---

The EPT Monte Carlo Main Event ended tonight in the spectacular Salle des Etoiles with a long and tense heads-up battle between Russia’s Aleksandr Shevliakov and Ukraine’s Amir Kokhestani.It concluded a day punctuated by controversy and filled with thrilling poker.

The eventual winner was the 37-year-old Shevliakov, originally from Saratov, but now based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, who had been central to all of the best and worst elements of the day.

In the short term, there may be some people who watched his performance today and will regard him as a pantomime villain after one hand in particular that ended in the contentious elimination of Jamil Wakil.

In the long term, though, he should be rightly celebrated as the eighth Russian to hoist the famous trophy, and the first since Artur Martirosian in 2021. Shevliakov, who works in IT and considers poker just a hobby, kept his cool despite everything going on around him, which included the unpredictable play of his volatile final opponent Kokhestani.

“I won. It’s a dream come true. This is it,” Shevliakov said, celebrating his triumph on the iconic stage inside the Salle des Etoiles.

Shevliakov won €1 million, while Kokhestani earned €615,000 and they were both great value for their riches. Kokhestani, a Kyiv native now based in Hamburg, Germany, pulled off arguably the greatest play of the day when he five-bet bluffed with four-high and got Boris Angelov to fold an ace. Kokhestani is another amateur. He’s a dentist by trade. But this was the work of a master.

To that point, Angelov had been the centre of attention as he sought to go one better than his second-place finish last year. But Kokhestani, and ultimately Shevliakov, denied Angelov the redemption story and instead wrote many new chapters of their own.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

After five days of intense competition, including a period of play last night that reduced the official final table of eight down to its last six, the cosmopolitan line-up presented a typical mix of ages and experience. Players came from six different countries, and their ages ranged from 28 through 45.

The youngest was one of the most experienced: at 28, Boris Angelov was already at his second EPT Main Event final, following on from last year’s runner-up finish here in Monte Carlo. But he’d hardly taken his foot of the pedal since then and had also made the final table of the WSOP Main Event last summer.

With the chip lead too, Angelov was the man to beat.

Final table line-up:

Boris Angelov, Bulgaria, 8,400,000
Aleksandr Shevliakov, Russia, 7,250,000
Mariusz Golinski, Poland, 6,495,000
Jamil Wakil, Canada, 4,975,000
Enrico Coppola, Italy, 4,715,000
Amir Kokhestani, Ukraine, 3,860,000

Two storylines developed in the opening level, both with Aleksandr Shevliakov at their centre. The first emerged when tournament officials were twice called to Shevliakov’s side to request him to put his cards on the RFID reader so that the PokerStars Live stream could see his cards. He had been deliberately leaving one card concealed, in contravention of tournament rules.

However, Shevliakov fought his corner and said that it was in response to Boris Angelov having a rail of fellow pros watching the stream and providing him information on what his opponents had been holding. Tournament officials agreed that this may offer an advantage to Angelov and instigated a rule that banned electronic devices on the rail with immediate effect.

Rules are evolving all the time on the EPT to keep up with developments in technology and in the wider game. Watch this space to see how this area progresses.

The second storyline had a similar whiff of controversy, but also concerned Shevliakov’s surge up the chip counts.

Having started the last day in second place, Shevliakov was quickly into the lead. The most significant pot was the one that ended the tournament of Jamil Wakil, who followed up a 13th-place finish last year with a sixth place this time around.

Wakil had had to raise/fold a couple of times in the early stages, trying to get things going. But in the immediate wake of Shevliakov’s discussions with the tournament officials over the electronic devices issue, the Russian found A♥ K♥ at the same time Wakil made a pre-flop raise with Q♥ J♦ .

Shevliakov, in the small blind, announced a raise, making it three times the big blind size. But when questioned about the sizing, he then said he hadn’t seen Wakil’s open and said he thought he was only raising Amir Kokhestani’s big blind. The floor supervisor said the action could only go as a min-three-bet.

Kokhestani folded, but Wakil was now in a tough spot. He thought Shevliakov was making a 3x open-raise from the small blind, the kind you see a lot with air targeting just the big blind player. Wakil reasoned he had a good jamming spot and shoved it in. But he had run straight into it.

Whether or not Shevliakov had set this play up as a kind of angle-shoot, inducing the shove, only he will truly ever know. But Wakil, one of the game’s most mild-mannered players, was clearly angry especially after he was told that Shevliakov had made the same move earlier in the tournament. But by that point, after he didn’t find any help on the board, Wakil was out in sixth for €199,750.

Shevliakov was now in a commanding position and stayed there as the game played five handed for close to two hours. During that period Angelov slumped then doubled back into contention, while Poland’s Mariusz Golinski lost a massive pot to Enrico Coppola when the Italian flopped a set of threes and Golinsk’s A♥ Q♠ improved on the river when an ace came. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Coppola took a big pot from his fellow European.

Golinski trod water until he found A♠ 9♠ in the small blind and had watched Shevliakov raise from under the gun. As chip leader, Shevliakov had been doing it a lot, and few were surprised to see Golinski commit the rest of his chips in this spot. But Shevliakov once again had A♥ K♥ and snapped off Golinski.

There was no miracle and Golinski went out in fifth for €259,900.

Coppola was now the shortest at the table, while Shevliakov had more than his three opponents combined. But there was no apparent concern for ICM pressure in a pot that player out between the other two at the final, Angelo and Ukrainian dentist Amir Kokhestani, which is surely destined for a highlights reel.

Angelov had A♦ 7♠ and opened from the button to 450,000 (two-and-a-bit blinds). Kokhestani only had 4♣ 2♣ in the big blind but didn’t like to think Angelov was trying to pinch it. He put in a three-bet to 1.5 million. Angelov might have smelled a rat because he found a brilliant four-bet, making it 2.6 million, leaving himself 5.63 million behind.

Time for Kokhestani to fold, right? Wrong. He found the bluff five-bet, for 4 million, sending commentators and spectators wild. Angelov was clearly suspicious, but didn’t need to wait for his friends on the rail to tell him what he was facing. Angelov folded and Kokhestani quickly showed the bluff. This dentist brings the pain.

After that, the action reverted to the more predictable. And Shevliakov won another decent pot to pick off Coppola and end the Italian’s tournament.

Coppola open-jammed for 2.73 million, around 14 big blinds, with J♦ 3♦ . He had clearly just been trying to pinch the blinds, but Shevliakov found pocket sixes in the small blind and made the call. There was no jack nor any diamonds to help him out, and Coppola took €337,900 for fourth.

Shevliakov had an enormous lead over Kokhestani and then Angelov, in third. But Angelov kept his hopes alive by doubling up with pocket threes against Shevliakov’s A♦ J♦ on the final hand before a tournament break, which meant they came back to stacks of 18.2 million (Shevliakov) ahead of 9.2 million (Kokhestani) and 8.325 million (Angelov). Blinds were 125K-250K, so there was still a lot of play.

Angelov had hoped to make a one-place improvement on his result here last year, but when push came to shove, his one-place adjustment took him one rung down the eventual payouts ladder. He may have doubled to get back into contention before the break, but he didn’t make it to the next pause. He hit the rail in third.

He had around 25 blinds when he defended his big blind to a standard open from Kokhestani from the small blind. Kokhestani had only 10♣ 6♠ and Angelov A♣ 8♥ , so nothing crazy. After the 2♦ 7♣ 9♣ flop, Kokhestani made a c-bet and Angelov called. And when the 10♠ came on the turn, Kokhestani was now ahead and Angelov had a straight draw.

Kokhestani jammed, covering Angelov. And after burning through the last of his time-bank cards, Angelov made the call. But he missed and Kokhestani’s hand held up. Angelov’s run of high-profile finals continues to suggest a massive, massive score is coming his way soon. But from this one, he takes €439,200 for third.

It left the tournament heads-up. But it now had a new leader as Kokhestani had nosed ahead with 18.25 million to Shevliakov’s 17.45 million. The big blind was 300K, so this was 60 blinds against 58. It was deep.

Despite some ludicrous hands earlier in proceedings, both these players started heads-up a bit more cagily. They made it to the dinner break with a minimal amount of drama, and there was every indication it would push on late into the night.

It did indeed take a while, but it was not without intrigue. Shevliakov edged back into the lead, but Kokhestani got his opponent to fold the second nut flush with a river over-bet on a double paired board. (Kokhestani had nothing.) It was one of a number of creative plays he made during heads up, despite the enormous disparity between first and second place prizes.

Shevliakov kept his cool and won perhaps the first really big heads-up pot when his K♠ 10♦ flopped top pair and Kokhestani stuck with his pocket threes to build a 14 million chip pot. The result was that Shevliakov opened up a 2.5-1 lead, which he hastily made 3-1. Kokhestani had dipped below 20 blinds, and was in shoving mood. He three-bet ripped it with 10♣ 9♣ and won the pot, but the hints were there that he was running out of patience.

Kokhestani, however, managed to get the stacks all but even again when his K♠ 8♠ beat Shevliakov’s 5♣ 4♣ in a hand where Shevliakov hit his five on the flop, but Kokhestani hit his king on the river. But crucially, the blinds had now gone up again, so stacks were now comparatively shallow.

When the dealer served up a huge cooler on the next hand — both players finishing with a boat after Kokhestani’s 9♦ 5♥ and Shevliakov’s Q♠ 6♥ connected with a board of K♦ 5♠ 6♦ 5♣ 6♠ — there was no getting away. Shevliakov won a 15-million chip pot to draw clear once more. One hand later, Shevliakov jammed pre-flop with K♣ 2♥ and Kokhestani called with A♠ 6♣ . Kokhestani needed to hold to survive. But the 2♣ on the flop was critical, and with that Shevliakov was the champion.

The pair shared a warm handshake as Shevliakov, who qualified online on PokerStars for €550, began life as an EPT champion.

EPT Monte Carlo Main Event
Dates: May 4-10, 2025
Entries: 1,195 (inc. 367 re-entries)
Prize pool: €5,795,750

1st – Aleksandr Shevliakov, Russia – €1,000,000
2nd – Amir Kokhestani, Ukraine – €615,000
3rd – Boris Angelov, Bulgaria – €439,200
4th – Enrico Coppola, Italy – €337,900
5th – Mariusz Golinski, Poland – €259,900
6th – Jamil Wakil, Canada – €199,750

Click for full results from EPT Monte Carlo

---

PADILHA DOMINATES €25K HIGH ROLLER FOR €1.14M VICTORY

In an era where Brazilian players dominate the online poker scene, gobbling up titles like a whale devouring krill, standing out is no small feat. Pedro Padilha, known online as “PadiLhA SP”, has long been recognised as one of Brazil’s elite tournament players, yet despite his online success, a major live title eluded him.

That all changed today after a dominating final table performance in the 226-entry EPT Monte Carlo €25,000 High Roller saw him bank the biggest score of his career yet: €1,146,000. He took the chip lead in the final day’s early stages after a flurry of eliminations, and never gave it up, ultimately defeating French Super High Roller regular Thomas Santerne heads-up after a quickfire duel.

Padilha was a man of few words after his victory, but only because we can’t speak Portuguese. “I’m sorry, my English is so bad, bro!” he said. “This tournament has been amazing, and just look at that trophy, it’s beautiful.”

