2024 Merit Poker Western Series

$5,300 High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info

2024 Merit Poker Western Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q5
Prize
$177,500
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$703,800
Entries
153
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
30
Players Left
1

Paul Amsellem Eliminated in 17th Place ($8,950)

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Paul Amsellem
Paul Amsellem

Roman Gadzhiev opened to 50,000 from the hijack only for Maksim Shornikau to three-bet to 150,000 from the small blind. Paul Amsellem moved all in for 196,000 from the big blind. Gadzhiev took a couple minutes before deciding to fold. Shornikau then made the call to put Amsellem at risk.

Paul Amsellem: 10?10?
Maksim Shornikau: 5?5?

Shornikau drilled a set on the 4?5?9? flop and remained ahead when the rest of the board ran out A?6? to take down a decent pot while Amsellem's run came to an end in 17th place.

The tournament has now briefly been paused to prepare for a two table redraw.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Maksim Shornikau by
Maksim Shornikau
2,300,000
300,000
300,000
Profile photo of Roman Gadzhiev ru
Roman Gadzhiev
524,000
153,000
153,000
Profile photo of Paul Amsellem fr
Paul Amsellem
Busted

Tags: Maksim ShornikauPaul AmsellemRoman Gadzhiev

Maroun Jazzar Eliminated in 18th Place ($8,950)

Level 21 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Maksim Shornikau opened to 50,000 from the hijack and Maroun Jazzar moved all in for his last 218,000 from the small blind. Shornikau made the call to put Jazzar at risk.

Maroun Jazzar: A?K?
Maksim Shornikau: K?Q?

The board ran out Q?10?5?2?8?. Shornikau's pair of queens were good at showdown and Jazzar made his exit from the tournament area.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Maksim Shornikau by
Maksim Shornikau
2,000,000
200,000
200,000
Profile photo of Maroun Jazzar lb
Maroun Jazzar
Busted

Tags: Maksim ShornikauMaroun Jazzar

Level: 21

Blinds: 10,000/25,000

Ante: 25,000

Marius Kudzmanas Eliminated in 19th Place ($7,800)

Level 20 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Bogdan Munteanu moved all in for 368,000 from the cutoff and Marius Kudzmanas called off for his last 200,000 to put himself at risk.

Marius Kudzmanas: K?J?
Bogdan Munteanu: A?J?

The board ran out K?10?3?3?A?. Kudzmanas had pulled ahead on the flop with a king despite being dominated but the ace on the river sealed his fate and he was sent to the rail in 19th place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Bogdan Munteanu ro
Bogdan Munteanu
653,000
Profile photo of Marius Kudzmanas lt
Marius Kudzmanas
Busted
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Bogdan MunteanuMarius Kudzmanas

Ceyhan Tezcan Eliminated in 20th Place ($7,800)

Level 20 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Ceyhan Tezcan
Ceyhan Tezcan

Maksim Shornikau opened to 40,000 from the hijack and Ceyhan Tezcan three-bet to 80,000 from the button. Shornikau moved all in, covering Tezcan who started the hand with 188,000. Tezcan made the call and was at risk.

Ceyhan Tezcan: J?J?
Maksim Shornikau: K?J?

The board ran out 6?2?A?7?K?. Tezcan made the nut-flush on the turn to send Tezcan to the rail and collect the last of his chips.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Maksim Shornikau by
Maksim Shornikau
1,800,000
480,000
480,000
Profile photo of Ceyhan Tezcan tr
Ceyhan Tezcan
Busted

Tags: Ceyhan TezcanMaksim Shornikau

Tot Knocks Out Mustafov on Stone Bubble

Level 20 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Fahredin Mustafov moved all in for 262,000 from the button and Aleksandar Tot called with a covering stack from the small blind to put Mustafov at risk.

Fahredin Mustafov: 7?6?
Aleksandar Tot: A?6?

Tot had his opponent dominated with a bigger six and remained ahead on the 5?J?Q?5?2? runout to send Mustafov to the rail on the stone bubble and take down a nice pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Aleksandar Tot me
Aleksandar Tot
633,000
242,000
242,000
Profile photo of Fahredin Mustafov bg
Fahredin Mustafov
Busted

Tags: Aleksandar TotFahredin Mustafov

Kirichenko Gets Some Back

Level 20 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Justus Held opened to 40,000 from the hijack and Aleksandr Kirichenko called from the cutoff.

The flop came A?Q?3?. Held fired a 35,000 continuation bet and Kirichenko made the call.

Held slowed down with a check on the 8? turn and Kirichenko bet 115,000 which was enough to force a fold from his opponent.

Despite the minor setback, Held has been doing an excellent job leveraging his stack on the bubble and is currently the only player above 3,000,000 chips.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Justus Held de
Justus Held
3,050,000
1,215,000
1,215,000
Profile photo of Aleksandr Kirichenko ru
Aleksandr Kirichenko
1,145,000
50,000
50,000
Day 2 Chip Leader

Tags: Aleksandr KirichenkoJustus Held

Nikitin Applies Bubble Pressure

Level 20 : Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Milos Skrbic opened to 45,000 from the button and Anatoly Nikitin called from the big blind.

The flop came 6?5?4? and Nikitin check-called a 40,000 continuation but from Skrbic.

On the 3? turn Nikitin lead out with a 125,000 bet which was called by Skrbic.

Nikitin fired another barrel for 200,000 on the 10? turn and this time Skrbic opted to muck.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Anatoly Nikitin ru
Anatoly Nikitin
1,410,000
745,000
745,000
Profile photo of Milos Skrbic rs
Milos Skrbic
530,000
-235,000
-235,000

Tags: Anatoly NikitinMilos Skrbic

Chisu Falls to Skrbic

Level 20 : 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Danut Chisu moved all in from the button for 316,000 and was called by Milos Skrbic in the small blind who covered.

Danut Chisu: A?4?
Milos Skrbic: K?Q?

The board ran out Q?4?6?7?10?. Skrbic's pair of queens was good at showdown and he took down a decent pot while sending Chisu to the rail just two spots away from making the money.

The tournament staff have now announced the start of hand for hand play.

Day 1 chip leader John Doe was also recently eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Milos Skrbic rs
Milos Skrbic
765,000
431,000
431,000
Profile photo of Danut Chisu ro
Danut Chisu
Busted
Profile photo of John Doe
John Doe
Busted
Day 1 Chip Leader

Tags: Danut ChisuJohn DoeMilos Skrbic

Luo Catches a Bluff

Level 20 : 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante

Shuang Luo had opened from early position and received a call from Aleksandar Tot in the small blind.

The flop came 6?5?6? and Tot check-called a 25,000 continuation bet from Luo.

Tot lead out with a 50,000 bet on the 9? turn which was called by Luo.

On the 5? river Tot bet 180,000. Luo thought for roughly 45 seconds before flicking in a calling chip.

Tot tabled 4?4? for a small pocket pair turned into a bluff. Luo showed down 8?8? for a bigger pocket pair to take down a healthy pot.

Elsewhere in the tournament area, Joseph Sabe and Andrey Pateychuk were recently eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Shuang Luo cn
Shuang Luo
885,000
64,000
64,000
Profile photo of Aleksandar Tot me
Aleksandar Tot
391,000
-293,000
-293,000
Profile photo of Joseph Sabe lb
Joseph Sabe
Busted
Profile photo of Andrey Pateychuk ru
Andrey Pateychuk
Busted
EPT Main Event Champion
WPT 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner

Tags: Aleksandar TotShuang Luo