Day 1 of the $5,300 High Roller that boasted a $500,000 guaranteed prizepool unfolded today at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, during the 2025 Merit Poker Western Series. A star-studed field of 95 entries took to the baize, battling through eight 40-minute levels of play. By the end of the day, 69 players managed to survive, earning themselves a spot on Day 2.
Leading the pack is Mircea Flutur from Romania, who amassed an impressive 522,500 chips. Flutur was the only player to break the half-million chip barrier, positioning himself as the clear frontrunner heading into tomorrow. With a stack of this size, Flutur has given himself an excellent opportunity to not only reach the money but also make a deep run as the tournament progresses.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mircea Flutur | Romania | 522,500 | 348 |
| 2 | Bogdan Jontulovic | Serbia | 367,000 | 245 |
| 3 | Marcin Dziubdziela | Poland | 351,500 | 234 |
| 4 | Nemo Israel | France | 333,000 | 222 |
| 5 | Maxime Chilaud | France | 321,500 | 214 |
| 6 | Edgard Raffoul | Lebanon | 311,500 | 208 |
| 7 | Jianfeng Sun | China | 306,000 | 204 |
| 8 | Paul Runcan | Romania | 296,500 | 198 |
| 9 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | 296,500 | 198 |
| 10 | Motokatsu Uhara | Japan | 281,500 | 188 |
The closest rival to Flutur is Bogdan Jontulovic from Serbia, who will bring 367,000 chips into Day 2. Marcin Dziubdziela rounds out the podium positions with a stack of 351,500. Much of Dziubdziela’s stack was amassed in the final levels of the day when he managed to win two significant pots against Jianfeng Sun in near back-to-back hands, neither of which went to showdown.
Despite those losses, Sun still sits comfortably in seventh place on the leaderboard with 306,000 chips. Sun got off to a flying start earlier in the day after scoring a dramatic double knockout. His set of queens boated up on the river to defeat the overpair of Sakis Adrianopoulos and the flopped nuts of Nichan Khorchidian. This massive pot propelled Sun up the leaderboard, where he remained steady through the remainder of the evening.
Paul Runcan occupies the eighth position with a stack of 296,500. Runcan is riding a wave of confidence after securing his career-best score of $951,143 just last month, and he’ll be eager to add another deep run to his impressive resume. Sharing the same stack as Runcan is seasoned professional Andrey Pateychuk, who takes the ninth spot on the leaderboard.
Japan’s Motokatsu Uhara rounds out the top ten with 281,500 chips. Uhara’s journey to Day 2 came on his second bullet after he suffered an early elimination when his two pair ran into the higher two pair of Lachezar Petkov. Despite the setback, Uhara has bounced back strongly and is now well-positioned heading into tomorrow’s play.
Some other familiar faces who will be back to the felt tomorrow include Dmitry Gromov (270,500), Sachin Joshi (234,500), Tom Verbruggen (207,000), Edward Quinn (149,500), the 2024 Merit Poker Carmen Series $5,300 High Roller champion Jakub Michalak (146,000), Paul Newey (130,000), Michel Molenaar (116,000), and three-time bracelet winner Timur Margolin (78,000).
Day 2 will start at 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 18, and registration remains open until the end of Level 12. Play begins at Level 9, where blinds will be 1,000/1,500, with a 1,500-blind ante. The plan for tomorrow will be announced shortly after the day starts.
$5,300 High Roller Remaining Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 18 | Day 2 | 8 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| January 19 | Day 3 | 4 p.m. | 40 minutes |
| January 20 | Day 4 | 1 p.m. | 40 minutes |
Be sure to tune into PokerNews as Day 2 gets underway to see who can build their stack and progress toward the business end of the tournament.