Felipe Ketzer opened from the hijack to 12,000 and Aliaksandr Hirs made it 27,000 from the cutoff. Once it got back to Ketzer, he shoved, and Hirs called for his stack of 133,000.
Aliaksandr Hirs: 9♦9♣
Felipe Ketzer: K♣Q♠
Hirs was flipping for a his tournament life and seemed destined to hit the rail after Ketzer paired his queen on the 4♥Q♥A♠ flop. In preparation for his departure, Hirs pushed his stack into the middle of the table for Ketzer to claim, but drilled a set on the 9♠ turn to lock up the pot. A meaningless J♣ dropped on the river and Hirs doubled to around 275,000.
"Not fair," joked Ketzer after the hand.
"You can only do that once," remarked another player at the table.
Hirs quietly pulled his chips back from the middle, proving that sometimes it pays to prepare... but not too much.
Hugo De La Fouchardiere raised to 12,000 from early position with Soraya Estrada calling on the button and Felipe Ketzer defending out of the big blind.
The three players checked the 3♠Q♦10♠ flop to see the J♦ land on the turn. The action checked to Estrada and she put out a bet of 26,000. Ketzer, and Fouchardiere called.
It was checked the Estrada again when the 6♦ came on the river and she bet 80,000. Ketzer went deep into the tank, thinking about the decision for quite some time. Eventually, he folded, and Fouchardiere folded instantly.
Day 2 of the $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series has officially etched its name in the record books, with a staggering 791 entries confirmed at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. This remarkable turnout not only shatters the previous high of 757 runners set back in 2023 but also underscores the ever-growing prestige of this marquee event. By the end of the day, 157 players had secured a bag to bring back for Day 3.
The tournament saw 251 players advance through the opening four flights, with an additional 186 entries pouring in before the close of late registration at the end of Level 14. This surge of last-minute entries propelled the prize pool to a massive $2,183,160, far exceeding the $1,500,000 guarantee and creating life-changing payouts for those who make it to the top.
Leading the charge is China's Zhen Chen, who bagged a commanding 1,281,000 chips to claim the top spot on the leaderboard. Chen, no stranger to success at flagship Merit Poker tournaments, took down the $5,300 High Roller at the Gatsby Gala just a few months ago and now looks poised for another deep run.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Zhen Chen
China
1,281,000
160
2
Anton Danilov
Russia
1,276,000
160
3
Renars Skanis
Latvia
1,250,000
156
4
Bugra Karsli
Turkey
1,184,000
148
5
Dmitry Gromov
Russia
1,154,000
144
6
Nichan Khorchidian
Lebanon
1,149,000
144
7
Georgios Skarparis
Cyprus
1,133,000
142
8
Ali Fkih
Tunisia
1,128,000
141
9
Nikolay Ponomarev
Russia
1,092,000
137
10
Motokatsu Uhara
Japan
1,014,000
127
Dmitry Gromov ended Day 2 of the Main Event with an impressive stack of 1,154,000 chips, firmly positioning himself for another deep run. The Russian player, who finished third in the Gatsby Gala Main Event just a few months ago, has turned Cyprus into his personal playground, boasting over 100 career cashes. With cashes in no less than ten previous Merit Poker Main Events, Gromov is well on track to add an eleventh to his growing list of accomplishments.
In that same Gatsby Gala event, Nichan Khorchidian outlasted the field to claim the top prize of $307,700. Khorchidian is once again in prime position to make a deep run, having bagged the sixth-largest stack of 1,149,000 chips heading into Day 3.
Nichan Khorchidian
Georgios Skarparis continues to ride high, finishing Day 2 with an impressive 1,133,000 chips. Skarparis, who claimed victory in the Warm Up earlier in the series, is now chasing an extraordinary second major title in just a matter of days.
Other notables advancing to Day 3 include Dawid Smolka (1,000,000), Dan Borlan (887,000), Sergei Varnaev (861,000), Michel Molenaar (757,000), Philipp Wood (640,000), and start-of-Day-2 chip leader Ehsan Amiri (585,000).
The first objective on the players to-do list tomorrow will be to make the money, and from the 157 returning, only 103 will be able to do so. When play resumes on Day 3, the average stack will be just over 500,000, which is around 63 big blinds.
Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$377,500
2
$251,000
3
$180,300
4
$130,200
5
$94,600
6
$75,900
7
$63,200
8
$50,500
9
$37,950
10-12
$28,900
13-15
$23,440
16-18
$20,170
19-21
$17,985
22-24
$16,020
25-26
$14,055
27-35
$12,305
36-44
$10,560
45-53
$9,030
54-62
$7,505
63-71
$6,630
72-80
$5,760
81-89
$5,105
90-103
$4,450
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates, chip counts, and all the action as the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series Main Event heats up!