FINAL DAY ACTION

The final day got off to a fast start. Twelve players returned, led by Nacho Barbero with 1.97 million. Still, that number was chopped down to eight after less than a level when we lost Santhosh Suvarrna, Roberto Gomez, Joao Simao and Arsenii Karmatckiii in quick succession. 

Padilha had done most of the heavy lifting in the early stages and increased his stack to 3 million (100 big blinds), while Saar Wilf found himself in dire straits with fewer than five bigs. He waited patiently for a good spot but fell in eighth for €164,300.

Barbero’s big stack had dwindled after a few small pots didn’t go his way, and he sought to get back into it against Mathew Frankland. The Brit opened from the cutoff and Barbero made it 320K on the button, before Frankland four-bet to set him all-in. The Argentine called it off with A♦ 10♣ , flipping against 8♠ 8♦ , and the board ran out clean for the pocket pair, shooting Frankland up to 2.8 million, while Barbero collected €197,100 for seventh.

BOIKA AND PIEKAZEWICZ FALL 

There aren’t many players who have won both an EPT Main Event and High Roller title, but that’s something Aliaksei Boika was close to pulling off today. Alas, the Malta 2016 champ just couldn’t get anything going and when he was down to 650K (13 bigs) he opened to 300K from the hijack. Padilha then moved all-in from the button and it folded back Boika who called. His K♦ Q♦ needed help against Padilha’s Q♥ Q♣ , and despite picking up gutshot outs on the turn of the 9♠ 7♣ 2♠ J♥ board, the 9♣ river changed nothing. He collected €236,500 while Padilha extended his lead to 4.5 million. 

He continued to build five-handed, so much so that doubling up Thomas Santerne did nothing to threaten his chip lead. Padilha open-jammed on the button with the small stacks of Santerne and Alisson Piekazewicz behind him, and Santerne called all-in for 1.05 million before Piekazewicz got out of the way. The Frenchman was well ahead with A♣ K♥ against K♣ 10♦ and held, which meant Padilha dropped back to 4.6 million.

Santerne soon found a fantastic spot to continue accumulating. Patrik Jaros – an EPT Barcelona Main Event finalist in 2022, and reigning EPT High Roller champ, having won in Prague for €573,500 – opened on the button before Santerne three-bet from the big blind. It all went in and Jaros saw the bad news: his A♣ J♣ was up against A♠ A♦ . He was saved when he turned trips on the J♥ 6♦ Q♦ J♠ 7♠ board and threw a passionate fist pump before letting out a huge sigh of relief. Jaros was up to 1.63 million and his back-to-back was still a possibility.

That left Piekazewicz – known as “heyalisson” on PokerStars – as the sole short stack. When his fellow Brazilian Padilha opened to 125K on the button, Piekazewicz jammed from the big blind for just over a million chips with 4♣ 4♥ , called by Padilha with J♦ J♠ . The best hand held and Piekazewicz picked up €302,760.

FRANKLAND FALLS IN FOURTH, JAROS IN THIRD

As chips shifted around during four-handed play, it was Frankland who was least active. His stack was whittled down to just 500K (8 bigs) as he seemingly couldn’t find any cards of spots – then the blinds went up, shrinking his stack even further (6 bigs). 

He defended his big blind after an open from Padilha and moved all-in (a “donk lead”) on a 8♦ 3♦ 4♥ flop. Padilha snap-called with Q♣ Q♠ and that meant Frankland’s Q♦ 4♠ middle pair needed to improve to trips. The K♠ turn and 9♠ river changed nothing and Frankland added yet another huge score to his Monte Carlo haul. He’d already won the €2K Open High Roller for €409K earlier this trip, and added another €393,600 today.

Santerne began three-handed play as the shorty with fewer than 20 bigs, so it was music to his ears when Padilha and Jaros clashed in a huge pot. Jaros limped the small blind before Padilha made it 300K at 40K/80K. Jaros then jammed for just under 2 million and Padilha quickly called with A♠ Q♥ – dominated by Jaros’ A♦ K♥ . 

But the Poker Gods giveth, then taketh away. He’d been lucky to survive earlier, and now it was Jaros’ turn to get drawn out on as the flop fell Q♠ 10♥ 3♣ , giving Padilha the best of it. The 6♣ turn and 5♦ river were no help and the Czech player departed in third with more than half a million euros.

HEADS-UP

Padilha, having led since the early stages, took a huge chip lead into heads-up play: ~9 million against ~2 million. But Santerne managed to chip up early when his 880K pot-size bet on a 7♠ 4♦ Q♠ 9♣ 8♦ board was called. He showed 9♠ 4♥ for two pair and took it down.

The two continued to trade blows, but they were always harder to absorb for Santerne. Padilha got value on the river when he turned a set, taking Santerne down 1 million (10 bigs), but he then found a double up when his Q♥ 3♣ connected against Padilha’s A♠ 7♠ .

Not long after, the pair found themselves on a 6♣ 5♣ Q♦ flop and Santerne checked it. Padilha made it 100K (one big blind) and Santerne check-raised to 325K, which was called. The 5♠ turn brought a bet of 475K from Santerne and again Padilha stuck around to see the K♣ river. Santerne shoved for just under 1.1 million and after using a time bank card, Padilha made the call. Santerne flipped over 2♣ 4♠ for a missed gutshot, while Padilha had the winner with Q♥ 9♣ for second pair. 

With that brilliant final call, Padilha sealed his victory in style. Already a dominant force in the online arena, he’s now added one of European poker’s most prestigious trophies to his collection.

€25,000 EPT High Roller RESULTS

Dates: May 8-10, 2025
Entries: 226
Prize pool: €5,426,260

1.  Pedro Padilha (Brazil) – €1,146,000
2.  Thomas Santerne (France) – €716,400
3. Patrik Jaros (Czech Republic) – €511,700
4. Mathew Frankland (UK) – €393,600
5. Alisson Piekazewicz (Brazil) – €302,760
6. Aliaksei Boika (Belarus) – €236,500
7. Nacho Barbero (Argentina) – €197,100
8. Saar Wilf (Israel) – €164,300

---

THE EPT ELECTRONICS RULE (AND OTHERS) EXPLAINED

The European Poker Tour (EPT) Tournament Director Toby Stone shared an update this afternoon on the various rule changes that were brought in ahead of this EPT Monte Carlo festival.

Stone has regular meetings with floor supervisors at every event — known as “Toby Talks” — in which they bring feedback from players, dealers and anyone else associated with the game. Having introduced a handful of new rules at this festival, Stone had been looking forward to this week’s Toby Talk in particular.

It was the chance to hear precisely how these changes had gone down and whether anything needed changing again.

The short version is that there’s near unanimous support for all the changes, much to everyone’s delight. There are one or two tiny things that will be amended based on the feedback, and there’s still more data to be analysed after the event, but broadly speaking, this has been a real success.

There is one more thing that has been brought in at this event as something of an emergency measure. It’s to do with electronic devices on the rail at the feature table, and it’s in response to some mild controversy that took place today in the EPT Main Event.

We’ll get to that in a moment. But first, the easy stuff.

HANDS-PER-LEVEL AT FINAL TABLES

“Every floor has said that players like the hands-per-level change,” Stone confirms. This is the process outlined earlier in the week whereby blind levels at final tables increase when a specific number of hand have been dealt, rather than after a certain amount of time has elapsed.

This was brought in to stop people stalling and forcing someone else into the big blind first. Stone calculated, based on available data, how long an average hand took in a certain tournament, then estimated how many hands should be dealt per level. He admitted that he would look again at the data after tracking it through this festival, before making any amendments necessary before EPT Barcelona.

Stone today said there may well be a few small amendments, but certainly nothing major. The process has gained widespread support and will therefore stay. Any changes will only focus on the number of hands per level — and it won’t be significant.

“So that’s excellent,” Stone says.

SHOT CLOCK ADJUSTMENTS/SLIDE DEALING

Tournament organisers brought in slightly new rules governing shot clocks in smaller tournaments ahead of this festival, and these are going to be slightly tinkered again before EPT Barcelona.

As a direct result of player feedback, shot clocks were introduced in some tournament formats at Level 11, with players receiving two 10-second time bank cards at the start of that level. A further two cards are issued to players at the next break, with a maximum of four time bank cards given out in most tournaments.

Updated feedback suggests the 10 second countdown is marginally too quick. This is going to be modified to 15 seconds going forward. It’s not a big change at all, but just demonstrates again how quickly the EPT team will react to informed feedback.

Suffice to say, the change to slide dealing in all tournaments continues to receive widespread support. That method of dealing, as opposed to pitch dealing (which technically offered the chance for a device to see the cards being dealt), is far superior.

Pitch dealing is now consigned to history.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Perhaps the most significant change to tournament rules — and this was brought in just today, on the fly, in response to activity at the EPT Main Event feature table — is that all electronic devices are now banned among supporters on the feature table rail.

“If you want to go and watch that table, you must have your electronic device in your pocket, and you’re not allowed to talk strategy with the players,” Stone says.

To repeat: Anybody wishing to go up to the rail to support their friends playing must keep their electronic devices in their pockets, and any conversations they have with an active player while the clock is running cannot be about poker.

This will now stop people on the feature table rail watching the PokerStars Live stream and, most pertinently, telling their friends playing the game what’s been going on.

It was always the case that a player with an active hand could not talk to anybody (the “one player per hand” rule), and PokerStars was the first operator to ban the use of solvers and other real-time assistance programs on the rail. But even if a player has folded their cards and is not in a hand, they cannot watch the stream or talk strategy.

The simplest way to ensure this rule is respected is to outlaw electronic devices on the rail. Full stop. (Note: railbirds will not need to surrender their electronic devices, as active players do. But they just can’t get them out, or talk strategy.)

In tournament breaks, players can do what they want. No one will police what a player does when the clock is not running. But during play on the feature table, when opponents’ hole cards are visible on the stream, no electronics at all.

Even though supporters will now not even be able to take photos of their friends while standing on the rail, it’s a price that will have to be paid.

“What’s more important, the integrity of the tournament or you getting a picture?” Stone says, adding that pictures will still be fine during a break. “In breaks you can do what you want, because you’re not playing.”

Viewers watching the stream today will have seen the run-up to the introduction of this rule.

Aleksandr Shevliakov had been reluctant to put both his hole cards over the RFID reader at the final table, stating that he believed Boris Angelov had yesterday been talking strategy with his friends on the rail, who had been watching the stream.

Of course, the stream was on a 30-minute security delay, so the information gleaned from the stream could not affect a hand in play. But in the long term, the information could be useful and Shevliakov’s protest encouraged the tournament staff to act.

Angelov accepted the ruling, Shevliakov started putting his cards over the reader, and
peace broke out.

Stone said that almost immediately after he made the ruling, he told two viewers heading to the stage that they wouldn’t be allowed to get electronics out while they watched, and they immediately said they thought it was a good thing, so initial reactions have been good.

Stone and his team will no doubt revisit the issue in their post-event discussions, but don’t be surprised if this rule is now here to stay as well.

---

FINAL TABLE PLAYER PROFILES

The EPT Monte Carlo final table is set. Find out some more about the last six in our final table player profiles.

