After previously walking away from the 2024 Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event title on his own terms earlier this year, Nichan Khorchidian has now claimed victory at the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series Main Event. Battling through a competitive 614-entry field inside the stunning Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Khorchidian emerged triumphant, earning a career-best score of $307,700 and proving that this time, the trophy was his to take home.
Khorchidian’s path to victory was a mix of skill, intuition, and his unmistakable personality. Known for his chatty and friendly presence at the table, he played the tournament on his terms, blending bold moves with sharp reads and a genuine love for the game. From managing one of the largest stacks throughout the event to embracing the dynamics of every situation, Khorchidian’s triumph wasn’t just about the numbers—it was about staying true to himself and enjoying every moment of the journey.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nichan Khorchidian | Lebanon | $307,700 |
| 2 | Bogdan Jontulovic | Serbia | $211,400 |
| 3 | Dmitry Gromov | Russia | $142,470 |
| 4 | Anton Wigg | Sweden | $102,570 |
| 5 | Vedat Yilmaz | Turkey | $76,930 |
| 6 | Adrian State | Romania | $61,640 |
| 7 | Andrey Pateychuk | Russia | $51,300 |
| 8 | Naji Tannoury | Lebanon | $40,930 |
| 9 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | $30,770 |
“It feels good,” Khorchidian said after his victory, his relief and joy evident. “It was a very fast heads-up. The whole tournament was great for me—I had 100 big blinds the whole time, and I kept that stack for such a long time.” Reflecting on his Merit Poker Main Event runner-up finish in January, he clarified, “It wasn’t really second place. We chopped fairly, but I didn’t want all the attention, so I just lost heads-up. I didn’t want the trophy that time.”
For Khorchidian, poker has been a mix of profession and hobby, though his future in the game remains uncertain. “I was telling the table there’s an 80% chance I quit poker if I win—and I won. So now there’s an 80% chance I won’t play again,” he said with a laugh.
Known for being chatty and friendly at the table, Khorchidian brushed off suggestions that his style is calculated to gain an edge. “People think I do it to gain an edge or make people think, but I’m just like this. I like to have fun; I enjoy the game,” he explained. “I do some stuff that maybe poker players think is wrong, but for me, it’s right. I’m at the table, I know the dynamics, I know the stack sizes. For example, the eight-six hand—I know a lot of people will criticize, but for me, I do what I want to do. It’s my money, it’s my stack, and for me, that was the right play.”
Khorchidian’s relaxed, confident demeanor and willingness to embrace his own style have set him apart, and his win here felt like the perfect culmination of his approach to the game.
The day got off to an explosive start when Felipe Ketzer was eliminated in the very first hand of the final table. Anton Wigg had opened with ace-queen and then called the shove of Ketzer, who held pocket tens. Wigg made two pair on the flop, which was more than enough to send Ketzer to the rail in ninth.
Shortly after, Naji Tannoury got pocket jacks into the middle for around twenty-two big blinds and ran into ace-king of Dmitry Gromov. An ace on the flop was enough for Gromov to send Tannoury out in eighth.
In the second level of the day, Andrey Pateychuk committed over half of his stack preflop then got his king-queen in on a low flop. Unfortunately for Pateychuk, Adrian State had the Cowboys to end the Russian player's run in seventh.
A crucial hand swung Jontulovic's way when he five-bet shoved with pocket kings and was called by State's pocket jacks. A clean runout vaulted Jontulovic up the leaderboard.
At this moment, Khorchidian hadn't been involved much, and his chip lead had evaporated. It was Wigg that led the pack for quite some time, and he held a third of the chips in play after a hand he played with Jontulovic. The two had taken it to the streets, and Wigg's king-queen had backdoored trip kings, getting a value bet on the river paid off by Jontulovic.
Not long after, it was Khorchidian's turn to backdoor trips, and he got a river value bet paid off by Wigg, which sprung the eventual champion back up the counts.
Jontulovic was again at risk shortly after when he made a big call with ace-four on a draw-heavy board against Gromov, who had a flush draw and pair outs with queen-ten. After the runout, Jontulovic was left with a full house and a new chip stack that he started to put to good use.
State's stack had dwindled to around seven big blinds, and he got his ace-six in against the ace-seven of Gromov. A seven on the flop secured Gromov the pot, eliminating State in sixth.
It was at this point that Khorchidian started to climb the counts by taking down a lot of small pots and using his big stack to his advantage. However, that pressure soon backfired when he three-bet shoved eight-six and was called by the king-queen of Jontulovic. The Serbian player's hand held up, which brought his stack closer to Khorchidian's.
Vedat Yilmaz had quietly been going about his business and laddered up a few of the payouts but eventually succumbed to the victor. Khorchidian was in the small blind and shoved with ace-eight, then Yilmaz put himself at risk with eight-seven with around eight big blinds in his stack. No help arrived on the board, which meant Yilmaz was eliminated in fifth.
Khorchidian then played a huge hand with pocket kings, one that he almost predicted perfectly. The Lebanese player said that he was going to get pocket kings and lose to an ace-x hand, and that situation almost came to fruition when his Cowboys were all-in against the ace-ten of Jontulovic. However, the poker gods were kind to Khorchidian, and his kings held up, leaving him thankful his prediction didn't come true.
Wigg's final six big blinds went in with king-three, but Khorchidian's dominating king-queen held strong to send Wigg out in fourth place.
The very next hand, Khorchidian claimed another knockout as his ace-queen was far too good against the ace-four of Gromov, which meant just two players remained.
Khorchidian held a slender chip lead going into heads-up but quickly extended that to four-to-one after several pots went his way, and Jontulovic had no answer.
In the final hand of the night, Khorchidian shoved with ace-eight, and Jontulovic called with king-three for around eleven big blinds. A king-queen-ten flop gave Jontulovic top pair, and he turned a three to improve to two pair. However, the jack on the river gave Khorchidian Broadway and secured him the Main Event title.
