$3,300 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series
$3,300 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series
Buy-in
$3,300
Prize Pool
$1,694,640
Entries
614
Level
38
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
368
Players Left
120
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Day 2 of the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series $ 3,300 Main Event has concluded with 120 players remaining from a 614-entrant field here at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
Leading the way after eight hour-long levels is Kirill Shcherbakov, who started the day with the second-largest stack and remained near the top from start to finish, ultimately finishing with 1,715,000. Mikhail Zavoloka, who started the day with the chip lead, is his closest rival after finishing with 1,542,000 while Ruslan Bakhtiev rounds out the top three with 1,323,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 1,715,000 | 286 |
| 2 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russia | 1,542,000 | 257 |
| 3 | Ruslan Bakhtiev | Russia | 1,323,000 | 221 |
| 4 | Assyl Tleuzhanov | Kazakhstan | 1,203,000 | 201 |
| 5 | Baris Caliskan | Turkey | 1,192,000 | 199 |
| 6 | Dimitrios Barmpathanasis | Greece | 1,115,000 | 186 |
| 7 | Nichan Khorchidian | Lebanon | 1,025,000 | 171 |
| 8 | Ali Al-Kubasi | Iraq | 1,009,000 | 168 |
| 9 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | 1,005,000 | 168 |
| 10 | Zhen Chen | China | 1,005,000 | 168 |
The day began with 213 survivors from the first four starting flights and with late registration open for the first five levels of the day, a further 155 entrants joined the fray, bringing the total field size to 614.
Also among the top ten are Nichan Khorchidian (1,025,000) and Felipe Ketzer (1,009,000), both of whom have come very close to capturing a Merit Poker Main Event title. Khorchidian came runner up to Mohamed Mokrani in the 2023 Merit Poker Western Series Main Event, ultimately finishing in second place for $252,000.
Ketzer, known for his accomplishments on both the live and online felts, came third in that event and then just two months later he outdid that performance with a runner up finish in the 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event for $249,200, ultimately losing to Elie Farah in heads-up play. With a stack worth over 150 big blinds going into Day 3 Ketzer will be in a great position for another deep run in this event. Mokrani and Farah also both advanced to Day 3 with 346,000 and 420,000 respectively.
Others to make it through to the end of Day 2 include Timur Margolin (871,000), Andrey Pateychuk (577,000), Nikolay Fal (546,000), Simone Andrian (506,000), Dmitry Yurasov (361,000) and Dmitry Gromov (361,000). Some notables who played Day 2 but fell before the end of the night include Fabio Peluso, Alessio Isaia and Darius Neagoe.
Day 3 picks up tomorrow at noon local time with the blinds at 4,000/8,000 and an 8,000 big blind ante, with the money bubble expected to burst midway through the day. As always, stay tuned to Pokernews as we bring you all the action from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on the final day, taking place December 01.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,715,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
