2024 Merit Poker Western Series

$3,300 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2024 Merit Poker Western Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
99
Prize
$342,500
Event Info
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$1,854,720
Entries
672
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
200,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
384
Players Left
130

$3,300 Main Event

Day 2 Started

Day 2 Seat Draw

TableSeatPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
11Sorin MarinRomania136,50055
12Aziz EfeTurkey204,50082
13Joseph SabeLebanon53,50021
14Roman HrabecCzech Republic209,50084
15Tugce HursozCyprus222,50089
16Vladimir TroyanovskiyRussia69,00028
17Frederico SennoLebanon222,00089
      
21Jad Joseph WardeLebanon240,00096
22Aykutalp YilmazTurkey125,50050
23Igor PihelaEstonia147,50059
24Vazha KometianiGeorgia74,50030
25Hadi KhadraLebanon100,00040
26Fabio PelusoItaly657,000263
27Stephane GabarreFrance113,50045
      
31Naji TanuriLebanon262,000105
32Huseyin AkgulTurkey240,00096
33Kaan BaserTurkey82,50033
34Paata KhmaladzeGeorgia38,50015
35Anatoly NikitinRussia209,00084
36Dean HutchisonUnited Kingdom380,000152
37Andrey LitvinovRussia96,00038
      
41Lukasz GrossmannPoland309,500124
42Milos SkrbicSerbia275,500110
43Andrea DatoItaly314,500126
44Nichan KhorchidianLebanon322,000129
45Sari HaddadLebanon139,50056
46Ceyhan TezcanTurkey77,00031
47Andreas TomazouCyprus180,50072
      
51Kemal AslanTurkey249,500100
52Evagoras EvagorouCyprus185,50074
53Ali ZebarjadIran271,500109
54John Doe BTurkey534,500214
55Xixiang LuoChina32,50013
56Nazar BuhaiovUkraine366,500147
57Ali YildizTurkey118,50047
      
61Caner NarTurkey242,50097
62Dragoljub MartinovicSerbia179,50072
63Maroun SilyLebanon137,50055
64Maher AchourTunisia506,500203
65Giorgiy SkhuluhiyaGeorgia77,00031
66Benjamin HamnettUnited States427,000171
67Vedat YilmazTurkey362,000145
      
71Javid SalayevAzerbaijan122,00049
72Monika ZukowiczPoland261,500105
73Helmut PhungGermany288,000115
74Stanislav TishkevichIsrael159,00064
75Jianwei LinChina619,000248
76Samy BarkaFrance783,000313
77Vladimir MalyarchukRussia329,500132
      
81Maxim LykovRussia145,00058
82Dragos TrofimovMoldova190,00076
83Peng YangChina139,00056
84Carmel HaloonIsrael2,015,000806
85Siarhei ChudapalBelarus405,500162
86Feng QuChina316,000126
87Youssef El KhazenLebanon229,00092
      
91Jean MikhaelLebanon217,50087
92Mohamad El-SayedLebanon49,00020
93Roman GadzhievRussia276,500111
94John DoebsTurkey269,000108
95Eduard TasoevRussia48,00019
96Seref AnarTurkey222,00089
97Paul AmsellemFrance115,00046
      
101Andreas MavrikioyCyprus102,50041
102Victor FrydaFrance233,50093
103Vedat MutluTurkey232,50093
104Georges HannaLebanon81,50033
105Davoud PiraIran34,50014
106Milos PetakovicSerbia78,00031
107Graydon KowalCanada81,50033
      
111Tomasz SzczerbinskiPoland117,00047
112Fausto TantilloItaly129,50052
113Peng PengChina269,500108
114Traian StanciuRomania131,00052
115Arif YildirimTurkey127,50051
116Guoliang WeiChina146,50059
117Michel HabibLebanon753,000301
      
121Gurcan GungorenTurkey265,000106
122Damir ZhugralinKazakhstan309,000124
123Ara MelkisetianLebanon129,50052
124Serge MattaLebanon37,50015
125Can MiralTurkey274,500110
126Viliyan PetleshkovBulgaria380,000152
127Carlos AounLebanon120,50048
      
131Maxim BrovkoRussia101,50041
132Amir MazaheryIran315,500126
133Michael BrownIreland421,000168
134Dmitry GromovRussia193,50077
135Khalil TawilLebanon200,00080
136Vitalii PankovRussia316,500127
137Sercan CelikcanTurkey105,00042
      
