$5,300 High Roller
Day 3 Completed
2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series
$5,300 High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series
Buy-in
$5,300
Entries
187
Level
31
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
28
Players Left
1
Level 31
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Event #13: $5,300 High Roller at the Merit Poker Carmen Series has drawn to a close after three days of play. Once the dust settled at the conclusion of the third and final day, it was none other than Belarusian Aliaksandr Hirs who emerged as the last one standing from an initial field of 187 to capture the lion's share of the $860,200 prizepool, defeating Fahredin Mustafov in a one sided heads-up affair.
This marks Hirs' first live tournament victory with the $204,700 first place prize adding a significant chunk to his career earnings of $396,757. It should be noted, however, that is is not his largest ever cash with that coming back in August 2022 at EPT Barcelona when he finished third in the $2,200 ESPT High Roller for $284,668.
2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aliaksandr Hirs | $204,700 |
| 2 | Fahredin Mustafov | $143,800 |
| 3 | Ryan Mandara | $92,700 |
| 4 | Simeon Spasov | $68,900 |
| 5 | Eduard Barsegian | $51,900 |
| 6 | Anton Ionel | $41,750 |
| 7 | Carlos Aoun | $34,800 |
| 8 | Egor Romaniuk | $28,050 |
| 9 | Lev Kydatov | $21,250 |
Winner's Reaction
Although Hirs is relatively new to the live poker scene, he has been racking up a steady slate of impressive results online, a fact he reflected on after his victory.
"It's a similar game [online] but it's also a different atmosphere".
That different atmosphere is something Hirs points to as a reason why he is now playing more live events.
"It's interesting to play with different players because you can see these players. Online you can only see the icon. Now you can see the players, you can see their emotion. It's really good".
Bubble Play
A total of 28 players returned for the final day, which meant that none had yet made it into the money with 23 spots getting paid. With several short stacks in the field, bubble play did not last long. Ultimately, Alexandru Papazian, Romania's all time money leader, was the individual unfortunate enough to burst the bubble after he got his last few chips in with a dominated hand against Carlos Aoun and failed to improve. Everyone left was guaranteed a minimum of $8,100 but with such big money up top, nobody was going to be happy heading home just yet.
Final Table Action
The tournament average stack rarely strayed above the 35 big blind mark and was often significantly below that point. As a result, the final table was set not too long into the day after Sakis Adrianopoulos jammed his ace-four right into Anton Ionel's ace-jack.
With that, the remaining nine took their seats to grind out what would be a relatively long final table. Lev Kydatov was the short stack entering the final table and so it was little surprise that he was first out the door when his big slick failed to hold against the ace-jack of Simeon Spasov.
Next to head to the exits was the congenial Egor Romaniuk, flopping top-top only to see a rampant Hirs turn over ladies for the overpair. Not long after, Aoun hit the showers in 7th place, felled in a blind on blind encounter with Ionel.
It took some time for the next player to go but eventually Ionel, whose stack had been dwindling away for some time, lost a flip against Mustafov to send him to the rail in 6th place. Just a few hands later, Eduard Barsegian fell to the wayside, unable to overcome Hirs' tens.
Spasov displayed great skill throughout the day and was near or at the top of the leaderboard for a good portion of the final table. Unfortunately for him, after taking a few bad beats, he got his remaining chips in with jack-nine against the eigh-seven of Hirs, who paired up to scoop the pot. Start of day chipleader Ryan Mandara coasted for much of the day but could not do so all the way to the end, instead succumbing to a seemingly unstoppable Hirs after check-jamming his flush draw on the flop and failing to hit.
That elimination setup a heads-up showdown between Hirs and Mustafov. Hirs entered with a sizable chip advantage, one that he never relinquished. Though Mustafov put up a good fight, it was simply Hirs' day. After flopping top pair, Hirs bet-called a shove from Mustafov who had an open ended straight draw. The draw failed to come in and that was all she wrote.
That concludes coverage of Event #13: $5,300 High Roller at the Merit Poker Carmen Series, hosted by the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. Be sure to stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team provides coverage through to the end of the series.
Level 31
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Fahredin Mustafov limped on the button holding 
and Aliaksandr Hirs checked his option out of the big blind with 
.
Hirs led into Mustafov for 500,000 on a flop of 
. That did not appear to sit well with Mustafov who was somewhat handcuffed by his short stack. Eventually he did push his remaining chips into the middle and Hirs snapped it off.
Fahredin Mustafov:
Aliaksandr Hirs:
Hirs was two cards away from victory while Mustafov would need to get lucky to survive. The 
turn kept Hirs ahead and, with all eyes on the monitor above the table, the dealer burned and turned over the 
to confirm Mustafov's exit in 2nd place.
Stay tuned for a full tournament recap to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
18,700,000
4,900,000
|
4,900,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 31
Blinds: 125,000/250,000
Ante: 250,000
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Fahredin Mustafov struggled to gain momentum early in the heads-up contest and found himself down under the 4,000,000 mark. Mustafov limped on the button holding 
and Aliaksandr Hirs checked his option out of the big blind with 
.
The 
flop spelled trouble for Hirs as he checked to Mustafov who decided to slowplay his trips, checking back.
Both players picked up a flush draw on the 
turn but Hirs chose not to bet, instead checking to Mustafov for a second time. At this point Mustafov decided it was time to ramp up the action, leading out for 300,000. Hirs responded by raising to 900,000 and Mustafov, not going anywhere, flatted.
The river improved both players to a flush with Hirs opting not to seek value from his holding, checking to Mustafov who pushed a small bet of 700,000 into the middle. That sent Hirs into the tank but eventually he found a disciplined fold to send the pot over to Mustafov.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,800,000
2,000,000
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
4,900,000
-1,235,000
|
-1,235,000 |
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
With heads-up play about to commence, the blind level length has been reduced to 20-minutes.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
The two remaining players have taken a short break before returning to battle it out for the $204,700 top prize and the title of Event #13: $5,300 High Roller champion.
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Aliaksandr Hirs opened to 400,000 on the button with 
and was called by Ryan Mandara in the big blind holding 
.
The 
flop connected with both players and saw Mandara check to Hirs who continued for 300,000. Mandara responded by check-raising all in for 3,475,000. Hirs asked for a count before making the call with the covering stack to put Mandara at risk.
Ryan Mandara:
Aliaksandr Hirs:
Hirs was ahead but Mandara was not a big dog, needing to find a spade or jack to survive. The 
turn changed nothing with the river ending Mandara's impressive run in 3rd place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
11,800,000
3,730,000
|
3,730,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 30
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 200,000
Level 29
: Blinds 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,070,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
|
|
6,135,000
835,000
|
835,000 |
|
|
4,495,000
2,115,000
|
2,115,000 |