||
|
1,542,000
57,000
|
57,000 |
|
||
|
1,323,000
33,000
|
33,000 |
|
1,203,000
103,000
|
103,000 |
|
||
|
1,192,000
221,000
|
221,000 |
|
1,115,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
|
1,025,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
|
||
|
1,009,000
1,009,000
|
1,009,000 |
|
1,005,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
1,005,000
-56,000
|
-56,000 |
|
907,000
804,000
|
804,000 |
|
871,000
-104,000
|
-104,000 |
|
||
|
866,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
|
860,000
737,000
|
737,000 |
|
821,000
371,000
|
371,000 |
|
816,000
-74,000
|
-74,000 |
|
804,000
700,500
|
700,500 |
|
|
796,000
796,000
|
796,000 |
|
776,000
-194,000
|
-194,000 |
|
775,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
765,000
425,500
|
425,500 |
|
749,000
471,000
|
471,000 |
|
735,000
85,000
|
85,000 |
|
725,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
708,000
456,000
|
456,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Status | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Damir Zhugralin | Kazakhstan | 480,000 | 60 |
| 1 | 2 | Hakan Demirci | Turkey | 508,000 | 64 |
| 1 | 3 | Antonios Poziadis | Greece | 468,000 | 59 |
| 1 | 4 | Seref Anar | Turkey | 804,000 | 101 |
| 1 | 5 | Adrian State | Romania | 603,000 | 75 |
| 1 | 6 | Aleksandar Tot | Montenegro | 455,000 | 57 |
| 1 | 7 | Erik Wigg | Sweden | 686,000 | 86 |
| 1 | 8 | Charbel Salloum | Lebanon | 422,000 | 53 |
| 2 | 1 | Elie Farah | Lebanon | 420,000 | 53 |
| 2 | 2 | Vladimir Alekseev | Russia | 310,000 | 39 |
| 2 | 3 | Denis Kapustin | Russia | 735,000 | 92 |
| 2 | 4 | Alexandru Cinca | Romania | 708,000 | 89 |
| 2 | 5 | Mahmut Sanli | Turkey | 115,000 | 14 |
| 2 | 6 | Daniyar Aubakirov | Kazakhstan | 512,000 | 64 |
| 2 | 7 | Nikolay Fal | Russia | 546,000 | 68 |
| 2 | 8 | Roman Gadzhiev | Russia | 664,000 | 83 |
| 3 | 1 | Andrey Litvinov | Russia | 205,000 | 26 |
| 3 | 2 | Sandra Cotescu | Romania | 322,000 | 40 |
| 3 | 3 | Walid Bou Habib | Lebanon | 234,000 | 29 |
| 3 | 4 | Mehmet Karsli | Turkey | 493,000 | 62 |
| 3 | 5 | Mehdi Chaoui | Morocco | 521,000 | 65 |
| 3 | 6 | Andrej Tekel | Slovakia | 307,000 | 38 |
| 3 | 7 | Marian Cantea | Romania | 75,000 | 9 |
| 3 | 8 | Fredrico Senno | Lebanon | 775,000 | 97 |
| 4 | 1 | Mohamed Mokrani | Algeria | 346,000 | 43 |
| 4 | 2 | Ramez Haddad | Lebanon | 334,000 | 42 |
| 4 | 3 | Adria Diaz Dalmau | Spain | 146,000 | 18 |
| 4 | 4 | Senol Ardic | Turkey | 615,000 | 77 |
| 4 | 5 | Volodymyr Drokin | Ukraine | 107,000 | 13 |
| 4 | 6 | Naji Azar | Lebanon | 178,000 | 22 |
| 4 | 7 | Marc Foggin | United Kingdom | 500,000 | 63 |
| 4 | 8 | Zhao Cheng | China | 635,000 | 79 |
| 5 | 1 | Pavel Shchitnikov | Russia | 866,000 | 108 |
| 5 | 2 | Shahin Norouzian | Canada | 412,000 | 52 |
| 5 | 3 | Andreas Christoforou | Cyprus | 222,000 | 28 |
| 5 | 4 | Ali Al-Kubasi | Iraq | 1,009,000 | 126 |
| 5 | 5 | Evagoras Evagorou | Cyprus | 596,000 | 75 |
| 5 | 6 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 326,000 | 41 |
| 5 | 7 | Roman Kolotiuk | Russia | 206,000 | 26 |
| 5 | 8 | Milad Souderjani | Iran | 460,000 | 58 |
| 6 | 1 | Ruslan Bakhtiev | Russia | 1,323,000 | 165 |
| 6 | 2 | Robert Heidorn | Germany | 860,000 | 108 |
| 6 | 3 | Florian Guimond | France | 103,000 | 13 |
| 6 | 4 | Dauren Zhaparov | Kazakhstan | 486,000 | 61 |
