Troyanovskiy, Hrabec and Pateychuk Still in Contention on Day 2 of Merit Poker Western Series $5,300 High Roller
The action continues here at the 2023 Merit Poker Western Series at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino with Day 2 of the $5,300 High Roller. The event got off to a great start yesterday, attracting a total of 91 entrants to surpass it's $300,000 guaranteed prize pool. That number is set to increase as late registration and unlimited reentries will be available for the first four levels of play today.
Anonymous player John Doe bagged the overall chip lead for Day 1, finishing the evening with 403,000 worth 269 big blinds. The leader is most closely followed by Russia's Vladimir Troyanovskiy (402,000) and Lebanon's Joseph Sabe (338,500). Troyanovskiy in particular will be a force to be reckoned with as the Russian pro has just over $8,000,000 in career tournament earnings from results spanning the last two decades.
$5,300 High Roller Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Doe | N/A | 403,000 | 269 |
| 2 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russian Federation | 402,000 | 268 |
| 3 | Joseph Sabe | Lebanon | 338,500 | 226 |
| 4 | Ihar Soika | Belarus | 320,500 | 214 |
| 5 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | Russian Federation | 318,000 | 212 |
| 6 | Kemal Aslan | Turkey | 287,000 | 191 |
| 7 | Shuang Luo | China | 265,000 | 177 |
| 8 | Maciej Komorowski | Poland | 264,000 | 176 |
| 9 | Roman Gadzhiev | Russian Federation | 263,000 | 175 |
| 10 | Fausto Tantillo | Italy | 245,500 | 164 |
Other notables to advance to Day 2 include Ihar Soika (320,500), Aleksandr Kirichenko (318,000), Roman Hrabec (230,500), Qiang Xu (200,000), Marius Kudzmanas (198,500), Andrey Pateychuk (152,000), and Dmitry Gromov (82,500). Pateychuk and Hrabec in particular are still riding the momentum off of a very succesful year in 2023, with Pateychuk finishing 17th at the 2023 WSOP main event for $430,200 and Hrabec scoring four six-figure cashes in 2023 for just under $1,500,000 from those four cashes alone.
Some notable players who busted before the end of Day 1 include Giorgiy Skhulukhiya, who won the last Merit Poker High Roller event at the Gangster Series this past October for $149,200 and Dmitry Yurasov, who won the Main Event at that same series for $295,500. Both players will have the option to fire a second bullet during the first four levels of play today.
Day 2 of the high roller is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. local time and play ten 40-minute levels or until the money is reached. The blinds will start at 1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 big blind ante. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for this event until a winner is crowned tomorrow, January 20.