Once upon a time in Kyrenia, North Cyprus…
There is a raging poker boom in the world right now. All around the globe, poker organizers are building playgrounds for players who think they are the whole world. It can be hard to see the wood from the trees when you are immersed in the game, when you are compelled seemingly by some greater force to ride the waves of variance like an extreme sports surfer.
extraordinary all-inclusive hospitality
In the poker hotbed that is Kyrenia, North Cyprus, poker’s biggest little poker room was bustling as usual, this time for the Western Series. A melting pot of poker talent from all over the map, east most certainly meets west in the luxurious Merit Hotel, Casino and Resort. If first-timers come for the promise of 11 days of non-stop poker action, then I promise you that they stay and then later return for the extraordinary all-inclusive hospitality.
Two exciting final tables played out on consecutive days in the poker playground that is the poker room of the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel. Two worthy champions emerged in the shape of Simone Andrian and Maksim Shornikau, the former taking down the $2,200 Warm-Up event while the latter triumphed in the $5,300 High Roller.
A fistful of dollars
On Friday, 17 players returned from a starting field of 446 with the talented gunslinger Andrian and the masked bandit Abdullah “Dark King” Alajmi way out in front. Everyone was guaranteed $8,450, but it was still all to play for with a $165,000 purse up top. There was an initial cagey period with small skirmishes and just one bust-out before the various duels started to produce fatalities. With the eliminations coming thick and fast, all eyes were on the progress of the leaders who were having very different experiences.
With the final table approaching, Andrian was riding the rollercoaster, his chip stack bouncing around as he played some monster pots. For Alajmi, it was a smoother journey as his unorthodox style combined with a propensity for hitting turn cards resulted in a steady climb to a massive stack.
we were in for a scintillating final table between a group of players with very diverse styles
When the solid and unflappable Guoliang Wei was sent to the rail in 10th position, it was clear that we were in for a scintillating final table between a group of players with very diverse styles. The loose passive but positionally acute Alajmi was sitting pretty with almost 13 million of the 45 million chips in play. Andrian was in 4th position with 4.6 million chips, while the other threats included the dangerous Andrei Daniliuk, the impressive Baurzhan Akimov, the aggressive Adrian State, and the beastly Fahredin Mustafov.
A few dollars more
Alajmi played a lot of hands, made a lot of hands, and ultimately pulled away from the chasing pack, getting to four-handed play with half the chips. It was a dream spot for the Kuwaiti, who had three opponents all in a race for second. Leaning on them one at a time was the play, but he never really forced the issue.
Andrian’s rollercoaster continued and at one point he found himself with just four big blinds and at risk with Jack-Five versus the King-Eight of Daniliuk. A Jack on the turn kept Andrian’s dreams alive. Moments later, he executed a successful bluff-shove versus State and then the comeback was really on when he eliminated Daniliuk in 4th place.
A huge hand then ensued between Alajmi and the emboldened Andrian with the former turning a straight, but the latter rivering a flush. By the time State busted in 3rd, Andrian was virtually level. Andrian showed a greater proficiency heads-up and at the exact moment that it seemed prudent for Alajmi to start bloating pots, Andrian woke up with pocket Kings. Alajmi held the suited Ace-Eight and it all went in on the 8-6-4 flop. The cowboys held and that was all she wrote for the Warm-Up event. A potential super-star in the making, Andrian added yet another title to his impressive resume.
Merit Poker Western Series 2024 Warm-Up Final Table Results
- Simone Andrian – $165,000
- Abdullah Alajmi – $121,500
- Adrian State – $74,300
- Andrei Daniliuk – $55,000
- Fahredin Mustafov – $41,300
- Baurzhan Akimov – $33,100
- George Panagides – $27,500
- Andrea Dato – $22,000
- Qusai Albakeer – $16,500
True grit
On Saturday, 30 players took their seats for the final day of the High Roller event. A field of 153 players generated a prize pool of $703,800 and a first prize of $177,500. For those who went deep, it was a long day as the final three burned the midnight oil.
For much of the final table, the action was being pushed by three players – Shornikau, Alexandre Tot, and Alexandre Kirichenko – while Bogdan Munteanu, Anatoly Nitikin, and Shuang Luo were content to ladder. Some particularly wild bluffs by Tot kept the viewers on the edge of their seats and his opponents happy to still have theirs.
selective aggression, tremendous ICM-awareness, and excellent hand reading
Unsurprisingly, the aggression of Shornikau and Tot paid off and they found themselves in a truel with the impressive Shuang who had dug deep, showing real grit and determination as she navigated her way to short-handed play through a combination of selective aggression, tremendous ICM-awareness, and excellent hand reading. In shallow three-handed competition, she was happy to ramp up the variance with some big-bet poker and it paid dividends.
The power of the dog
Big shoves and even bigger calls were made for a period of over an hour, with the short stack almost always managing to hold or get there. Eventually something had to give and it was Tot who bowed out, making way for Shornikau to take on a confident chip leader in Shuang.
Once again, as had become the theme of the endgame, the chips went back and forth. Shornikau induced a suited Ace-Five and found himself in an unenviable position of underdog against Shuang’s pocket Sevens. An Ace came to his rescue, preserving his tournament life and giving him the chip lead. Shuang was also horrendously unlucky in the final hand, flopping two pair only for the turn and river to give her opponent a better two pair.
In his post-tournament interview with Ali Nejad, Shornikau was modest while also showering praise upon the venue. “I like it here very much,” he said. “The conditions that they’ve made for the players, both tournament and cash players, I cannot find that anywhere else. That’s why I keep coming back.”
Merit Poker Western Series 2024 High Roller Final Table Results
- Maksim Shornikau – $177,500
- Shuang Luo – $125,100
- Aleksander Tot – $81,500
- Aleksandre Kirichenko – $58,500
- Anatoly Nitikin – $43,800
- Bogdan Munteanu – $35,100
- Tarmo Tammel – $29,200
- Guoliang Wei – $23,400
- Maher Achour – $17,500
Days 2, 3, and 4 of the Main Event of the Merit Western Series will be live-streamed on the Merit Poker YouTube channel January 23-25. Ali Nejad, James Dempsey, and David Lappin will be in the commentary booth.