The Merit Poker Western Series celebrates an age of cowboys, gunfights, and highway robbers, so it’s only fitting that the masked man was the last one standing in the $2,200 Warm Up.
The mysterious “John Doe,” who requested anonymity and played the final table covering his face with a hoodie, sunglasses, and a mask, prevailed after a marathon final table and defeated Turkey’s Recep Aydemir heads-up to win $181,200 and the title at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus
Doe employed his own unique style to match his persona. He made large pre-flop raises. He pulled off audacious bluffs. And he wasn’t afraid to get his chips in the middle. It all worked out as Doe, who first became chip leader early on Day 3, stayed near the top of the leaderboard for nearly two full days before he earned every chip in the tournament.
2023 Merit Poker Western Series $2,200 Warm Up Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Doe | n/a | $181,200 |
| 2 | Recep Aydemir | Turkey | $133,400 |
| 3 | Paul Browne | United Kingdom | $81,700 |
| 4 | David Hu | Netherlands | $60,450 |
| 5 | Helmut Phung | Germany | $45,350 |
| 6 | Ryan Mandara | United Kingdom | $36,400 |
| 7 | Eli Saad | Lebanon | $30,300 |
| 8 | Michele Guerrini | Italy | $24,150 |
| 9 | Evgenii Katymaev | Russia | $18,200 |
Final Table action
Day 4 began with 19 players remaining out of a starting field of 523 entries. Nikolay Fal, Arie Kliper, and Maxime Chilaud would all fall short of the final table as Doe began nine-handed play right where he started the day: with the chip lead at 12,180,000.
He earned the first elimination of the final table, flopping a set of fours to beat Evgenii Katymaev’s top pair of tens and eliminate the Russian in ninth place. Michele Guerrini, the short-stack of the final table, was eliminated in eighth after moving all in for 1,510,000 with ace-ten but running into the aces of David Hu.
Doe scored another knockout when he busted Eli Saad in seventh place with deuces against ace-six. Ryan Mandara, one of two British pros at the final table, doubled up six-handed with jacks against Hu’s flush and straight draws, but he then lost a race to his countryman Paul Browne, king-queen coming up short against tens as Mandara finished in fifth.
Browne, the Day 1a chip leader who started the day in 17th place with less than 10 big blinds, took the chip lead five-handed before Helmut Phung caught a running straight to double up. Five-handed play would go on for more than two hours. Aydemir doubled up three times, rising from an extreme short stack to taking the chip lead after making a heroic river call on Hu. His climb was halted by Browne, who rivered a straight to double up after Aydemir flopped a set.
Phung finally moved all in for 4,900,000 with king-queen but Doe woke up with queens on the button and sent the German out in fifth place. The four remaining players took a short break, and when play resumed action became fast and furious. Hu was eliminated in fourth on the first hand back, missing both straight and flush draws as Doe won with a pair of sixes.
Browne then called all in for 16,500,000 with king-nine but couldn’t improve against Doe’s tens as Doe took a 9-1 chip lead over Aydemir into heads-up play. The action lasted just three more hands. Aydemir got his last 4,000,000 in with ace-seven against the ace-five of Doe, but Doe spiked a five on the flop to win the hand and the title.
Doe was so committed to protecting his identity that he wouldn’t take a winner’s photo after securing the trophy, instead letting Aydemir take a picture with it. His identity will remain a secret, but Doe still left an unforgettable mark on the tournament. Like one of the robbers of the old wild, wild, west, he made off with all the money.
That concludes covered of the $2,200 Wrap Up from Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. Be sure to join the PokerNews team for more action from $3,300 Main Event at the Merit Poker Western Series.
