$3,300 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2023 Merit Poker Western Series
$3,300 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2023 Merit Poker Western Series
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$2,089,320
Entries
757
Level
38
Blinds
500,000 / 1,000,000
Ante
1,000,000
Entries
215
Players Left
106
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Day 1a of the Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event is now over and complete after nine levels of play that saw 215 entries get whittled down to around 106 as the night came to an end.
Of the largest stacks to end the night was Salavat Shafigullin who bagged up 511,000. He was seen with a big stack in the middle part of the day and would just keep on building from there.
One of the other largest stacks was actually at the same table asMohamed El-Sayed was able to gather 496,000 and finish the night right on the heels of Shafigullin, just a few seats away.
Top Ten Stacks of Day 1a
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salavat Shafigullin | Russia | 511,000 |
| 2 | Mohamed El-Sayed | Lebanon | 496,000 |
| 3 | Osman Atmaca | Turley | 495,000 |
| 4 | Koray Korkmaz | Turkey | 475,000 |
| 5 | Eduard Bagrov | Armenia | 467,000 |
| 6 | Sergei Sokharev | Russia | 459,000 |
| 7 | Timur Margolin | Israel | 429,000 |
| 8 | Mikahil Zamyatin | Russia | 425,000 |
| 9 | Mehmet Ali Erceylan | Turkey | 421,000 |
| 10 | Abraham Passet | United Kingdom | 418,000 |
Familiar North Cypurs regulars Koray Korkmaz (475,000) and Timur Margolin (429,000) ended proceedings as two of the biggest stacks as they tagged their bags.
A few other notable players who found a bag to Day 2 were; La Sengphet (325,000), Ghanim Dashti (280,000) and Daniel Lowery (206,000) who has made the trek across the world to play in this series after recent success back in the USA.
With almost 50% of the field making it to Day 2, the meat of the tournament is still yet to be entered as registration is open for three levels into Day 2. The players who survived Day 1a will join those who survive Day 1b, 1c, and 1d as well as any last-minute entries.
PokerNews will be back at it tomorrow at 12 noon, where Day 1b will commence.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
511,000
16,000
|
16,000 |
|
||
|
496,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
495,000 | |
|
475,000
475,000
|
475,000 |
|
467,000 | |
|
459,000 | |
|
429,000
74,000
|
74,000 |
|
||
|
425,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
421,000 | |
|
418,000
223,000
|
223,000 |
|
406,500 | |
|
405,000 | |
|
376,500
46,500
|
46,500 |
|
338,500
83,500
|
83,500 |
|
326,500
261,500
|
261,500 |
|
325,500
500
|
500 |
|
325,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
307,500 | |
|
306,500 | |
|
|
305,500
95,500
|
95,500 |
|
300,000
128,000
|
128,000 |
|
295,000 | |
|
|
294,500 | |
|
286,500 | |
|
|
286,000 | |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The floor has just announced three more hands before the end of the night.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Action came in on the flop as it showed 
. Ceyhan Tezcan bet 15,000 from under the gun.
Arie Kliper raised by tossing out some chips from the small blind. Tezcan took a few moments before he folded as Kliper collected and became one of the larger stacks in the room.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
337,000
337,000
|
337,000 |
|
|
255,000
255,000
|
255,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Action was picked up on the river as the board read 
. Jeffrey Huddell bet 25,000. His opponent was in the tank and asked Huddell to show if he folded, which he did.
Huddell obliged and turned over the 
for the bluff and took in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
190,000
190,000
|
190,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Action was picked up on the turn with a board that read 
.
Mihai Gabriel Niste made a bet of 34,000 into a pot of about 45,000. His opponent thought for a while before he folded and Niste accumulated some more chips to move his stack up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
215,000
215,000
|
215,000 |
Level: 9
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Day 1a has reached its final 10-minute break of the night. The players will return to play just one more level before the night is done.
Level 8
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
In the latest PokerNews Podcast episode of 2023, Chad Holloway and Connor Richards handle things while Jesse Fullen is in Australia. They discuss Mike Postle’s sudden reappearance in the poker world after making a final table at the Million Dollar Heater at Beau Rivage in Mississippi, while also talking about the slowroll and needle that accompanied his bust out.
They try to balance that story with a heart-warming one where Johnnie “Johnnie Vibes” Moreno put a bartender into the MSPT Sycuan Main Event, with the recreational player going on to finish in fourth place for $40,000!
Other stories discussed include WSOP.com Player of the Years, Lon McEachern and Daniel Lowery winning WSOP Circuit gold rings, and early winners from the PokerGO Cup.
Speaking of which, PokerGO’s Mori Eskandani joins the show as this week’s guest. The Poker Hall of Famer talks 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) preparations, who came close to challenging Jason Koon on High Stakes Duel III (HSD), plus when we can expect the next HSD match to take place. He also discussed new developments to this year’s PokerGO Tour (PGT) and shared memories from the days when the Mirage was the hot spot for poker in Vegas.