On the next hand after losing the big pot to Raffaele Castro, Denis Stoma stuck in 2,500,000 from the hijack and Ermanno Pacini called in the big blind.
The flop came J?10?7? and they got Stoma's last 400,000 in themiddle.
Denis Stoma: K?3?
Ermanno Pacini: A?7?
Pacini was ahead with a pair of sevens, while Stoma had a flush draw. The J? turn was no help to Stoma, while the 3? fell on the river to end him to the rail in seventh place.
Raffaele Castro looked down at A?Q? on the button and raised to 1,250,000. Dashinka defended his big blind with J?9? to the K?10?3? flop.
Dashinka led out for 900,000 and Castro called, with the dealer revealing the Q? turn. Dashinka slowed down after turning a straight by checking to Castro, who fired 3,200,000 with his pair.
Dashinka then check-raised enough to put Castro all in, sending his opponent into the tank. After using a time bank card, Castro slid his cards into the muck.
"Jack-nine, you have," said Castro, calling out his opponent's exact hand while explaining that he folded ace-queen as Dashinka raked in the chips.
Fouad Toujani was first to act with A?Q?, opening to 1,100,000. Action folded around to Simone Andrian, who called with A?4? in the big blind.
Andrian checked the 9?6?J? flop, where Toujani continued for 1,300,000. Andrian answered with a check-raise all in for 9,100,000, putting the decision on his opponent.
Toujani took some time before letting it go, as Andrian took down the pot.
Fausto Tantillo raised to 1,050,000 in early position, Kirill Burtin moved all in for 2,750,000 in the cutoff, and Tantillo called.
Kirill Burtin: 6?6?
Fausto Tantillo: 8?8?
Burtin found himself dominated by Tantillo's pair of eights as the flop came A?K?2?. The J? turn gave Burtin some hope with a flush draw, but he missed the 3? river and was sent to the rail in eighth place for $45,000.
Dashinka raised to 800,000 in early position and Mohamad El-Sayed called in the big blind.
The flop came 10?9?5? and Dashinka bet 600,000. El-Sayed then moved all in for 4,650,000 and Dashinka snap-called.
Mohamad El-Sayed: Q?10?
Dashinka: A?A?
El-Sayed's pair of tens were trailing Dashinka's aces as the J? turn gave him additional outs to a straight. El-Sayed missed the 7? river as he became the first casualty of the final table, exiting in ninth place for $34,450.
After two weeks of big fields and exciting action at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, it's time to crown a champion in the $2,200 La Notte Degli Assi. The final nine players are led by Italy's Fausto Tantillo, who carries a big lead into the final day of the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series.
The Italian pro sits as the only player above 20,000,000 chips, returning on Day 5 with 65 big blinds. His closest competitor is Dashinka, who led the way to start Saturday's action and maintained a big stack as players bagged up for the final table.
Cards are scheduled to be in the air on the final day at 1 p.m. local time, with full coverage starting on delay to match the Merit Poker YouTube stream one hour later.
Final Nine Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Fausto Tantillo
Italy
25,875,000
65
2
Dashinka
Israel
17,000,000
43
3
Raffaele Castro
Italy
16,100,000
40
4
Simone Andrian
Italy
13,875,000
35
5
Fouad Toujani
France
11,200,000
28
6
Ermanno Pacini
Italy
10,425,000
26
7
Kirill Burtin
Russian Federation
7,150,000
18
8
Mohamad El-Sayed
Lebanon
5,850,000
15
9
Denis Stoma
Belarus
5,700,000
14
The massive field of 1,133 entries created a prize pool of $2,084,720, and each of the returning players are guaranteed at least $34,450 after reaching the final table.
Significant pay jumps await, including $10,550 after the next elimination. All eyes will be focused on the Merit Poker trophy and the $355,000 first-place prize.
Tantillo will be adding to his impressive live tournament earnings of over $1,000,000 and he's made a habit of posting high finishes here in Northern Cyprus, with two wins and seven final tables at Merit in the last 20 months.
Fellow Italians Raffaele Castro, Simone Andrian and Ermanno Pacini are all returning with plenty of chips, while France's Fouad Toujani sits inside the top five.
Three players will sit down with less than 20 big blinds, as Kirill Burtin, Mohamad El-Sayed and Denis Stoma will look to make a move on the final day.
$2,200 La Notte Degli Assi Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize (USD)
1
$355,000
2
$240,000
3
$160,000
4
$115,000
5
$90,000
6
$72,000
7
$57,700
8
$45,000
9
$34,450
Merit Poker Trophy
Day 5 begins at 1 p.m. local time, as the clock will start with 29:42 left in Level 35. Blinds will begin at 200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 big blind ante, and players will continue playing 60-minute levels. The stream will begin at 2 p.m. local time, along with PokerNews live reporting.
Stay tuned as we bring you full coverage until the final hand is dealt and the trophy is lifted at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
