Ryan Mandara Leads Field in Event #13: $5,300 High Roller
After 12 levels of play on Day 2 of Event #13: $5,300 High Roller at the Merit Poker Carmen Series hosted by the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, just 28 players remain from an initial field of 187. Leading those 28 players is Ryan Mandara with a whopping 1,950,000. That places him well ahead of his nearest competitor, Anton Ionel, who was able to bag a still impressive 1,605,000. Fahredin Mustafov rounds out the top three with 1,500,000.
At the start of the day, 71 players returned from a Day 1 field of 110 but with late registration open for a further four levels, the total number of entries was set to rise. And rise it did as 77 additional players ponied up the buyin on Day 2 before the conclusion of Level 12 and the end of late registration.
Merit Poker Western 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 |
Once late registration did close, the total prizepool was confirmed at $860,200, absolutely obliterating the guarantee of $250,000. That money will be split amongst the top 23 finishers but, with the field just five eliminations away from the money, the tournament director announced that play would be halted for the day. As a result, nobody currently has a return on their investment locked up with the soft bubble set to come into effect from the very start of Day 3.
Still, with only 28 players left, aside from the $8,100 minimum cash, most who retake their seat tomorrow will surely have one eye on the sizable first place prize of $204,700. In addition, those who make it to the final five will also receive a free entry into Event #19: $3,300 Main Event as part of an ongoing promotion being put on during the series that sees added value for tournament players.
Day 3 resumes at 2 p.m, Tuesday March 28th at the start of Level 13 with blinds of 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante at which point the remaining players will be whittled down to a winner. Be sure to stay tuned to Pokernews as its live reporting team continues to provide updates of Event #13: $5,300 High Roller.
flop changed little with the 
turn confirming the at risk player's elimination prior to the inconsequential 
river. As Iskandarov raked in his newly acquired chips, several players at the table exchanged puzzled glances. Whether this was linked to the cutoff player's shove or not can only be inferred.
flop and the three-bettor continued for 16,000. After some thought, Daher decided to respond with a raise to 35,000. Nouira just called to keep action heads-up to the turn. 
turn saw Daher once again take some time before announcing he was all in. Nouira could barely get the chips in fast enough with the covering stack to put Daher at risk. 
river to send him crashing out of the tournament well short of the money. Nouira, meanwhile, has vaulted to the upper echelons of the leaderboard courtesy of his ladies.
flop and then called a continuation of 7,500. 
prompting Kliper to check for a second time. The button was in no mood to slow down, instead firing off 15,000. That second barrel could not force Kliper off of his holding as he made the call to send the action to the river. 
for top pair with a busted flush draw. The button player could only show 
for a complete bluff to hand Kliper a near full double and keep the Israeli player's heater going.
