"Everything Clicked" For Maksim Shornikau's First Tournament Win in Merit Poker Western Series $5,300 High Roller

Casino technology - After 13 hours of play, nan curtain has closed connected nan 2024 Merit Poker Western Series $5,300 Main Event present astatine nan Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. It took 13 hours for a victor to beryllium crowned from 30 hopefuls who made it to nan 3rd and last day. Maksim Shornikau of Belarus emerged victorious aft nan particulate had settled, outlasting a section of 153 entrants and past defeating China's Shuang Luo to seizure nan title and apical prize of $177,500.

Shornikau started nan time 3rd successful chips and was seemingly successful cruise power for astir of nan day, coming into nan last array pinch nan spot lead and claiming 3 last array knockouts en way to victory. Before today's win, Shornikau had conscionable complete $250,000 successful unrecorded tourney net to his sanction pinch a erstwhile champion people coming from a 15th-place decorativeness successful nan 2022 EPT Prague main arena for €52,050 ($54,835). Today's people not only triples his erstwhile champion but, possibly surprisingly, is besides Shornikau's first clip outright winning a poker tournament.

$5,300 High Roller Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize

1	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	$177,500
2	Shuang Luo	China	$125,100
3	Aleksandar Tot	Montenegro	$81,500
4	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russian Federation	$58,500
5	Anatoly Nikitin	Russian Federation	$43,800
6	Bogdan Munteanu	Romania	$35,100
7	Tarmo Tammel	Estonia	$29,200
8	Guoliang Wei	China	$23,400
9	Maher Achour	Tunisia	$17,500

Winner's Reaction

"Everything is good" Shornikau said erstwhile asked really he felt astir his first tourney win. "I've had a batch of situations successful erstwhile tournaments wherever it conscionable didn't click for maine astatine nan last array but this clip everything clicked and I americium very happy astir it".

Shornikau is bully friends pinch Mikalai Vaskaboinikau, a notable crusher pinch complete $3,000,000 successful profession tourney net who besides happens to beryllium from Belarus. Shornikau acknowledged nan worth of learning nan crippled pinch Vaskaboinikau years ago, but besides mentioned his acquisition successful online events that helped him hole for today's last table.

"Mikalai and I are friends since we were 20 years old. We started playing together, we learned together. I besides play a batch online which really helped bring my crippled to a higher level".

When asked astir his acquisition playing successful Merit Poker Events and what keeps bringing him back, Shornikau touted nan subordinate acquisition that Merit Poker provides.

"I for illustration it present very much. The conditions that they've made for nan players, some tourney and rate players, I cannot find that anyplace else. That's why I support coming back".

Aleksandr Kirichenko

Action of nan Day

The $5,300 High Roller smashed it's $300,000 guarantee, attracting a full section of 153 entrants to make a prize excavation of $703,800. Of those 153 entrants, 30 players managed to beforehand to Day 3. With only 20 spots paid nan action was slow to start, pinch galore middling stacks attempting to outlast nan money bubble. Aleksandr Kirichenko began nan time arsenic nan spot leader but dropped down nan counts aft paying disconnected Justus Held, who started nan time 2nd successful chips and took nan lead successful nan first level of nan day. Luo, who began nan time sixth successful chips, besides had a bully commencement aft picking disconnected a bluff from Aleksandar Tot successful different early highlight.

Bulgaria's Fahredin Mustafov became nan unfortunate psyche to burst nan money bubble aft moving each successful from nan mini unsighted only to run into a dominating hand. From this constituent nan action became accelerated and furious and Shornikau began to found himself arsenic a unit to beryllium reckoned with, scoring 3 of nan first 4 knockouts aft nan money bubble had burst to put himself cervix and cervix pinch Held for nan spot lead.

Other notables who made nan money but fell short of nan last array see ACR squad pro Monika Zukowicz, Milos Skrbic and Held, who was eliminated 1 spot awkward of nan last array aft getting pipped by Tot.

Tunisia's Maher Achour came into nan last array pinch nan shortest stack astatine conscionable 3 large blinds and was nan first to beryllium eliminated astatine nan hands of Anatoly Nikitin. Achour was quickly followed retired nan doorway by Guoliang Wei who recovered himself connected nan incorrect broadside of a blind connected unsighted confrontation against Kirichenko.

Tarmo Tammel

Estonia's Tarmo Tammel began nan time arsenic nan shortest stack pinch conscionable nether 9 large blinds but did a awesome occupation laddering up, moreover uncovering himself among nan spot leaders astatine 1 constituent during nan last 2 tables. His tally came to an extremity successful seventh-place aft losing a flip to Kirichenko that costs him astir of his stack. Kirichenko would finish Tammel disconnected shortly afterwards. Bogdan Munteanu and Nikitin were adjacent to autumn successful sixth and 5th spot respectively.

Start of time spot leader Kirichenko did a awesome occupation battling backmost aft an early setback against Held and came very adjacent to avenging his runner up finish astatine nan past $5,300 Merit Poker High Roller arena from nan Gangster Series this past October. He would yet fall successful fourth-place to Shornikau, who held 2 thirds of nan chips successful play going into nan last three. Although Shornikau's triumph seemed for illustration a foregone conclusion from this point, Luo doubled done Shornikau twice successful speedy succession to time off him short-stacked for nan first clip since nan time began.

Shuang Luo

With triumph seemingly slipping done his fingers, Shornikau deed an unthinkable tally of cards to travel backmost from nan brink of elimination. Luo was a 91% favourite to destruct him aft nan flop successful a unsighted connected unsighted confrontation but Shornikau hit moving cards to make a consecutive and stave disconnected elimination. He would win a flip against Tot instantly aft to time off Tot connected fumes. Luo would decorativeness Tot off soon aft and heads-up play would begin.

Luo began heads-up play pinch astir a 2:1 spot advantage and almost won nan tourney outright aft moving successful pinch pocket-sevens and getting called by ace-deuce successful 1 of nan first hands of heads-up play. Shornikau would spike nan ace to reclaim nan lead from Luo.

In nan last manus of nan night, Luo did an fantabulous occupation mounting a trap aft flopping 2 brace and checking some nan flop and move retired of position. Shornikau had turned apical brace and moved each successful only to beryllium snap-called by Luo, who was an 80% favourite to unafraid nan double up which would person made nan 2 players astir moreover successful chips. As destiny would person it, Shornikau would make a amended 2 brace connected nan stream to triumph nan last cookware of nan night, nan title and apical prize of $177,500.

That concludes our sum for this arena but beryllium judge to enactment tuned to PokerNews arsenic we bring you each nan action from nan 2024 Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event which is already underway and group to play down to a victor connected January 25.