Maxime Chilaud Leads 22 Remaining Players Into Day 3 of the $5,300 Merit Poker Gangster Series High Roller
The 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,300 High Roller started with 121 runners, but on Day 3, only 22 players will descend on the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino to compete. The winner will take home the $149,200 top prize along with the trophy and bragging rights.
Maxime Chilaud from France achieved a massive chip lead after playing the first 18 levels. With an impressive stack of 1,729,000 chips, he became the first player to surpass the million-chip mark. He is the only player with over 100 big blinds and will enter Day 3 with a significant advantage. He is followed by Recep Aydemir from Turkey (1,055,000), Dawid Smolka from Poland (1,000,000), Bracelet winner Guo Liang Wei (971,000), and Rytis Strigunas (907,000) to complete the top five.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 1,729,000 | 108 |
| 2 | Recep Aydemir | Turkey | 1,055,000 | 66 |
| 3 | Dawid Smolka | Poland | 1,000,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Guo Liang Wei | China | 971,000 | 61 |
| 5 | Rytis Strigunas | United Kingdom | 907,000 | 57 |
| 6 | Aleksandr Kirichenko | Russia | 865,000 | 54 |
| 7 | Leonid Sidelkovskiy | Russia | 839,000 | 52 |
| 8 | Kully Sidhu | United Kingdom | 632,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Dmitry Pokhabov | Cyprus | 505,000 | 32 |
| 10 | Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 451,000 | 28 |
There are several notable players to keep an eye on during Day 2 of the tournament. Among them are Dmitry Yurasov, a two-time bracelet winner, who has 228,000 chips. Giorgiy Skhulukhiya from Georgia has 451,000 chips, while Natan Chauskin from Belarus also has 451,000 chips. Dmitry Gromov, the chip leader from Day 1, has 255,000 chips and is another player to watch out for.
On Tuesday, the third day of the High Roller begins at 2:00 p.m. The event is scheduled to play until a winner is determined, and the final table will be broadcast on a 30-minute delay on the Merit Poker YouTube channel.
The prize pool for the tournament is a whopping $556,660, but currently, none of the players have made any money. There are still 22 players left in the event, and only 15 of them will receive a minimum cash prize of $8,900. Today, the players will begin at level 19, with blinds of 8,000/16,000/16,000. The average stack size is around 34 big blinds, and there will be a lot of movement up and down the leaderboard.
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