Markkos Ladev Leads After Day 1 of the $102,000 Onyx SHRS NLH Invitational
The $102,000 Onyx SHRS NLH Invitational at the 2025 Onyx Super High Roller Series presented by Onyx Club played through its opening day at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, with 50 players taking their seats at the start. With no new participants permitted, and after the eight levels of play, the number of entries stood at 76.
Of the 36 who managed to make it to Day 2, Estonia’s Markkos Ladev ended as the chip leader with 5,535,000. Ladev surged to the top during the final level of the night after his two pair bested Danny Tang's top pair, sending the Hong Kong player to the rail.
Second overall is India’s Rahul Byrraju, who ended with 5,280,000 to top the invitee tables. He built his stack by winning a huge pot with a straight early in the day and later added more when Paul Phua incorrectly hero-called him with ace-high. Lebanon’s Albert Daher closed the day in third place with 4,775,000.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Markkos Ladev | Estonia | 5,535,000 | 185 |
| 2 | Rahul Byrraju | India | 5,280,000 | 176 |
| 3 | Albert Daher | Lebanon | 4,745,000 | 158 |
| 4 | Maher Nouira | Tunisia | 4,150,000 | 138 |
| 5 | Kayhan Mokri | Norway | 3,110,000 | 104 |
| 6 | Sinan Unlu | Turkey | 3,095,000 | 103 |
| 7 | Adrian Strobel | Germany | 2,915,000 | 97 |
| 8 | Jessica Teusl | Austria | 2,900,000 | 97 |
| 9 | Tamas Adamszki | Hungary | 2,775,000 | 93 |
| 10 | Matt Moss | United Kingdom | 2,610,000 | 87 |
Action of the Day
The action kicked off with 25 pairings of invitees and pros, and within half an hour, Rehman Kassam was the first player eliminated. Phil Ivey had a slow start to the tournament, losing nearly three-quarters of his stack early on. However, with just one pair on the river, he correctly picked off a bluff from Dejan Kaladjurdjevic to get moving in the right direction. By the end of play, Ivey bagged 1,745,000 for just under average.
Despite having a good year on the felt, Jesse Lonis had a rough one today, bowing out twice in flips. The first came early when his pocket tens lost to Artur Martirosian’s ace-queen after a flush fell for the Russian player on the river. Later, his second try ended against Kayhan Mokri, who turned Broadway to leave Lonis drawing dead. He still has the option to reenter before the start of Day 2 and give himself another shot at running up a stack.
Byrraju got things going early by winning a sizable pot against Sirzat Hissou with a turned straight. From there, his stack continued to grow as he eliminated Rob Yong with a flush, before later getting value from Phua in the aforementioned hand. Those pots kept Byrraju hovering near the top of the counts for most of the day.
Also finding a bag were Maher Nouira (4,150,000) and Jessica Teusl (2,900,000), who picked up a big boost when a turn card gave her a boat against an opponent’s flush. A few others to advance included Yong (2,460,000), Daniel Dvoress (2,045,000), Samuel Mullur (1,945,000), Eric Wasserson (1,175,000), "YoH ViraL" (1,325,000), Bryn Kenney (1,070,000), Phua (580,000), and Mikita Badziakouski (450,000).
Maxim Bevers, Kirk Steele, David Nicholson, Kassam, and Handz were among those eliminated after too much time had passed since their exits to allow a reentry, bringing their Invitational tournaments to an end.
Some players, including Nick Schulman, Tang, Lonis, Mate Hanusi, Manuel Fritz, Martirosian, Christopher Puetz, and Biao Ding can rejoin the action on Day 2 since they were knocked out during the final level and have until cards are in the air to register again.
Day 2 will resume at 2 p.m. local time with blinds of 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante. Players will play another eight 60-minute levels, with a full redraw scheduled at the end of Level 12 to finally merge the invited players and pros into mixed tables for the first time. Late registration will remain open for one more level when play resumes on Day 2.
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 17 | Day 2 | 2 p.m. | 60 minutes (Play eight levels) |
| August 18 | Final Day | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
Stay tuned to PokerNews for full coverage of Day 2 of the $102,000 Onyx SHRS NLH Invitational, including chip counts, reentries, and all the key hands as the action continues.