| 6 | 5 | Nicolae Paunescu | Romania | 907,000 | 113 |
| 6 | 6 | Majid Majidi | Iran | 278,000 | 35 |
| 6 | 7 | Henrik Brockmann | Netherlands | 690,000 | 86 |
| 6 | 8 | Jeremy Saderne | France | 330,000 | 41 |
| 7 | 1 | Yahya Oguz. | North Cyprus | 160,000 | 20 |
| 7 | 2 | Yiannakis Papapetrou | Cyprus | 686,000 | 86 |
| 7 | 3 | Elena Iakovleva | Russia | 202,000 | 25 |
| 7 | 4 | Safi Haidar | Lebanon | 285,000 | 36 |
| 7 | 5 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 630,000 | 79 |
| 7 | 6 | Baris Caliskan | Turkey | 1,192,000 | 149 |
| 7 | 7 | Bassel Moussa | Lebanon | 198,000 | 25 |
| 7 | 8 | Yusuf Romano | Turkey | 571,000 | 71 |
| 8 | 1 | Assyl Tleuzhanov | Kazakhstan | 1,203,000 | 150 |
| 8 | 2 | Clement Bonnant | France | 645,000 | 81 |
| 8 | 3 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | 116,000 | 15 |
| 8 | 4 | Asaf Groofi | Israel | 796,000 | 100 |
| 8 | 5 | Oleg Ustinovich | Russia | 725,000 | 91 |
| 8 | 6 | Anton Rusev Markov | Bulgaria | 240,000 | 30 |
| 8 | 7 | Alfred Nader | Lebanon | 153,000 | 19 |
| 8 | 8 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 1,715,000 | 214 |
| 9 | 1 | Nichan Khorchidian | Lebanon | 1,025,000 | 128 |
| 9 | 2 | Aleksandr Pak | Uzbekistan | 527,000 | 66 |
| 9 | 3 | Maksim Skripkin | Ukraine | 816,000 | 102 |
| 9 | 4 | Ibrahim Cetiner | Turkey | 765,000 | 96 |
| 9 | 5 | Dimitrios Barmpathanasis | Greece | 1,115,000 | 139 |
| 9 | 6 | Konstantinos Ioannidis | Greece | 463,000 | 58 |
| 9 | 7 | Tugce Hursoz | North Cyprus | 635,000 | 79 |
| 9 | 8 | Osman Ihlamur | Turkey | 478,000 | 60 |
| 10 | 1 | Timor Margolin | Israel | 871,000 | 109 |
| 10 | 2 | Naryman Yaghmaie | Iran | 483,000 | 60 |
| 10 | 3 | Dmitry Yurasov | Russia | 361,000 | 45 |
| 10 | 4 | Ehsan Gorji | Iran | 486,000 | 61 |
| 10 | 5 | Jakub Michalak | Poland | 172,000 | 22 |
| 10 | 6 | Candido Cappiello | Italy | 776,000 | 97 |
| 10 | 7 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | 577,000 | 72 |
| 10 | 8 | Hasan Basol | Turkey | 272,000 | 34 |
| 11 | 1 | Atilla Saracoglu | Turkey | 357,000 | 45 |
| 11 | 2 | Igor Abelmasov | Russia | 706,000 | 88 |
| 11 | 3 | Shai Zurr | Israel | 472,000 | 59 |
| 11 | 4 | Grigoli Liklikadze | Georgia | 364,000 | 46 |
| 11 | 5 | Abdelhakim Zoufri | Netherlands Antillies | 313,000 | 39 |
| 11 | 6 | Mukhtor Nasiradinov | Russia | 583,000 | 73 |
| 11 | 7 | Naji Tannoury | Lebanon | 749,000 | 94 |
| 11 | 8 | Vytautas Milbutas | Lithuania | 176,000 | 22 |
| 12 | 1 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | 1,005,000 | 126 |
| 12 | 2 | Zhen Chen | China | 1,005,000 | 126 |
| 12 | 3 | Dean Joseph Hutchison | United Kingdom | 420,000 | 53 |
| 12 | 4 | Mehmet Muratli | Turkey | 400,000 | 50 |
| 12 | 5 | Traian Stanciu | Romania | 330,000 | 41 |
| 12 | 6 | Yuksel Savsa | Turkey | 449,000 | 56 |
| 12 | 7 | Dmitry Gromov | Russia | 361,000 | 45 |
| 12 | 8 | Bogdan Munteanu | Romania | 312,000 | 39 |
| 13 | 1 | Ahmad Rami Naall | Syria | 401,000 | 50 |
| 13 | 2 | Bogdan Jontulovic | Serbia | 497,000 | 62 |
| 13 | 3 | Azamat Tulepbergenov | Kazakhstan | 456,000 | 57 |
| 13 | 4 | Dumitru Pora | Romania | 172,000 | 22 |
| 13 | 5 | Daniele Grasso | Italy | 821,000 | 103 |
| 13 | 6 | Kaspars Butans | Latvia | 238,000 | 30 |
| 13 | 7 | Vedat Yilmaz | Turkey | 625,000 | 78 |
| 13 | 8 | Sevket Muduroglu | Turkey | 164,000 | 21 |