Seat 1 – Jamil Wakil, 35, Toronto, Canada – 4,975,000 chips

When Jamil Wakil first made the final table of a major PokerStars-sponsored event — the 2023 PCA Main Event in the Bahamas — he had only just taken the plunge to go pro, despite spending much of the previous decade playing poker around the world. The Toronto native had stuck with a job in mutual funds at a major Canadian bank, even as he rose through the ranks as a poker player. 

If the PCA run, which finished in a sixth-place finish for $307K, suggested he had made the right choice, the subsequent year-and-a-half has further confirmed it. Wakil has added a further six six-figure scores since then, including this run in Monte Carlo, which could yet earn him his first $1 million result.

“When I left my finance job, of course, I was leaving more stability, but it’s a trade-off for getting to travel and make your own schedule, and also doing something I really love,” Wakil said. “It’s been amazing. I feel blessed.”

He has now travelled around the world a couple more times, playing all the major events, and still evidently loving every minute of his new career. He remains a force at the online tables, too. He continues to rack up results under his PokerStars screenname “Jamil11”, including making the final table of the $10K WCOOP Main Event in 2023.

Wakil added that he had some “unfinished business” in Monte Carlo, referencing a near miss last year when he reached the penultimate day well stacked, but perished earlier than he’d hoped. “To make another deep run is pretty incredible,” he said. “Last year, I came in fourth in chips out of 16 for Day 5, and I ended in 13th. Now, obviously, I’ve got past that. I’m at the final table and then some.”

Seat 2 – Enrico Coppola, 45, Italy (lives in Geneva, Switzerland) – 4,715,000 chips

Italy’s Enrico Coppola soared to the top of the chip count in the opening hands of Day 5, thanks to a wild hand against fellow countryman Andreas Goeller with 18 players left. He’s remained solid since then and will start six-handed play with forty big blinds.

After spending 30 years in Turin, Coppola relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, 15 years ago, where he now runs his own business. A hospitality professional, he operates several establishments across Switzerland, Italy, and even Dubai.

“Poker is the game of my life,” says Coppola, who took home over €87K at the EPT High Roller in Barcelona in 2024, his best cash so far. Now he’s at the final table of an EPT Main Event — an extraordinary situation given that he usually dodges them, preferring the swiftness of High Rollers and the freedom of cash games.

Seat 3 – Mariusz Golinski, 36, Poznań, Poland – 6,495,000 chips

Mariusz Golinski burst onto the live scene at the World Series of Poker Europe 2024 when he reached the final table of the Main Event. His fourth-place finish for €415K didn’t change the 36-year-old’s life – he was already playing high stakes online tournaments from his home in Poznań, Poland – but it did give him a welcome confidence boost. “I really hadn’t played a lot live,” he says. “It made me think I should play more and more.”

Two months after that score, he cashed both the Main Event and High Roller at EPT Prague, final tabling the latter, so he’s no stranger to PokerStars events either. Now, after ending EPT Monte Carlo’s two previous days in the middle of the pack, he’s at the final table of Europe’s most prestigious event. “I’m very excited but trying to stay calm and be humble,” he says.

It’s his first time playing in Monte Carlo, and he’s thoroughly enjoyed both the Principality and the venue. “I will be back here in the future for sure,” he says. “Everything is great at the EPTs, so if anyone is thinking or hoping to take part, I fully recommend it.”

Seat 4 – Boris Angelov, 28, Sofia, Bulgaria – 8,400,000 chips

What a year it’s been for Boris Angelov. Twelve months after his runner-up finish here, he’s back at the EPT Monte Carlo final table with the chip lead. He also reached the final of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, finishing fifth for $2.5 million. Such impressive results have taken the Bulgarian to a whole new level and made him a familiar face on the international circuit.

Angelov, from Sofia, Bulgaria, began playing poker around seven years ago, mainly in online cash games, surrounded by some very good countrymen and fellow pros, including Alex Kulev, whom he describes as a close friend. He then moved into the live tournament circuit post-pandemic and made his debut on the EPT in March 2022. That proved to be a successful decision: he finished 59th in the EPT Prague Main Event and hasn’t missed an EPT event since. 

“I hope to win the title this time, even if there’s still a long way to go,” he said just after he took his place at the official eight-handed final. Angelov admitted that his life revolves around poker, leaving him little time for other hobbies. With 8.4 million chips, he’s the table boss with one goal in mind: win it this time.

Seat 5 – Aleksandr Shevliakov, 37, Russia (lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia) – 7,250,000 chips

Aleksandr Shevliakov had previously been to two major EPT final tables – both in €10K high roller events. He came close to lifting the famous shard trophy at EPT Paris 2023, but left as the runner-up (with €506K). Later that year, he took €142K for seventh place in the same tournament in Barcelona.

Shevliakov says poker is just a hobby – he works in IT – but his results indicate he’s a very experienced player. He splits time between online and live action; a €530 online satellite propelled him to an EPT ticket here, but it would require a re-entry for him to hit the ground running.

Born and raised in Saratov, the 37-year-old now lives in Ljubljana. “I play two or three EPTs every year,” Shevliakov said, mentioning Paris and Barcelona as his typical go-to destinations. He also confirmed he will be in Malta when the EPT returns to the island after a nine-year hiatus.

Before then, he’s aiming to become Russia’s eighth EPT champion and the first since Artur Martirosian in March 2021. “The trophy is important,” Shevliakov said, but added that the €1 million prize is an even stronger motivation for him to bring it home.

Seat 6 – Amir Kokhestani, 43, Ukraine (lives in Hamburg, Germany) – 3,860,000 chips

Amir Kokhestani burst onto the live tournament scene with victory in the Eureka Hamburg event in July last year, besting a field of 645 entries to win more than €110K. It was his first documented poker cash, but he told reporters at the time that it was the product of 10 years’ hard work on his poker game.

“I’ve always been a hard worker—and to see it pay off is crazy,” he told reporters in Hamburg. “I’m truly just happy.”

Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, Kokhestani relocated to Hamburg, Germany, during the hostilities, so the Eureka event represented something of a hometown triumph. He is a dentist by trade and says that poker is still just a hobby, even though he is now well set for a second massive score within a year. 

This tournament has been a lot of fun for him, he says, and the 43-year-old comes into the final day sixth in chips.

---

PREPARE FOR SCOOP WITH SPRAGGY’S TIPS

Known by poker fans the world over as Spraggy, Ben Spragg has amassed a huge audience in recent years thanks to his popular Twitch streaming work and also as a part of Team PokerStars. Known for his sharp wit and entertaining persona, Spraggy has also been a success at the table and is almost always in the mix at WCOOP and SCOOP events. Heading into 2025, Spraggy is once again looking to make some major moves.

In this interview, Spraggy gives us an insight into his preparation for the big tournaments; from what to eat, and how he relaxes to how he gets his head in the game before the big moments. He’ll also share some keen advice for beginners.

Check out Spraggy’s SCOOP tips.

---

CHOI THE LATEST GOLD PASS SUCCESS IN MONACO

We’ve met many Gold Pass qualifiers enjoying their maiden European Poker Tour experience in Monte Carlo this week, and while none of them remain in the Main Event, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been enjoying successful (and profitable) trips.

Just last night, we told you how New Jersey’s Benjamin Felson – who won his Gold Pass via SCOOP NJ – finished runner-up in the €3K Mystery Bounty for a career-best €151,750. It was an incredible result for the online pro playing only the twenty-something live tournament of his life. Were it not for the Gold Pass, he’d never have come to the EPT.

This morning, we woke up to some more crowd-pleasing news. Canada’s Jay Choi, another Gold Pass winner we interviewed earlier in the week, had gone one place further and captured a coveted PokerStars trophy.

“I think maybe in the past, Gold Pass winners were less studied,” he tells us the morning after. “But now, as so many people take the game seriously, they can compete.”

I’ll say. Choi took down the €550 T.O.R.S.E. event for €7,140, overcoming a tough 43-entry field featuring many skilled players. Impressively, this was Choi’s first time playing mixed games live.

“There’s an element of stress [playing mixed] because of the mechanics, and every game changes,” says Choi. “Some games you’d like a break from because they’re not your favourite, but you just have to battle hand to hand.”

Despite a bad beat in Stud Hi, Choi says he found some clever plays and was able to get chips in the middle with the best of it. After 14 hours of play, at around 2:30 am, he took it down in a heads-up Omaha Hi/Lo hand.

He continues: “I was really looking forward to playing mixed games, so to be able to win is a very sweet cherry on top of an amazing trip. I’ve battled all week just like everyone else, but that tournament was fun and definitely rewarding.”

It’s not just the poker that makes the Gold Pass experience so rewarding, it’s the people you meet along the way. Choi says he’s made tons of new friends, including Rania Nasreddine, whom he met while on the same table in the €3K Mystery Bounty—an event he satellited into. She’s battling in the €25K High Roller (and chip leading, at the time of writing) but took the time to join Choi in his winner’s photo.

Choi would also like to thank the tournament staff and the entire PokerStars team. “Everyone has been so amazing, I have a deep appreciation for what they’ve been able to provide for us [Gold Pass winners],” he says. “From the facilities to the execution of tournaments, it would be impossible not to want to come back.

“The EPT is romanticised because I’ve been watching it for so long, so to experience it has been amazing.”

It’s the perfect end to the perfect trip. And yet it’s not the end. Choi might play another event today or tomorrow, but he daren’t win another title. He’s already struggling to fit everything in his luggage: “I might have to throw away a few sweaters to make room for the trophy!”

---

HAVING SURVIVED ‘SWIFT TOURS’ IN LIVERPOOL, MOOLHUIZEN IS BACK FOR MORE IN MONACO

The first time we encountered the Dutch pro Mateusz Moolhuizen it was 2013 and he was here in Monte Carlo at what was then called the EPT Grand Final.

You might remember that 2013 was the year when the final table seated a constellation of megastars — Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Jake Cody, Johnny Lodden and eventual champion Steve O’Dwyer — at what is still widely considered to be the toughest final the EPT has ever seen.

At the time, Moolhuizen was a young and eager PokerStars online qualifier, going deep in this huge event, and pursued by TV cameras everywhere he went. He eventually bust in 16th place, one table short of the final, but it was evident already we’d not seen the last of Moolhuizen.

Flash forward eight years, and we no longer see any of Negreanu, Mercier, Cody or Lodden on the EPT. But we still see Moolhuizen. We still see a lot of him. He has taken his game to new heights, and is potentially closing in again on an EPT Monte Carlo final table.

At time of writing, Moolhuizen is sitting with a top half stack in the last 14 players from a 1,195-entry field. Back in 2013, the field only had 531 players, but Moolhuizen seems to relish the huge fields of the modern game. We found ourselves writing a lot about Moolhuizen again in February last year, when he won the FPS Main Event in Paris for close to €500K. He beat a field of 4,149 entries to lock that one up.

There was also a small amount of unfinished business for Moolhuizen from that trip to Paris. On one of the last nights of the trip, PokerStars Blog accompanied the new FPS champion and Gold Pass winner Leigh Swift on a trip to the Moulin Rouge. This was a freebie for players who had qualified through the PokerStars Power Path, or who had something else to celebrate, like Moolhuizen.

Over champagne (and a few beers), and in between the strutting nudity, Moolhuizen and Swift struck up an unlikely friendship, which they planned to renew in the following couple of weeks. Moolhuizen was planning to take his fiancee’s father, Co, on a trip to Liverpool, Swift’s home town, to watch a Premier League soccer match. Swift, a taxi driver by trade, offered to pick up Moolhuizen at the airport and provide him a chauffeur service for the trip.

