$5,300 High Roller
Day 3 Started
2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$5,300
Entries
187
Level
31
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
28
Players Left
1
28 Players Return For Day 3 of Event #13: $5,300 High Roller
Event #13: $5,300 High Roller at the Merit Poker Carmen Series will conclude today as 28 players from an initial field of 187 return for the third and final day. They will all be battling for a portion of the $860,200 prizepool as none have yet locked up a return on their investment. With 23 places getting paid, when the players retake their seats at 2 p.m. local time at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, soft bubble play will come into effect straight away.
Ryan Mandara of the United Kingdom comes into the day as the chipleader, sitting on 1,950,000. Mandara has total career earnings of $847,570 with his best live cash of $308,953 coming back in 2018 when he triumphed in the Irish Open Main Event. Although he will not be able to surpass that mark today, that will likely not been on his mind were he to win the event for $204,700.
Anton Ionel of Romania sits second in chips with 1,605,000 while Fahredin Mustafov rounds out the top three on 1,500,000.
Merit Poker Merit Series $5,300 High Roller Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Mandara | 1,950,000 | 78 |
| 2 | Anton Ionel | 1,605,000 | 64 |
| 3 | Fahredin Mustafov | 1,500,000 | 60 |
| 4 | Aliaksandr Hirs | 1,490,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Mihai Niste | 1,465,000 | 59 |
| 6 | Stefan Huber | 895,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Lev Kydatov | 855,000 | 34 |
| 8 | Dmitry Gromov | 840,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Egor Romaniuk | 720,000 | 29 |
| 10 | Alexandru Papazian | 715,000 | 29 |
Although the blind levels have been 40-minutes in length throughout the tournament, with play slowing down towards the end of Day 2, the average stack is now quite shallow, sitting below the 30 big blind mark. That should make for a fairly fast pace of play on the final day.
Short stacks coming into the day include Event #2: $2,200 NL Warmup winner Arie Kliper (195,000), Danielle Noja (250,000) and Iacopo Brandi (258,000), each of whom will first face the task of making it into the money before attempting to make a run towards the final table.
Play resumes at the start of Level 21, with blinds at 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante. Be sure to stay tuned as the Pokernews live reporting team continues to provide updates through to the conclusion of Event #13: $5,300 High Roller.
Suffle Up and Deal!
Cards are in the air on Day 3 of Event #13: $5,300 High Roller.
Reporting On Delay
Since today's event is on a live stream, all Pokernews updates will be posted on a one hour delay to line up with the stream.
Level: 21
Blinds: 10,000/25,000
Ante: 25,000
Mandara Fells Fellow Brit
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Ryan Mandara opened to 50,000 from early position before Andrew Hulme moved all in for his last 335,000 from the cutoff. Action folded back around to Mandara who quickly called with the covering stack.
Andrew Hulme: 
Ryan Mandara: 
Hulme was in rough shape and was all but out following the 
flop. The 
turn confirmed that fact before the 
river completed the board to keep Mandara on the rise while sending Hulme home painfully close to the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,400,000 | 450,000 |
|
Busted |
Hirs Sends Iskandarov Packing
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Picking up the action partway through the hand, Rushad Iskandarov on the button found himself all in and at risk against Aliaksandr Hirs.
Rushad Iskandarov: 
Aliaksandr Hirs: 
Iskandarov did have two live cards and managed to pair up on the 
flop to take the lead. The 
turn, however, improved Hirs to broadway, rendering the 
river inconsequential as Iskandarov made his way to the exits.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,750,000 | 260,000 |
|
Busted |
Hand For Hand Play Commences
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
With just 24 players remaining and 23 getting paid, hand-for-hand play has begun.
Alexandru Papazian Eliminated On Bubble
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Alexandru Papazian had just 70,000 behind before opening to 60,000 from under the gun with 
. Carlos Aoun woke up with in the hijack and he three-bet to 120,000. The remaining players got out of the way to send the action back to Papazian who tossed his remaining 10,000 into the middle.
Alexandru Papazian:
Carlos Aoun:
Papazian was in terrible shape and needed significant help to survive. The 
flop brought no help with nothing changing on the turn or 
river to send him out of the tournament on the pure bubble. All remaining players have locked up at least $8,100.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,300,000 | 715,000 |
|
Busted |
Danielle Noja Eliminated in 23rd Place ($8,100)
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Danielle Noja in the small blind found himself all in and at risk against Aliaksandr Hirs in middle position.
Danielle Noja: 
Aliaksandr Hirs:
Hirs looked set to score a second knockout in quick succession and that is exactly what happened after the board ran out 
to send Noja to the payout desk in 23rd place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,400,000 | 650,000 |
|
Busted |