After a short break to set up the three tables, Mekan Yusupov shoved to 1,625,000 chips from under the gun. Everybody folded to Chinguun Bolor-Erdene in the big blind who called.
Mekan Yusupov: A?Q?
Chinguun Bolor-Erdene: A?K?
A queen came directly on the flop on Q?J?8?A?8?, securing Yusupov's double up to 3,500,000 chips.
At the beginning of the Day, Rachid El Yaacoubi found himself at risk against Oleg Netaliev for 1,925,000 chips.
Rachid El Yaacoubi: A?K?
Oleg Netaliev: Q?Q?
On A?7?2?6?K?, El Yaacoubi hit two pairs and doubled up.
A few hands later, El Yaacoubi opened to 250,000 from the hijack, and Netaliev three-bet from the button to 725,000. After that, El Yaacoubi four-bet to 1,900,000 chips. Netaliev then moved all in for 5,600,000 chips, and El Yaacoubi eventually called with his last 4,425,000 chips.
Rachid El Yaacoubi: J?J?
Oleg Netaliev: A?K?
In this second flip between the two players, it is Netaliev who won this time, thanks to a pair of kings on Q?K?7?6?9?. He took this 10,400,000 pot and eliminated El Yaacoubi.
On the very next hand, Bassel Moussa was eliminated too, leaving the final 24 players to gather at three tables.
After he lost a big pot against Nenad Dukic, Recep Aydemir had only 600,000 chips left when he moved all in from the cutoff. Yossi Eluz in the small blind called.
Recep Aydemir: A?6?
Yossi Eluz: A?9?
On 5?5?4?7?, Aydemir had a straight draw. But the Q? on the river didn't complete it, and Aydemir left the tournament.
Down to less than 900,000 chips, Marian-Cristian Cocea found himself in an all-in and call situation from the small blind against Ran Ilani in the big blind.
Marian-Cristian Cocea: 10x9x
Ran Ilani: K?8?
The board was 2?5?7?8?Q?, where Cocea didn't find any improvement. Finishing 28th, he wins $17,210.
After a few hands with no significant actions, David Hu opened to 250,000 from early position. In the cutoff, Dmitry Gromov three-bet all in for 500,000 chips, and Hu made the call.
Dmitry Gromov: Q?J?
David Hu: 10?8?
On the 2?7?K?Q?8? board, Gromov hit the queen on the turn, which he needed to double up.
This is the big day for 28 players. In a few hours, one of them will win the Merit Poker Retro Series $3,300 Main Event at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino and take the$567,000 first-place prize.
But before that, there are still twenty-seven players to eliminate. And out of the 1,223 entrants, Mousa Barakat has the best situation so far as he ended Day 3 as the chipleader with 10,250,000 chips. Day 4 will also start well for David Hu, who will be back with 10,000,000 chips.
Day 4 Chip Count
RANK
PLAYER
COUNTRY
CHIP COUNT
BLINDS
1
Mousa Barakat
Brazil
10,250,000
85
2
David Hu
Netherlands
10,000,000
83
3
Ruslan Volkov
Ukraine
8,600,000
72
4
Oleg Netaliev
Russia
8,375,000
70
5
Ran Ilani
Israel
8,025,000
67
6
Florian Guimond
France
7,125,000
59
7
Karo Nuri
Switzerland
5,350,000
45
8
Ara Melkisetian
Lebanon
5,300,000
44
9
Nenad Dukic
Serbia
5,250,000
44
10
Valeriy Pak
Uzbekistan
4,900,000
41
Among the chipleaders, Ruslan Volkov (8,600,000), Ran Ilani (8,025,000) or Florian Guimond (7,125,000) will also try to reach the final table, hoping for more. Being in the last nine players is also the next goal for Thomas Eychenne (4,550,000) and for the two last women standing, Chrysi Phiniotis (3,600,000) and Tugce Hursoz (3,300,000). On the other hand, with smaller stacks, Dominik Panka (1,600,000) or Dmitry Gromov (825,000) will have to double up quickly to be back in the game.
Tugce Hursoz
The fourth and final day of the $3,300 Main Event will start at 1:00 p.m. on Level 30 (60,000/120,000 with a Big Blind Ante of 120,000). There will be 60-minute levels with a break every two levels. And so far, the players remaining are assured of a minimum cash $17,210 .
The end of the Main Event will be streamed on the Merit Poker social networks. PokerNews will also follow the action all the way until the end!
