Ehsan Gorji moved all in for 35,000 from the hijack and Walid Bou Habib called in middle position.
Ehsan Gorji: 8?8? 
Walid Bou Habib: K?Q?
Bou Habib spiked top pair on the J?K?2? flop, then improved to two pair once the board ran out 6?Q? to send Gorji to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
160,000
-116,000
|
-116,000 |
|
Busted |
Kacper Pyzara bet 8,000 from the big blind on a flop of 3?4?2? and an opponent under the gun called. Florian Guimond then raised to 40,000 in the small blind and only Pyzara called.
The turn was the 9? and Guimond bet 90,000. Pyzara again called to the J? river.
Guimond slowed down and checked, and Pyzara quickly checked back. Guimond turned over 3?3? for a set, but Pyzara had 4?4? for a higher set to take the pot.
At the same time at another table, Benjamin Hamnett eliminated Pavel Shchitnikov when Shchitnikov got his short stack all in with K?Q? but couldn't beat Hamnett's A?10? on a board of 9?6?A?2?2?.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
700,000
260,000
|
260,000 |
|
350,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
170,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Grigorii Rodin and Andrei Daniliuk built a pot of around 60,000 as they went heads-up to the river on a completed board of Q?2?K?9?5?. Daniliuk then moved all in for 53,000 in the big blind.
Rodin was in the small blind and went deep into the tank for nearly five minutes. "Ready for action," tablemate Ali El-Siblani said.
"Action and reaction," Issam Tannouri added. El-Siblani and Nan Zhu then began singing as the table continued to wait for Rodin to act.
Rodin eventually called and Daniliuk showed A?A?. Rodin mucked K?10? and Daniliuk doubled up.
Nikolay Fal is also at this table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
570,000
229,000
|
229,000 |
|
400,000
54,500
|
54,500 |
|
||
|
220,000
99,000
|
99,000 |
|
180,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
|
140,000
-12,500
|
-12,500 |
|
130,000
-70,000
|
-70,000 |
Dmitrii Kuzin opened to 5,500 and received a call from a player on the button before Traian Stanciu three-bet to 30,000 from the big blind. Kuzin put in a four-bet to 60,500, forcing the button out of the pot while Stanciu made the call.
The flop came K?6?2? and Stanciu check-called a 15,000 continuation bet from Kuzin.
Stanciu check-called another bet from Kuzin on the 5? turn, this time for 40,000.
On the Q? river Stanciu checked once more and Kuzin bet 120,000. Stanciu thought for about one minute before making the call. Kuzin immediately mucked and Stanciu collected a massive pot without having to show the winning hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
570,000
334,000
|
334,000 |
|
178,000
-469,500
|
-469,500 |
|
||
Herodotos Partakkis was in middle position with a raise of 15,500 in front of him before Ivan Zabiiakin reraised to 32,000 on the button. Partakkis then moved all in for 110,000 and Zabiiakin snap-called.
Herodotos Partakkis: A?A?
Ivan Zabiiakin: K?K?
Partakkis had picked up aces against Zabiiakin's kings and held up through the 8?5?8?10?2? board to earn a double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
240,000
-33,000
|
-33,000 |
|
230,000
94,000
|
94,000 |
Heads-up on a flop of 3?8?3?, Fabio Peluso bet 10,000 from middle position and Nemanja Lukovic called in the big blind.
The turn was the Q? and Peluso bet another 18,000. Lukovic then raised to 42,000 and Peluso called.
The K? fell on the river and Lukovic moved all in. Peluso, who had around 105,000 remaining, quickly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
350,000
86,500
|
86,500 |
|
105,000
-41,000
|
-41,000 |
|
|
||
A player in the cutoff raised to 6,500 before Damir Zhugralin three-bet to 15,500 on the button. Aleksandr Ivanov then moved all in for around 30,000 and only Zhugralin called.
Aleksandr Ivanov: 7?7?
Damir Zhugralin: A?5?
Zhugralin hit his ace on the A?10?2? flop, while the 10? turn left Ivanov a card away from elimination. The river, though, was the 7? and Ivanov hit a full house to double up.
"I folded king-seven," a tablemate said after the hand, revealing that Ivanov had hit the last remaining seven in the deck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
280,000
64,500
|
64,500 |
|
65,000
-68,000
|
-68,000 |
On the first hand of Day 2, Georgios Skaparis got his last 30,000 in the middle from the cutoff and Dmitry Gromov called on the button. Gabriel Akiki, who had only just registered for the tournament, then reshoved in the big blind and Gromov called.
Georgios Skaparis: K?Q?
Gabriel Akiki: 9?9?
Dmitry Gromov: K?Q?
The board ran out 4?6?10?3?7? and Akiki's pair of nines were enough to earn him a double up and send Skaparis to an early exit.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
230,000
230,000
|
230,000 |
|
200,000
-112,000
|
-112,000 |
|
|
||
A total of 241 players return for the second act of the 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event when Day 2 begins at noon local time.
Alisa Sibgatova leads the field into the day with a stack of 661,000. She’s followed by Dmitrii Kuzin (647,500), Fausto Tantillo (602,000), Rabih El-Hachem (588,500), and Aleksandar Tot (559,000), while past EPT champion Kalidou Sow is also in the top-10 with 531,000.
Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alisa Sibgatova | Russia | 661,000 | 264 |
| 2 | Dmitrii Kuzin | Russia | 647,500 | 259 |
| 3 | Fausto Tantillo | Italy | 602,000 | 241 |
| 4 | Rabih El-Hachem | Lebanon | 588,500 | 235 |
| 5 | Aleksandar Tot | Montenegro | 559,000 | 224 |
| 6 | Jovan Kenjic | Serbia | 547,500 | 219 |
| 7 | Alper Kerim | Turkey | 546,000 | 218 |
| 8 | Kalidou Sow | France | 531,000 | 212 |
| 9 | Maciej Komorowski | Poland | 521,000 | 208 |
| 10 | George Tomescu | Romania | 514,000 | 206 |
Other notables still in the hunt include Simone Andrian (436,500), Milos Skrbic (404,000), Dmitry Gromov (312,000), Andrey Pateychuk (304,000), Andrea Dato (276,000), Bart Lybaert (205,000), Felipe Ketzer (164,500), and Benjamin Hamnett (128,500). Reigning champion Maxime Chilaud takes a stack of 151,500 into Day 2 as he looks to defend his title, while 2023 Merit Poker Retro Series champion Darko Svesko has 295,500.
The four opening flights saw the field grow to 502 entries so far. Late registration remains open until the end of Level 14, with unlimited reentries allowed during the registration period. The action begins on Level 10 with blinds of 1,000-2,500 and a 2,500 big blind ante. Day 2 is scheduled to play nine 60-minute levels.
By the end of the day, the players will know the prize pool that they are playing for. The money bubble will then be in sight. Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the day for live updates.
