button in Safari
$5,500 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2026 NOIR Poker Series
$5,500 Main Event
Day: 1b
Players Left 113 / 769
Filter
Top
Chip Counts
Chip Counts
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Another busy day inside the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa saw 228 entries added to the field in the $5,500 Merit Poker Main Event at the Merit Poker Noir Series, as a mix of old and new players started their pursuit of a share of the $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
A second long day on the felt saw only 34 players manage to navigate their way into the money and secure a place on Day 2. With Day 1b now complete, the field stands at 444 entries, while 66 players have already booked their return for the second day of play. With the final two flights still to come, the tournament looks well on course to surpass its guarantee.
The man leading the way at the end of the night, and overall, was Russia's Dmitrii Nazarov, who bagged 2,025,000 after bursting the bubble in the biggest pot of the tournament so far. Nazarov found himself on the right side of a cooler against Hassan Nashar, sending the latter to the rail as the unfortunate bubble boy of the flight and becoming the first player to break the two million mark.
Day 1b 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 | Alexander Sokolovsky | Serbia | 1,500,000 | 75 |
| 4 | Or Suliman | Israel | 1,360,000 | 68 |
| 5 | Chengxu Hu | China | 1,170,000 | 59 |
| 6 | Ahmed Sylla | France | 950,000 | 48 |
| 7 | Natalia Nikitina | Russian Federation | 940,000 | 47 |
| 8 | Aleksandr Chernikov | Russian Federation | 880,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Martins Adeniya | United Kingdom | 870,000 | 44 |
| 10 | Sebastian Toro | Colombia | 840,000 | 42 |
Sitting just behind Nazarov in second is Aren Bezhanyan with 1,945,000. Bezhanyan spent much of the day occupying one of the top spots on the leaderboard, eliminating Tobias Peters, Wael Sarkis, and Stefan-Sebastian Ionita along the way. Aided by a handful of preflop races going his way, the Armenian finished the night just a few big blinds adrift of Nazarov.
One of the more intriguing stories of the day belonged to Alexander Sokolovsky. After scraping through Day 1a with the shortest stacks in the field and already locking up a cash, Sokolovsky returned for another shot in Day 1b and turned a fresh starting stack into 1,500,000, good for third place on the day. Only Sokolovsky knows whether he will take to the baize once again and attempt to pull off an unprecedented third, or perhaps even fourth, cash in the same event.
With 35 players remaining and just 34 places paid, all eyes were fixed on the table of Nashar and Nazarov. The two were at the center of the biggest pot of the tournament so far, and after using several time banks, Nashar called off his tournament with a rivered flush. Unfortunately for him, Nazarov had a full house, bringing play to an end for the day, sending the remaining players into the money and handing Nashar the unwanted title of Day 1b bubble boy.
Plenty of other familiar faces found a bag by the end of the night. Chengxu Hu (1,170,000) finished inside the top five, while Ahmed Sylla (950,000), Aleksandr Chernikov (880,000), Martins Adeniya (870,000), and Sebastian Toro (840,000) all turned their starting stacks into sizeable bags. Ali Al-Kubasi (790,000) and Dmytro Yevseienko (790,000) also progressed comfortably and will return with their sights firmly set on making a deep run.
Also making it through to Day 2 were Natalia Nikitina (940,000) and Yuxi Huang (780,000), the only two women to survive the flight. Merit Poker Cup fifth-place finisher Adrian State (665,000) also survived, while Patrick Brooks (505,000), recent High Roller fourth-place finisher Zorlu Er (370,000), and Dietrich Fast (360,000) all secured their spots in Day 2.
All eyes now turn to Tuesday, August 4, with the final two starting flights still to play. Day 1c gets underway at noon and will feature 30-minute levels, before players have one final opportunity to make it through during the turbo Day 1d flight, which kicks off at 6 p.m. with levels reduced to 25 minutes.
Remaining Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 4 | Day 1c | 12 p.m. | 30 minutes |
| August 4 | Day 1d | 6 p.m. | 25 minutes |
| August 5 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| August 6 | Final Day | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
PokerNews will continue to provide live coverage from the Merit Poker Noir Series, bringing you all the latest updates as the $5,500 Main Event continues to unfold.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
The remaining 34 players have bagged up their chips and will return for Day 2 all in the money.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Hassan Nashar raised from the hijack to 40,000, and only Dmitrii Nazarov called on the button.
Nashar fired a continuation-bet of around 50,000 on the 4♠9♣J♣ flop, which Nazarov called.
A second barrel of 75,000 came from Nashar on the 7♥ turn, and once again, Nazarov called.
The board-pairing 4♣ completed the runout, and Nashar bet for a third time, choosing an amount of 100,000. After giving it some thought, Nazarov shoved, putting Nashar in the blender for his remaining 700,000.
Nashar fell silent and started burning through his time banks as he pondered whether to call or fold.
With a huge crowd gathered around the table, Nashar finally picked up his cards and screamed, "Call!" as he slammed down K♣2♣ for a rivered flush.
The audience watched as Nazarov turned over J♥J♠ for a rivered full house to win the huge pot, send the remaining 34 players into the money, and move into the chip lead.
Nashar was gracious in defeat as the bubble boy, wishing the remaining players good luck before venturing into the night.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Sebastian Toro jammed from the button for 405,000, and Aren Bezhanyan called from the big blind.
Sebastian Toro: A♣Q♣ 
Aren Bezhanyan: A♠J♦
Toro found himself in a great spot with the bigger ace, and he avoided disaster on the 3♦5♥4♠8♠K♦ runout, earning himself a full double-up at the expense of Bezhanyan.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
With 35 players remaining and 34 spots in the money and on Day 2, the tournament has now entered the hand-for-hand stage.
During the first hand of this phase, there was some disruption at the table that prompted Ahmed Sylla to voice his opinion that alcohol should not be served during play.
Sylla's comments prompted Natalia Nikitina and Evgenii Chernyi, who are sitting at the same table as Sylla, to take a swig from glasses of wine.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
It was relayed to PokerNews that Stefan-Sebastian Ionita had four-bet jammed for around 850,000, with Aren Bezhanyan making the call in an attempt to bust him.
Stefan-Sebastian Ionita: 4x4x
Aren Bezhanyan: AxQx
It was a race on the soft bubble that Ionita was unable to win, as the board ran out Kx6x6xAxQx, bringing his tournament run to an end on the soft bubble.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Dmitrii Nazarov raised from under the gun, and Hassan Nashar called from the small blind.
Both players checked the 2♠J♥3♣K♦Q♥ runout all the way down. Nazarov made Nashar show first, and Nashar tabled 7♣2♣ for a pair of deuces. Nazarov then turned over A♦A♣ for an overpair to the board.
After the hand, Nashar spent quite a while staring into the soul of Nazarov.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Aleksandr Chernikov jammed from the cutoff with a stack that covered the players behind him. Kemal Aslan made the call from the small blind for his remaining 225,000.
Kemal Aslan: A♥K♥
Aleksandr Chernikov: 10♥8♥
With just two spots remaining before the money and Day 2, Aslan needed his big slick to hold to give himself a good chance of advancing.
He found a promising flop in the form of K♣7♣4♣, which gave him top pair.
Chernikov was drawing dead after the 4♦ turn, as the K♦ river improved Aslan to an unnecessary full house, and he doubled through Chernikov.
