Nenad Dukic Leads Final Nine in Record-Breaking Carmen Series Main Event
Day 4 of the $3,300 Main Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series has wrapped up, with just nine players remaining inside the luxurious Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. After four full days of poker, the final table is set, where one player will walk away with the prestigious trophy and the top prize of $401,000.
This year's Main Event attracted a record-breaking 881 entries, making it the largest Main Event ever recorded at a Carmen Series and the second-largest in Merit Poker history. The massive turnout generated an impressive $2,431,560 prize pool, reflecting the popularity and reputation of the series among poker players worldwide.
Leading the charge heading into the final day is Serbia’s Nenad Dukic, who bagged a commanding stack of 17,700,000 chips, good for 89 big blinds. Dukic enters the final table with just shy of $600,000 in live tournament earnings, a chunk of which came from his fourth-place finish in the 2023 Retro Series Main Event. With his experience and a sizable chip lead, Dukic is well-positioned to claim the title and secure the biggest score of his career.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nenad Dukic | Serbia | 17,700,000 | 89 |
| 2 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russia | 15,275,000 | 76 |
| 3 | Akin Tuna | Turkey | 11,925,000 | 60 |
| 4 | Maher Achour | Tunisia | 11,000,000 | 55 |
| 5 | Chady Ojeil | Lebanon | 10,075,000 | 50 |
| 6 | Soraya Estrada | Spain | 7,925,000 | 40 |
| 7 | Han Han | San Marino | 5,700,000 | 29 |
| 8 | Leonid Orman | Russia | 5,375,000 | 27 |
| 9 | Daniil Kiselev | Russia | 3,025,000 | 15 |
Second in chips is Russia’s Mikhail Zavoloka, who quietly accumulated an impressive stack of 15,275,000. Zavoloka maintained a low profile throughout most of the event but surged late on Day 4 to put himself firmly near the top of the chip counts. Turkey’s Akin Tuna rounds out the top three with 11,925,000, following a steady climb throughout the day to move up the leaderboard.
Day 4 Action
Day 4 began with 60 hopefuls already guaranteed a payout of at least $8,690, but now looking to navigate their way toward the prestigious final table. Scotland’s Ludovic Geilich started as the chip leader, armed with nearly 100 big blinds.
Geilich continued his aggressive strategy from Day 3, frequently putting pressure on opponents and rapidly accumulating chips during the early stages. His momentum carried him comfortably into the final three-table redraw as the chip leader, with Spain’s Soraya Estrada nestled comfortably in second.
Dawid Smolka was looking to make history, as he pursued the first-ever Merit Poker Treble, having already the Warm-up at the 2024 Gatsby Series, and the High Roller event at this series earlier this week. Smolka narrowly avoided elimination against Geilich when his king-ten bested?Geilich's ace-queen on the river, signaling the start of Geilich's downfall.
Shortly after the exits of 2024 Gatsby Series Main Event champion Nichan Khorchidian and this series’ Warm-Up winner Dmitrii Kopyl, Geilich found himself in a three-way all-in with pocket queens against the sevens of Alessio Isaia and the pocket kings of Dukic. Dukic's Cowboys held up, propelling him to the chip lead while sending Isaia and Geilich to the rail in 13th and 12th place, respectively.
Smolka’s attempt at history ultimately ended painfully as he became the final table bubble boy, running queen-nine into Zavoloka’s king-jack. Unable to improve, Smolka exited in 10th place, leaving the final nine to battle it out for glory tomorrow, with Dukic well-positioned as the player to beat.
The final nine players have all locked up at least $39,600, but all eyes will be on the trophy and top prize of $401,000. Action will pick up at 2:00 p.m. local time with almost 36 minutes left on Level 32, featuring blinds at 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 big blind ante.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $401,000 |
| 2 | $265,000 |
| 3 | $185,250 |
| 4 | $132,100 |
| 5 | $99,050 |
| 6 | $80,500 |
| 7 | $65,700 |
| 8 | $52,200 |
| 9 | $39,600 |
Stay tuned to Pokernews as we bring you all the action tomorrow from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned at the end of the night.