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After four days of intense play at the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Zhen Chen emerged victorious in the $5,300 High Roller at the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series, topping a 103-entry field to claim the trophy and the top prize of $132,300.

The final table showcased players from nine different nations, highlighting the international appeal of the Merit Poker Series. Ultimately, it was China that triumphed, with Chen dispatching Russia’s Aleksandr Chernikov in a brief heads-up battle. A well-executed trap with three players left helped propel Chen to the top, cementing his place as the champion.

Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

Chen reflected on his victory with gratitude and humility, acknowledging the strong competition at the final table. “There were very strong competitors on this final table, but I fortunately had a big stack and great seat position behind the chip leader,” he said. “Also, my flips—I can win, I’m lucky.”

Chen admitted to struggling earlier in the series during the $2,200 Warm-Up, losing several big hands despite being the favorite. However, he noted how fortune turned in his favor this time. “In this game, I can win. It’s very fortunate,” he added.

The key to Chen’s success was his strategic adjustment during the final stages. Observing Chernikov’s tendency to shove with 30 big blinds, Chen adapted by setting traps. “I noticed that he kept shoving preflop, so I wanted to change my strategy to trap,” he explained, referencing the pivotal hand with pocket tens that shifted momentum in his favor.

Chen also spoke fondly of Cyprus and the Merit Poker Series. “I was here recently, and I feel this place is very nice and beautiful. That’s why I keep coming back to Cyprus,” he shared.

When asked about how he would celebrate, Chen kept it simple. “I didn’t think yet, but I think I’ll just jump into the Main Event because I’m running hot. I want to keep going and going,” he concluded with a smile.

Final Table Action

Mehmet Demirkol, the short stack entering the final table, was the first to exit after his pocket tens ran into the pocket queens of Simone Andrian. Shortly after, Chen took the chip lead for the first time with a well-timed value bet against start-of-day chip leader Angelos Michael, setting the tone for his dominant performance.

Chernikov narrowly escaped elimination in a critical hand against Michael when his ace-ten spiked an ace on the river to overcome Michael’s pocket jacks, signaling the start of Michael’s decline. Not long after, Elie Saad exited in eighth place as his pocket sixes couldn’t hold up against Fahredin Mustafov’s pocket queens, kicking off Mustafov’s impressive run.

Mustafov then delivered a quick one-two combo to eliminate Michael and bring the field down to six. First, Mustafov check shoved the turn with a straight holding ten-seven, and Michael eventually called with a combo draw. Unfortunately for Michael, a brick on the river sent his stack tumbling to around twelve big blinds.

Not long after, Mustafov delivered the final blow when called the three-bet shove of Michael with king-queen, and held against the king-nine of the player from Cyprus.

Felipe Ketzer followed shortly after when his ace-ten couldn’t overcome the pocket aces of Chernikov. Despite flopping a gutshot, Ketzer found no further help and exited in sixth place.

Mustafov found himself in a crucial coinflip situation, holding ace-king against the pocket tens of Andrian. Both players anxiously awaited the board, but with a clean runout offering no help to Mustafov, the Bulgarian player’s impressive run came to an end in fifth place.

Andrian then claimed another knockout when his pocket jacks were far too good for the ace-deuce of Adrian State, which left just three players in contention.

Chernikov jumped into the lead when his pocket eights held in a huge pot against Andrian’s ace-eight, which meant the Russian player held around half of the chips in play.

Chen was the short stack at the time but turned his tournament around with three double-ups in quick succession. First, his ace-nine found an ace on the flop against the pocket nines of Chernikov. Shortly after his queen-ten rivered a straight against the ace-three of Andrian, giving him an average stack.

Moments later, perhaps in the hand of the final table, Chen laid a trap with pocket tens by limping in the small blind, and Chernikov took the bait as he shoved with nine-seven in the big blind. Chen snap-called and got a clean runout, which gave him a gigantic stack and turned the tables.

Chen then shoved with jack-ten to apply pressure to the shorter stacks and Andrian made the right call with king-queen. However, a ten on the flop was enough for Chen to send Andrian packing, which left just two players.

There was no talk of a deal or even a break when the finalists got to heads-up, and there was action right off the bat as a few hands in both Chen and Chernikov got their stacks into the middle in a coinflip. Chen held pocket eights and Chernikov had the overcards with ace-nine, but an eight on the flop all but sealed the deal for Chen, which meant Chernikov had to settle for second.

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