A couple of days ago, Moolhuizen confirmed that the meeting did indeed take place. Swift was there at Liverpool airport, waiting for the group to arrive from the Netherlands. Part of the plan was that Moolhuizen wouldn’t tell Co that he already knew the driver, which would make Swift’s friendly banter all the more baffling. Swift dialled up the welcome, riffing about (fabricated) friendships with ex-Liverpool pro Dirk Kuyt, among other stories.

Swift also kept the group on their toes by cutting it extremely fine for their planned return to the airport. With a flight taking off only a couple of hours after the end of the match, the local cabbie drew on his experience of the roads to leave just in the nick of time to get there. The Dutch visitors were a tiny bit anxious as they stood outside of Anfield waiting for their ride, not least because their luggage was still in Swift’s car.

But alls well that ends well. Moolhuizen has since married his travel partner’s daughter, Dehlia, in a ceremony last June in the south of France. Dehlia is here in Monaco supporting her husband on the rail. Now it’s just time to hope for another glorious chapter in what is already quite a story.

---

RULE CHANGE: WATCH THE HANDS NOT THE CLOCK

The European Poker Tour (EPT) announced a few rule changes ahead of this festival in Monte Carlo, among them a new process for increasing the blind levels at tournament final tables.

As all players are aware, a traditional tournament schedule has the blinds going up at the end of set period of time. The EPT Main Event, for example, has levels that last either 60 minutes (on Day 1) or 90 minutes (thereafter), but various tournaments have blind levels of various durations, all the way down to five-minute levels in so-called “super hyper turbo” events.

However, the recent rule changes, implemented for the first time here, amend this process when the tournament reaches its final. Instead of a timer, a level ends when players have played a certain number of hands.

In the EPT Main Event, a final table level will last 30 hands. In the High Roller and Super High Roller, which used to have a 60-minute clock, a level will last 24 hands.

Different tournaments have different numbers, all the way down to those super hyper turbos, where final table players will see four hands before the blinds go up.

As ever, there’s a good reason for the change.

“Some players had brought this up to me towards the end of last year,” says Toby Stone, the EPT’s tournament director. Stone explains that some players and tournament supervisors had observed players deliberately stalling at the table to ensure a specific opponent pays a bigger big blind.

If, for instance, there are two short-stacked players at a final table, one might want to make sure that the other has to pay as big a value of big blind as possible. If there are only a couple of minutes until the end of the level, and that opponent will soon be in the big blind, the player could fake having a tough decision to make, wind the clock down, and ensure they reach the end of the level before the button is moved.

The new rule “prevents people from stalling to make other people pay a bigger blind,” Stone says. “That’s something I really don’t like.”

Stalling is very often the reason behind recent rule changes, and though it was the specific prompt for this one, Stone says that the amendment has had a couple of unexpected benefits too.

“You can strategise more now, because you know now how many hands you’re going to play,” he says. “This came from player recommendation and our team wanting to prevent people making someone else pay a big blind. The additional benefit of that is that players can strategise better.”

He adds that it also helps organisers structure tournament breaks because they can basically be taken mid-level without any discernible impact on gameplay. The number of hands dealt is tracked via numbered chips kept in the dealer’s well, visible to all players at all times. So if the tournament goes on break, rather than having to pause the clock, the dealers can just keep the same chip visible and players can come back and start right up again.

Stone had intended to implement the change at EPT Paris, but the event’s cancellation meant we had to wait until Monte Carlo for the rollout. “I did want to bring it in in an EPT rather than a regional event,” Stone says, adding that it’s necessarily a work in progress, as his team track the relative speed of tournaments, plus garner player feedback.

He methodically figured out how many hands he should allocate per level, based on existing level length and the average time it takes to play a hand. But tournament staff are recording that kind of data precisely here in Monte Carlo, which will give an even greater cache of information with which to make any necessary amendments before EPT Barcelona.

Players are also invited to make their own observations on the new process.

Anecdotal evidence gathered so far suggests players are happy.

Mat Frankland, who played with the new process at the final table of the €2K EPT Open High Roller (which he won), said it made almost no noticeable difference to gameplay and, if anything, it was more convenient.

“It was actually nice not to have to think about that stuff,” Frankland said, referring to more common concerns about whether one is going to have to post a big blind first.

Stone is hopeful that it will be one of the least controversial changes he has had to implement, but admitted there’s not quite enough data yet to be completely confident that everything is precise. He also highlighted the obvious point that data will tend to be most sparse for the most prominent events–i.e., while there are numerous qualifier tournaments on the Monte Carlo schedule from which he can extract a really broad set of data, there’s only one EPT Main Event so the sample size will be small.

That said, there’s consultation with the TV team, who have recordings of previous EPT Main Event finals, so it shouldn’t take too long to find the right balance.

As ever, watch this space.

---

Madanzhiev denies Gold Pass winner Felson in Mystery Bounty

The second of the EPT Monte Carlo’s four flagship events ended today with a WSOP Main Event winner denying a Gold Pass winner the title.

Stoyan Madanzhiev of Bulgaria, winner of the online edition of the WSOP Main Event in 2020 for $3.9 million, started the final day of the €3K Mystery Bounty 13th out of 14 players, but ended it hoisting his first PokerStars trophy. He topped the 739-entry field to win €267,264 (including bounties) after three days of play.

“I always wanted a PokerStars spadie and I’m really happy I’ve accomplished it,” he told us after his victory. “I feel fulfilled. I was just happy that I made it so far because most of the tournament I didn’t have a big stack. I was all-in so many times, and when you’re all in so many times you need to get lucky.”

After seeing off a final table that included Davidi Kitai (3rd) and Chris Brewer (4th), Madanzhiev found himself heads-up against Gold Pass winner Benjamin Felson, holding an enormous chip lead: 18.4 million against 3.7 million. 

Felson – an online crusher from New Jersey playing one of his first major live tournaments – had a mountain to climb to get back into it, and failed to hit when his K♠ Q♥ was up against A♠ J♠ in the final hand.

Still, with €151,750 heading his way, it’s an incredible result for the 42-year-old, even if he can’t see it right now. “It’s very nice, but this result is bittersweet,” he said. “I had a big lead at one point, but lost a lot of small pots. I’m really hard on myself, and I don’t think I played anywhere near as well as I do online.”

Felson’s story is a compelling one. He first got into poker in his late teens and played until he was 21, before stepping away from the game entirely. He went on to graduate with a degree in science and history, but after college, he drifted through a series of odd jobs, unable to find a sense of purpose. His twenties and early thirties were marked by personal struggles, including battles with his mental health.

But everything changed in 2016 when he rediscovered poker. Something clicked. He found his passion again, and the mental fog began to lift.

By then, though, the poker world had changed. The effects of Black Friday were still being felt, and the game had become significantly tougher. “When I was bad, the games were at their easiest,” he said. “Then by the time I was good, the games were at their toughest.”

Felson had no intention of pursuing live poker before he won his Gold Pass by winning a SCOOP NJ event. That brought him to the EPT, Monte Carlo, and after busting the Main Event, the Mystery Bounty. 

On Sunday, he’ll head home to New Jersey with a fantastic score under his belt, some great memories, and hopefully, a newfound confidence in his live game.

€3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty
Dates: May 6-8, 2025
Entries: 739
Prize pool: €1,268,124

1. Stoyan Madanzhiev (Bulgaria) – €267,264
2. Benjamin Felson (USA) – €151,750
3. Davidi Kitai (Belgium) – €118,380
4. Chris Brewer (USA) – €89,530
5. Yuliyan Kolev (Bulgaria) – €145,170
6. Lukas Zaskodny (Czech Republic) – €62,070
7. Michail Manolakis (Greece) – €41,210
8. Oleh Plaksii (Ukraine) – €43,840

Prizes listed include Mystery Bounties

Click here for full results

---

BARNY BOATMAN, WEST END STAR

Whenever anyone wants to hear about the modern history of poker, the person they tend to seek out is Barny Boatman. The PokerStars Ambassador is not totally thrilled about his role as the go-to poker veteran, but when you combine his incredible skills as a raconteur with his success and longevity, he fits the bill so perfectly that no reporter ever need look elsewhere.

What’s especially remarkable is that Boatman’s influence is even broader than most of us realise. For instance, he is in some way responsible for something that’s happening right now in London’s West End, the UK’s prestigious theatrical heartland.

The Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden is currently hosting a revival production of Dealer’s Choice, the debut play by Patrick Marber, who has gone on to become one of the UK’s most bankable playwrights. Dealer’s Choice, which was first staged in 1995, centres on a poker game in London at which the young Marber was a regular.

But it’s not just any poker game.

“It’s the Archway game,” Boatman says, reminiscing about a specific game he too used to play in, long before the European Poker Tour, long before Chris Moneymaker, long before even Late Night Poker, the pioneering British TV show that popularised Texas Hold’em across Europe.

Boatman continues: “Me and Ross [Barny’s brother] both lived in Archway…We played a regular game, so he [Marber] drew on that certainly for a lot of the game in the play.”

For obvious reasons, there’s quite a lot more to Dealer’s Choice than just poker, with Marber using it as a springboard to explore more conventional dramatic themes. But the natural tensions and conflicts of poker are a perfect backdrop for drama, not to mention the humour that is invariably prominent in games between friends.

The original production at the National Theatre, which starred Ray Winstone and Phil Daniels, among others, won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy. Ross Boatman has played two different characters in the play in two subsequent revivals, while Marber has gone on to direct and write numerous other high-profile productions.

Coincidentally or not, the Boatman brothers revived the Archway poker game around a year ago, with many of the old campaigners showing their faces for the regular meet-ups once again. Back when they first convened, they were just Barny, Ross, Patrick, John and Chris, among others, but they’re now EPT champion Barny Boatman, Eastenders star Ross Boatman, award winning playwright Patrick Marber, EPT founder John Duthie and Slumdog Millionaire producer Chris Colson.

“The revival of the Archway game happened this year,” Boatman says. “I don’t know if that’s what brought it to mind this year, it might have been for Patrick. He might have been reading all the stuff about the old days and decided it was time.”

Reviews of the revival at the Donmar have frequently praised its attention to period detail, including the characters’ baggy suits and big mobile phones, which lands it directly in the 1990s. But poker players would notice other signifiers.

The play was set at a time when poker still held something of an underground mystique, and was certainly far away from the more prominent position it holds today. The game in the play takes place quite literally underground, in the basement of a restaurant, and the players talk about Texas Hold’em and pot-limit Omaha as though they are speaking in a secret code.

They also have plenty of variants of their own invention, including “Mugsy’s nightmare”, named after the hapless central character in the play.

“We did play lots of made-up variants,” Boatman confirms, although he quickly shuts down a persistent rumour, apparently started by Marber himself, that the character of Mugsy was based on him.

“Patrick didn’t want to admit it was autobiographical so he picked someone else in the game to say it was them,” Boatman says. “You can’t say that I was Mugsy because he said that later to wind me up.”

Boatman has done perhaps more than anyone in the UK to bring poker out of the basements and into the mainstream, not least thanks to his own recent high-profile revival. Lest anyone need reminding, he became the EPT’s oldest Main Event champion in Paris last year, and both his poker game and storytelling continue to get better and better.

