Akin Tuna opened to 450,000 from middle position and Chady Ojeil three-bet to 1,075,000 from the hijack. When it got back to Tuna, he called.
"The good news is that you only called," remarked Ojeil before the flop of 7♣6♠Q♥ hit the felt. Tuna checked then Ojeil bet 575,000. Tuna check-raised to 1,900,000, and Ojeil called.
A 3♠ on the turn saw Tuna move all in for over 10,000,000, giving Ojeil a huge decision for his stack of around 8,000,000.
"Yesterday you just called with kings and aces twice," muttered Ojeil while he mulled it over. After some more consideration, Ojeil folded A♣Q♣ face up.
"Do you want to see," asked Tuna. "If you want to show me, then ok," replied Ojeil.
Tuna then rolled over top set with Q♦Q♠!
"I guess I'm freerolling the tournament now," joked Ojeil.
Akin Tuna opened to 450,000 from the cutoff and Mikhail Zavoloka called out of the big blind.
On the monotone 5♠3♠7♠ flop. Zavoloka elected to lead out for 350,000, which Tuna called to see the A♥ drop on the turn, where both checked.
A Q♥ completed the runout and Zavoloka bet 525,000. then Tuna burned through a time bank before he made it 1,875,000. It was Zavoloka's turn to use some extra time and he came to the conclusion that folding was the right option, which meant Tuna took the pot.
Mikhail Zavoloka opened to 400,000 from middle position and Nenad Dukic called in the hijack before Daniil Kiselev shoved for 2,625,000 from the small blind.
Zavoloka thought about it for some time but eventually folded, and Dukic's cards also hit the muck, allowing Kiselev to rake in some much-needed chips.
The $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series is down to its final day, and the stage is set inside the stunning Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino for one player to walk away with the $401,000 top prize and one of the most coveted titles in North Cyprus poker.
A record-breaking 881 players entered this year's Main Event, generating a $2,431,560 prize pool—the largest ever recorded at a Carmen Series stop and the second-largest in Merit Poker history. After four days of play, just nine contenders remain, each guaranteed at least $39,600 as they return to battle for the trophy and the lion’s share of the prize pool.
Serbia’s Nenad Dukic leads the way with 17,700,000 chips, good for 89 big blinds. He’s followed closely by Mikhail Zavoloka (15,275,000) and Akin Tuna (11,925,000), with a deep and diverse final table lineup that includes representatives from seven different countries.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Chady Ojeil
Lebanon
10,075,000
50
2
Han Han
San Marino
5,700,000
29
3
Mikhail Zavoloka
Russia
15,275,000
76
4
Maher Achour
Tunisia
11,000,000
55
5
Nenad Dukic
Serbia
17,700,000
89
6
Soraya Estrada
Spain
7,925,000
40
7
Leonid Orman
Russia
5,375,000
27
8
Daniil Kiselev
Russia
3,025,000
15
9
Akin Tuna
Turkey
11,925,000
60
The rest of the final table lineup features a strong international mix, including Maher Achour, Chady Ojeil, and Soraya Estrada, each bringing healthy stacks into the final day. Rounding out the table are Han Han, Leonid Orman, and Daniil Kiselev, all looking to spin it up and climb the payout ladder.
Chady Ojeil
Cards go in the air at 2:00 p.m. local time, with 36 minutes left in Level 32, where blinds will be 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 big blind ante. The final nine players have all locked up at least $39,600, but all eyes will be on the trophy and top prize of $401,000.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$401,000
2
$265,000
3
$185,250
4
$132,100
5
$99,050
6
$80,500
7
$65,700
8
$52,200
9
$39,600
Stay with PokerNews throughout the day for live updates, chip counts, and all the key hands as we crown the 2025 Carmen Series Main Event champion in this record-breaking event.
