$3,300 Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$3,300 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$2,111,400
Entries
765
Level
36
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Entries
142
Players Left
19
Chilaud Back on Top, Barsegian Chasing Third Final Table as 19 Remain After Day 3 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
After ten hour-long levels, one money bubble bursting, and dozens of long walks to the payout desk, Day 3 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event ended the same way it began: Maxime Chilaud being the one pacing the field.
Chilaud, who began the day as chip leader, ensured he finished it that way when he busted Uri Reichenstein in a more than 6,000,000-chip pot, calling with jacks on the turn as Reichenstein couldn’t hit his flush draw on the river. Chilaud also flopped a set to bust Alisa Sibgatova in 27th place on his way to bagging 10,475,000.
Behind him is Fausto Tantillo, who went on a late flurry of eliminations to finish with 8,950,000. But the man writing an incredible story here by the shores of the Mediterranean in North Cyprus is Eduard Barsegian. Barsegian hit a flush to eliminate Oleg Tsoy in 25th place, then picked up queens to take out Andrew Gray in 22nd. Barsegian ended up in fourth place with 6,280,000 as he looks to make his third straight final table at the festival following two fifth-place finishes in the Warmup and High Roller.
Day 3 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxime Chilaud | 10,475,000 | 87 |
| 2 | Fausto Tantillo | 8,950,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Simeon Spasov | 7,540,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Eduard Barsegian | 6,280,000 | 52 |
| 5 | Walter Treccarichi | 5,740,000 | 48 |
| 6 | Michael Magalashvili | 3,855,000 | 32 |
| 7 | Boris Smuskevicius | 3,735,000 | 31 |
| 8 | Denis Kapustin | 3,615,000 | 30 |
| 9 | Yuksel Savsa | 3,295,000 | 27 |
| 10 | Maroun Jazzar | 3,050,000 | 25 |
| 11 | Atanas Pavlov | 3,025,000 | 25 |
| 12 | Roman Kolotiuk | 2,280,000 | 19 |
| 13 | Azamat Tulepbergenov | 2,250,000 | 19 |
| 14 | Nariman Yaghmai | 2,150,000 | 18 |
| 15 | Andrei Kaigorodtcev | 2,130,000 | 18 |
| 16 | Davut Aydemir | 2,095,000 | 17 |
| 17 | Yossi Eluz | 2,050,000 | 17 |
| 18 | Joseph Mouwad | 1,925,000 | 16 |
| 19 | Navid Samavati | 1,760,000 | 15 |
Simeon Spasov (7,540,000) and Walter Treccarichi (5,740,000) round out the top five on the chip count leaderboard among the 19 players who will play for the title tomorrow. Further down the list are Michael Magalashvili (3,855,000), who built up his own incredible chip lead at one point during the day, Denis Kapustin (3,615,000), and Atanas Pavlov (3,025,000). Having an Aydemir this deep in a Merit Poker event is nothing new, but it’s usually Recep making the run to the final table. This time, it’s his son Davut who’s following in his father’s footsteps as he bagged up 2,095,000 on Day 3.
Day 3 began with 142 players remaining, with the first order of business getting to the money bubble. Koray Korkmaz, Day 1b chip leader Vitalii Pankov, and Alexandru Papazian would all fall short of the money before Saar Wilf was knocked out in the unenviable position of bubble boy. From there, Boris Angelov (83rd), Day 1 chip leader Roman Gadzhiev (70th), Philippe Souki (68th), Warmup champion Arie Kliper (59th), Jack Sinclair (43rd), and former UFC fighter Terence Etim (36th) would make the long, slow walk to collect their money.
Play resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time and continue until a champion is crowned. Blinds will pick up on Level 29 at 60,000-120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. The feature table action will be streamed on a delay on Merit Poker’s YouTube and Facebook channels.
The poker world descended on this glittering seaside paradise 11 days ago for the start of the festival. There is just one more day to go until a new player gets to take home the Merit Poker trophy and $376,800 top prize. PokerNews will be bringing you all the action from tomorrow’s play right until the moment the trophy is hoisted in the air.
