The final day of opening flights for the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series $3,300 Main Event has arrived, with Day 1c kicking off at noon local time and Day 1d, a turbo flight with 25-minute levels, starting later at 7 p.m., all taking place inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
Survivors from all four flights will merge tomorrow for Day 2, and late registration will remain open until the end of Level 14, providing plenty of opportunities to join this prestigious event until around mid-way through Day 2.
So far, Mikhail Zavoloka leads the Day 1a survivors (and is overall chip leader) with an impressive 667,000 chips, followed by Felipe Ketzer (570,500) and Aleksei Gortikov (553,000). From Day 1b, Kirill Shcherbakov holds the top stack at 645,500, with Mukhtor Nasiradinov (617,000) and Dmitry Yurasov (531,000) close behind. Other notables to advance include Andrey Pateychuk, Dawid Smolka, and Sandra Cotescu.
Current Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russia | 667,000 |
| 2 | Kirill Shcherbakov | Russia | 645,500 |
| 3 | Mukhtor Nasiradinov | Russia | 617,000 |
| 4 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | 570,500 |
| 5 | Aleksei Gortikov | Russia | 553,000 |
| 6 | Daniyar Aubakirov | Kazakhstan | 539,000 |
| 7 | Dmitry Yurasov | Russia | 531,000 |
| 8 | Philipp Hofbauer | Austria | 506,000 |
| 9 | Dauren Zhaparov | Kazakhstan | 500,000 |
| 10 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | 460,000 |
Russia has been dominating the early stages of the $3,300 Main Event, with six of the top ten stacks belonging to players from the nation. Several Russian players have secured significant chip counts, firmly establishing their presence on the leaderboard. It remains to be seen if more Russian contenders will rise to the top during Day 1c and the turbo Day 1d flight.
With 55 players advancing from the 149 entries on Day 1a and another 70 players making it through from 148 entries on Day 1b, the current field size stands at 297 entries, with 125 players already securing their spots for Day 2. With two more flights—Day 1c and the turbo-format Day 1d—still to come, these numbers are expected to grow significantly before registration closes midway through Day 2.
Each player in Day 1c will start with 100,000 chips and compete through nine 40-minute levels, aiming to join the growing field of survivors.
Stay tuned as PokerNews brings you all the action, chip counts, and highlights from this thrilling series in North Cyprus!