Wet Gammon Action Underway at Merit Open
The Wet Gammon division stands out as one of the novelty events of the 13th Merit Open International Championship 2026. Organized under a two-life format, competitors battle through the bracket aiming to preserve their tournament lives and advance to subsequent rounds.
Eight fixtures were recorded in the opening round bracket. Notably, several rematches took place as the schedule progressed, seeing competitors face off against one another in quick succession.
Hamid Esmaeili and Rabih Adnan Victorious
Hamid Esmaeili delivered a successful opening performance for the Iranian contingent in the Wet Gammon competition. He defeated Zorer Sami to notch his first victory in this division.
Rabih Adnan prevailed over Julio Nosti and later repeated his success against the same opponent in their subsequent encounter.
Cristian Stanciu also delivered an impressive performance, winning both of his scheduled matches against Ali Al-Baydani.
Results of Iranian Contenders in Round 1
Iranian competitors featured across several matches in this round, recording mixed results:
Hamid Esmaeili defeated Zorer Sami.
Shahram Ala won his opening match against Patrick Gebeli, but dropped the rematch to the same opponent.
Ehsan Jangi was defeated by Marlene Haddad in their first clash, but rebounded to defeat her in their second encounter.
Afshin Omidi was defeated in both encounters against Hikmet Tunc.
Among these outcomes, Ehsan Jangi's resilience stood out as he bounced back from an initial loss to Marlene Haddad to claim the rematch.
Complete Wet Gammon Round 1 Results
The recorded results in the tournament bracket for this round are as follows:
First Set of Fixtures:
Shahram Ala defeated Patrick Gebeli.
Marlene Haddad defeated Ehsan Jangi.
Rabih Adnan defeated Julio Nosti.
Hamid Esmaeili defeated Zorer Sami.
Aleksandr Konukhov defeated Ovidiu Mihail Popa.
Cristian Stanciu defeated Ali Al-Baydani.
Masayuki Mochizuki defeated Janet Hodgkinson.
Hikmet Tunc defeated Afshin Omidi.
Subsequent Matches:
Patrick Gebeli defeated Shahram Ala.
Cristian Stanciu defeated Ali Al-Baydani again.
Janet Hodgkinson defeated Masayuki Mochizuki.
Ehsan Jangi defeated Marlene Haddad.
Hamid Esmaeili defeated Zorer Sami.
Ovidiu Mihail Popa defeated Aleksandr Konukhov.
Rabih Adnan defeated Julio Nosti once more.
Hikmet Tunc defeated Afshin Omidi in their second meeting.
Merit Open 2026 Wet Gammon Tournament Bracket
To follow the ongoing competition and view updated results for the Wet Gammon division, visit the tournament page on GG Arena:
https://ggarena.app/tournament/cmvub6nq90072mu08nfetgyb6
Summary
Round 1 of the Merit Open 2026 Wet Gammon concluded with eight featured matches and a varied slate of outcomes. Hamid Esmaeili and Rabih Adnan enjoyed strong starts in their encounters. Conversely, Shahram Ala and Ehsan Jangi split their respective fixtures, while Afshin Omidi dropped two matches to Hikmet Tunc.
As the competition continues, player standings in the double-elimination structure will take clearer shape to determine who advances to the final rounds of Wet Gammon.