$3,300 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2025 Merit Poker Western Series
$3,300 Main Event
Day: 1a
Top
Chip Counts
Chip Counts
4
522,500
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
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 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 26 | 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.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
685,000
-15,000
|
-15,000 |
|
||
|
557,000
-118,000
|
-118,000 |
|
||
|
540,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
522,500
522,500
|
522,500 |
|
493,500
68,500
|
68,500 |
|
||
|
478,000
178,000
|
178,000 |
|
476,500
1,500
|
1,500 |
|
|
||
|
403,500
-46,500
|
-46,500 |
|
||
|
401,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
395,500
165,500
|
165,500 |
|
389,000
209,000
|
209,000 |
|
386,500
36,500
|
36,500 |
|
385,500
385,500
|
385,500 |
|
376,000
376,000
|
376,000 |
|
360,500
40,500
|
40,500 |
|
||
|
359,000
359,000
|
359,000 |
|
356,500
356,500
|
356,500 |
|
348,000
348,000
|
348,000 |
|
347,000
17,000
|
17,000 |
|
342,000
102,000
|
102,000 |
|
341,000
61,000
|
61,000 |
|
335,500
115,500
|
115,500 |
|
316,000
316,000
|
316,000 |
|
306,000
306,000
|
306,000 |
|
287,000
287,000
|
287,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
That's a wrap for Day 1a of the Main Event.
Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
The clock has been stopped with 13 minutes remaining and the floor have announced that three more hands will be played before the survivors bag up for the evening.
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
There were already around 90,000 chips in the pot on a 10♠7♣3♥5♣6♣ board when Antoine Vranken checked from the big blind over to Dawid Smolka. After a few seconds, Smolka elected to check back.
Vranken confidently showed Q♥Q♠, but Smolka flipped 6♠5♠ for a backdoored two pair to scoop the pot with just a few minutes to spare in the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
675,000
-60,000
|
-60,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
330,000
-70,000
|
-70,000 |
Busted
Table 3Seat 6
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Here are some of the top stacks around the room as the day draws to a close.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
735,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
700,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
500,000 | |
|
|
475,000
-75,000
|
-75,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
450,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
425,000
-45,000
|
-45,000 |
|
|
||
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Nemo Koering opened to 5,000 from under the gun and got a call from a player in the hijack before Xin Tang squeezed to 22,000 from the cutoff. Both Koering and the hijack called.
On the 10♥Q♣6♥ flop, it checked to Tang, who fired an 18,000-chip continuation-bet, which got the job done as both of his opponents folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
280,000 | |
|
210,000
-90,000
|
-90,000 |
Level 9
: Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
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.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
250,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
175,000 | |
|
130,000
-70,000
|
-70,000 |