| 14 | 1 | Joseph Mouwad | Lebanon | 285,000 | 36 |
| 14 | 2 | Iliyas Mukhamedzhanov | Kazakhstan | 158,000 | 20 |
| 14 | 3 | Chakib M'Hiri | Tunisia | 371,000 | 46 |
| 14 | 4 | Aytekin Yayla | North Cyprus | 166,000 | 21 |
| 14 | 5 | Simone Andrian | Italy | 506,000 | 63 |
| 14 | 6 | Mikalai Kuzniatsou | Belarus | 274,000 | 34 |
| 14 | 7 | Yaniv Shushan | Israel | 704,000 | 88 |
| 14 | 8 | Luke Kyle Marsh | United Kingdom | 663,000 | 83 |
| 15 | 1 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 291,000 | 36 |
| 15 | 2 | Spyridon Apartoglou | Greece | 535,000 | 67 |
| 15 | 3 | Tommy Kemter | Netherlands | 390,000 | 49 |
| 15 | 4 | Benjamin Winsor | United Kingdom | 371,000 | 46 |
| 15 | 5 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russia | 1,542,000 | 193 |
| 15 | 6 | Andrei Daniliuk | Russia | 482,000 | 60 |
| 15 | 7 | Radu Pitic | Romania | 374,000 | 47 |
| 15 | 8 | Aleksei Gortikov | Russia | 339,000 | 42 |
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Day 2 is a wrap.
Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action and those all-important chip counts.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The clock has been stopped and the floor have announced that four more hands will be played before the survivors bag up for the evening.
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
With two players seeing a board reading A♥4♣6♦2♣ and around 80,000 in the middle, Felipe Ketzer checked from the big blind and Vedat Yilmaz bet 24,000 from the cutoff. Ketzer made the call.
Ketzer checked again on the 9♥ river and Yilmaz bet 46,000, once again receiving a call from Ketzer.
Yilmaz could only show J♣10♦ for a bluff while Ketzer had top pair with A♣10♥ to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
895,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
775,000
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Yuksel Savsa was all-in for his last 200,000 in a coinflip situation with just minutes left until the floor call the last hands of the night.
Yuksel Savsa: K♣Q♣ 
Opponent: 10♣10♠
"King or a queen, please," said Savsa.
The flop of 2♠6♥5♠ didn't offer much help, and neither did the A♠ turn. However, Savsa's survival instincts kicked in as the K♥ dropped on the river, which kept him alive at the end of Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
400,000
243,000
|
243,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Erdal Gulseven shoved for 31,000 from early position and was looked up by a player who covered him from middle position.
Erdal Gulseven: Q♦J♦
Opponent: 9♦9♥
The board ran out Q♣6♣7♥8♥2♥ giving Gulseven top pair to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
77,000
-248,000
|
-248,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
On a flop of 3♦4♦A♦ both Maxime Chilaud and the big blind put in 42,000 on the flop to see the 6♠ turn, which checked through.
A J♣ dropped on the river and after thinking for a while, Chilaud shoved all but 6,000 of his chips across the line and into the pot. The big blind was quick to relent, and Chilaud took the pot.
Chilaud is no stranger to North Cyprus and even won the Merit Poker Main Event back in 2023 at the Carmen Series for a mega payday of $ 376,800.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
350,000
180,000
|
180,000 |