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Stefan-Sebastian Ionita Among Leaders as 64 Return For Final Day of Merit Poker Cup
The final day of the $3,500 Merit Poker Cup gets underway today at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Northern Cyprus, with just 64 players still in contention from a field of 428 entries in the opening event of the 2026 Merit Poker Noir Series. After three starting flights and a long Day 2, the tournament is now just one step away from crowning its first champion.
By the time late registration closed on Day 2, the field had grown comfortably beyond the tournament's $1,000,000 guarantee, generating a prize pool of $1,260,032. While only 63 players will get a payday, the money bubble is the first obstacle awaiting the returning players before the field is reduced to a champion later tonight.
Sitting at the top of the leaderboard is Vyacheslav Kardash, who returns for the final day with 2,090,000 after becoming one of only three players to break through the two-million-chip mark. Ali Al-Kubasi (2,050,000) and Stefan-Sebastian Ionita (2,035,000) are the other two players to achieve the feat and will start the day within touching distance of the chip lead.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vyacheslav Kardash | Russian Federation | 2,090,000 | 105 |
| 2 | Ali Al-Kubasi | Iraq | 2,050,000 | 103 |
| 3 | Stefan-Sebastian Ionita | Romania | 2,035,000 | 102 |
| 4 | Huseyin Akgul | Turkey | 1,800,000 | 90 |
| 5 | Bogdan Jontulovic | Serbia | 1,665,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Evgenii Chernyi | Russian Federation | 1,620,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Ohad Geiger | Israel | 1,555,000 | 78 |
| 8 | Maksim Shornikau | Belarus | 1,500,000 | 75 |
| 9 | Yurii Zabrodotskyi | Ukraine | 1,480,000 | 74 |
| 10 | Pavel Shchitnikov | Russian Federation | 1,265,000 | 63 |
Plenty of familiar faces remain in the heading into the final day, including Wael Sarkis (1,055,000), Adrian State (950,000), Atilla Saracoglu (855,000), Pedro Ingles (810,000), Traian Stanciu (615,000), Xiaosheng Zheng (605,000), Simone Andrian (575,000), Felipe Ketzer (465,000), and Zoja Fleischer (435,000).
Also returning are Andras Matrai (680,000), Danielle Noja (680,000), Sukhrat Massimov (435,000), Tamazi Skhirtladze (400,000), Alisa Sibgatova (155,000), and Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (115,000), who started second in chips of Day 2, but has a lot of work to do on the final day if he wants to have a shot at hte title.
Cards will be in the air at noon local time, with play resuming on Level 22 at blinds of 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. The action will begin on the stone bubble, with just 63 players guaranteed a share of the prize pool, while a place on the podium will secure a six-figure payout. By the end of the night, one player will walk away with the title, the trophy, and the first-place prize of $240,000.
$3,500 Merit Poker Cup Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $240,000 | 12-13 | $16,900 |
| 2 | $168,000 | 14-15 | $14,400 |
| 3 | $115,000 | 16-17 | $12,400 |
| 4 | $80,300 | 18-20 | $10,800 |
| 5 | $60,500 | 21-23 | $9,500 |
| 6 | $49,000 | 24-31 | $8,200 |
| 7 | $40,500 | 32-39 | $7,200 |
| 8 | $32,400 | 40-47 | $6,300 |
| 9 | $24,432 | 48-63 | $5,500 |
| 10-11 | $20,000 |
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Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates, chip counts, and all the biggest hands as the Merit Poker Cup champion is crowned.