End-of-Day Chip Counts
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
10,475,000 | -825,000 |
|
8,950,000 | 450,000 |
|
7,540,000 | 240,000 |
|
6,280,000 | -320,000 |
|
5,740,000 | 1,340,000 |
|
3,855,000 | 155,000 |
|
3,735,000 | 2,035,000 |
|
3,615,000 | 965,000 |
|
3,295,000 | -105,000 |
|
3,050,000 | 750,000 |
|
3,025,000 | -160,000 |
|
2,280,000 | -320,000 |
|
2,250,000 | 350,000 |
|
2,150,000 | -450,000 |
|
2,130,000 | -670,000 |
|
2,095,000 | 295,000 |
|
2,050,000 | -150,000 |
|
1,925,000 | -375,000 |
|
1,760,000 | -1,040,000 |
Volodymyr Drokin Eliminated in 20th Place ($17,070)
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Volodymyr Drokin moved all in for 1,020,000 from the hijack as action folded around to Fausto Tantillo in the small blind, who looked down at his cards and called to put Drokin at risk.
Volodymyr Drokin: 
Fausto Tantillo: 
It was a classic race situation, and Tantillo would come out on top as the board ran out 
, sending Drokin to the rail just before the end of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,500,000 | 1,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Three More Hands
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Tournament officials have announced that players will see three more hands before bagging up for the night.
Dmitry Gromov Eliminated in 21st Place ($17,070)
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Simeon Spasov opened to 200,000 from under the gun before Dmitry Gromov three-bet to 600,000 on the button. The blinds got out of the way to send the action back to Spasov who, after some time, moved all in. Gromov snapped it off to put himself at risk late in the day.
Dmitry Gromov: 
Simeon Spasov: 
Gromov was in excellent position to end the day on a high, that is until the flop came 
. The 
turn and 
river changed nothing and an understandably frustrated Gromov threw his cards into the middle as he made his exit.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,300,000 | 1,100,000 |
|
Busted |
Andrew Gray Eliminated in 22nd Place ($15,195)
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Andrew Gray moved all in for 510,000 from middle position and was called by Maxime Chilaud in the cutoff. Eduard Barsegian then three-bet to 1,500,000 out of the small blind, getting folds from the big blind and Chilaud.
Andrew Gray: 
Eduard Barsegian: 
Gray was not in great shape and could not come from behind on a board of 
to bring his tournament to a close in 22nd place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,600,000 | 1,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Mehmet Berk Deniz Eliminated in 23rd Place ($15,195)
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Action folded to Fausto Tantillo in the small blind who raised enough to put Mehmet Berk Deniz all in. Deniz called 1,700,000.
Mehmet Berk Deniz: 
Fausto Tantillo: 
Tantillo again began filming the action as he spiked two pair on the 
flop to take the lead. Deniz picked up a flush draw on the turn but missed the river as he hit the rail in 23rd place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,500,000 | 4,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Mehmet Erceylan Eliminated in 24th Place ($15,195)
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Mehmet Erceylan moved his last 350,000 into the middle from the cutoff and was looked up by Simeon Spasov in the small blind.
Mehmet Erceylan:
Simeon Spasov: 
Erceylan would need to outflip Spasov to survive but could not get lucky as the board ran out 
to send him to the payout desk in 24th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,200,000 | 300,000 |
|
Busted |
Fives Are Good For Savsa
Level 28
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Michael Magalashvili raised to 200,000 from early position and both Yuksel Savsa and Navid Samavati called in the blinds.
All three players checked the 
flop before Savsa led out for 220,000 on the 
turn. Samavati then raised to 575,000 and Magalashvili got out of the way.
Savsa, though, called to the river and both players checked. Savsa turned over 
to win the pot.
"If you raise I fold," Savsa told Samavati as he playfully began jabbing him on the shoulder before taking in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,700,000 | -185,000 |
|
|
3,400,000 | 1,715,000 |
|
|
2,800,000 | -1,000,000 |