Nethanel Klein was all-in and at risk, as he was called by Karwan Hasan.
Nethanel Klein: 
Karwan Hasan: 
The board ran out 
for Hasan to flop top pair to claim the first elimination of the day to his name.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,150,000 | 158,000 |
|
Busted |
The tournament director has welcomed the players back and instructed the dealers to shuffle up and deal with the button in Seat 6.
Level: 15
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 8,000
Day 3 of the Merit Poker Classic $5,300 Main Event is here and 149 players will be returning to the tables at noon local time to battle it out against each other to reach the money stages. Seventy-one players will cash for at least $9,270 and the winner will walk away on Sunday, May 12, with $565,157 and the trophy. There were 649 entries collected over the five starting flights and the first four levels of Day 2 which created a total prize pool of $2,990,267 and all remaining players will have their sights sets on claiming their share of it.
Currently Sergey Baburin is sitting at the top of the chip counts with 1,573,000 in chips which is almost 200 big blinds when the cards go in the air again. He’s sharing the table with Anatoly Suvorov, Tobias Duthweiler, Steven van Zadelhoff, Maria Lampropulos, Vanush Mnatsakyan, Milad Oghabian, Tarek Yassine, and Dmitry Gromov.
Placed second in the chip counts is an anonymous player who is now called ”John Two” who bagged 1,299,000 at the end of Day 2. He’s on the same table as players like the Day 1c chip leader Anton Morgenstern, Jeff Hakim, and Lachezar Petkov. Third on the podium to start the day is Cyprus’ own Andreas Christoforou who placed 1,175,000 in a bag. He’s starting the day with players like Georgios Sotiropoulos, Aristeidis Moschonas, Oliver Ruesing, and Andrey Pateychuk who won the last Main Event here which carried a $5,300 price tag.
When players return, they will play Level 15 which features a small blind of 4,000, big blind of 8,000, and a big blind ante of 8,000. Six levels of 75 minutes each are scheduled with a 10-minute break after every two levels.
Day 3 Structure
| Level | Duration | Small Blind | Big Blind | BB Ante |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 75 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| 16 | 75 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Break | 10 | |||
| 17 | 75 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| 18 | 75 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 |
| Break | 10 | |||
| 19 | 75 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| 20 | 75 | 12,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 |
Follow all the updates by the PokerNews live reporting team to see who will be able to go to the payout desk to collect a cash and who will make it through to Day 4.
2019 Merit Poker Classic $5,300 Main Event Schedule
| Day | Date | Starting Time | Late Reg | Entries | Survivors | Further Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | Monday May 6th | 12:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 93 | 43 | Play 8 Levels of 60 minutes |