141John Doe SN/A538,500215
142Naji AzarLebanon255,000102
143Bartlomiej SwiebodaPoland342,500137
144Artem SadovskiiRussia99,50040
145Felipe KetzerBrazil197,00079
146Ali El-SiblaniLebanon372,000149
147Amir ToumaLebanon213,50085
      
151Razvan SabauRomania483,000193
152Dawid SmolkaPoland116,00046
153Eduard NorelRomania330,500132
154Baris CaliskanTurkey240,00096
155Tahsin CankurtaranliTurkey170,00068
156Nicolas VayssieresFrance174,00070
157Volodymyr DrokinUkraine187,00075
      
161Daniel HenriquesPortugal633,000253
162Ildar TashliyevTurkmenistan353,500141
163Amine KaramiLebanon392,500157
164Mihai TusneaRomania317,000127
165Antoine VrankenNetherlands97,50039
166Aleksandar TotMontenegro325,500130
167Cristinel DumitruRomania194,00078
      
171Maxim SonKazakhstan106,50043
172Chady OjelliLebanon179,00072
173Carl MurrLebanon222,50089
174Andrey PateychukRussia188,50075
175Fady KamarLebanon278,000111
176Rashad IskandarovAzerbaijan124,00050
177Baris TopuzTurkey45,50018
      
181Yasen DichevBulgaria115,50046
182Aleksandr KirichenkoRussia171,00068
183Nan ZhuChina374,000150
184Ilia KorliakovRussia421,000168
185Yuefan GuChina213,00085
186Hakan KuscuTurkey79,50032
187Andrei DaniliukRussia82,00033
      
191Tony AzizLebanon150,00060
192Ihar SoikaBelarus78,50031
193Dmitry YurasovRussia736,000294
194Antoine LabakyLebanon241,00096
195Safi HaidarLebanon244,00098
196Hadi KhordbinIran220,50088
197Moritz DietrichGermany275,000110
      
201Danut ChisuFrance275,000110
202Adrian StateRomania150,00060
203Robert HeidornGermany268,000107
204Cengiz SekerTurkey131,50053
205Maxime ChilaudFrance291,000116
206Yingrui GeChina271,000108
207Mohammadreza KarkanIran147,50059
      
211Bogdan MunteanuRomania258,500103
212Ibrahim GhasanLebanon121,00048
213Bassel MoussaLebanon216,00086
214Ghassan KhalilLebanon144,00058
215Mehmet DemirkolTurkey53,50021
216Joseph JazzarLebanon158,50063
217Hassanin HashimIraq330,000132
      
221Rawand ChaychiIraq141,50057
222Nicolas ChouityLebanon107,50043
223Xiang LianChina496,000198
224Abdullah AkbarpoorIran226,00090
225Zhao ChengChina136,50055
226Roger AbedLebanon217,00087
227Ermanno Di NicolaItaly217,00087
      
231Baurzhan AkimovKazakhstan181,50073
232Antoine HasbaniLebanon206,50083
233Basem AbudavasJordan600,000240
234Koray KorkmazTurkey35,50014
235David HuNetherlands116,00046
236Azamat TulepbergenovKazakhstan247,00099
237Nuri HadiogluTurkey334,000134
      
241Tarmo TammelEstonia83,50033
242Amir SonsinoIsrael138,00055
243Junjie HeChina118,00047
244Ege GuvenTurkey95,50038
245Recep AydemirTurkey183,00073
246Marian-Cristian CoceaRomania227,50091
247Mustafa ErcanTurkey596,500239
      
251Nils PudelAustria62,00025
252Christophe PanettiSwitzerland190,00076
253Anatoly KorochenskiyRussia270,000108
254Joseph MouawadLebanon203,00081
255Aurelijus SipaviciusLithuania131,00052
256Sergey BortsovRussia99,50040
257Dauren ZhaparovKazakhstan86,00034
      
261Eugenio PeraltaItaly298,500119
262Wael SarkisLebanon533,500213
263Mikhail SeminRussia431,500173
264Shuang LuoChina160,00064
265Jonathan RosenwasserIsrael82,00033
266Joseph MouwadLebanon203,00081
267Herodotos PartakkisCyprus131,00052
      
