New Crop of Players Attempt to Chase Down Zamyatin's Chip Lead When Day 1b of the $2,200 Warmup Begins at Noon
Mikhail Zamyatin set the benchmark on Day 1a yesterday. Now a new group of hopefuls will try to replicate what he did when Day 1b of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $2,200 Warmup begins at noon local time.
Zamyatin topped the 62 surviving players from the opening flight with 522,500. Luc Bindel, Sergei Efimov, Aliaksandr Hirs, and Maksim Skripkin joined him above 400,000 chips, while Fausto Tantillo (283,500), Fahredin Mustafov (270,000), Michele Guerrini (252,500), Dragos Trofimov (168,500), Yiannis Liperis (129,500), and Maxime Chilaud (119,500) are also already through to Day 2.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikhail Zamyatin | 522,500 | 209 |
| 2 | Luc Bindel | 430,000 | 172 |
| 3 | Sergei Efimov | 415,000 | 166 |
| 4 | Aliaksandr Hirs | 407,000 | 163 |
| 5 | Maksim Skripkin | 406,000 | 162 |
| 6 | Harald Sammer | 395,000 | 158 |
| 7 | Damir Zhugralin | 382,500 | 153 |
| 8 | Denis Kapustin | 365,500 | 146 |
| 9 | Stepan Kiba | 333,500 | 133 |
| 10 | Murat Altunok | 315,500 | 126 |
The crop of players who join the field today when action resumes at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus will begin with 100,000 chips and play eight hour-long levels, with a break every two levels. Late registration and unlimited reentries are available through the end of Level 12 on Day 2.
Those who make it through Day 1b will join the survivors from yesterday��s flight on Day 2 tomorrow. There are also two more starting flights, a turbo Day 1c beginning at 9:30 p.m. tonight, and a turbo Day 1d tomorrow at 10 a.m.
A total of 125 players have already joined the field chasing a piece of the $700,000 guaranteed prize pool. That will grow substantially larger today, and PokerNews will be on hand providing all the updates.