2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series

$3,300 Main Event
Day: 1cd
Event Info

2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q5
Prize
$338,500
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$1,832,640
Entries
664
Level Info
Level
37
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Players Info - Day 1cd
Entries
123
Players Left
68

Two Starting Flights Remain in Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event

Alisa Sibgatova
Alisa Sibgatova

The Merit Poker Carmen Series $3,300 Main Event is already well underway here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus, with two starting flights already complete and two more still to go. The event has featured a total of 351 entrants so far with 157 players advancing to Day 2.

Top Ten Chip Counts from Day 1a and Day 1b

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Alisa SibgatovaRussian Federation661,000264
2Dmitrii KuzinRussian Federation647,500259
3Fausto TantilloItaly602,000241
4Aleksandar TotMontenegro559,000224
5Jovan KenjicSerbia547,500219
6George TomescuRomania514,000206
7Uladzimir ZhyharauBelarus507,500203
8Mihai TusneaRomania487,000195
9Ruslan BakhtievRussian Federation454,000182
10Florian GuimondFrance448,500179

Alisa Sibgatova currently holds the biggest stack from the first two starting flights, finishing Day 1b with 661,000, worth 264 big blinds going into Day 2. Sibgatova is one of only three players to surpass 600,000 chips so far and is most closely followed by Day 1a chip leader Dmitrii Kuzin (647,500) and Fausto Tantillo (602,000).

Other notables to make it to Day 2 so far include Simone Andrian (436,500), Milos Skrbic (404,000), Vladimir Bozinovic (388,000), Andrey Pateychuk (304,000), Andrea Dato (276,000), Felipe Ketzer (164,500), Fabio Peluso (146,000), Halil Tasyurek (52,500) and Aylar Lie (32,500).

Day 1c begins at noon local time and will feature a similar, albeit slightly faster structure as the first two starting flights. Players will start with 100,000 chips and play nine 40-minute levels. There will be a break after every three levels. Unlimited reentries and late registration will be available until the end of Level 14 on Day 2. There will also be a turbo Day 1d starting flight featuring 25-minute levels beginning today at 7:00 p.m. local time.

As always, PokerNews will be on-site to cover all the action today from when cards are in the air until players bag and tag at the end of the night.

Tags: Aleksandar TotAlisa SibgatovaAndrea DatoAndrey PateychukAylar LieDmitrii KuzinFabio PelusoFausto TantilloFelipe KetzerFlorian GuimondGeorge TomescuHalil TasyurekJovan KenjicMihai TusneaMilos SkrbicRuslan BakhtievSimone AndrianUladzimir ZhyharauVladimir Bozinovic

Hot Start for Moussa

Level 3 : 400/800, 800 ante
Bassel Moussa
Bassel Moussa

Bassel Moussa opened to 1,600 from middle position and Agharazi Babayev three-bet to 5,000 from the cutoff. A player on the button then four-bet to 16,000.

Moussa thought for about a minute and asked for an approximate count of his opponent's chip stacks before putting in a five=bet to 41,600. Both opponents got out of the way and Moussa collected a sizable pot without having to see a flop.

Player Chips Progress
Bassel Moussa lb
Bassel Moussa
288,000
288,000
288,000
Agharazi Babayev az
Agharazi Babayev
89,000
89,000
89,000

Tags: Agharazi BabayevBassel Moussa

Skarparis Wins Battle of the Overpairs

Level 4 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Georgios Skarparis
Georgios Skarparis

With two players seeing a board of 2?2?4? and roughly 40,000 already in the middle, Georgios Skarparis bet 16,000 from the cutoff and George Panagides raised to 38,500 from the button. Skarparis moved all in for 121,000 and Panagides made the call with a covering stack.

Georgios Skarparis: K?K? All in
George Panagides: J?J?

Skarparis was well ahead with pocket kings and remained so on the 8? turn and 4? river to score a massive double up at the expense of Panagides.