271Ghassan YaredLebanon99,50040
272Toni KaukuaFinland86,00034
273Mohamad El SiblaniLebanon265,500106
274Ramez HaddadLebanon187,50075
275Giuliano BoellisItaly317,000127
276Artem ArakelianGeorgia91,00036
277Umberto RuggeriItaly138,50055
      
281Bakhos JoumaaLebanon213,00085
282Ryan PlantUnited Kingdom315,000126
283Michel EidLebanon247,00099
284Candido CappielloItaly476,500191
285Gang ZhaoChina315,000126
286Hala KaramLebanon271,000108
287Hady El-AsmarLebanon66,50027
      
291Nikolay FalRussia402,500161
292Gianfranco IaculliItaly342,500137
293Clement BonnantFrance86,50035
294Marcin DziubdzielaPoland252,000101
295Okan OzturkTurkey15,5006
296Cristian DavidRomania321,000128
297Marius KudzmanasLithuania274,500110
      
301Jovan KenjicSerbia129,50052
302Parahat NurmuhammedovTurkmenistan347,000139
303Vladimir BozinovicSerbia268,000107
304Maksim SkripkinUkraine181,00072
305Qiang XuChina223,50089
306Dzmitry UrbanovichBelarus146,50059
307Mohamed MokraniAlgeria132,50053
      
311Vincent MeliFrance247,00099
312Sakis AdrianopoulosGreece247,50099
313Thomas EychenneFrance334,500134
314Yiannakis PapapetrouCyprus172,00069
315Maroun JazzarLebanon457,000183
316Samuel DrayFrance88,50035
      
321Mateusz WozniakPoland269,000108
322Huseyin KabaTurkey234,00094
323Matthew DavenportUnited Kingdom338,000135
324Zorlu ErTurkey164,50066
325Halil AkbasTurkey94,00038
326Andrew HedleyUnited Kingdom402,000161

Yurasov in the Driver's Seat in Day 2 of 2024 Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event

Dmitry Yurasov
Dmitry Yurasov

The first four starting flights of the 2024 Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event attracted a field of 511 entrants so far here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. Of those 511 entrants, 223 players managed to find a bag and will be making their return for the second day.

Day 1a chip leader Samy Barka holds the overall chip lead going into Day 2 with 783,000 chips, worth 313 big blinds to start the day. Barka is most closely followed by Michel Habib (753,000) and Dmitry Yurasov (736,000). Yurasov bagging a top three stack is particularly noteworthy given that he took down the $3,300 Merit Poker Gangster Series Main Event this past October for $295,500.

Samy Barka
Samy Barka

2024 Merit Poker Western Series Top Ten Chip Counts

PlaceNameCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Samy BarkaFrance783,000313
2Michel HabibLebanon753,000301
3Dmitry YurasovRussia736,000294
4Fabio PelusoItaly657,000263
5Daniel HenriquesPortugal633,000253
6Jianwei LinChina619,000248
7Basem AbudavasRussia600,000240
8Mustafa ErcanTurkey596,500239
9John Doe SN/A538,500215
10John DoeN/A534,500214

Other notables to advance to Day 2 include Benjamin Hamnett (427,000), Andrew Hedley (402,000), 2023 WSOP Main Event finalist Dean Hutchison (380,000), Andrea Dato (314,500), Maxime Chilaud (291,000), Helmut Phung (288,000), Milos Skrbic (275,500), Marius Kudzmanas (274,500), Vladimir Bozinovic (268,000), Monika Zukowicz (261,500), Qiang Xu (223,500), Ermanno Di Nicola (217,000), Roman Hrabec (209,500), Felipe Ketzer (197,000), Dmitry Gromov (193,500), Andrey Pateychuk (188,500), Shuang Luo (160,000), Guoliang Wei (146,500) and Dzmitry Urbanovich (146,500).

Benjamin Hamnett
Benjamin Hamnett

The second day of the event is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. local time. The players who qualified on the first day will return to Level 10, with the blinds set at 1,000/2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante. The game will go on for another nine levels and is expected to conclude around 10:00 p.m. local time, with each level lasting for 60 minutes.

As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the exciting action for this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on Thursday, January 25.

