Two Starting Flights Remain in Carmen Series $2,200 Merit Poker Cup
Day 1b of the Carmen Series Merit Poker Cup is set to kick off today here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino at noon local time. Huseyin Akgul leads the way from the first starting flight, finishing Day 1a with an impressive 744,000 chips. A new group of contenders will try to replicate that success in today's Day 1b flight.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huseyin Akgul | Turkey | 744,000 | 298 |
| 2 | Mukhtar Nasiradinov | Russian Federation | 728,000 | 291 |
| 3 | Emad Ghadamian | Iran | 660,000 | 264 |
| 4 | Joseph Mouwad | Lebanon | 541,500 | 217 |
| 5 | Andrea Dato | Italy | 521,000 | 208 |
| 6 | Victor Yugay | Uzbekistan | 464,000 | 186 |
| 7 | Murat Ozyurt | Turkey | 426,000 | 170 |
| 8 | Simeon Spasov | Bulgaria | 403,000 | 161 |
| 9 | Boris Smuskevicius | Lithuania | 402,000 | 161 |
| 10 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | 395,000 | 158 |
Other notables who survived yesterday's Day 1a flight include Andrea Dato (521,000), Aleksandr Kirichenko (186,000), Dinesh Alt (180,500), Simone Andrian (167,500), Rosalie Petit (155,000) and Fabio Peluso (112,000).
Day 1b will feature the same structure as yesterday's Day 1a. Players will start with 100,000 chips and play eight 60-minute levels. There will be a break after every two levels. Unlimited reentries and late registration will be available until the end of Level 12 on Day 2.
Those who bag and tag at the end of the night will join the survivors from yesterday's flight in advancing to Day 2 on March 29. Before that, there will be one more starting flight, with Day 1c beginning at 9:00 p.m. local time and featuring 25-minute levels. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the updates for this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on March 31.