$3,300 Main Event
Day 1a Started
2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series
$3,300 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$1,562,160
Entries
566
Level
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
155
Players Left
68
The action continues here at the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series at Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus with the $3,300 Main Event. The event begins at noon local time and features nine 60-minute levels. Players will begin with 100,000 chips.
The most recent Merit Poker Series to take place here at Crystal Cove, the $3,300 Merit Poker Retro Series, saw Serbia's Darko Svesko emerge victorious over a 1,223-entrant field, last defeating Russia's Oleg Netaliev in heads up play to take home $567,000. Netaliev himself has been active at the 2023 Gangster Series, having made a deep run earlier this week in the $2,200 Warm Up, finishing in 18th for $8,600.
2023 Merit Poker Retro Series Final Table Results
| RANK | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darko Svesko | Serbia | $567,000 |
| 2 | Oleg Netaliev | Russia | $417,900 |
| 3 | Michel Atallah | Lebanon | $257,900 |
| 4 | Nenad Dukic | Serbia | $191,100 |
| 5 | David Hu | Netherlands | $142,400 |
| 6 | Ruslan Volkov | Ukraine | $115,100 |
| 7 | Dominik Panka | Poland | $95,900 |
| 8 | Thomas Eychenne | France | $76,300 |
| 9 | Ara Melkisetian | Lebanon | $56,700 |
The main event will feature four starting flights, at which point the fields will combine on December 1 for Day 2. Day 1b will take place tomorrow, November 29, Day 1c will be on November 30, and there will be a turbo Day 1d later on November 30 as well. Late registration and unlimited reentries will be available until the end of Level 13, midway through Day 2.
With a guaranteed prize pool of $1,500,000, a massive turnout is expected. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on Day 4, which will occur on December 3.
Level: 1
Blinds: 200/500
Ante: 500
Level 1
: Blinds 200/500, 500 ante
With the tournament clock showing 61 total entrants to start, cards are in the air for the $3,300 Main Event.
Level 1
: Blinds 200/500, 500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
||
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Level 1
: Blinds 200/500, 500 ante
Murad Mohammad opened to 1,500 from the cutoff and Albert Diwan defended from the big blind.
The flop came A?J?3? and Diwan check-called a 1,700 continuation bet from Mohammad.
Diwan checked again on the 3? turn and Mohammad bet 4,400 which was enough to force a fold from Diwan.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
109,000
109,000
|
109,000 |
|
|
97,200
-2,800
|
-2,800 |
Level 1
: Blinds 200/500, 500 ante
Victor Yugay opened to 1,300 from middle position and Engin Sezerer defended from the big blind.
The flop came 10?7?2? and Sezerer check-called a 1,100 continuation bet from Yugay.
Both players then checked the 3? turn and 7? river. Sezerer tabled J?10? for a flopped top pair but Yugay showed down 7?6? for rivered trips to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
128,500
28,500
|
28,500 |
|
71,000
71,000
|
71,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
Level 2
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
Aleksandr Pak opened to 1,500 from under the gun and Georgios Vakis called in the cutoff. Iraklis Manikaros three-bet to 7,000 from the small blind and Pak made the call while Vakis got out of the way.
The flop came Q?10?3? and Manikaros fired a 7,000 continuation bet. Pak made the call.
On the 9? turn Manikaros moved all in, covering Pak's remaining stack of roughly 50,000. Pak made the call and was at risk.
Aleksandr Pak: 10?9?
Iraklis Manikaros: A?Q?
Manikaros was ahead with top pair but had to fade many outs versus Pak's second pair and flush draw. The 5? river was a blank and Manikoris took down a massive early pot while scoring the early knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
228,000
228,000
|
228,000 |
|
87,500
87,500
|
87,500 |
|
Busted |
Level 2
: Blinds 300/600, 600 ante
With two players seeing a board of 4?9?10?J? and 6,100 already in the middle, Eli Saad bet 2,500 from middle position and Oleg Netaliev called from the hijack.
Netaliev slowed down with a check on the 7? river and Saad bet 5,000. Netaliev made the call.
Saad turned over 7?7? for a set of sevens and Netaliev's hand hit the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
136,000
136,000
|
136,000 |
|
128,000
128,000
|
128,000 |