Daniel Charlton opened from under the gun and Halil Tasyurek called from the hijack. Aliaksei Boika also called from the button, as did a player in the big blind.
They saw a flop of A♠7♦6♦ where it checked to Boika, who put out a bet of 4,000, which only Charlton and Tasyurek called.
All three checked the 7♣ turn to see the 5♦ drop on the river, where again the action checked to Boika, who fired 20,000. After some deliberation, Charlton shoved for just over 130,000, which sent Tasyurek into the tank. After around two minutes, Tasyurek elected told, and in no time at all, Boika called.
Boika confidently flipped over 9♦8♦ for a straight flush, but the table erupted as Charlton revealed 7♠7♥ for quad sevens!
"This is how they get me out of here," said Charlton.
What a sick, sick hand. Lucky Charlton has a jacket with him because that was an absolute cooler!
A preflop raising war broke out between Dumitru Pora under the gun and Jinlong Hu in the small blind, culminating in Pora’s stack of approximately 180,000 going into the middle.
Dumitru Pora: A♦K♦
Jinlong Hu: A♠K♠
With both players holding Big Slick, the hand seemed destined to end in a chop. The 4♣J♣5♦ flop kept the status quo but offered Pora the chance to scoop with a backdoor flush.
Hu, seemingly confident he was safe, reached for his chips before the turn even arrived, as if attempting to reclaim them. However, he quickly withdrew his hands when the 6♦ hit the felt, giving Pora the flush draw and a shot at salvation.
The poker gods didn’t punish Hu for his premature actions, as the 2♣ on the river blanked, securing the expected chop. Both players split the pot, but perhaps Hu’s chip-grabbing antics narrowly avoided divine retribution.
The full action was missed but Edward Quinn just doubled up through Jinlong Hu to move his stack to almost half a million.
On a board of Kx9♥J♦J♣Xx, all of the chips were in the middle by the time showdown came around and Hu showed A♠K♥ for top pair. However, Quinn had quads with J♠J♥ to scoop the pot and bring his stack up to around 475,000.
Perhaps Hu is being punished by the poker gods after all.
Jakub Michalak raised from early position and Luke Marsh called from the next seat. The player in the cutoff called, as did Roman Gadzhiev in the big blind.
All four checked the 2♥7♥A♦ flop to see the 8♣ drop on the turn, where Gadzhiev led out for 11,000. Michalak called, then both Marsh and the cutoff folded.
When the Q♣ dropped on the river, Gadzhiev announced a bet of 27,000 and slid forward the chips, then Michalak shoved for just under 120,000. Gadzhiev thought about it for a while before he eventually tossed in the call.
Michalak showed a turn set of eights with 8♦8♥, and Gadzhiev flipped A♥Q♦ before the dealer mucked them.
Day 1a of the $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series wrapped up after nine sixty-minute levels, with 182 entries recorded on the first of four starting flights. By the end of the day, 73 players had survived the action, led by Jersey’s Edward Quinn, who bagged an impressive 685,000 chips to claim the chip lead.
The $1,500,000 guarantee saw a sizeable chunk carved out inside the stunning Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, with three more starting flights still to come.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Edward Quinn
Jersey
685,000
2
Antoine Vranken
Netherlands
557,000
3
Kamil Sokol
Poland
540,000
4
Stojan Vazic
Serbia
522,500
5
Boris Kolev
Bulgaria
493,500
6
Tommy Kemter
Netherlands
478,000
7
Menikos Panagiotou
Cyprus
476,500
8
Aliaksei Boika
Belarus
403,500
9
Wael Sarkis
Lebanon
401,000
10
Nicolae Paunescu
Romania
395,500
Quinn catapulted to the top of the chip counts during Level 8, courtesy of a massive double-up. Holding pocket jacks, he turned quads and got maximum value from the Big Slick of Jinlong Hu. Speaking to PokerNews after the day concluded, Quinn reflected on his performance.
"It's been a crazy series, I keep running up stacks but can't convert anything," said Quinn after the day ended. "I've had a few sick ones, especially the one-outer yesterday," he added in reference to a hand he played in the Warm Up.
Despite running badly so far, Quinn has set himself up for a deep run here in the Main Event after a cracking effort in Day 1a.
Bracelet winner Antoine Vranken finished second in the counts with 557,000, but was challenging Quinn for the chip lead until the final moments. Poland's Kamil Sokol rounds out the top three with 540,000.
Daniel Charlton
Daniel Charlton is a player who wished tournaments had bad beat jackpots as he lost with quads to a straight flush by Aliaksei Boika. Charlton turned quad sevens and check-shoved the river, only to be shown a rivered straight flush of Boika, who held nine-eight of diamonds.
Other notables to make it through include Boris Kolev (493,500), Andrey Pateychuk (360,500), Dawid Smolka (347,000), and Jakub Michalak (249,000).
For those who fell short on Day 1a, there’s still hope, as three more starting flights remain. Day 1b kicks off tomorrow, January 21, at 12:00 p.m., followed by two flights on January 22. Late registration will remain open until the end of Level 14 on Day 2, giving players plenty of time to take another shot at building a stack.
Remaining Schedule
Date
Day
Time
Blind Levels
January 21
Day 1b
12:00 p.m.
60 minutes
January 22
Day 1c
12:00 p.m.
40 minutes
January 22
Day 1d
7:00 p.m.
25 minutes
January 23
Day 2
12:00 p.m.
60 minutes
January 24
Day 3
12:00 p.m.
60 minutes
January 25
Day 4
12:00 p.m.
60 minutes
January 26
Day 5
1:00 p.m.
60 minutes
Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the rest of the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series for live updates and exclusive coverage in the Main Event.