| 1b | Tuesday May 7th | 12:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 161 | 80 | Play 8 Levels of 60 minutes |
| 1c | Wednesday May 8th | 12:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 202 | 96 | Play 8 Levels of 60 minutes |
| 1d | Wednesday May 8th | 21:30 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 35 | 19 | Play 8 Levels of 30 minutes |
| 1e | Thursday May 9th | 10:00 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 17 | 11 | Play 8 Levels of 20 minutes |
| 2 | Thursday May 9th | 13:30 | Thursday May 9, ~19:00 | 508 | 249 | Play 6 Levels of 75 minutes |
| 3 | Friday May 10th | 12:00 | Closed | 649 | 149 | Play 6 Levels of 75 minutes |
| 4 | Saturday May 11th | 12:00 | Closed | - | - | TBD |
| 5 | Sunday May 12th | 12:00 | Closed | - | - | Play down to a winner |
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Vytautas Milbutas | Lithuania | 287,000 | 36 |
| 1 | 2 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 580,000 | 73 |
| 1 | 3 | Mustafa Biz | Turkey | 845,000 | 106 |
| 1 | 4 | Kristen Bicknell | United Kingdom | 317,000 | 40 |
| 1 | 5 | Han Yong Kuo | Germany | 164,000 | 21 |
| 1 | 6 | Uri Reichenstein | Israel | 506,500 | 63 |
| 1 | 7 | Elvin Sarkarov | Azerbaijan | 756,000 | 95 |
| 1 | 8 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | 192,000 | 24 |
| 1 | 9 | Maroun Jazzar | Lebanon | 305,500 | 38 |
| 2 | 1 | Shahar Levi | Israel | 1,134,500 | 142 |
| 2 | 2 | Abdelhakim Zoufri | Netherlands | 164,000 | 21 |
| 2 | 3 | Vlada Stojanovic | Serbia | 668,000 | 84 |
| 2 | 4 | Andrei Razov | Russia | 417,500 | 52 |
| 2 | 5 | Pavel Kovalenko | Russia | 761,000 | 95 |
| 2 | 6 | Vlad Darie | Romania | 940,000 | 118 |
| 2 | 7 | Miguel Iglesias | Spain | 92,000 | 12 |
| 2 | 8 | Nejat Erman | Turkey | 265,000 | 33 |
| 2 | 9 | Nikita Bochkin | Russia | 500,000 | 63 |
| 3 | 1 | Ran Azor | Israel | 706,500 | 88 |
| 3 | 2 | Alexander Lakhov | Russia | 129,500 | 16 |
| 3 | 3 | Aleksandras Voisnis | Lithuania | 727,500 | 91 |
| 3 | 4 | Pavel Plesuv | Moldova | 1,066,500 | 133 |
| 3 | 5 | Denys Chufarin | Ukraine | 758,500 | 95 |
| 3 | 6 | Slaven Popov | Bulgaria | 161,000 | 20 |
| 3 | 7 | Assad Ramin | Afghanistan | 265,000 | 33 |
| 3 | 8 | Sergey Fedyaev | Russia | 292,000 | 37 |
| 3 | 9 | Arnas Dzedulionis | Lithuania | 547,000 | 68 |
| 4 | 1 | Andreas Christoforou | Cyprus | 1,175,000 | 147 |
| 4 | 2 | Dori Yacoub | Lebanon | 344,000 | 43 |
| 4 | 3 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | Cyprus | 404,000 | 51 |
| 4 | 4 | Mikhail Galitskiy | Russia | 321,000 | 40 |
| 4 | 5 | Vladimir Komissarov | Russia | 145,000 | 18 |
| 4 | 6 | Aristeidis Moschonas | Greece | 99,000 | 12 |
| 4 | 7 | Alain Zeidan | Lebanon | 560,000 | 70 |
| 4 | 8 | Oliver Ruesing | Germany | 473,500 | 59 |
| 4 | 9 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | 308,500 | 39 |
| 5 | 1 | Elie Farah | Lebanon | 759,500 | 95 |