This week in Monte Carlo he took a break from a consistent flurry of media commitments to win a second Omaha Hi/Lo spadie, beating a field of 68 entries to record a 15th documented poker tournament victory. (Documented, that is, on the Hendon Mob website, which he co-founded.)

The first win came in a seven-card stud tournament in Slovenia in 1998, right around the time Marber was basking in glory from his second major production, Closer, and beginning to peddle the myth that Boatman was Mugsy.

Suffice to say, with $5.6 million in earnings on his Hendon Mob now, that rumour about Boatman has definitively run out of legs.

---

MATEOS REFLECTS ON 10-YEAR EPT ANNIVERSARY

Ten years ago to the day, the wait to find the first Spanish champion on the European Poker Tour (EPT) ended when a 20-year-old poker prodigy from Madrid won the Grand Final in Monte Carlo for €1,082,000. 

That Adrian Mateos was gifted was never up for debate. As a teenager, he’d already won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event and an Estrellas Poker Tour title. But no one in 2015 could have predicted the magnitude of Mateos’ future success.

$53 million in live earnings. Millions more won online. Four WSOP bracelets. 13 Championship of Online Poker titles. He’s an EPT all-timer, cashing in more major PokerStars Main Events than anyone else who isn’t named Steve O’Dwyer. And today he’s back in the stunning Salle des Etoiles at EPT Monte Carlo, reliving the magic he experienced exactly one decade ago. 

“Monaco is always a special place for me,” Mateos tells PokerStars Blog. “I won my first Main Event here, but I’ve also won many High Rollers. It’s somewhere I’ve won a lot of money, and I have many good memories, so it feels amazing to be back.”

Today’s tournament is the €25,000 High Roller – the final flagship event of the festival – and Mateos is battling against some of the game’s best, hoping to add to his ludicrous resume. Meanwhile, the Main Event is making its way through Day 4, and the remaining field includes some top Spanish talent. 

Incredibly, despite such an enormous pool of talent, Mateos remains the only Spanish Main Event champion in EPT history. He puts it down to bad luck. 

“The Spanish community is really good, we have some of the best players in the world in hold ’em and omaha, tournaments and cash games,” he says. “I think we’ve had a really bad run as a community in the Main Event, but even this year, there are still some Spanish players left who are good friends of mine. I would love to give them the trophy ten years after my win.”

Aside from the anniversary, this Monaco has also been special for Mateos as it’s the first event he’s attended since his latest series on the popular YouTube show Inside The Mind Of A Pro ended its most popular run yet. 

The series takes viewers through his stellar run in the 2024 WSOP Main Event, with Mateos providing in-depth analysis and thought-process breakdowns via voiceover. The show’s title hits the nail on the head – you’re inside the mind of a pro, and there’s simply no pro better than Mateos. 

Unsurprisingly, he’s been receiving lots of amazing feedback from fans and players in Monte Carlo. “People love the show, I get sent a lot of messages and people come up and ask for photos,” he says. “It’s really nice to hear as I put a lot of work into it and tried my best to do it for everyone.”

Mateos says there’s no doubt some of his regular High Roller opponents watch the show too, but he has zero concerns about revealing his strategies. “Main Event play is completely different to High Roller play,” he explains. “In High Rollers, we know each other, but the Main Event is new faces, new players every day, so I’m more exploitative than in High Rollers.”

He scans the room as the High Roller field heads on break. “They will have a hard time reading me anyway!” 

Today is special, but it’s also just another day in the office for Mateos, who at 30 is already one of poker’s all-time greats. A lot has changed for him in the ten years since his Main Event win, but he’s still as fascinated by the game as he’s ever been.

“Poker is very unique,” he says. “The situations, and solutions to them, are completely different every day.”

---

BOXING MEGASTAR CHRIS EUBANK JR. PREPARES FOR BOUT VS. BEN (SPRAGG)

Seconds out, Round 2.

It’s been a busy few weeks for British boxer Chris Eubank Jr, but the reigning IBO middleweight title holder is now preparing to take on another challenge, in a slightly unfamiliar environment.

Tonight in Monte Carlo, on the stage recently vacated by players in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event, Eubank will sit down to play a high stakes cash game against some of European poker’s most recognisable figures.

The buy-in is €5,000 minimum (there’s no maximum). Blinds start at €10-€25. And while no one at the table will likely relish taking on Eubank in a scrap, he is going to be the underdog in this environment.

His opponents include the Team PokerStars Ambassador Ben “Spraggy” Spragg, whose Twitch and YouTube channel will host an exclusive stream of the game. Having prevailed against another Benn — his fierce boxing rival Conor Benn, in a multimillion dollar bout in London last month — Eubank vs. Ben (Spragg) will be a different proposition.

Although Eubank himself is bringing characteristic confidence to the bout.

“I just fought in front of 67,000 people so I don’t think I’m going to be too nervous playing in front of some poker players on a stream,” Eubank chuckles. “But one thing is for sure, I’m going to have a hell of a lot of fun.”

Eubank is no poker rookie, having previously battled both Spraggy and Neymar in a similar game in Brazil last year. But preparations for the huge contest against Benn, which took place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last month, kept him away from the poker table and only heightened his excitement for the game tonight.

“I haven’t been able to play poker now for a number of months because I’ve been locked into a training camp and very focused on everything I’ve been doing,” Eubank says. “So to be here in Monte Carlo with PokerStars, relaxing, enjoying the weather and this beautiful view and this beautiful place, it’s a blessing and I’m very happy to be here.”

In common with many sportspeople, Eubank is attracted to poker for its unique ability to scratch a competitive itch in an environment different from their day job. There are plenty of stories of poker games taking place in dressing rooms and team hotels, and numerous athletes also find themselves drawn to the game when their careers are either or hiatus or reaching their conclusions. Eubank understands why.

“There’s nothing really in my life outside of boxing which can give me an adrenaline rush and a heart pump,” he says. “I’m not cold, but I’m very relaxed. Nothing really excites me. But when I’ve put a massive bluff in on the river and I’m waiting to see if they’re going to call or fold, that adrenaline rush is the closest thing that I can get to the adrenaline of being in a fight.”

He continued: “Obviously it’s very different, but it still gives me that little pump, that little rush, which is addictive. I love that. I think that’s definitely another reason why I’m so attracted to the game of poker.”

And it doesn’t take long before he is drawing further comparisons between his poker game and his world-beating exploits in the ring.

“Action, that’s what I like,” he says. “As you guys saw at the weekend, I love action. I don’t want to wait for good hands. I want to be able to get in there with dust and suckout on somebody. That’s what I love about poker. I love making moves, I love getting out of line. I love bluffing. These are all things that draw me in, entice me into games. And I love playing with players that have that similar mentality.”

Eubank is still bearing the scars of his incredible fight against Benn, most notably a stitched up cut beside his right eye, but he says his game face will be ready for tonight’s scrap.

“The number one thing that I’ve used, that I’ve learnt from boxing and transferred over to poker, is the poker face,” he says. “The classic situation of being in a moment where you are comfortable, you are worried, you are scared what’s going to happen, and you have to mask that weakness, because if your opponent sees it, they’re going to exploit it.

“In the ring, they’re going to attack. At the poker table, they’re going to bluff you or raise you or get you off of your hand. You cannot let them know what’s going on in your mind. Poker face. That applies to both worlds.”

Spraggy and friends (Felix Schneiders, Rory Jennings, Adam McKola and Spencer Carmichal-Brown complete the line-up) may feel they have more poker experience than tonight’s opponent. But they’ll never have faced anyone quite so tenacious.

Tune in from 9pm CET at www.twitch.tv/spraggy

---

EPT NEWCOMER FELSON’S MESSAGE TO US PLAYERS: “THIS IS TOP-OF-THE-LINE”

There are countless ways to win a Gold Pass, but winning an online tournament with the $10,300 Pass added to the prize pool has proved a popular method in Monte Carlo.

Benjamin Felson is the second Gold Pass winner from the USA we’ve spoken to this week who booked his trip to Monaco thanks to the Stateside Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) that recently wrapped (Daniel McGinnis is the other). Felson won a $1K SCOOP event that included a Pass for the champ, and for the past week, he’s enjoyed playing his first games outside of the States.

“The Pass was specific to Monte Carlo, and I did not protest,” he says with a smile.

According to Felson, players in the States are still getting used to the idea of Power Path and the enormous thrills and benefits that come from winning a Pass. “No one knows what we’re getting ourselves into,” he says. “I know Dan and I’ve met him, but online players from America winning Gold Passes, we’re few and far between.”

He’d definitely recommend the Gold Pass experience to everyone back home, though. “Honestly, it’s been incredible,” he says. “I don’t play a lot live, but I can tell that the standard the EPT is run at is higher than the places I’ve played at.”

“The professionalism I see here…,” he trails off, scanning the packed poker room. “I think I’m taking it for granted because of my inexperience, but I do have some sense that this is the top-of-the-line experience for players. Great floor staff, great dealers. Everything is seamless, and everything works.”

Felson, 42, is an online poker pro from New Jersey. He’s only ever played 25-30 live tournaments – all in America – but he’s certainly not come across like a fish out of water here in Monaco. He made a good run in the Main Event but busted shy of the money, and at the time of writing, he’s near the top of the chip counts in the €3K Mystery Bounty.

“I’m an online guy,” he tells us. “The thought of playing live was initially anxiety-provoking.”

His years of studying and hard work have helped minimise that anxiety, however. Felson learned tournaments via training courses but now prefers the lone-wolf approach. He plays, marks hands, and studies them in his solvers. 

“I’m not overtly confident, I have to gradually move through things,” he says. “I didn’t know what I was doing initially. I was having decent results but it was more a product of my competition than my skill level.”

Having graduated from college with a science and history degree, Felson bounced between odd jobs before finding poker in 2016. He started modestly with low-stakes live cash games, but eventually migrated to online play, focusing on multi-table tournaments since 2021. He’s now a regular in the biggest buy-in tournaments running for the New Jersey player pool.

We’d guess that after his EPT Monte Carlo experience, you might seem more on the live circuit, too… as long as it’s a PokerStars event.

---

THE SHORTEST TV TABLE APPEARANCE EVER

Manel Montalban just found himself in an unusual situation in the EPT Main Event, one where he was forced to break one of the new rules introduced by PokerStars ahead of the Monte Carlo festival. 

The Spaniard’s table broke with 90 seconds remaining on the clock before players went on their first break of Day 3. But while his former tablemates picked up their racks and swiftly made their way to their new seats, Montalban purposely hung back.

Lingering around when moving tables has been a hot topic in the poker world of late, as many players take advantage of the situation by taking too long to find their seat in an attempt to waste time or skip blinds. PokerStars has made it a rule that players must take their seats immediately or face penalties.

But Montalban’s tardiness was through no fault of his own. He was moving to the TV table and was being fitted with a microphone as the clock ticked down.

Microphone fitted and phone handed over, he took a second to compose himself, picked up his chip racks, and made his way to the top of the stairs, heading up to the TV table. But by the time he was up there, the level was done. Mic off. Phone back. 

It might be the shortest feature table appearance we’ve witnessed, so short it never even happened. But Montalban is no stranger to TV feature tables. He was at one just two months ago.

