The penultimate day of the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series $2,200 Warm Up has concluded here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. The day began with 68 hopefuls from a field of 463 entrants and by the end of the night just 14 players remained.
After nine hour-long levels of play, Italy's Daniele Grasso emerged as the overwhelming chip leader, finishing the night with 8,900,000. Grasso is well ahead of the field, with nearly double the stack of his two closest rivals Florian Guimond and Dawid Smolka, who bagged 4,600,000 each. Grasso's live tournament earnings currently stand at just under $50,000 with a career-best cash of $19,163, which he can surpass with an eighth place finish or better in this event.
Day 4 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Viktor Iarilov | Russian Federation | 4,550,000 | 38 |
| 1 | 2 | Pouya Ranjehdel | Iran | 3,150,000 | 26 |
| 1 | 3 | Georges Chehade | Lebanon | 3,700,000 | 31 |
| 1 | 4 | Victor Fryda | France | 1,750,000 | 15 |
| 1 | 5 | Bogdan Munteanu | Romania | 4,575,000 | 38 |
| 1 | 6 | Julien Rouquet | France | 2,000,000 | 17 |
| 1 | 7 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 4,600,000 | 38 |
| 2 | 1 | Ziad Menhem | Lebanon | 1,725,000 | 14 |
| 2 | 2 | Zhen Chen | China | 2,300,000 | 19 |
| 2 | 3 | Daniele Grasso | Italy | 8,900,000 | 74 |
| 2 | 4 | Sandra Cotescu | Romania | 1,525,000 | 13 |
| 2 | 5 | Ruslan Bakhtiev | Russian Federation | 1,850,000 | 15 |
| 2 | 6 | Florian Guimond | France | 4,600,000 | 38 |
| 2 | 7 | Hadi Khordbin | Iran | 1,475,000 | 12 |
Day 3 Action
With 68 players to start the day and 63 paid spots the pace of play was slow to start with the bubble soon approaching. It took just over an hour for the next five eliminations to occur, with Selahaddin Bedir earning the unfortunate title of bubble boy after his pocket aces were cracked by Samuel Dray's pocket queens.
Smolka began the day as one of the shorter stacks but he began to pick up steam shortly after the money bubble had burst. In one pivotal hand, he scored a double knockout after cracking Gihad Ismail's pocket kings with pocket sixes to send both Ismail and a short-stacked Andrei Daniliuk to the rail. Smolka remained near the top of the counts throughout the day following that hand, ultimately tying Guimond for the second-largest stack at the end of the night.
Timur Margolin started the day with the second-largest stack and had a roller-coaster session from the start, going back and forth from the top of the counts to the middle of the pack on several occasions. His run ended in 18th place after making a hero call at the wrong time against Grasso, who had a massive chip lead following that hand that he held on to for the rest of the night.
Other notables to make it to Day 3 but fall before the end of the night include reigning WSOP Europe Main Event Champion Simone Andrian (58th), Aylar Lie (57th), Darius Neagoe (31st) and Alessio Isaia (26th).
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $179,650 |
| 2 | $125,500 |
| 3 | $80,300 |
| 4 | $60,300 |
| 5 | $45,150 |
| 6 | $36,200 |
| 7 | $30,150 |
| 8 | $24,100 |
| 9 | $18,050 |
| 10-12 | $13,155 |
| 13-14 | $10,670 |
The action picks up on Day 4 at Level 29, featuring blinds of 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. Everyone has already locked up $10,670 and will be aiming for the top prize of $179,650.
As always, stay tuned to Pokernews for the final day tomorrow as we bring you all the action from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned.