| 5 | 2 | Orhan Ates | Turkey | 253,500 | 32 |
| 5 | 3 | Ashkan Fattahi | Iran | 586,500 | 73 |
| 5 | 4 | Golam Lakkhosravi | Iran | 900,000 | 113 |
| 5 | 5 | Dimitrios Farmakoulis | Greece | 577,000 | 72 |
| 5 | 6 | Edgard Raffoul | Lebanon | 266,000 | 33 |
| 5 | 7 | Przemyslaw Piotrowski | Poland | 205,000 | 26 |
| 5 | 8 | Joey Weissman | United States | 237,500 | 30 |
| 5 | 9 | Ben Farrell | United Kingdom | 716,000 | 90 |
| 6 | 1 | James Romero | United States | 580,000 | 73 |
| 6 | 2 | John Six | Romania | 778,500 | 97 |
| 6 | 3 | Nikolay Fal | Russia | 240,000 | 30 |
| 6 | 4 | Shaul Meir | Israel | 1,006,000 | 126 |
| 6 | 5 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | 688,000 | 86 |
| 6 | 6 | Timur Khamidullin | Russia | 560,000 | 70 |
| 6 | 7 | Aleksandr Kopasov | Russia | 283,000 | 35 |
| 6 | 8 | Hasan Dogan | Turkey | 245,500 | 31 |
| 6 | 9 | Maxim Lykov | Russia | 160,000 | 20 |
| 7 | 1 | Arnaud Enselme | France | 385,500 | 48 |
| 7 | 2 | Daniil Kiselev | Russia | 749,500 | 94 |
| 7 | 3 | Kenny Hallaert | Belgium | 116,500 | 15 |
| 7 | 4 | Andrey Kaygorodtsev | Russia | 234,000 | 29 |
| 7 | 5 | Charbel Salloum | Lebanon | 792,000 | 99 |
| 7 | 6 | Hadi Khordbin | Iran | 456,500 | 57 |
| 7 | 7 | [Removed:61] | United States | 896,500 | 112 |
| 7 | 8 | Kacper Pyzara | Poland | 549,500 | 69 |
| 7 | 9 | Denis Timofeev | Russia | 440,000 | 55 |
| 8 | 1 | Mehmet Kolgu | Turkey | 854,500 | 107 |
| 8 | 2 | Omer Cubukcu | Turkey | 232,500 | 29 |
| 8 | 3 | Aneris Adomkevicius | Lithuania | 151,000 | 19 |
| 8 | 4 | Nikita Kalinin | Russia | 369,500 | 46 |
| 8 | 5 | Joseph Sabe | Lebanon | 345,000 | 43 |
| 8 | 6 | Daniel Braude | Israel | 273,000 | 34 |
| 8 | 7 | Florian Duta | Romania | 866,000 | 108 |
| 8 | 8 | Ray Sumon | Iran | 287,000 | 36 |
| 8 | 9 | Georges Hanna | Lebanon | 264,000 | 33 |
| 9 | 1 | Maksim Bukreev | Russia | 212,500 | 27 |
| 9 | 2 | Hady El Asmar | Lebanon | 485,000 | 61 |
| 9 | 3 | Ran Ilani | Israel | 203,000 | 25 |
| 9 | 4 | Joseph Succar | Lebanon | 190,000 | 24 |
| 9 | 5 | Basil Yaiche | France | 619,000 | 77 |
| 9 | 6 | Garik Tamasyan | Russia | 480,500 | 60 |
| 9 | 7 | Aleksandr Merzhvinskiy | Russia | 426,000 | 53 |
| 9 | 8 | John Three | Israel | 889,000 | 111 |
| 9 | 9 | Ulan Dzholdoshbekov | Russia | 594,000 | 74 |
| 10 | 1 | Freek Scholten | Denmark | 627,000 | 78 |
| 10 | 2 | Muhtar Taysi | Turkey | 153,000 | 19 |
| 10 | 3 | Christian Rudolph | Germany | 236,000 | 30 |
| 10 | 4 | Jacek Ladny | Poland | 327,000 | 41 |
| 10 | 5 | Selahaddin Bedir | Turkey | 506,000 | 63 |
| 10 | 6 | Demosthenes Kiriopoulos | Greece | 601,000 | 75 |
| 10 | 7 | Vicent Bosca | Spain | 209,000 | 26 |
| 10 | 8 | Algirdas Saveikis | Lithuania | 154,000 | 19 |
| 10 | 9 | Stephen Woodhead | Ireland | 293,000 | 37 |
| 11 | 1 | Anatoly Suvorov | Russia | 700,000 | 88 |
| 11 | 2 | Tobias Duthweiler | Germany | 412,500 | 52 |
| 11 | 3 | Sergey Baburin | Russia | 1,573,000 | 197 |
| 11 | 4 | Steven van Zadelhoff | Netherlands | 92,500 | 12 |