You might remember him from the PokerStars Open Campione live streams, where Montalban made the final table. He was there as an online qualifier and battled his way through the enormous 2,434-entry field to finish fourth for €123,760.

He’s an online qualifier here at EPT Monte Carlo, too, after winning a seat on the Spanish client. Now he’s poised for another deep run in a PokerStars Main Event, and while it didn’t work out this time, there’s ample opportunity for him to find his way back to the TV table.

Montalban likes to keep an air of mystery and declined to be interviewed, but we know he’s enjoyed success in the poker world for more than 15 years. Formerly a sit & go specialist, he’s known as “Ginobili1988” on PokerStars and has been putting up results as far back as the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) in 2009.

---

BRUNO CASCHERA MAKES IT TO MONTE CARLO — AT LAST

When Bruno Caschera won a Gold Pass through the PokerStars Power Path in January, he immediately knew he would use it to play EPT Monte Carlo. That’s because a previous attempt to visit this playground of the rich and famous had ended in immense frustration.

Back in 2019, Caschera, a recreational poker player from Latina, near Rome, Italy, was playing a tournament in Sanremo that finished the day before the PokerStars Cup event began in Monte Carlo. With a €550 buy-in, the Cup was precisely in Caschera’s wheelhouse, and he figured this was the perfect way to play poker in a venue usually associated with enormous sums of money.

After a good night’s sleep in Sanremo, Caschera planned to make the short drive to Monte Carlo the following morning and make his debut in Monaco.

There was only one problem when he woke up and checked out of the hotel. His car had vanished.

According to Caschera, speaking on the sidelines of the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, his car had been towed away by Sanremo city authorities to make way for some kind of festival/celebration taking place that day. Apparently there were signs on the street furniture, but the eager poker player had missed them.

His wheels were impounded, and his dreams of playing in the Salle des Etoilles were over.

Read more about the PokerStars Power Path

Flash forward six years, however, and Caschera has finally avenged those traffic wardens. Caschera is not only here in Monte Carlo and playing poker in the most rarefied atmosphere, he is doing so for only a tiny outlay — and he’s already won enough money to pay parking fines for the rest of the year.

As is the case with all Gold Pass winners, Caschera’s investment in the Power Path was minimal, but he progressed through the steps to win a package worth around $10,000. That means a buy-in to some side events here at the EPT (yes, including the Cup), as well as the Main Event, plus a hotel and travel expenses.

And at time of writing, Caschera was sitting among the last 130 players in the 1,195-entry Main Event field, guaranteed at least €9,750. It’ll be his biggest poker cash by some measure, and will no doubt prove to him that it was worth the effort to come to Monte Carlo after all.

By day, Caschera works as a real estate agent, but has been playing poker for more than 10 years. Though this is the biggest tournament he’s ever played, he is taking everything very much in his stride and has had a decent sized stack since the early stages, allowing him to stay comfortable even as the tournament progressed.

He said he enjoyed playing the bubble, with little to no worries, and is content to simply take everything one step at a time. There are three players with bigger stacks at his Day 3 starting table, but also four with smaller amounts, so no reason to change anything.

And having overcome the biggest hurdle already — namely, actually getting here without a traffic hitch — it’s happy days indeed.

---

LATEST FROM THE LIVE LEAGUE

The PokerStars Live League is now three months in and in full swing, with three live festivals counted – the PokerStars Open Campione, Irish Open, and EPT Monte Carlo. Many players have put up great results, but three in particular have really made a splash. If they continue to perform as they have been, some huge prizes await them.

But, before we get to the boards, let us bring you up to speed if you’re not clued up on the Live League. It’s an exciting leaderboard competition that rewards hard work and consistency across PokerStars’ live events – and the rewards are plentiful. The winners at the end of the year will not only win huge tournament buy-in packages, but the top 10 on each leaderboard will audition for a PokerStars Ambassador contract worth €100,000.

That the leader boards are split into three buy-in tiers (<€999 or less / €1K-€4,999 / €5K or greater) means that every player at live events, regardless of bankroll, can be in with a shot.

The leader board tiers and prizes are as follows:

HIGH – All tournaments with a buy-in of €/£/$5,000 and above

• First place: 4 x EPT Main Event and 4 x EPT High Roller buy-ins – worth €62,400
• Second place: 4 x EPT Main Event buy-ins – worth €21,200  
• Third place: 2 x EPT Main Event buy-ins – worth €10,600

MEDIUM – All tournaments with a buy-in of €/£/$1,000 to €/£/$4,999

• First place: 4 x EPT Main Event and 4 x PS Open Main Event buy-ins – worth €25,600
• Second place: 6 x PS Open Main Event buy-ins – worth €6,600
• Third place: 3 x PS Open Main Event buy-ins worth €3,300

LOW – All tournaments with a buy-in equal to or less than €/£/$999

• First place: 10 x PS Open Main Event and 10 x Cup buy-ins – worth €15,000
• Second place: 10 x PS Open Cup buy-ins – worth €4,000
• Third place: 5 x PS Open Cup buy-ins – worth €2,000

For players who finish in the money, points will be awarded using a formula based on the GPI points rankings. For players who finish outside of the money, points are awarded at the rate of 20% the value of the min-cash points.

Now, let’s get to the current leaders.

HIGH

Tournaments with €/£/$5,000 buy-in or greater

Austria’s Klemens Roiter led the High board heading into Monte Carlo after two fantastic results in Dublin, then added to his points total here by final-tabling the €100K Super High Roller. He’s the man to beat with 970 points, followed by the winner of that Super High Roller, his fellow Austrian, Christopher Nguyen (920 points).

Klemens Roiter’s League results:

• EPT Monte Carlo – €100K Super High Roller – 8th for €280,400
• Irish Open – €10K Super High Roller – 3rd for €73,100
• Irish Open – €5K PLO High Roller – 2nd for €67,300

MEDIUM

Tournaments with €/£/$1,000-€/£/$4,999 buy-in

Terrence “TJ” Reid has been on fire in big-field events in 2025. The poker writer first enjoyed a deep run in Campione, then came close to final-tabling two €1,150 events in Dublin, including the Main Event. He leads the Medium board with 657 points, followed by Ukraine’s Yurii Zabrpdotsky (613 points) and former EPT champ Giuliano Bendinelli (588).

Terrance Reid’s League results:

• Irish Open – €1,150 Main Event – 11th for €36,700
• Irish Open – €1,150 Mystery Bounty – 13th for €6,060
• PokerStars Open Campione – €1,100 Main Event – 36th for €6,330

LOW

Tournaments with €/£/$999 buy-in or less

Andreas Fröhli has proved to be the most consistent cashier in low buy-in events throughout 2025. He’s put up scores at all three stops, headlined by his fourth-place finish in a €350 HORSE event in Dublin, and tops the Low board with 354 points. Close behind is Steinn Karlsson from Iceland (325 points) and Javier Francort from the Netherlands (310).

Andreas Fröhli’s League results:

• PokerStars Open Monte Carlo – €550 Cup – 137th for €1,250
• PokerStars Open Monte Carlo – €1,100 Main Event – 239th for €1,970
• Irish Open – €350 6-Max Turbo – 47th for €620
• Irish Open – €350 6-Max PLO – 35th for €600
• Irish Open – €350 HORSE – 4th for €3,790
• Irish Open – €250 Mini Irish Open – 752nd for €370
• Irish Open – €350 Big O – 10th for €880
• PokerStars Open Campione – €550 Second Chance – 16th for €2,900

More information about the PokerStars Live League and PokerStars live events can be found here.

---

PUT ME IN, COACH: MCGINNIS’ GOLD RUSH TO MONACO

Daniel McGinnis is battling in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event thanks to a Gold Pass he didn’t win. 

Let us explain. Back in early April, McGinnis was having a Sunday to remember. The New Jersey resident had already taken down the $100 Red Spade Open SCOOP event on PokerStars, then found himself heads-up in the $1K edition, too. The problem? His opponent was his former coach, Alex “Schwibbs” Schwint.

Nobody knows McGinnis’ game better than the man who helped him improve, to the point where he turned pro 18 months ago. He was now playing against him for thousands of dollars and his second SCOOP title of the day. And it was at this point that McGinnis realised there was an extra prize on the line that he’d overlooked.

“I had no idea there was a Gold Pass for the winner until we were heads-up,” he says. “We only played one huge three-bet pot. I bluffed the river all in, and he tanked for his entire time bank. It was just so suspenseful, everything leading up to here.”

Schwint made the call and took it down, along with the Gold Pass. But a few days later, McGinnis got an email he’ll never forget.

It turned out that Schwint had already won a package for the Irish Open and had his Dublin trip booked. With a full-time job and responsibilities at home, he couldn’t take another poker trip so soon, so PokerStars awarded the prize to the runner-up: McGinnis. “[Schwint] emailed me and was like, guess what? You’re going to Monte Carlo,” he says. “He’s the man. It’s amazing. I guess I have to win now, y’know?”

McGinnis is a former competitive pool player who ended up swapping felts when poker games started to run in his local hall. He started taking the game seriously around six years ago when he moved to New Jersey, as that meant he was able to play online poker.

“Learning the game through low-stakes online tournaments is a much better way to learn than the lowest live stuff,” he says. 

He started with a $100 bankroll and built it up slowly and steadily, eventually investing some of his winnings into coaching with Schwint. The two stopped working together recently. “He only stopped coaching because he’s too busy with poker and work,” he says. “But we’re friends. I gave him a piece of me [in the Monte Carlo Main] because he’s helped me so much in my career.”

When not playing poker, McGinnis worked in a commission-based position as a headhunter/recruiter. The role has some common ground with playing poker professionally, as he explains. “There’s a lot of variance – if someone doesn’t take a job, or the employer changes their mind. Things out of your control,” he says. “You’ve just got to keep your head down and keep doing your job.”

McGinnis left the day job behind 18 months ago and now fires big online, but opts for a more modest approach with live buy-ins. He’s had some success, most notably a $42K win in a $360 buy-in during the summer of 2023, but this is his first time playing poker in Europe, and EPT Monte Carlo is the biggest tournament he’s played.

“I’ve been to the World Series of Poker a couple of times, but I like this better,” he says, scanning the Salle des Etoiles. “It’s pretty high for me and quite intense, but it’s run very well. Everyone knows what they’re doing here, and there are so many crushers. It’s really crazy to be in this field.”

Some notable names he’s played alongside so far include Martin Kabrhel (“I think he’s good for the game”) and Christoph Vogelsang. But it was the sight of Patrik Antonius strolling through the Sporting Club that reminded McGinnis of this event’s magnitude.

“It’s crazy to see him just walking around,” he says, chuckling. “I’ve been watching him for 20 years on TV. There are all these legends, then here’s me. But that’s how you move up. You’ve got to immerse yourself with better players.”

His Gold Pass entry didn’t go to plan, so McGinnis fired a second bullet. That one got him through to Day 2, and at the time of writing, he’s still in with a shot as they approach the money.

---

HUGE FIELDS IN EVERYTHING AS MONTE CARLO GOES BOOM

Registration closed this afternoon on the 20th European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event to be held in Monte Carlo and, true to form, it was another enormous tournament.

In all, 828 players added a further 367 re-entries to bring the total entry number to 1,195. That’s only a shade fewer than the 1,208 entries who amassed here last year, and makes this the second biggest ever EPT in this venue.

