The first day of December saw several poker winners, and among them were Nichan Khorchidian and Saurabh Gulati. Nichan Khorchidian triumphed in the $3,300 Merit Poker Main Event for a career-best payday of $307,700. Earlier this year, Khorchidian came close to winning the Merit Poker Western Main Event but finished in second place. Just by the end of 2024, he has now added his third Merit Poker title.
The second winner was Saurabh Gulati, who took down the Sunbet Poker Tour GrandWest Main Event for the first-place prize of ZAR 975,280* (~$53,966)*. It was Gulati’s first-ever live poker victory, which gave him a career-high payday. Below is a short recap of the latest main event victories:
2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series Main Event Final Table Recap
The $3,300 buy-in Main Event registered a total of 614 players inside the Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, building up a total prize pool of $1,694,640. As the massive field narrowed down, 79 players ended up cashing mini cash of $4,470, while the top 4 cashed over $100k.
The final table was formed on Day 4, and they advanced to the final day to find a champion. Khorchidian led the table with over 12 million chip stacks. The final table was filled with notable poker pros, who ran deep but failed to win the Main Event. This included, EPT Main Event Champion and WPT winner Andrey Pateychuk (7th), EPT Main Event Champion Anton Wigg (4th), and WPT winner Dmitry Gromov (3rd).
Heading to the heads-up Khorchidian held a small lead, but extended by scooping big pots in the duel. The final saw Khorchidian jammed with As-8d, and Bogdan Jontulovic called for his tournament life holding Ks-3s. The board ran 10s Kh Qc 3d Jc, Jontulovic led the flop with his pair of kings, however the jack on the river gave Khorchidian a straight. Jontulovic had to settle for a career-high six-figure score of $211,400.
Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Prize (USD) |
| 1st | Nichan Khorchidian | $307,700 |
| 2nd | Bogdan Jontulovic | $211,400 |
| 3rd | Dmitry Gromov | $142,470 |
| 4th | Anton Wigg | $102,570 |
| 5th | Vedat Yilmaz | $76,930 |
| 6th | Adrian State | $61,640 |
| 7th | Andrey Pateychuk | $51,300 |
| 8th | Naji Tannoury | $40,930 |
| 9th | Felipe Ketzer | $30,770 |
2024 Sunbet Poker Tour Grand West Main Event Final Table Recap
The 2024 Sunbet Poker Tour GrandWest Main Event inside the GrandWest Casino, Cape Town, drew 504 entrants, creating a total prize pool of ZAR 6,350,400 (~$351,395). 63 players ended up taking a share from the prize pool. As the dust settled, Australia’s Saurabh Gulati defeated an all-South African final table to scoop the Main Event trophy and the top prize.
The tournament was special, as it saw two female players making it to the final table – Ronit Chamani, and Diane Walker. They fell short of the victory, but made it to the top 3. During the three-handed play Gulati, Walker, and Chamani opted for an ICM deal to split the remaining payout. Gulati confirmed a bigger piece, followed by Chamani and Walker.
Soon after the ICM deal, Gulati knocked out Chamani in 3rd, as he made flush to beat the ace pair of Chamani. Chamani cashed ZAR 900,000* (~$$49,801*) for the podium finish. Gulati held a 2:1 chip advantage over Walker in the heads-up. However, Walker fought violently, and didn’t give up easily.
The chip lead swung back and forth between Walker and Gulati. After over two hours of intense action, Gulati regained his chip lead and extended it further. On the final hand, Gulati shoved with eight-seven of hearts, and Walker called for her tournament life with ace-three. The board brought two eights, locking up the victory for Gulati. Walker collected ZAR 800,000* (~$44,267*) for her impressive second place finish.
2024 SPT GrandWest Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Prize (USD) | Prize (In Zara) |
| 1st | Saurabh Gulati | $53,966* | 975,280* |
| 2nd | Diane Walker | $44,267* | 800,000* |
| 3rd | Ronit Chamani | $49,801* | 900,000* |
| 4th | Colin Horgan | $21,484 | $388,265 |
| 5th | Nic Ioannoy | $16,491 | $298,025 |
| 6th | Gareth Fourie | $13,747 | $248,430 |
| 7th | Hennie Appel | $11,445 | $206,835 |
| 8th | Giovanni Zanette | $9,161 | $165,555 |
| 9th | Divan Le Roux | $6,874 | $124,230 |
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Source: PokerNews/MeritPoker/SunBet Poker Tour
Image Credit: PokerNews/SPT/MeritPoker
