113 players will return to the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Northern Cyprus today for Day 2 of the $5,500 Merit Poker Main Event at the 2026 NOIR Poker Series, as play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time following four action-packed starting flights that drew 769 entries.
The Main Event boasts a $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, and all returning players have earned a share of that, with each starting flight playing until the field was in the money. The full payouts are expected to be announced shortly after play begins.
In a tightly contested leaderboard, where just 20 big blinds separate the top seven stacks, Dmitrii Nazarov will return later today as the chip leader. Nazarov topped the charts of Day 1b, the second of the starting flights, and will start the day with 101 big blinds.
Rounding out the podium is fellow Day 1b chip survivor Aren Bezhanyan with 1,945,00, followed closely by Haydar Issa, carrying 1,780,000 from the final Day 1d flight.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dmitrii Nazarov | Russian Federation | 2,025,000 | 101 |
| 2 | Aren Bezhanyan | Armenia | 1,945,000 | 97 |
| 3 | Haydar Issa | Lebanon | 1,780,000 | 89 |
| 4 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 1,760,000 | 88 |
| 5 | Ehsan Amiri | Australia | 1,705,000 | 85 |
| 6 | Farkas Benedek | Hungary | 1,650,000 | 83 |
| 7 | Ravid Garbi | Israel | 1,620,000 | 81 |
| 8 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 1,560,000 | 78 |
| 9 | Jay O'leary | United Kingdom | 1,525,000 | 76 |
| 10 | Alexander Sokolovsky | Serbia | 1,500,000 | 75 |
Entry to Day 2 doesn’t require you to be a chip leader, though, and there are plenty of players further down the leaderboard with abundant experience in poker's big occasions.
Players such as Gilles Simon (1,490,000), Merijn van Rooij (1,355,000), Fahredin Mustafov (1,100,000) Martins Adeniya (870,000), Ali Al-Kubasi (790,000), Adrian State (665,000), Patrick Brooks (505,000), Nicolas Chouity (450,000), Dietrich Fast (360,000), and Arsenii Karmatckii (275,000) all found safe passage into the penultimate day.
Day 2 action resumes at 1 p.m. with the remaining players returning to Level 17. The blinds will be 10,000/20,000, with a 20,000 big blind ante. Every player still in contention is guaranteed to finish in the money, with the official payout structure expected to be confirmed shortly after play gets underway. The schedule for the day is yet to be confirmed and will likely be decided once play begins.
Remaining Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 5 | Day 2 | 1 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| August 6 | Final Day | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
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