The prize pool for this monster is €5,795,750, with the winner set to take home €1 million (deals notwithstanding). A total of 175 players will make the money, and a min-cash is worth €8,500.

Former EPT Monte Carlo champions Steve O’Dwyer, Adrian Mateos, Manig Loeser, Antonio Buonanno and Nicolas Chouity are all among those challenging for that huge payday. To think, when the EPT first came to Monte Carlo there were 211 players, a number that far outstripped expectation. It’s five times as big now.

Players came from 65 countries. The biggest section are French (184 players), followed by Italy (57), Spain (57) and the UK (47).

Live poker is absolutely booming across the world at the moment, and at all buy-in levels. In many ways, it’s surprising that the EPT Main Event didn’t hit a new record because tournaments here at just about every other level hit a new high.

Here in Monaco, the €1,100 buy-in PokerStars Open hit a city record, as did the €100,000 Super High Roller.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Event increased its field by more than 50 percent with 98 entries this time. The past two years in Monte Carlo, the Women’s Event attracted 65 entries. This week’s tournament, won by Anais Dambrine, is the second biggest Women’s event the EPT has ever hosted, behind only the 112-entry event held in Prague last December.

The €550 PokerStars Cup also set a new venue record. There were 1,675 entries to that one (including 710 re-entries), which added more than 200 players to last year’s 1,452. The €2,200 PokerStars Open High Roller also saw its biggest field, at 1,300 entries.

YEAR-ON-YEAR ENTRY TOTALS

€5,300 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event
2025 – 1,195
2024 – 1,208*
2023 – 1,098

€100,000 EPT Super High Roller
2025 – 74*
2024 – 72
2023 – 37

€550 EPT Monte Carlo Cup
2025 – 1,675*
2024 – 1,452
2023 – 1,373

€1,100 EPT Open/FPS Main Event
2025 – 2,387*
2024 – 2,096
2023 – 2,138

€2,200 EPT Open/FPS High Roller
2025 – 1,300*
2024 – 1,217
2023 – 1,234

Women’s Event
2025 – 98*
2024 – 65
2023 – 65

*Venue record

EPT MONTE CARLO 2025 NATIONALITY BREAKDOWN

184 – France
62 – Italy
57 – Spain
47 – United Kingdom
42 – USA
38 – Germany
26 – Canada
25 – Romania
20 – Bulgaria, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine
16 – Switzerland
14 – Greece
13 – Belarus, Japan, Poland, Brazil
12 – Austria
11 – Hungary, Netherlands
10 – Lithuania
9 – Armenia, Czech Republic, Israel
8 – China, Ireland
7 – Argentina
6 – Belgium, Hong Kong, Norway
5 – Finland, Serbia
4 – India, Latvia, Lebanon, Slovenia
3 – Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Tunisia, Turkey, Venezuela
2 – Algeria, Australia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Taiwan, Uruguay
1 – Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Georgia, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Sengal, South Korea

---

CLAIRE AGHABABIAN REPRESENTS FOR FRENCH AMATEURS EVERYWHERE

While the biggest headlines in poker media tend to be hogged by the game’s established stars, poker is so popular precisely because anybody can play it, and millions of people pick up cards and chips every day and play for peanuts.

The vast majority of poker players play just for fun and possibly never get their name on the Hendon Mob, much less their hands on a major trophy.

In France, there’s a network of poker clubs in numerous towns across the country, where amateur poker players come to socialise, eat and drink — and play poker. There’s no buy-in (it’s illegal to play for money in these clubs) but the competition is spirited nonetheless. Tournaments tend to offer points for their winners, and many clubs have leaderboards and league tables for their members to record their success.

Last year, PokerStars added a tasty bonus prize for these players: a freeroll tournament hosted online for the top performers in the club leaderboards. The winner would get a Gold Pass, worth around $10,000 (or equivalent).

According to French sources, it was an extremely popular contest, with players desperate to get their hands on the top prize. And the person who emerged victorious when all was said and done was the star of the Pokero 13 Club in Marseille: Claire Aghababian.

It’s fair to say Mme Aghababian does not fit the mould of the modern poker pro. She’s not the kind of person who’d wear a hoodie and sunglasses indoors, for instance. But opponents have quickly learned that she can really play this game. The tournaments in Marseille are as competitive as anywhere, and Mme Aghababian regularly beat them. And though she never usually plays poker online, she cruised through the freeroll hosted on PokerStars.fr.

She claimed her Gold Pass and brought it to Monte Carlo to play.

Mme Aghababian opted to skip the PokerStars Open, but played the €550 Cup event, where her 208th place finish, from a field of 1,675 entries, earned her €950 and a second entry on the Hendon Mob database. (The first came after a trip to Las Vegas last summer.

She joined the EPT Main Event on Day 1B, and although she was unable to make it through the day, she was clearly enjoying every moment of it, chatting away to new friends and opponents at the table.

Having invested only around €6,000 of her Gold Pass so far, there’s still more Mme Aghababian can play. So the story may not be over yet.

---

NGUYEN FOR THE WIN IN RECORD-BREAKING EPT €100K EVENT

The biggest Super High Roller tournament ever held on the European Poker Tour (EPT) tonight became the perfect stage for the emergence of a new breakout star.

Chris Nguyen, a 25-old-pro from Frankfurt, Germany, looked at total ease as he took down this €100K buy-in tournament in Monte Carlo, landing a first prize of €2,022,000.

An online cash game player until only about six months ago, Nguyen cruised through a field stacked with some of the game’s leading tournament pros.

“It’s just fun for me, I think,” Nguyen said, clutching the first major tournament trophy of his career. “I enjoy it. It’s definitely the most fun to play against strong players.”

Tournaments really don’t come much stronger than this 74-entry field, which built a prize pool of more than €7 million. A serene Nguyen said that the high stakes online cash games he used to play have mostly gone behind closed doors, so the tournament game is likely to remain his focus.

“I feel that you can’t really privatise tournaments, so I hope they stay competitive,” he said.

Nguyen beat another young tournament star Enrico Camosci heads up, with American pro Seth Davies in third. Other Super High Roller regulars Leon Sturm, Orpen Kisacikoglu and Mikita Badziakouski finished fourth through sixth, but none were a match for Nguyen.

He came to the final table third of six remaining, but quickly edged ahead of Sturm, who had carried the lead into the final day. From there, Nguyen remained in apparent total control, rolling with the inevitable punches of an event like this, but never appearing under threat. He even rejected a potential three-handed deal, citing his significant experience of short handed.

“I kind of felt that even though it was three-handed, there was so much heads up afterwards, I just wanted to play,” he said.

About two hours later, he was the champion.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

As it typical in three-day Super High Roller tournaments, registration stayed open until the start of Day 2. That allowed 53 unique players to add another 21 re-entries between them and break the EPT record for a tournament of this size.

The 74 entries put €7,179,480 in the prize pool and offered the winner €2.022 million, which would be the most ever awarded. It pipped the total Erik Seidel won here 10 years ago, proving once again just how popular tournaments of all buy-in levels remain on the European Poker Tour.

The first two days of action were all about, first, getting to the money and then surviving to a final table of six. When Nikita Kuznetcov was knocked out in 12th, the first part of the equation was settled. The remaining 11 cashed. But then Paulius Plausinaitis, Ben Tollerene, Jason Koon, Klemens Roiter and Artur Martirosian all hit the rail, leaving the following last six to look for a bag to take to the last day.

Seat 1: Leon Sturm, Germany, 5,680,000 (95 BBs)
Seat 2: Orpen Kisacikoglu, Turkey, 2,330,000 (39 BBs)
Seat 3: Chris Nguyen, Germany, 3,365,000 (56 BBs)
Seat 4: Enrico Camosci, Italy, 4,570,000 (76 BBs)
Seat 5: Seth Davies, USA, 935,000 (16 BBs)
Seat 6: Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus, 1,620,000 (27 BBs)

German pro Leon Sturm had been one of the standout performers in world poker over the past few years, but he was still seeking his first major title in a PokerStars branded event. He was very well placed with the overnight lead in this one, but it didn’t last long. The final day was barely an hour old before all of Enrico Camosci, Christopher Nguyen and Orpen Kisacikoglu had edged ahead.

However, just as the first level concluded, Sturm picked up aces in the big blind and managed to get everything left in Mikita Badziakouski’s stack after the latter had 6♠ 7♠ in the small blind.

Badziakouski had only recently suffered a dent to his stack when he doubled up Seth Davies (Q♦ 9♥ beating pocket sixes) and the collision with Sturm sent the two-time Super High Roller champ out in sixth. He won €438,300 for that.

Davies also doubled with pocket eights beating Camosci’s A♦ Q♥ giving the lone remaining North American something to play with. Camosci had been leading at one point, but his slide left Nguyen at the top when the players took a brief five-minute break. Sturm was in second, followed by Camosci, Kisacikoglu and Davies.

The two chip leaders might have been countrymen and, presumably, knew one another’s games. But it didn’t stop them playing plenty of pots against one another in a game of high-stakes ICM chicken. Nguyen seemed to have the best of most of the encounters and he extended his lead. Meanwhile, Davies continued to do what a short stack had to do: get his chips in and double up.

Davies got A♥ 5♣ to hold against 10♠ 8♠ , all in pre-flop. And then he also scored a bigger double through Kisacikoglu with A♦ 10♠ against pocket fives. In this one, Davies opened for 1.4 million (in the 120K blind level) leaving himself two blinds behind. Kisacikoglu moved in from the big blind with the pocket pair, and the dealer made Davies wait through a blank flop of 7♦ K♠ 4♥ and turn of J♥ before delivering the 10♦ on the river.

Davies got the double and hit a new high of 3.7 million — and he didn’t stop there either. Not long after, he shoved from the button, covering what was now two smaller stacks behind him in the possession of Sturm and Kisacikoglu. Sturm pondered from the small blind, but made the call. Kisacikoglu also pondered from the big blind, but he let his hand go.

Davies had pocket sixes and Sturm had A♦ J♥ . Davies had been flipping incredibly well and the streak continued. The board of Q♦ 9♠ 3♥ 3♠ 10♣ was good only for the pocket pair. Sturm’s 2.4 million all went over to Davies.

Sturm took €551,380 for fifth, but Davies was now in the lead.

Kisacikoglu survived the hand that eliminated Sturm (maybe he regretted his fold, seeing the run-out) but he lasted only a few hands later. He was almost all in pre-flop with A♥ 4♥ , called by Nguyen with 8♦ 8♥ , but the last of the chips only actually went into the middle when the K♣ 2♣ 10♠ flop was down. Kisacikoglu checked but Nguyen asked for his last blind and Kisacikoglu couldn’t fold.

The 3♥ turn and 2♥ river didn’t help Kisacikoglu and his fourth place earned him €716,900.

With three players left, they decided to take a look at the numbers. Nguyen led the way now with 8.625m. Davies was second with 5.345m and Camosci had 4.535m. Although this was the biggest ever €100K Super High Roller the EPT had ever hosted, it was technically a side event with no obligation to leave anything on the side for the winner to play for.

In other words, it might have ended there and then.

But it didn’t.

“Let’s play,” said Nguyen. “I want to play.”

“Let’s play,” agreed Camosci.

