$10,400 GG Million$ ($5M GTD) Day 1a | 2025 Onyx Super High Roller Series

Aug 09, 2025

Lonis Involved in a Three-Way All-in

Tim Baker

Level 10 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

The hijack raised to 8,000 before Jesse Lonis three-bet to 25,000 from the cutoff. Rene Majed cold four-bet to 65,000 out of the small blind, and the hijack shoved for 87,000. Lonis moved in over the top for 145,000, and Majed made the call to put both players at risk.

Hijack: J♠J♦ All in
Jesse Lonis: A♣K♣ All in
Rene Majed: A♥Q♠

Majed needed to find a queen to bust both players, but the 4♥2♥7♦8♠3♦ runout was safe for the hijack, and he tripled up. Lonis stayed in the event, as he won the side pot with ace-king high.

Tags: Jesse Lonis Rene Majed

Aug 09, 2025

Romanello Doubles Through Oganyan

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Tim Baker

Level 10 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Aram Oganyan made it 8,000 to go from middle position and Roberto Romanello jammed for 84,5000 from the blinds. Oganyan thought about it for a while before making the call to put Romanello at risk.

Roberto Romanello: A♥K♥ All in
Aram Oganyan: A♦10♠

Romanello had Oganyan crushed and looked poised to double up. The runout of J♦6♣5♠9♥6♠ was clean for Romanello, and he stayed alive in the event.

Tags: Aram Oganyan Roberto Romanello

Aug 09, 2025

Flashback: Boris Kolev Dominates 2025 Merit Millions Final Table

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Tim Baker

Level 10 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Back in April, the inaugural $10,400 Merit Millions Event saw Boris Kolev rising above a talented field of 212 entries to become the first-ever champion. Held inside the stunning Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, the unique event ended with Kolev capturing the coveted title and the massive $1,000,000 guaranteed top prize.

Kolev, who began the final table third in chips, put on a clinical display to systematically dismantle his opponents on the way to victory. In doing so, he became the first player in Merit Poker history to walk away with a seven-figure payday. The Bulgarian pro made quick work of Mehdi Chaoui in a brief heads-up battle to seal the title and etch his name in the record books.

2025 Merit Million Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Boris Kolev	Bulgaria	$1,000,000
2	Mehdi Chaoui	Morocco	$300,000
3	Romans Lihacovs	Latvia	$200,000
4	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russian Federation	$140,000
5	Rafael Aslanli	Turkey	$100,000
6	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	$75,000
7	Andrey Pateychuk	Russian Federation	$55,000
8	Ali Al-Kubasi	Iraq	$45,000
9	Alexandr Lakhov	Russia	$35,400

Read the Full Recap Here

Aug 09, 2025

Big Stacks After Break

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Tim Baker

Level 10 : Blinds 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Level: 10

Blinds: 2,000/4,000

Ante: 4,000

Aug 09, 2025

Break Time

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Tim Baker

Level 9 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

The players are now on a 15-minute break. At the conclusion of this break, late registration will close for Day 1a.

Aug 09, 2025

Miao Falls to Strobel's Cowboys

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Tim Baker

Level 9 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

Zhicheng Miao jammed for his last 35,000 from the button and Adrian Strobel immediately called out of the big blind.

Zhicheng Miao: A♠10♠ All in
Adrian Strobel: K♦K♠

Strobel's Cowboys were ahead right now, but Miao had one overcard and spades working for him. Unfortunately for Miao, the runout of 2♦Q♠10♥J♥7♣ didn't improve him enough to beat Strobel's hand, and he headed to the rail.

Tags: Adrian Strobel Zhicheng Miao

Aug 09, 2025

Martirosian Rivers an Unlikely Boat

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Tim Baker

Level 9 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

With a compelted board of 10♣10♦4♦Q♥6♥ showing, Xiaosheng Zheng checked out of the big blind, and faced a bet of 50,000 by Artur Martirosian in the cutoff.

Zheng didn't take long to make the call but then was forced to muck after Martirosian revealed 6♦6♠ for a rivered boat.

Tags: Artur Martirosian Xiaosheng Zheng

Aug 09, 2025

Nashar Flops the Nuts, Busts Gortikov

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Tim Baker

Level 9 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

With the flop showing 6♦5♣9♦, Aleksei Gortikov got his stack of around 50,000 into the middle, with Hassan Nashar being the player trying to bust him.

Aleksei Gortikov: J♦J♠ All in
Hassan Nashar: 8♥7♣

Gortikov's overpair was far behind the flopped nut straight of Nashar. Gortikov was drawing after the 2♠ turn, as the Q♣ river solidified his exit from the tournament.

Tags: Aleksei Gortikov Hassan Nashar

Aug 09, 2025

Zoufri Gets Some Luck to Beat Dukic

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Tim Baker

Level 9 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

Abdelhakim Zoufri min-raised from middle position and Nenad Dukic three-bet to 20,000 from the big blind. Zoufri four-bet shoved for 88,000, which got instantly called by Dukic.

Abdelhakim Zoufri: A♥J♥ All in
Nenad Dukic: A♣K♥

Zoufri was in rough shape against Dukic's Big Slick, although the 5♥10♥5♠ flop gave him a flush draw. The J♣ turn propelled him to the lead with a pair of jacks. A 7♠ river was clean for Zoufri, and he doubled up through Dukic.

Tags: Abdelhakim Zoufri Nenad Dukic