The 2025 Merit Poker Classic Millions has officially concluded with the end of its inaugural $10,400 Merit Millions event. Bulgaria’s Boris Kolev was crowned the winner and he took home his maiden seven-figure score of $1,000,000 and the prestigious Merit Millions Trophy.
The bracelet holder, Boris Kolev, pushed his lifetime earnings past $5 million, further cementing his 5th place position on Bulgaria’s all-time money list.
The $10,400 buy-in event saw a field of 212 entrants, creating a total prize pool of $1,950,400. The first-place finisher collected a whopping $1 million, while the remaining $950,400 was split among the rest of the final table.
2025 Merit Millions Event Final Table Recap
The Bulgarian pro entered the final table as the third-largest chip holder, with Rafael Aslanli leading the table. The 2014 WPT Merit Classic Main Event Champion, Alexandr Lakhov, was eliminated in 9th place, collecting $35,400. Lakhov’s ace-queen ran into the pocket kings of Andrey Pateychuk, ending his tournament run.
Ali Al-Kubasi was the next to head to the rail. Kubasi called for his tournament life holding queen-jack against Aleksandr Kirichenko’s queen-four. Although Kubasi was ahead pre-flop, Kirichenko found a four on the flop to take the lead and eliminate Kubasi in 8th place for a $45,000 payday.
Kirichenko didn’t stop there; he soon picked up pocket tens and moved all-in, getting called by Andrey Pateychuk’s ace-eight. Pateychuk was hoping to see a weaker hand, only to be met by tens. Kirichenko flopped a set to knock out Pateychuk in 7th place, good for $55,000. Maksim Shornikau followed shortly after, finishing in 6th place for $75,000.
Rafael Aslanli, the final table chip leader, soon found himself in trouble when he picked up pocket jacks against the pocket aces of Boris Kolev. Aslanli moved all-in and Kolev snap-called. The board ran Kh-6c-4s-4d-4c, giving Kolev a full house. Aslanli collected $100,000 for his 5th place finish.
Aleksandr Kirichenko’s hot streak ended when he called against Kolev’s ace-high flush with a jack-high flush. He took home $140,000 for his impressive 4th place finish, setting up three-handed play.
During the three-handed battle, Kolev won six hands in a row by shoving pre-flop. On one of these hands, he shoved with jack-four and was called by Romans Lihacovs holding pocket nines. The flop came clean for Lihacovs, but the turn brought a jack, giving Kolev top pair. The river was no help to Lihacovs, who exited in 3rd place with $200,000.
Heads-Up
Kolev entered heads-up play with a massive 192 million chip stack against Mehdi Chaoui’s 24 million. The duel was short-lived, as Kolev never gave Chaoui a chance to mount a comeback. After winning several small pots, Kolev moved all-in holding the ace-queen. Chaoui, with just 10 million chips, called with ace-three of clubs. The board ran out 5h-5d-4d-7h-8s, sealing the victory for Boris Kolev.Mehdi Chaoui banked $300,000 for his runner-up finish.
2025 Merit Millions Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Boris Kolev | $1,000,000 |
| 2nd | Mehdi Chaoui | $300,000 |
| 3rd | Romans Lihacovs | $200,000 |
| 4th | Aleksandr Kirichenko | $140,000 |
| 5th | Rafael Aslanli | $100,000 |
| 6th | Maksim Shornikau | $75,000 |
| 7th | Andrey Pateychuk | $55,000 |
| 8th | Ali Al-Kubasi | $45,000 |
| 9th | Alexandr Lakhov | $35,400 |
Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates and results from live poker events.
Source – Merit Poker Facebook
