There was a raise from middle position to 12,000 that was called by Carlos Aoun in the hijack before Aleksandar Tomovic shoved for 60,000 in the cutoff. It folded back to Aoun, who confirmed the price then dropped the chips in.
Aleksandar Tomovic: 9♦9♠
Carlos Aoun: A♦J♦
Aoun took the lead on the A♥K♥8♥ flop and it looked to be the end of Tomovic's run, but the 9♣ turn locked up the pot for him as he improved to an unbeatable set. Tomovic improved further to a full house on the 8♦ river, and has around 145,000 to work with.
Andrii Novak had opened from the cutoff then called a three-bet from Sergey Tikhonov on the button to see a flop of 10♦A♥A♦, where Novak check-called a bet of 13,000 from Tikhonov.
A 5♠ saw Novak again go into check-call mode when Tikhonov fired out 55,000, and they both watched the 10♠ double-pair the board on the river. Novak checked for a third time and Tikhonov fired one more bet of around 80,000 into the pot. Novak snap-called.
Tikhonov showed A♣K♠ for a boat, and Novak had the same hand with A♠J♣, meaning they chopped up the pot.
Ibrahim Ghassan raised to 12,000 from early position before Aleksandr Razinkov three-bet to 32,000 from the cutoff. Andrii Novak called from the button, and Ghasson stuck in the call also.
Three players went to a flop of 7♠10♦8♠, where action checked to Novak, who bet 35,000. Ghassan folded, but Razinkov called to see the turn.
The 9♠ turn checked through for the 3♠ to land on the river. Razinkov took back the betting lead by firing out for 55,000. Novak pondered briefly then stuck in the call.
Razinkov just had a pair of nines with Q♣9♣ on the four flush board. Novak could beat that with 6♦6♣ for a straight.
Kirill Burtin made it 12,000 to go from the button and Harout Ghazarian shoved from the big blind for around 70,000. Burtin was thinking for a while but ultimately decided to call, which put Ghazarian at risk.
Harout Ghazarian: 6♥4♣
Kirill Burtin: 8♦7♥
Certainly two hands that you don't see all-in very often and it was the holding of Ghazarian that took the lead on the 4♠A♠3♠ flop as he paired his four. A 9♠ on the turn put a flush draw on board and gave Burtin some chop outs, but instead he took the lot as the 7♣ dropped on the river, ending Ghazarian's Main Event dreams.
Maxim Toldin opened the hijack to 12,000 with Ludovic Geilich calling from the small blind, and Karl Sandoff defending his big blind.
Geilich opted to lead out for 11,000 when the flop came down 10♠8♣6♦. Sandoff called before Toldin raised to 32,000. Geilich didn't take too long before he three-bet to 97,000. Sandoff got out the way, but Toldin took a bit more time before he folded and surrendered the pot to Geilich.
Amir Mohammadi raised to 13,000 from under the gun and Yilu Yuan shoved from middle position for 114,000. Rosen Apostolov was in the big blind and shoved his stack of around 280,000, and Mohammadi got out of the way.
Yilu Yuan: A♠J♥
Rosen Apostolov: A♥Q♥
Yuan was way behind and fell further back when the dealer put out a flop of 6♦4♣Q♦. A K♥ on the turn did give Yuan some hope with a Broadway draw, but the 2♥ on the river was a brick, and Yuan was the first player to hit the rail on Day 3.
The $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series returns for Day 3 today at noon local time inside the luxurious Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. After a record-breaking 881 entries, just 213 players remain in the hunt for the title, with the lion’s share of the $2,431,560 prize pool still up for grabs. The top prize of $401,000 awaits the eventual champion, along with one of the most prestigious trophies on the North Cyprus poker calendar.
Leading the field is Cyprus’ own Georgios Tsouloftas, who bagged a massive 1,744,000 on Day 2. Hot on his heels is Bulgaria’s Atanas Malinov, looking to reach his third major final table of the series with 1,661,000 in chips. Ukraine’s Andrii Novak rounds out the podium in third place, returning with 1,444,000 and plenty of momentum.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Georgios Tsouloftas
Cyprus
1,744,000
291
2
Atanas Malinov
Bulgaria
1,661,000
277
3
Andrii Novak
Ukraine
1,444,000
241
4
Yuan Xu
China
1,369,000
228
5
Andrija Cvetkovic
Croatia
1,178,000
196
6
Konstantin Voronin
Russia
1,155,000
193
7
Ludovic Geilich
United Kingdom
1,146,000
191
8
Anthony Khouzami
Lebanon
1,138,000
190
9
Ahmad Abdelhadi
United Kingdom
1,094,000
182
10
Kuljinder Sidhu
United Kingdom
1,061,000
177
Just behind the top trio, several big names are well-positioned to make a deep run. Yuan Xu (1,369,000), Andrija Cvetkovic (1,178,000), and Konstantin Voronin (1,155,000) all return with healthy stacks, while Ludovic Geilich, Anthony Khouzami, and Ahmad Abdelhadi each finished the day above the one-million mark and will look to maintain momentum as the money bubble approaches.
Yuan Xu
Cards will be in the air at 12:00 p.m. local time, with blinds resuming at 3,000/6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. The schedule for the day will be confirmed shortly after play begins, but with just 119 spots making the money and a min-cash of $4,545 up for grabs, the short stacks will be clinging on while the big stacks will be looking to apply maximum pressure and chip up.
$3,300 Main Event Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
$401,000
16-18
$22,400
2
$265,000
19-21
$20,135
3
$185,250
22-24
$17,930
4
$132,100
25-26
$15,730
5
$99,050
27-35
$13,545
6
$80,500
36-44
$11,840
7
$65,700
45-53
$10,140
8
$52,200
54-63
$8,690
9
$39,600
64-72
$7,710
10-12
$32,000
73-81
$6,735
13-15
$25,800
82-89
$6,005
16-18
$22,400
90-99
$5,275
19-21
$20,135
100-119
$4,545
Stay locked in with PokerNews as Day 3 unfolds, with live updates, chip counts, and all the key hands on the road to crowning the 2025 Carmen Series Main Event champion.