Player Chips Progress
Georgios Skarparis cy
Georgios Skarparis
285,000
285,000
285,000
WSOP 1X Winner
George Panagides cy
George Panagides
38,000
38,000
38,000

Tags: George PanagidesGeorgios Skarparis

El-Siblani Cracks Aces

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Ali El-Siblani
Ali El-Siblani

Tomasz Sczerbinski opened to 3,000 from early position and Ali El-Siblani clicked it back to 6,000 from middle position. Hassan Dahmani then four-bet to 15,000 from the hijack, forcing Sczerbinski out of the hand while El-Siblani made the call.

The flop came 9?7?Q?. El-Siblani moved all in, covering Dahmaniwho had roughly 50,000. Dahmani snap-called and was at risk.

Hassan Dahmani: A?A? All in
Ali El-Siblani: Q?Q?

Dahmani was in dire shape against El-Siblani's set of queens with only two outs to extend his tournament life. He could not catch an ace on the 2? turn or 10? river and made his exit from the tournament area while El-Siblani dragged in a sizable pot.

Player Chips Progress
Tomasz Sczerbinski pl
Tomasz Sczerbinski
318,000
-39,000
-39,000
Ali El-Siblani lb
Ali El-Siblani
265,000
153,000
153,000
Hassan Dahmani fr
Hassan Dahmani
Busted

Tags: Ali El-SiblaniTomasz Sczerbinski

Chilaud, Gromov and Hamnett Advance in Day 1c of Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event

Level 9 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Maxime Chilaud
Maxime Chilaud

The curtain has fallen on Day 1c of the 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus.

Lebanon's Rachid El-Hachem finished with the biggest stack of the third starting flight, ending with 588,500, worth just over 235 big blinds heading into Day 2. El-Hachem is most closely followed by Poland's Maciej Komorowski and Switzerland's Sardor Shagulyamov.

Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Rabih El-HachemLebanon588,500235
2Maciej KomorowskiPoland521,000208
3Sardor ShagulyamovSwitzerland350,000140
4Ali El-SiblaniLebanon341,000136
5Pavel ShchitnikovRussian Federation327,000131
6Bassel MoussaLebanon323,000129
7Georges HannaLebanon321,500129
8Daniel HenriquesPortugal316,500127
9Natan ChauskinBelarus314,000126
10Dmitry GromovRussian Federation312,000125

Day 1c Highlights

The third of four starting flights attracted 123 entrants, bringing the total field size so far to 474. Of those 123 entrants, 68 players were able to find a bag at the end of the night and advance to tomorrow's Day 2 after nine 40-minute levels of play.

Bassel Moussa got off to a hot start today after taking down a five-bet pot in the third Level. Moussa would ride that momentum all the way to the end of the night where he would finish with a top-ten chip stack.

Defending champion Maxime Chilaud had a rough start to the day. By Level 6 he was in for two bullets and short-stacked. Chilaud would make an admirable comeback after doubling up with a straight and would ultimately finish the night in the middle of the pack with 151,500.

Ali El-Siblani established himself as one of the top stacks in the room after getting max value with top set late in the evening. From that point El-Siblani never looked back and would finish the night with the fourth-largest stack.

Dmitry Gromov
Dmitry Gromov

Other notables to advance to Day 2 from today's starting flight include Aylar Lie (208,500), Bart Lybaert (205,000), Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (161,000) and WPT champions Dmitry Gromov (312,000) and Benjamin Hamnett (128,500). Gromov advancing with a top-ten stack is particularly notable as he was the runner up in the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series Main Event this past December for $217,500. The Russian pro will be a force to be reckoned with on Day 2 as he seeks to surpass that finish with a victory in this event.

Benjamin Hamnett
Benjamin Hamnett

Some players who played in Day 1c but were not fortunate enough to advance to Day 2 include Bakhos Joumaa, Frederico Senno and Mustafa Ercan.

As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all your live coverage needs for this event until a winner is crowned on March 26.

Tags: Ali El-SiblaniAylar LieBakhos Joumaa