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The 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series $5,300 High Roller has officially crowned a champion, as Dawid Smolka outlasted a record-breaking 270-entry field to claim the biggest-ever Merit Poker High Roller title and the $260,000 top prize at the magnificent Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.

Smolka, who entered the day as the chip leader, maneuvered his way through a tough final table before securing the victory in a heads-up battle against Johnny Lodden. The Polish pro, who boasts over $1,000,000 in live earnings, showcased his composure and big-stage experience to take down the title and etch his name in Merit Poker history.

Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

Before Smolka posed for his winner’s photos and celebrated with a glass of champagne, PokerNews caught up with the newly crowned champion for a few words.

When asked how he felt after securing the title, Smolka kept it simple: “I feel amazing. I just arrived yesterday, late registered this event, and it was a smooth ride without any problems. I was running pure.”

Having made multiple trips to Merit Poker, Smolka was asked what keeps bringing him back to Cyprus time and time again. “The service here is the best in the world, and that’s the reason I keep coming back again and again—and will every time.”

Smolka, who won the Warm-Up event at the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Series, now adds a High Roller trophy to his collection. But he made it clear that he has one more target in mind: “There is one missing… the Main Event. And of course, I’ll be playing it this series.”

Final Day Action

The day got underway with 39 players returning, all having secured a minimum cash of $7,600 and now setting their sights on navigating their way to the final table. It didn’t take long for the field to shrink, with early eliminations quickly bringing the tournament down to the final three tables. Among those to fall before the redraw were Ran Ilani, Samuel Ju, and Fahredin Mustafov.

The last remaining female player in the field, Soraya Estrada, saw her run come to an end in 22nd place after losing a race against Kyosuke Nagami. Meanwhile, Smolka continued to build his stack after spiking an ace to crack the pocket sevens of Iurii Grigorev, sending Grigorev to the rail.

However, Smolka’s path to the final table was not without setbacks. In one of the few difficult spots he faced throughout the day, his three-barrel bluff was picked off by Maxime Chilaud, who made the call with top pair. This was the only time Smolka dipped below his starting stack for the day before recovering and continuing his march toward the final table.

Tobias Peters—one of the most accomplished players in the field—was unable to build momentum and fell before the tournament reached its final two tables. By this stage, Kirill Shcherbakov had claimed the chip lead, using relentless aggression to accumulate chips. Shortly after, Simas Karaliunas found himself on the wrong side of a cooler when his pocket queens ran into the pocket aces of Lodden, bringing his tournament to an end in 12th place.

The final table bubble burst when Smolka eliminated Charbel Salloum. Smolka turned the nuts to leave Salloum drawing dead with top pair. Heading into final table, Smolka sat second in chips, with Shcherbakov leading the way as the clear front-runner.

Final Table Action

After Shcherbakov bluffed into Merijn van Rooij in one of the first hands at the final table, Smolka reclaimed the tournament chip lead. He wasted no time putting his stack to use, consistently raising and applying pressure on opponents looking to ladder. His aggression quickly paid off, as he eliminated the dangerous Andrey Pateychuk in ninth place after Pateychuk three-bet shoved pocket fives into Smolka’s pocket sevens.

When seven players were left, Smolka further tightened his grip on the tournament, amassing close to 40% of the chips in play. A pivotal hand saw him check-raise Van Rooij, then fire barrels on both the turn and river, forcing the Dutch player to fold. Shortly after, Atanas Malinov—who was making his second major final table of the series after finishing runner-up in the Warm-Up event—was eliminated in seventh place at the hands of Shcherbakov.

As the final table progressed, Peteris Enders and Van Rooij busted, leaving just four players remaining. At this point, Smolka and Lodden held the majority of the chips, with Smolka holding a slight lead. However, after Smolka check-shoved the river and forced a fold from Lodden in a critical hand, he further distanced himself from the remaining competition.

The next two eliminations came at the hands of Lodden, as Oleg Svintsov and Shcherbakov were sent to the rail, setting up the heads-up battle between Lodden and Smolka.

Heads-Up Battle

When play began, Smolka held 17,800,000 chips to Lodden’s 10,000,000, but Lodden quickly gained momentum and took the chip lead. A key moment came when Smolka overbet the river as a bluff, straight into Lodden’s straight flush, further shifting the momentum in Lodden’s favor.

Despite the setback, and with Lodden now as the chip leader, Smolka quickly rebounded with a massive preflop cooler, getting all the chips in with pocket kings against Lodden’s Big Slick. Lodden flopped a flush draw but couldn’t find the help he needed, allowing Smolka to regain the chip lead and put himself back in the driver’s seat.

Lodden, however, was not going down without a fight. The Norwegian battled back, managing to even the stacks before the final hand of the tournament. In a single-raised pot, Lodden four-bet shoved the flop with an open-ended straight draw and was called by Smolka, who held top pair, top kicker. The turn gave Lodden additional outs with a flush draw, but a blank on the river sealed his fate. Lodden had to settle for second place, while Smolka was crowned the champion of the record-breaking 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series High Roller.

Reflecting on the final stretch, Smolka admitted that heads-up play was his biggest challenge: “I think heads-up was the toughest challenge. It was pretty straightforward getting there, but once we were heads-up, it went back and forth. I pretty much won a preflop cooler and then stacked off when I was ahead.

A Historic High Roller

This event shattered records for a Merit Poker High Roller, with 270 entries generating a $1,242,000 prize pool, far surpassing the $500,000 guarantee. The previous largest field in a Merit Poker High Roller came in 2023, with 187 entries.

As always, PokerNews will be back with live coverage of the Main Event here at the 2025 Merit Poker Carmen Series!

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