The 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series at Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino options 22 occasions, together with a number of huge multi-day tournaments. The centerpiece of the entire affair is the continued $3,300 buy-in essential occasion, which sports activities a $1.5 million prize pool. While that occasion is ready to wrap up on Mar. 24, a few the bigger aspect occasions have already performed right down to a winner.
The first was the $2,200 buy-in no-limit maintain’em ‘Warm Up,’ which drew 646 entries to simply surpass the $1 million assure. A complete of $1,188,640 was paid out in the long run, with Dmitrii Kopyl (pictured above, left) securing the trophy and the highest prize of $210,000. This was by far the biggest recorded rating for the Russian participant , topping the $20,990 he earned because the third-place finisher in a $500 buy-in occasion on the Eurasian Poker Tour Snowfest cease.
2011 World Poker Tour Venice essential occasion champion Alessio Isaia completed fourth for $71,030. Daniel Abrahamsson fell simply wanting a six-figure rating, incomes $98,575 because the third-place finisher. That left Kopyl heads-up with Bulgaria’s Atanas Malinov, who in the end secured $142,100 because the runner-up.
Malinov then went on to complete seventh within the $5,300 buy-in $500,000 assured excessive curler occasion. The match drew 270 entries to greater than double the assure. The largest chunk of the $1,242,000 last prize pool was in the end awarded to Dawid Smolka (pictured above, proper). The Polish participant walked away with $260,000 because the champion, the second-largest rating of his profession.
In 2021 Smolka positioned eighth within the World Series of Poker Online essential occasion for $339,124. He now has almost $1.7 million in profession cashes below his belt.
In addition to Malinov, the ultimate desk additionally included the likes of European Poker Tour and WPT champion Andrey Pateychuk (ninth) and Johnny Lodden (2nd), who has dwell match outcomes relationship again to 2004. Lodden earned $182,700 because the runner-up, the fourth-highest payday on his résumé.
Merit Poker Carmen Series $2,200 Warm Up
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Dmitrii Kopyl | $210,000 | 840 |
| 2 | Atanas Malinov | $142,100 | 700 |
| 3 | Daniel Abrahamsson | $98,575 | 560 |
| 4 | Alessio Isaia | $71,030 | 420 |
| 5 | Erdal Gulseven | $52,530 | 350 |
| 6 | Atanas Pavlov | $42,020 | 280 |
| 7 | Humberto Galindo | $35,015 | 210 |
| 8 | Giorgiy Skhulukhiya | $28,015 | 140 |
| 9 | Rui Martins | $21,010 | 70 |
Merit Poker Carmen Series $5,300 High Roller
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Dawid Smolka | $260,000 | 864 |
| 2 | Johnny Lodden | $182,700 | 720 |
| 3 | Kirill Shcherbakov | $131,900 | 576 |
| 4 | Oleg Svintsov | $91,400 | 432 |
| 5 | Merijn van Rooij | $67,040 | 360 |
| 6 | Peteris Enders | $53,700 | 288 |
| 7 | Atanas Malinov | $44,700 | 216 |
| 8 | Cedric Schwaederle | $35,735 | 144 |
| 9 | Andrey Pateychuk | $26,800 | 72 |
Photo credit: Merit Poker.