Tags: Andrew HedleyAndrey PateychukBasem AbudavasBenjamin HamnettDaniel HenriquesDean HutchisonDmitry GromovDmitry YurasovDzmitry UrbanovichErmanno Di NicolaFabio PelusoFelipe KetzerGuoliang WeiHelmut PhungJianwei LinMarius KudzmanasMaxime ChilaudMichel HabibMilos SkrbicMonika ZukowiczMustafa ErcanQiang XuRoman HrabecSamy BarkaShuang LuoVladimir Bozinovic

Level: 10

Blinds: 1,000/2,500

Ante: 2,500

Doe Continues His Rise

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

The anonymous John Doe S, who ended yesterday's Day 1c flight as chip leader, wasted little time adding to his massive stack on the first hand of today by taking out Artem Sadovskii.

Heads-up on a flop of 7?6?A?, Sadovskii bet 6,000 from early position before Doe raised to around 40,000 in the big blind. Sadovskii called and the Q? fell on the turn.

Doe then moved all in and Sadovskii called for around 30,000 more with A?J?. Doe, though, had 7?6? for two pair and held on the 2? river to secure the early knockout.

Player Chips Progress
John Doe S
John Doe S
680,000
141,500
141,500
Day 1C Chip Leader
Artem Sadovskii ru
Artem Sadovskii
Busted

Tags: Artem SadovskiiJohn Doe S

Hot Start for Yurasov

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Dmitry Yurasov opened to 6,000 from under the gun and received calls from Safi Haidar in the hijack and Ihar Soika in the big blind.

The flop came K?7?2?. Soika checked, Yurasov fired a 6,000 cointinuation bet, Haidar called and Soika folded.

Yurasov bet again for 17,000 on the 3? turn and was once again called by Haidar.

On the Q? river Yurasov bet 40,000. Haidar thought for about one minute before sticking in a call. Haidar had flopped top pair with K?J? but Yurasov showed down Q?Q? for a set on the river to take down a nice early pot.

Player Chips Progress
Dmitry Yurasov ru
Dmitry Yurasov
819,000
83,000
83,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Safi Haidar lb
Safi Haidar
170,000
-74,000
-74,000
Ihar Soika by
Ihar Soika
66,000
-12,500
-12,500

Tags: Dmitry YurasovIhar SoikaSafi Haidar

Nikitin Snaps Off Tannoury

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

Naji Tannoury raised to 5,500 in middle position before Anatoly Nikitin three-bet to 20,000 in the small blind. Tannoury called and they went heads-up to a flop of 7?9?2?.

Nikitin continued for 15,000 and Tannoury called. The turn was the 10? and Nikitin checked over to Tannoury, who moved all in.

Nikitin snap-called for 187,500 and turned over 9?9? for a set. Tannoury showed Q?10? for a pair of tens and was left paying off most of his stack following the 3? river.

Player Chips Progress
Anatoly Nikitin ru
Anatoly Nikitin
450,000
241,000
241,000
Naji Tannoury lb
Naji Tannoury
35,000
-227,000
-227,000

Tags: Anatoly NikitinNaji Tannoury

Peluso Catches Pihela Making a Move

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Fabio Peluso
Fabio Peluso

With around 90,000 in the pot on a board of 5?J?8?3?, Igor Pihela moved all in for 56,000 from the hijack. Fabio Peluso tanked for a minute in the big blind before calling to put Pihela at risk.

Pihela showed A?9? for ace-high, while Peluso had 10?10?. The 4? river failed to improve Pihela and he was sent to the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Fabio Peluso it
Fabio Peluso
700,000
43,000
43,000
Day 1B Chip Leader
WSOP 1X Winner
Igor Pihela ee
Igor Pihela
Busted

Tags: Fabio PelusoIgor Pihela

Rosenwasser Flops the Goods

Level 10 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante

With two players seeing a board of 6?9?4? and about 15,000 in the middle, Jonathan Rosenwasser checked from the small blind and called a 7,500 bet from Shuang Luo in the cutoff.

Both players checked the 8? turn leading to the 10? river. Rosenwasser bet 18,000 and Luo quickly called.

Luo revealed 7?6? for a small pair but Rosenwasser showed down K?7? for a flopped flush to take the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Shuang Luo cn
Shuang Luo
117,000
-43,000
-43,000
Jonathan Rosenwasser il
Jonathan Rosenwasser
95,000
13,000
13,000

Tags: Jonathan RosenwasserShuang Luo