Boris Kolev Wins Inaugurteen patti live appal $10,400 Merit Millions at Merit Poker Classic

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Table Of Contents

• Final Table Results
• Winner's Reaction
• Final Day Action
• Final Table Play
• The Massive Heads-Up

The inaugural $10,400 Merit Millions Event at the 2025 Merit Poker Classic Millions has officially concluded, with Boris Kolev rising above a talented field of 212 entries to become the first-ever Merit Millions champion. Held inside the stunning Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, the unique event ended with Kolev capturing the coveted title and the massive $1,000,000 guaranteed top prize.

Kolev, who began the final table third in chips, put on a clinical display to systematically dismantle his opponents on the way to victory. In doing so, he became the first player in Merit Poker history to walk away with a seven-figure payday. The Bulgarian pro made quick work of Mehdi Chaoui in a brief heads-up battle to seal the title and etch his name in the record books.

This monumental win boosts Kolev’s career tournament earnings to over $5,000,000, and marks the largest score of his career—his first-ever seven-figure cash—to go with the two WSOP bracelets he's won so far.

Final Table Results

Rank	Player	Country	Prize
1	Boris Kolev	Bulgaria	$1,000,000
2	Mehdi Chaoui	Morocco	$300,000
3	Romans Lihacovs	Latvia	$200,000
4	Aleksandr Kirichenko	Russia	$140,000
5	Rafael Aslanli	Turkey	$100,000
6	Maksim Shornikau	Belarus	$75,000
7	Andrey Pateychuk	Russia	$55,000
8	Ali Al-Kubasi	Iraq	$45,000
9	Alexandr Lakhov	Russia	$35,400

Winner's Reaction

Moments after clinching the title, PokerNewscaught up with the newly crowned champion, Kolev, for his immediate thoughts.​

When asked about his feelings on winning the $1,000,000 prize, Kolev humorously pointed to his hoodie emblazoned with "more money, more problems" and quipped, "Well, now I have more problems. With more money comes more problems. No, no, I feel very good—it's great, obviously."​

Reflecting on pivotal moments at the final table, Kolev noted, "I started very good, got quads early, and made a lot of chips. Then, when there were four people left, the guy [Kirichenko] decided to donate to me," referencing a critical hand where Kirichenko called Kolev's river bet while both Chaoui and Lihacovs were short-stacked.​

"I haven't had this much fun in a poker tournament in a long time."

Kolev also shared his admiration for the Merit Poker venue, stating, "It's the best in the world by far—the best venue, the accommodation, the staff, the food, the location. Whatever you want here, it's here. This is my favorite place."​

Regarding the tournament's unique structure, where only the final table received payouts, Kolev expressed enthusiasm: "I haven't had this much fun in a poker tournament in a long time. Because of ICM over the past years, you need to fold, but here everyone is more aggressive. I think they should make this tournament more often."​

As for plans with his newfound wealth, Kolev smiled and said, "Hmm, poker maybe."

Final Day Action

The final day of the $10,400 Merit Millions Event began with 30 hopefuls returning to battle it out for the title. With a unique payout structure that guaranteed prizes only for the final nine players, everyone was still many knockouts away from locking up a payday.

It didn’t take long for the field to shrink to two tables, with several notable names falling short of the money. Among those to hit the rail early were popular vlogger Johan Guilbert, as well as Nichan Khorchidian, Chady Ojeil, and Joseph Sabe, none of whom were able to gain enough momentum to a push for the final table.

Once play reached the final 16, the pressure ramped up as players had the $35,400 min-cash in their sights. A few short stacks found themselves all in and at risk, and the bustouts came quickly. With 12 left, Rafael Aslanli climbed into the chip lead after making a great call to pick off a huge bluff from Andrey Pateychuk.

Meanwhile, Kolev quietly continued to chip up. A key hand came when he flopped a set in a three-way pot that resulted in the elimination of Natan Chauskin in 11th place, further cementing his position near the top of the chip counts heading into the bubble.

The bubble burst on the very first hand of hand-for-hand play, in heartbreaking fashion for Oleg Semionov, the Day 1a chip leader. Semionov flopped a straight and was all in by the turn, but a heart on the river completed the nut flush for Aleksandr Kirichenko, ending Semionov’s run just one spot short of the money. With that, the final table was officially set, and the remaining nine players were all guaranteed a piece of the $1,950,400 prize pool.

Final Table Play

When the final table kicked off, Kolev sat third in chips, with Aslanli holding the chip lead. Despite being in the worst seat, directly to Aslanli’s right, Kolev came out swinging, winning a three-bet pot with the chip leader on the very first hand.

A pivotal moment for Kolev came while nine players remained. In a blind-on-blind clash, Kolev turned quad queens and managed to get his river three-bet paid by Aslanli. The hand gave him the chip lead, which was a position he never relinquished. From that point on, Kolev looked every bit the favorite to take the title.

The first elimination came when Pateychuk’s pocket kings held up against Alexandr Lakhov, sending the Russian out in ninth. Moments later, Ali Al-Kubasi followed in eighth, before Pateychuk jammed from the small blind right into Kirichenko’s big pair. Not long after, Chaoui got a lucky runout to bust Maksim Shornikau in sixth.

With five players remaining, each had secured a six-figure score. Kolev and Kirichenko were neck and neck at the top, while Aslanli was steadily slipping. His downward spiral culminated in a brutal cooler, where he picked up pocket jacks on the button and ran into Kolev’s aces after a five-bet shove. Kolev snapped it off, and Aslanli hit the rail.

While the other three players seemingly battled for second place, Kolev went on an absolute tear—raising, three-betting, and going after pot after pot. The only one willing to push back was Russia’s Kirichenko, who was still well ahead of the rest in second. After clawing back some chips, Kirichenko and Kolev clashed in what turned out to be the biggest pot of the tournament. Kirichenko three-bet from the blinds and then check-called all the way down, only to face a shove on the river for his tournament life. After using up all his time banks, Kirichenko tossed in the call—and got shown the bad news. Kolev had rivered the nuts.

With nearly 90% of the chips in play, Kolev was firmly in the driver’s seat, leaving Romans Lihacovs and Chaoui essentially battling for second place. Both managed a double through Kolev, and for a moment, the tides seemed to turn. But Kolev quickly righted the ship, sending Lihacovs out in third after Kolev's jack-four beat the pocket nines of Lihacovs to move the tournament into heads-up.

The Massive Heads-Up

This wasn’t your typical heads-up duel, as there was a staggering $700,000 difference between first and second place. When play began, Chaoui was on life support, and his stack only continued to dwindle. Eventually, he called off his last six big blinds with a suited ace, only to run into Kolev’s ace-queen. Chaoui picked up a sweat on the flop and turn, but the river came clean for Kolev, leaving Chaoui to settle for a runner-up finish and a $300,000 payday.

Kolev wasted no time celebrating, heading straight to his friends and supporters after clinching the title and locking up a life-changing $1,000,000 as the 2025 Merit Millions Event champion.

That concludes our coverage from the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa—thanks for following along with PokerNews, and we’ll see you at the next Merit Poker adventure.