The first of three highlight tournaments got underway today at the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series, with Day 1a of the $2,200 Warm Up, which boasts a huge $1,000,000 guarantee inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
When all was said and done, just 25 players remained from the 55 entries, and it was Kazakhstan's Azamat Tulepbergenov who topped the counts after he amassed 637,000 chips — over six starting stacks!
Tulepbergenov got off to a blistering start in the opening level when he turned a gutshot straight draw with king-ten and got all the chips into the middle against Panayiotis Vassiliou, who had flopped bottom set. The Kazakhstani player also sent Paul Newey and Nichan Khorchidian to the sidelines in the later levels on his way to bagging the biggest stack.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azamat Tulepbergenov | Kazakhstan | 637,000 |
| 2 | Adlan Vikayev | Kazakhstan | 472,000 |
| 3 | Arian Kashani | Iran | 421,500 |
| 4 | Nikolay Ponomarev | Russia | 371,000 |
| 5 | Robbie Schiffbauer | United States | 340,000 |
| 6 | Mario Fata | France | 336,500 |
| 7 | Kianoosh Matin | Iran | 326,000 |
| 8 | Andrey Golubev | Russia | 310,500 |
| 9 | Danielle Noja | Lebanon | 251,500 |
| 10 | Tom Verbruggen | Netherlands | 230,500 |
Kazakhstan occupies the top two places on the leaderboard as Adlan Vikayev had 472,000 in his stack by the time the day was done. Vikayev scored an elimination of his countrymate Askar Bekbayev during Level 5, then won a huge flip when his ace-king rivered a pair against the pocket jacks of Fredrico Senno. It was smooth sailing from then on for Vikayev, who puts himself in a great spot for Thursday's Day 2.
Arian Kashani once again proved he knows how to navigate his way through a tournament field as he bagged up an impressive 421,500 chips in his pursuit of another major title. Kashani, who recently claimed victory in the UKIPT Nottingham Main Event, displayed the same poise and skill that led him to that success, methodically climbing his way to the top of the chip counts.
"Slow and Steady" seemed to be the theme of Kashani’s day as he consistently chipped up, taking down pot after pot with calculated precision. His patient approach paid off as he built his stack throughout the ten 40-minute levels, keeping him well-positioned for another deep run. Kashani has already shown he knows how to close out a tournament — and with a stack like this, he’s once again a name to watch as the action continues.
Other notables to make it through were Robbie Schiffbauer (340,000), Andrey Golubev (310,500), Danielle Noja (251,500), Tom Verbruggen (230,500), Grigorii Rodin (186,000), and Ran Ilani (127,000).
There are still three more flights that players can enter to try and run up a stack, and late registration is open until Level 15, which is around halfway through Day 2.
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 15 | Day 1b | 12:00 pm | 40 minutes |
| January 15 | Day 1c | 9:00 pm | 25 minutes |
| January 16 | Day 1d | 10:00 am | 15 minutes |
| January 16 | Day 2 | 12:30 pm | 40 minutes |
| January 17 | Day 3 | 12:00 pm | 40 minutes |
| January 18 | Day 4 | 12:00 pm | 40 minutes |
Be sure to follow PokerNews for all the latest action from Day 1b tomorrow and live updates every day throughout the rest of the series.
