Late Night Set Over Set Propels Vitalii Pankov to the Top of the Day 1b Leaderboard at the Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event
Vitalii Pankov waited until nearly the last moment to make his big jump up the leaderboard on Day 1b of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event.
In the last level of the day, Pankov eliminated Georges Hanna in a set-over-set cooler to win a more than 300,000-chip pot. That massive pot allowed Pankov to finish atop the Day 1b chip counts with 585,000.
Right behind him is Ran Koller, who was the beneficiary of his own cooler late in the night. Koller had trip aces with a king-kicker, knocking out Florian Duta who only had a nine-kicker. Koller ended up with 558,500. Other big stacks include Maxime Chilaud (522,000), Eduard Barsegian (398,500), who’s already made two final table runs so far this series, Selahaddin Bedir (386,000), and Alexandru Papazian (332,000).
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitalii Pankov | 585,000 | 234 |
| 2 | Andrei Kaigorodtcev | 558,500 | 223 |
| 3 | Ran Koller | 558,500 | 223 |
| 4 | Maxime Chilaud | 522,000 | 209 |
| 5 | Toni Kaukua | 504,000 | 202 |
| 6 | Asaf Groofi | 400,000 | 160 |
| 7 | Eduard Barsegian | 398,500 | 159 |
| 8 | Selahaddin Bedir | 386,000 | 154 |
| 9 | Seref Dursun Anar | 367,000 | 147 |
| 10 | Naji Tanuri | 363,500 | 145 |
Further down the leaderboard are Mihai Niste (246,500), Warmup champion Arie Kliper (235,500), and Fahredin Mustafov (213,000). Gabi Livshitz ended the night with only 76,000 (and a lot of pain, as he wrote on his chip bag). Joining Hanna and Duta on the rail were Warmup fourth-place finisher Julien Loire, UFC veteran Terence Etim, and Jason Wheeler.
A total of 218 players joined the field on Day 1b, bringing the number of entries through two starting flights to 450. Just 108 remain, joining the 106 from yesterday’s opening flight into Day 2 on March 31. There are still two more starting flights: Day 1c tomorrow at noon local time, and a turbo Day 1d at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.
Players can also still register through the end of Level 13 on Day 2. And, with unlimited reentries allowed, the Main Event field is surely going to get more massive until registration closes.
Stay tuned as PokerNews follows the action the rest of the way here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus.
, Georges Hanna bet 23,000 from under the gun, then called for his last 160,000 when big blind Vitalii Pankov put him all in.
and 
came on the turn and river to seal his fate.
, Ran Koller bet enough from the button to put small blind Florian Duta all in.
for trip aces and Duta tossed his 
into the muck before making his exit in the last level of the night.
river. Kaukua paused for around a minute before he moved all in for 120,500.
for a flush and Abakirov tried to muck his cards before the table reminded the dealer he was forced to show.
for two pair. The button was forced to reveal his 
and was called by Evgenii Katymaev on the button.
and Farah bet another 11,000. Katymaev this time raised to 34,000, and Farah quickly called to the 
and Papazian slowed down and checked. Gavrilovich sat still for about a minute as the normally rambunctious table, featuring Naji Tanuri and Ionel Anton, fell silent.