| 11 | 5 | Maria Lampropulos | United Kingdom | 184,000 | 23 |
| 11 | 6 | Vanush Mnatsakyan | Russia | 549,000 | 69 |
| 11 | 7 | Milad Oghabian | Iran | 248,500 | 31 |
| 11 | 8 | Tarek Yassine | Lebanon | 276,500 | 35 |
| 11 | 9 | Dmitry Gromov | Russia | 523,500 | 65 |
| 12 | 1 | Saar Wilf | Israel | 369,000 | 46 |
| 12 | 2 | Stoyan Obreshkov | Bulgaria | 172,000 | 22 |
| 12 | 3 | Jahanpour Amirsoleimani | Iran | 289,000 | 36 |
| 12 | 4 | Giorgii Skhulukhiya | Russia | 167,000 | 21 |
| 12 | 5 | Ramzi Karam | Lebanon | 97,500 | 12 |
| 12 | 6 | Bassel Alanaz | Lebanon | 577,000 | 72 |
| 12 | 7 | Paul Newey | United Kingdom | 498,000 | 62 |
| 12 | 8 | Dimitar Danchev | Bulgaria | 161,000 | 20 |
| 12 | 9 | Igor Ovcharenko | Russia | 336,000 | 42 |
| 13 | 1 | Moshe Refaelowitz | Israel | 285,000 | 36 |
| 13 | 2 | Basem Abudavas | Kuwait | 306,000 | 38 |
| 13 | 3 | Santtu Leinonen | Finland | 307,000 | 38 |
| 13 | 4 | John Two | Netherlands | 1,299,000 | 162 |
| 13 | 5 | Anton Morgenstern | Germany | 360,000 | 45 |
| 13 | 6 | Naji Tanuri | Lebanon | 344,000 | 43 |
| 13 | 7 | Jeff Hakim | Lebanon | 516,500 | 65 |
| 13 | 8 | Lachezar Petkov | Slovenia | 212,000 | 27 |
| 13 | 9 | Aleksandar Trajkovski | Macedonia | 94,000 | 12 |
| 14 | 1 | Albert Daher | Lebanon | 432,500 | 54 |
| 14 | 2 | Etiennne Fortin | France | 176,000 | 22 |
| 14 | 3 | Dragos Trofimov | Moldova | 814,000 | 102 |
| 14 | 4 | Ryan Riess | United States | 369,000 | 46 |
| 14 | 5 | Ori Miler | Israel | 108,000 | 14 |
| 14 | 6 | Igor Devkin | Russia | 144,500 | 18 |
| 14 | 7 | Andrei Boghean | Romania | 527,000 | 66 |
| 14 | 8 | Markus Prinz | Germany | 350,000 | 44 |
| 15 | 1 | Nariman Yaghmai | Iran | 706,500 | 88 |
| 15 | 2 | Qushqar Morad | Afghanistan | 285,000 | 36 |
| 15 | 3 | Imad Saab | Lebanon | 393,000 | 49 |
| 15 | 4 | Ugur Secilmis | Turkey | 221,000 | 28 |
| 15 | 5 | Levan Karamanishvili | Georgia | 327,000 | 41 |
| 15 | 6 | Bartlomiej Machon | United Kingdom | 139,000 | 17 |
| 15 | 7 | Haghgou Seyedahmad | Iran | 64,500 | 8 |
| 15 | 8 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russia | 490,500 | 61 |
| 16 | 1 | Manig Loeser | Germany | 574,000 | 72 |
| 16 | 2 | Fady Kamar | Lebanon | 419,500 | 52 |
| 16 | 3 | Amir Touma | Lebanon | 310,000 | 39 |
| 16 | 4 | Kiryl Radzivonau | Belarus | 450,000 | 56 |
| 16 | 5 | John Five | Lebanon | 137,000 | 17 |
| 16 | 6 | Karwan Hasan | Iraq | 992,000 | 124 |
| 16 | 7 | Anatoly Filatov | Russia | 93,000 | 12 |
| 16 | 8 | Nethanel Klein | Israel | 161,500 | 20 |
| 17 | 1 | Ahmed Abdella | United Arab Emirates | 346,000 | 43 |
| 17 | 2 | Ludovic Geilich | Germany | 399,000 | 50 |
| 17 | 3 | Aleksei Istomin | Russia | 67,000 | 8 |
| 17 | 4 | Christian Bauer | Germany | 774,000 | 97 |
| 17 | 5 | Alexandru Papazian | Romania | 561,000 | 70 |
| 17 | 6 | John Four | Lithuania | 532,000 | 67 |
| 17 | 7 | Joep Raemaekers | Netherlands Antillies | 165,000 | 21 |
| 17 | 8 | Pavel Yakobson | Russia | 413,500 | 52 |
Main Event
Day 3 Started
