Aleksandr Merzhvinskiy Leads Final 27 PokerStars Sochi Main Event
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Aleksandr Merzhvinskiy ended Day 2 of the PokerStars Festival Main Event as the clear chip leader on 2,599,000 which was more than a million chips ahead of his nearest Serafim Kovalevskiy rival 1,293,000 while Евгений Иванов finished the day third on 1,260,000.
The day started with 261 players returning from three starting flights. Day 1a attracted 276 entries, Day 1b 285 and Day 1c 138. The total of 699 entries generated a guarantee breaking prize pool worth RUB 40,681,800.
When the payout were announced the top 9 finishers were set to win the following:
1st.- RUB 7,700,000
2nd.- RUB 4,700,000
3rd.- RUB 3,350,000
4th.- RUB 2,600,000
5th.- RUB 2,000,000
6th.- RUB 1,560,000
7th.- RUB 1,101,800
8th.- RUB 770,000
9th.- RUB 610,000
Here is how the Sochi Main Event stacks up against previous Festivals.
| Location | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | First Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PokerStars Festival London | 944 | £824,112 | Rehman Kassam | £89,320 |
| PokerStars Festival Rozvadov | 1,126 | €1,089,310 | Petr Svoboda | €124,346 |
| PokerStars Festival Chile | 329 | $500,000 | Christopher Franco | $97,360 |
| PokerStars Festival Marbella | 949 | €911,040 | Ignacio De Maturana | €168,700 |
| PokerStars Festival Lille | 800 | €768,000 | Philippe Le Touche | €143,000 |
| PokerStars Festival Korea | 285 | KRW 416,675,000 | Taehoon Han | KRW 83,130,000 |
| PokerStars Festival Bucharest | 736 | €706,560 | Sam Grafton | €117,707 |
| PokerStars Festival Uruguay | 261 | $379,755 | Julio Belluscio | £66,748 |
| PokerStars Festival Dublin | 544 | €700,000 | Gary McGinty | €91,808 |
| PokerStars Festival Sochi | 699 | RUB 40,681,800 | TBC | RUB 7,700,000 |
The first order of business on Day 2 was the money bubble with 103 places paid with a min-cash worth RUB 110,000. In the end there were three players eliminated on different tables so it lacked the drama of other bubbles but there was a memorable hand near the bubble that got a fair bit of attention.
Armen Atanesyan started the day with 85,000 and was a very relieved man having been out of the tournament and subsequently reinstated after the Tournament Director was consulted for a second opinion.
There were 107 players remaining in the tournament at the time so it was a tense time for all the short stacks.
Atanesyan had called his opponent all the way down to the river of a Queen high board. His opponent shoved for 75,000 and Atanesyan called for his last 70,000.
The problem became apparent when Atanesyan turned over 
.
He had top pair top kicker but also three cards. The initial ruling was that his hand was dead and he was eliminated.
After further discussion however the ruling was reversed. It had been a genuine mistake but more importantly it was for his tournament life at a crucial time and he had merely called on the end with a smaller stack.
If he had been the player to shove on the river and gained an advantage the ruling would most likely have been Atanesyan’s elimination.
A tough decision the other floor people agreed but made with fairness and the integrity of the game uppermost in their minds.
The remaining 27 players will return to play down to a winner at the Sochi Casino and Resort tomorrow with cards in the air again at 12 p.m.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as the Live Reporting team brings you all the drama from Russia on the way to crowning a new PokerStars Festival Champion.