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$5,500 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2026 NOIR Poker Series
$5,500 Main Event
Day: 1a
Players Left 104 / 444
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
The opening flight of the $5,500 Merit Poker Main Event at the Merit Poker Noir Series drew 216 entries to the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, as players battled to build a stack and try to earn a share of the tournament's $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
After more than twelve hours of play, just 32 players bagged chips, with each survivor securing a return for Day 2 and a guaranteed place in the money. Play stopped with 21 minutes remaining in Level 17, with blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a big blind ante of 20,000. With the eliminations of John Doe K and Ravid Garbi coming in quick succession, there was no need for hand-for-hand play as the remaining players headed off to get some much-needed rest before returning in a few days.
Three-time bracelet winner Timur Margolin finished in the number one spot after bagging 1,760,000. Margolin took his seat during the second level and built up chips early after rightly calling down an opponent with ace-high before moving above the seven-figure mark during one of the final levels, when king-high proved enough to earn him the pot.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 1,760,000 | 88 |
| 2 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 1,560,000 | 78 |
| 3 | Jay O'leary | United Kingdom | 1,525,000 | 76 |
| 4 | Dmitrii Kravchenko | Ukraine | 1,495,000 | 75 |
| 5 | Gilles Simon | Netherlands | 1,490,000 | 75 |
| 6 | Merijn van Rooij | Netherlands | 1,355,000 | 68 |
| 7 | Oleg Silin | Russian Federation | 1,355,000 | 68 |
| 8 | Xiaosheng Zheng | China | 1,040,000 | 52 |
| 9 | Selahaddin Bedir | Turkey | 1,000,000 | 50 |
| 10 | Kenar | Turkey | 785,000 | 39 |
Margolin's closest rival was Joris Ruijs, who finished with 1,560,000, while Jay O'Leary rounded out the top three with 1,525,000. Dmitrii Kravchenko (1,495,000) and EPT Main Event champion Gilles Simon (1,490,000) completed the top five, with Merijn van Rooij and Oleg Silin both ending the night on 1,355,000.
The first flight of the highly anticipated Main Event got off to an explosive start, although not the one Ivan Zabiyakin had been hoping for. On the very first hand of the tournament, Zabiyakin flopped a straight against the top pair and flush draw of Andrei Mashinistov. The two got all 440 big blinds into the middle, only for Mashinistov to drill his flush on the turn to send Zabiyakin to the rail as the day's first casualty.
Shortly after the dinner break, Merit Poker champion Xiaosheng Zheng accumulated the bulk of his chips when his pocket jacks won the flip against the ace-king of Felipe Ketzer. This pot sent Ketzer to the rail and helped Zheng sit comfortably as the tournament neared its end.
Kravchenko found himself on the right side of a cooler toward the end of the night when he flopped a full house against the trip sevens of Christopher Rossos after five players saw the flop. A clean turn and river brought Rossos's tournament run to an end, while Kravchenko climbed the leaderboard as he looks to go one step further than his runner-up finish in the Merit Poker Cup just a few days ago.
Also advancing to Day 2 are Vitaly Kononenko (585,000), Cristinel Dumitru (475,000), Huseyin Akgul (450,000), and Andrei Mashinistov (325,000). Merit regular Konstantin Voronin (245,000) also made it through, along with Halil Tasyurek (210,000). At the opposite end of the chip counts sits Alexander Sokolovsky, who bagged just 40,000, good for two big blinds. The Serbian professional will need plenty of run good early on if he is to avoid becoming one of the first casualties when play resumes on Day 2.
The focus now shifts to Day 1b, which gets underway tomorrow at noon and follows the same structure as the opening flight, with players starting with 100,000 chips and playing 40-minute levels. The final two starting flights, Day 1c and Day 1d, take place on Tuesday, August 4, featuring 30-minute and 25-minute blind levels, respectively.
All surviving players from the four flights will then return for Day 2 on Wednesday, August 5, with every returning player guaranteed a place in the money. The official prize pool and payout information will be released shortly after play gets underway.
Remaining Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 3 | Day 1b | 12 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| August 4 | Day 1c | 12 p.m. | 30 minutes |
| August 4 | Day 1d | 6 p.m. | 20 minutes |
| August 5 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| August 6 | Final Day | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Stay tuned to PokerNews as Day 1b of the $5,500 Merit Poker Main Event gets underway, with live updates and all the action direct from the tournament floor.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
With the elimination of John Doe K and Ravid Garbi in quick succession, there was no need for hand-for-hand play, and the remaining 32 players have bagged up their chips and are all in the money.
Stay tuned for chip counts and full recap of the day's action.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Gerardo Ulloa raised to 40,000 from middle position, and Selahaddin Bedir defended from the big blind.
Bedir check-called a bet of 30,000 from Ulloa on the 7♠6♣K♣ flop before doing the same when the Q♦ joined the turn, this time for 120,000.
Both players checked the K♦ river, and Bedir took down the pot with K♥3♥ for trip kings.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Timur Margolin raised to 40,000 from early position, and Dimitri Chinis shoved for about 60,000 from the button. Merijn van Rooij made it 140,000 from the big blind, which got Margolin to fold.
Dimitri Chinis: K♥J♦ 
Merijn van Rooij: A♥K♦
Chinis was one of the shortest stacks remaining and needed to hit a jack on the runout to keep his chances of cashing alive.
Neither player improved on the 9♣2♥3♥8♠9♠ runout, and Van Rooij's ace-high held up, sending Chinis to the rail.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Level: 17
Blinds: 10,000/20,000
Ante: 20,000
Level 16
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
The 37 remaining players are going on a 15-minute break.
After another five eliminations, the remaining 32 players will bag up their chips and all be in the money.
Level 16
: Blinds 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante
Damir Gabdullin raised from middle position, with Dmitrii Kravchenko calling in the hijack, Andrei Mashinistov calling on the button, Christopher Rossos coming along from the small blind, and Artsiom Dzekhtsiarou defending his big blind.
Five players saw the 7♦5♦7♣ flop, where Gabdullin bet 40,000 when the action checked to him. Kravchenko and Mashinistov called before Rossos check-jammed for 416,000. Dzekhtsiarou and Gabdullin got out of the way, but Kravchenko called. Mashinistov folded, and the cards were tabled in a pot of more than a million.
Christopher Rossos: A♠7♠
Dmitrii Kravchenko: 5♠5♥
Rossos had trips with the best kicker, but he was trailing the flopped full house of Kravchenko.
Rossos had outs to a bigger full house, but they didn't arrive on the 6♣ turn or the K♠ river, making him the latest casualty of the Main Event.
