Andrey Pateychuk didn't need to wait too long before he started causing problems for his table. On a board of 4♥3♣Q♠4♣2♦, there were around 100,000 chips in the pot when Pateychuk bet enough on the river to put Yaniv Shushan all-in, who had around 180,000 behind.
Shushan was in the tank for around two minutes and looked like he was about to make the call with his hand on his stack, but after another agonizing pause, he shook his head and made the fold.
Damir Zhugralin raised from the button to 5,000 and was met by a three-bet to 20,000 from Jinlong Hu out of the small blind. After the big blind folded, Zhugralin made the call.
The flop came down 7♠2♦A♥, and Hu continued with a bet of 12,500. Zhugralin stuck around with a call to see the 10♣ roll off on the turn. Hu fired a second barrel, this time for 28,500. Zhugralin quickly folded and the pot was pushed to Hu.
Marcin Puczylowski raised from the cutoff to 5,500 and Can Miral called on the button. Ozgur Arda also called from the big blind.
The flop came down K♣10♦Q♣ where Arda checked and Puczylowski fired out a continuation-bet of 7,000. Miral folded, but Arda called.
When the A♦ landed on the river, Arda elected to lead out for a bet of 12,000, which Puczylowski called.
A J♦ on the river put Broadway on board and brought in the backdoor flush draw, and Arda started out with a check. After some time, Puczylowski grabbed a stack of white chips and threw them into the middle, which gave Arda a decision for his stack of around 140,000. Arda didn't need much time to think as he immediately folded, and Puczylowski took down the pot.
Rosen Apostolov opened the action with a raise to 5,000 from the button. Konstantin Kvashin three-bet to 20,000 out of the small blind before Max Deveson called for his last 17,000 from the big blind. Apostolov folded, and the cards were revealed with Deveson at risk.
Max Deveson: Q♥Q♠
Konstantin Kvashin: J♦10♣
Deveson was in the perfect position to double up on one of the first hands of the day. The runout of 2♣2♠2♥5♦10♥ left Kvashin drawing dead by the turn, and a very small percentage of his stack was sent to Deveson.
The stage is set for Day 2 of the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event, where the surviving players from all four starting flights will combine for the first time. After an exciting three days of action at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, where the field size is attempting to break last year's record of 757. Just 251 players advanced to battle it out for their share of the $1,500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Leading the pack for Day 2 is Ehsan Amiri from Australia, who bagged an incredible 902,500 chips on a record-breaking Day 1b, and is far ahead of his closest rival. Second in chips is Dmitry Gromov, with 706,500 chips and Edward Quinn, who has 685,000 to play with rounds out the podium positions in third.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ehsan Amiri
Australia
902,500
361
2
Dmitry Gromov
Russia
706,500
283
3
Edward Quinn
Jersey
685,000
274
4
Bogdan Munteanu
Romania
663,500
265
5
Philip Joyce
United Kingdom
660,000
264
6
Ali Fkih
Tunisia
595,000
238
7
Joseph Houayek
Lebanon
579,000
232
8
Stanislau Charvinski
Belarus
573,500
229
9
Antoine Vranken
Netherlands
557,000
223
10
Kamil Sokol
Poland
540,000
216
Some other notable players who will take their seats at the tables for Day 2 include Day 1c chip leader Bogdan Munteanu (663,500), bracelet winners Antoine Vranken (557,000), Boris Kolev (493,500), Menikos Panagiotou (476,500), Timur Margolin (362,000), Fabio Peluso (328,500) and Darius Neagoe (264,400).
Boris Kolev
Cards get in the air at noon local time. Blinds start at 1,000/2,500 with a big blind ante of 2,500 and will be 60-minutes in duration from now until the end of the tournament. Late registration remains open until the end of Level 14, offering players a final chance to join the action before the prize pool and payouts are finalized. The schedule for the day will announced shortly after play starts, but the main goal for everyone will be to navigate their way through to Day 3 tomorrow, January 24.
Remaining Schedule
Date
Day
Time
Blind Levels
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 as PokerNews brings you all the updates and action from this exciting Main Event!
