diff --git a/buildbot-host/buildmaster/master.cfg b/buildbot-host/buildmaster/master.cfg
index 0231057..fd56c7c 100755
--- a/buildbot-host/buildmaster/master.cfg
+++ b/buildbot-host/buildmaster/master.cfg
@@ -820,19 +820,6 @@ openvpn_file_patterns = [
 openvpn_filter_fn = "^(" + "|".join(openvpn_file_patterns) + ")$"
 
 
-def gerrit_filter(branch_name):
-    def filter_func(c):
-        ret = (
-            c.properties.getProperty("event.patchSet.uploader.name")
-            in verified_authors_list
-            and (c.properties.getProperty("target_branch") == branch_name)
-            and any([re.search(openvpn_filter_fn, f) for f in c.files])
-        )
-        return ret
-
-    return filter_func
-
-
 openvpn_branches = {"main": openvpn_main_branch, "release": openvpn_release_branch}
 for branch_type, branch_name in openvpn_branches.items():
     # Ensure that in OpenVPN 2 we run smoke tests first and only if those pass run
@@ -857,10 +844,18 @@ for branch_type, branch_name in openvpn_branches.items():
     openvpn_gerrit_smoketest_scheduler = schedulers.SingleBranchScheduler(
         name=f"openvpn-gerrit-smoketest-{branch_type}",
         change_filter=util.ChangeFilter(
-            filter_fn=gerrit_filter(branch_name),
             repository_re=".*gerrit.*",
             project="openvpn",
+            filter_fn=lambda c: any([re.search(openvpn_filter_fn, f) for f in c.files]),
+            property_eq={
+                "event.patchSet.uploader.name": verified_authors_list,
+                "target_branch": branch_name,
+            },
+            property_not_eq={
+                "event.change.status": "MERGED",
+            },
         ),
+        priority=1,
         treeStableTimer=openvpn_tree_stable_timer,
         builderNames=builder_names["openvpn-smoketest"],
     )