Rabih Saad Leads 126 Survivors in a Race to the Money on Day 3 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $2,200 Warmup
The race to the money bubble is on when Day 3 of the Merit Poker Carmen Series $2,200 Warmup begins at noon local time.
Leading the way is Rabih Saad, who has built up a stack of 1,738,000 heading into the penultimate day of the tournament. Ran Ilani (1,366,000) and Alexandru Cinca (1,267,000) are close behind, while Fahredin Mustafov (1,360,000) and Petr Skripka (1,284,000) round out the top five on the chip leaderboard.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabih Saad | 1,738,000 | 174 |
| 2 | Ran Ilani | 1,366,000 | 137 |
| 3 | Fahredin Mustafov | 1,360,000 | 136 |
| 4 | Petr Skripka | 1,284,000 | 128 |
| 5 | Alexandru Cinca | 1,267,000 | 127 |
| 6 | Eduard Barsegian | 1,170,000 | 117 |
| 7 | Michael Uguccioni | 1,110,000 | 111 |
| 8 | Aliaksandr Hirs | 1,087,000 | 109 |
| 9 | Ali Moein | 1,031,000 | 103 |
| 10 | Saman Nakhjavani | 1,022,000 | 102 |
Selahaddin Bedir, who won this event here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus last March, registered late on Day 2 but wasted no time amassing a stack of 991,000. Other top stacks include Philippe Souki (970,000), Gabi Livshitz (875,000), Gabriel Akiki (715,000), and Nicolas Chouity (681,000). Further down are Michele Guerrini (653,000), Helmut Phung (428,000), Luc Bindel (422,000), and Ryan Mandara (400,000).
The schedule for today calls for a further eight hour-long levels. Play will pick up on Level 17, with blinds of 5,000-10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante.
The first milestone of the day will be the bursting of the money bubble. Just 126 players out of a starting field of 611 entries remain, but only 71 will make the money and grab a share of the $1,124,240 prize pool. A total of 55 players will leave the tournament after more than two days of play with nothing.
The money bubble is fast approaching. Then it��s a race toward the final table and the top prize money, and, as always, PokerNews will be following all the action and providing live updates throughout the day.