The 2025 edition of the Merit Poker Carmen Series runs from March 11 through March 25 at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel & Casino in Kyrenia, North Cyprus, and it promises to be bigger than ever. Merit Poker has placed a guarantee on every prize pool, including a $1.5 million guarantee on the $3,300 Main Event.
In 2024, the $3,300 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event boasted a $1 million guarantee. However, a bumper turnout of 664 entrants, which included 240 re-entries, resulted in a $1,832,640 prize pool. This year's Main Event comes with a chunkier $1.5 million guarantee, so expect similar, if not larger, payouts than the $338,500 Lebanon's Elie Farah reeled in for their victory in 2024.
PokerNews will be on the floor throughout the Merit Poker Carmen Series, bring you live and exclusive coverage from three of the festival's biggest events.
Our coverage begins on March 13 with the $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em Warm-Up. Featuring four flights and a $1,000,000 guarantee on its prize pool, the Warm-Up is the perfect way to, well, warm-up for the rest of the series. A champion will be crowned on March 17.
The $2,200 Merit Poker Cup is the closest equivalent from last year. It drew 459 entries, and Bulgarian Simeon Spasov outlasted them all. Spasov contributed $167,100 of the $844,560 prize pool.
Jakub Michalak - Reigning High Roller champion
From March 16-18, PokerNews' industry-leading updates come from the $5,300 High Roller, a tournament with a $500,000 guarantee, up from $200,000 in 2024. Poland's Jakub Michalak is the reigning champion, having come out on top of a 112-strong crowd to bank $174,500 of the $667,000 pot.
2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series Full Schedule
Expand the table below to see the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series schedule in its glory. As you can see, dozens of satellites take place throughout the festival, allowing players of all abilities and bankroll sizes to compete for potentially life-changing sums of money.
Over $4.5 million is a guaranteed to be won by those attending the Merit Poker Carmen Series, but the eventual total prize money awarded will likely be even more.
Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.
