Career Best Score for Bogdan Munteanu at the Merit Poker Vintage Series



The Merit Poker Vintage Series is in full swing at the luxurious Merit Crystal Cove Hotel & Resort in North Cyprus. The all-inclusive resort, located on the seafront of one of the most beautiful bays in North Cyprus, is currently packed with poker players chasing their share of more than $3 million worth of guaranteed prize pools.

Romania’s Bogdan Munteanu will fondly remember his time in North Cyprus, thanks to him taking down the $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Warm-Up event. Some 624 players bought into the tournament and created an impressive prize pool tipping the scales at $1,148,160. Munteanu was the last man standing, and he banked $209,700, which is by far his largest-ever live poker tournament score.

$2,200 NL Warm Up Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize
1 Bodgan Munteanu Romania $209,700
2 Alessio Isaia Italy $154,400
3 John Doe Lebanon $94,500
4 Joshua Marquardt Germany $70,000
5 Nina Krasilnikov Russia $52,400
6 Basel Khabbazeh Syria $42,100
7 Itzhak Ashkenazi Israel $35,000
8 Ugur Secilmis Turkey $28,000
9 Milad Langar Iran $20,975

The NL Warm Up paid out 71 places, and there were plenty of familiar names among those who saw a return on their $2,200 investment. Jessica Pilkington, Andreas Christoforou, Fahredin Mustafov, Yiannis Liperis, Ran Koller, and Dmitry Gromov all cashed, the latter falling in 15th place for $12,535.

Each of the nine finalists locked in $20,975 for their efforts, but the top two spots were awarded six-figure prizes. Munteanu went into the final table fifth in chips with 35 big blinds, yet ultimately came out on top.

Milad Langar ($20,975), Ugar Secilmis ($28,000), Itzhak Ashkenazi ($35,000), and Basel Khabbazeh ($42,100) were the first casualties of the final table. Russia’s Nina Krasilnikov bowed out in fifth for $52,400 before Germany’s Joshua Marquardt ($70,000) and an anonymous player from Lebanon ($94,500) left the NL Warm Up with only two players.

Munteanu locked horns with Italian veteran Alessio Isaia, a player with more than $2.5 million in live poker tournament winnings. Munteanu was not fazed by his experienced opponent and staged an impressive comeback to clinch the $209,700 top prize, blowing his previous largest haul of $50,855 out of the water.

Georges Sultamen Wins the $1K Mystery Bounty; Georgy Flippovich Snags Biggest Bounty

Georges Sultamen
Georges Sultamen

Mystery Bounty tournaments are all the rage right now, and Merit Poker got in on the action with a $1,100 buy-in event that drew in 423 opponents, who built a $389,160 prize pool. Half of that sum paid out in the traditional manner, with the remaining 50% split into sealed envelopes and awarded as mystery bounties.

Georges Sultamen started the final day on fire, eliminating an opponent and opening a mystery bounty containing a cool $20,000 prize. Sultamen went on to become the tournament’s champion, which earned the Lebanese grinder an additional $18,700.

The final table was also the home to American Joseph Hebert, who you may recall won the 2020 WSOP Main Event Domestic Edition for more than $1.5 million. Hebert fell in fifth place in this tournament for $6,900, but he also collected $28,500 worth of bounties, including one worth $15,000!

Ninth-place finisher Elie Farah, also of Lebanon, was one of the luckiest bounty recipients. Farah pulled out a $25,000 and a $30,000 envelope, adding $55,000 to their $2,800 main prize pool prize.

Georgy Flippovich fell short of becoming this tournament’s champion, falling in third for $10,500. However, Flippovich pulled the largest mystery bounty prize of the event, one worth a cool $40,000!

Georgy Flippovich
Georgy Flippovich

$1,100 NLHE Mystery Bounty Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize
1 Georges Sultamen Lebanon $18,700
2 Vitalii Pankov Russia $13,760
3 Georgy Flippovich Russia $10,500
4 Yosef Mizrahi Israel $8,500
5 Joseph Hebert United States $6,900
6 Yonatan Koko Israel $5,700
7 Nicolas Vayssueres Turkey $4,500
8 Anonymous Lebanon $3,500
9 Elie Farah Lebanon $2,800

Merit Poker Vintage Series Remaining Schedule

Attention now turns to the $3,300 buy-in $1,500,000 guaranteed Main Event that runs from November 22-27. There is also another mystery bounty tournament, one costing $2,200 to enter, running from November 26-27, which is sure to be another huge hit with the Merit Poker players.

Date Time Event Buy-in Guarantee
Tue 22 Nov 12:00 p.m. NLHE Main Event Day 1A $3,300 $1,500,000
  5:30 p.m. NLHE Hyper Turbo Deep Stack $550 $20,000
Wed 23 Nov 12:00 p.m. NLHE Main Event Day 1B $3,300 $1,500,000
  10:00 p.m. NLHE Mix-Max 9-Max Day 1 $1,100 $80,000
Thu 24 Nov 12:00 p.m. NLHE Main Event Day 1C $3,300 $1,500,000
  3:00 p.m. Pot Limit Omaha Bounty 8-Max ($500 KO) $1,100 $40,000
  8:00 p.m. NLHE Main Event Day 1D Turbo $3,300 $1,500,000
  10:00 p.m. Mix-Max Day 2    
Fri 25 Nov 12:00 p.m. Main Event Day 2    
  9:00 p.m. NLHE Bounty ($400 KO) $880 $40,000
  10:00 p.m. Mix-Max Final Day    
Sat 26 Nov 12:00 p.m. Main Event Day 2    
  12:00 p.m. NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1A $2,200 $150,000
  7:00 p.m. NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1B $2,200 $150,000
  9:30 p.m. NLHE Turbo Deep Stack $660 $25,000
Sun 27 Nov 11:00 a.m. NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1C Turbo $2,200 $150,000
  1:00 p.m. Main Event Final Day    
  1:00 p.m. NLHE Deep Stack Bounty 6-Max ($300 KO) $660 $20,000
  5:00 p.m. NLHE Meric Classic $3,300  
  7:00 p.m. Mystery Bounty Final Day    
  7:00 p.m. NLHE Turbo Deep Stack Bounty 6-Max ($200 KO) $440 $15,000





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