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2024 Merit Poker Western Series

$5,300 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info

2024 Merit Poker Western Series

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q5
Prize
$177,500
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,300
Prize Pool
$703,800
Entries
153
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
121
Players Left
30

Aleksandr Kirichenko Leads the Final 30 in Day 2 of Merit Poker Western Series $5,300 High Roller

Level 18 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Aleksandr Kirichenko
Aleksandr Kirichenko

Day 2 of the Merit Poker Western Series $5,300 High Roller has come to a close here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. After ten 40-minute levels, Aleksandr Kirichenko has emerged as the overall chip leader, ending the night with 1,480,000, worth 93 big blinds going into the final day tomorrow. Kirichenko began the day as the fifth-largest stack and appeared to be in complete control with an above-average stack throughout the evening. Kirichenko would surge to the top of the counts after being on the right side of a late-night cooler and is most closely followed by Germany's Justus Held (1,390,000) and Maksim Shornikau of Belarus (1,320,000).

Kirichenko recently claimed the biggest score of his career with a second-place finish at the last Merit Poker $5,300 High Roller event from the Merit Poker Gangster Series this past October. Kirichenko won $104,500 in that event but ultimately fell short to Giorgiy Skhulukhiya in heads-up play. With $800,000 in career tournament earnings to his name the Russian pro is clearly adept at navigating large fields and will seek to avenge his runner up finish during tomorrow's Day 3.

Aleksandr Kirichenko and Giorgiy Skhulukhiya
Aleksandr Kirichenko and Giorgiy Skhulukhiya

Merit Poker Western Series $5,300 High Roller Top Ten Chip Counts

RankPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Aleksandr KirichenkoRussian Federation1,480,00093
2Justus HeldGermany1,390,00087
3Maksim ShornikauBelarus1,320,00083
4Xixiang LuoChina1,250,00078
5John DoeN/A907,00057
6Shuang LuoChina821,00051
7Joseph SabeLebanon728,00046
8Aleksandar TotMontenegro684,00043
9Guoliang WeiChina591,00037
10Frederic PopotFrance426,00027

Day 2 began with 59 players. Late registration and reentries were available for the first four levels of play today which resulted in approximately 60 more entrants. That brought the total field size to 153 entrants, generating a prize pool of $703,800 that smashed the $300,000 guarantee.

ACR team pro Monika Zukowicz and Serbia's Milos Skrbic both got off to a good start today. Zukowicz picked off a bluff from Feng Qu to nearly double up her stack in the second level of the day. Zukowicz would score another double up in similar fashion later in the evening after catching another bluff, this time from Day 1 chip leader John Doe. Skrbic, who made the final table of the 2019 WSOP main event, would knock out Maxime Chilaud in a brutal cooler to rocket up the counts in another early highlight.

China's Shuang Luo began to build a monster stack midway through the day. After an overbet on the river forced a fold from Kirichenko she found herself among the chip leaders and ended the night with a top ten chip stack. Around the same time, Justus Held began building a colossal stack of his own after making the nut-flush on the river to pull ahead of Ghassan Bitar's flopped set.

Justus Held
Justus Held

Kirichenko claimed the chip lead late in the evening after being on the right side of the ultimate cooler. Kirichenko held pocket-aces, got in a raising war with an opponent who held pocket kings, and remained ahead throughout to score a pot worth well over 100 big blinds. Kirichenko would remain at the top of the counts for the rest of the evening.

Some notable players to advance to Day 3 include bracelet winner Guoliang Wei (591,000), Skhulukhiya (345,000), Skrbic (334,000), Zukowicz (236,000) and Andrey Pateychuk (204,000). Others not as fortunate to find a bag at the end of the night include Moritz Dietrich, Dmitry Gromov, Yunsheng Sun, Ihar Soika, Roman Hrabec and Vladimir Troyanovskiy.

As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for this event which will play down to a winner tomorrow, January 20.

Tags: Aleksandar TotAleksandr KirichenkoAndrey PateychukDmitry GromovFeng QuFrederic PopotGhassan BitarGiorgiy SkhulukhiyaGuoliang WeiIhar SoikaJoseph SabeJustus HeldMaksim ShornikauMaxime ChilaudMilos SkrbicMonika ZukowiczMoritz DietrichRoman HrabecShuang LuoVladimir TroyanovskiyXixiang LuoYunsheng Sun