Davies contentedly sat down too and on they went.

The proposed deal would have given Nguyen, as the chip leader, a little more than €1.5 million, but his power play in quickly rejecting the deal seemed to have been a smart move as he increased his lead significantly in the first major pot they played three-handed. In it, he and Camosci got around 3 million in the pot pre-flop and then saw the dealer offer them the 6♥ Q♦ A♠ flop.

Camosci led 540,000 at it. Nguyen called and saw the 6♠ turn. Camosci checked, Nguyen bet 1 million and Camosci called. The 7♦ river brought another check from Camosci, and Nguyen fired again. He announced 2 million, but Camosci mucked before Nguyen even put his chips over the line. Camosci had around 2.3 million after the hand, about 14 blinds.

Though a relative newcomer to the Super High Roller scene, Camosci has quickly become a fan favourite thanks to his speedy action and eye-watering aggression. Displaying both those attributes, he bounced back quickly into contention once more.

He doubled through Nguyen with K♣ 9♣ , calling Nguyen’s shove. (Nguyen had J♥ 9♥ and missed.) Then the same two players played a near identical hand, with Camosci’s A♦ 6♥ this time holding against Nguyen’s J♥ 9♦ , following another shove/call.

This pot put Camosci ahead of Davies in the counts, and that proved to be very useful for the cooler that followed. With Camosci on the button and Davies in the small blind, there was betting all the way on a board of 8♦ 7♣ K♣ 7♠ J♥ .

With Camosci sitting with 8♣ 7♥ it was very cruel for Davies to have A♦ 7♦ . The last of the chips went in on the river and Davies ran his trips into that boat. Davies took €931,900 for third, which he surely would have been happy with coming to the last six with the short stack. But in the circumstances, he could be excused for a touch of disappointment.

The tournament was now heads up and Camosci had surged into the lead. He had 10.3 million to Nguyen’s 8.475 million, with a big blind of 160,000. They took a break but there was no talk of revisiting the deal.

“The trophy is so sick,” Nguyen said as the tournament organisers brought it to sit between the two players on the table.

The tournament was still deep, but both players were more than happy to mix it up. There were big swings heading in both directions, but mostly to Nguyen. Camosci slipped down to 4 million, which put Nguyen on the brink of victory. But Camosci then battled back to 7.7 million when they went on a break, which meant the remaining 10.8 million sat with Nguyen.

Scratch that. Nguyen then opened up another big lead, making a flush with 3♥ 7♥ to win a 7 million pot, before adding another chunk with J♦ 10♣ turning a 10 and taking down another. It left Camosci with only eight blinds.

The tournament seemed to be done and dusted when Nguyen shoved holding K♦ 5♣ and Camosci called with K♥ 4♦ . There was a high chance of a chop, but the flop of J♦ 6♦ 8♦ seemed likely to swing it to Nguyen. However, the 4♣ turn followed by a blank river gave Camosci the unlikely win. He had close to 20 blinds again and was still very much alive. “Wow,” Nguyen deadpanned.

It was, however, just a stay of execution. Nguyen once again ground Camosci down to 12 big blinds before all the money went in pre-flop once more. This time, Camosci had by far the better hand with 8♣ 8♠ to Nguyen’s J♣ 3♥ . But the flop of 6♠ 2♠ 4♣ gave Nguyen a gutshot, which completed after the 5♠ river.

The room was silent as everyone processed what had just happened, and it was PokerStars Ambassador Jason Koon sitting in a different tournament on a neighbouring table who was first to pipe up.

“Smile, you just won a €100K,” Koon said, beginning the applause that soon rippled through the room. “The only problem is you gotta take a photo with that shitty hand,” Koon added.

Nguyen didn’t seem to mind one bit. After a dominant display, one suspects this won’t be the last one of these photos he poses for.

RESULTS

€100,000 EPT Super High Roller
Dates: May 3-5, 2025
Entries: 74 (inc. 21 re-entries)
Prize pool: €7,179,480

1st – Chris Nguyen, Germany – €2,022,000
2nd – Enrico Camosci, Italy – €1,304,500
3rd – Seth Davies, USA – €931,900
4th – Orpen Kisacikoglu, Turkey, €716,900
5th – Leon Sturm, Germany, €551,380
6th – Mikita Badziakouski, Belarus, €438,300
7th – Artur Martirosian, Russia, €350,700
8th – Klemens Roiter, Austria, €280,400
9th – Jason Koon, USA, €224,400
10th – Ben Tollerene, USA, €179,500
11th – Paulius Plausinaitis, Lithuania, €179,500

---

LONGDIN LEARNS VIA SPRAGGY OSMOSIS

You can’t watch people play football on TV, then suddenly start curling in free kicks like Messi. Nor can you watch hours of Rory McIlroy drives, then pick up a club for the first time and fire one past the fairway and onto the green yourself.

But poker is a game you can learn to play through osmosis, and no one knows this better than Ian Longdin. 

The 32-year-old from Northampton had only ever played poker a handful of times in local pubs before stumbling across Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg’s Twitch stream a couple of years ago. He became fascinated by the game, but he couldn’t play a hand himself; his wife was sick with cancer, and Longdin was acting as her carer. So when he wasn’t looking after her, their kids, or their house, he was getting some much-needed sleep.

Thankfully, his wife got the all-clear earlier this year, and that meant he could try his luck on PokerStars.

“I’d never played on there before, but I joined up because of Spraggy,” says Longdin. As a new player, he received two tickets for New Player Freerolls and in the first one, he finished third and picked up a $109 ticket, which he exchanged for two Power Path Step 4 tickets.

He won a Gold Pass worth $10,300 on his first attempt, then entered the second New Player Freeroll a week later and finished second for $500. 

His sudden success was very welcome after a tough break in Irish Open satellites. “I bubbled for a package,” he says.”That was only a couple of weeks before, and I’ve only been playing for a few months really.”

Today, Longdin took part in the most prestigious tournament on European soil: the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, a €5,300 buy-in tournament with over a thousand players and a top prize of around €1 million. 

But the Gold Pass, worth $10,300, gets him a lot more than that. He also took part in the €1,100 PokerStars Open Main Event, the €550 Open Cup, and tonight he’ll take part in an exclusive invitational for qualifiers with €10,000 in the prize pool. He also had money for expenses and brought his mum along for the ride.

Read more about the PokerStars Power Path

The reason he’s free tonight is that, unfortunately, he busted the Main Event in the last hand before the break. He’d flopped two pair holding a jack and a nine, but his opponent had pocket jacks, and when all the money went on the flop, there was no saving him.

“I felt like he was trying to pressure me and steal the pot because it was the last hand before the break. That always happens,” he says.

Still, he’s had an incredible trip. “I don’t feel like I’ve let myself down, because I feel like I’ve already won, you get what I’m saying?”

Longdin praises his player liaison, Adrian Delgado, and all of the PokerStars team who have made his trip so special. “Everyone’s been sound, man. I went to the Player Party last night, which was good fun — very swanky.

“I didn’t take it easy, I had a few, man. That’s why I’m drinking so much water today!”

It sounds like he learned how to do Players’ Parties from Spraggy, too.

---

WHEELER AND THE LUCKY CARD THAT’S TRAVELLED A POKER LIFETIME

At 11:59 am, while most tables were locked with tension seconds away from cards hitting the air on Day 1B of the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, one table stood out. Four players and a dealer were chuckling, and in the centre of it all was Jason Wheeler, grinning as he passed something around the felt. “You ever seen one lower than that?” he challenged the dealer. Curiosity got the better of us.

It wasn’t a photo or video on his phone that Wheeler was passing around (although there was a photo of him on the item). It was actually his PokerStars Live ID card – something every player once needed to register for live tournaments – and Wheeler has one of the very first cards ever issued to players.

His ID number ‘0000 0000 0000 0106’ means he was among the first players to receive one back in 2011 (he points out that his number would be even lower if test accounts weren’t included), and over the years, the battered card has become one of his most cherished possessions. 

Every crease and crack is a reminder of how far he’s come, and despite no longer needing it (the system has since moved online with the PokerStars Live app), he still never heads to an event without it.

Wheeler, 48, has been playing online on PokerStars for his entire career, and hit the European live circuit in the late 2000s. He played at a couple of EPT festivals before the card was assigned to him in 2011.

“It was in San Remo when they used to run the EPT there,” he says. “They’d switched to a new system, and that event was where they introduced it, so every player had to re-sign up.”

At one point, a mix-up in the system meant that Wheeler’s profile was duplicated. PokerStars suggested he move to the newer profile and therefore a new card, but Wheeler fought his case.

“They wanted to move me over to the new number because it was much cleaner, and I literally went to management and said: “No, please, you can’t! I’ve had this number for life, and I’ve run very good, I’m still around, so please don’t take this number from me.”

His protest worked, and thus, the card remains. It’s remarkable he’s been able to hold on to it all these years, what with poker players’ proclivity to lose and forget things while on the road. And Wheeler has moved around a lot (originally from Chicago, he’s now based in Prague). 

“I keep it safe and take it everywhere, so it gets beat up just like everything else,” he says. “I have this thing where I like to keep things from the very beginning of my career. After one of my first big scores in 2009, I went and bought a brand new car — a 2009 Nissan Ultima. I still have that car today because after Black Friday I had to move to Mexico to play, so I didn’t drive it much. I’ve had the car 16 years and it has 50,000 miles on it, so like, nothing. I leave it in Las Vegas, and I still have it to this day. 

“So much like this card, which I will keep until it’s destroyed, I will drive that car until it cannot drive anymore.”

Wheeler is firmly in the all-time top 10 of players who have cashed in the most major PokerStars events. It’s esteemed company, alongside the likes of Steve O’Dwyer and Adrian Mateos.

“I grew up playing with all these guys and I made a decision to prioritise family the past few years, so I’ve pulled back on buy-ins and swallowed a little bit of pride and ego in that regard,” says Wheeler. “And I wouldn’t change anything. But I still want to win an EPT Main Event.”

This is now Wheeler’s 12th EPT Monte Carlo, and he still looks forward to it. He’s come close to winning an EPT before, finishing second at EPT Prague (then called the PokerStars Championship) in 2017 for a career-best €570,000. But he also has memories from Monte Carlo in 2012 that haunt him. “I was chip leader here with 20 players left, back when it was the Grand Finale and it was a big €10K,” he says.

If he’s honest, Wheeler admits he wasn’t ready for how big a moment that was. “It was early in my career, and I was a bit naive and blew a big moment, y’know? But it prepares you so that if I get in that spot again, I know how to execute the way I need to.”

That’s what he’s hoping for this week, and he’s as excited as he’s ever been to play the big one. “I was here for hand one, I arrived early and listened to music out on the balcony,” he says. “Once you can’t keep the excitement and happiness and love for poker, you should go do something else. I think if you’re going to be successful, you have to keep that.”

That, and your Player ID card. 

---

THE BRANDAN BREWER ROADSHOW ROLLS INTO MONTE CARLO

When you ask people what most attracts them to poker, plenty talk about the freedom the game offers. You need to be focused and committed at the table, but you are your own boss, you can play when you like, and you can hit the road whenever the travel bug bites.

For 29-year-old Brandan Brewer, from Muskegon, MI, USA, poker has long provided precisely this freedom. He loves to play, but he’s a poker dealer too, which means the game provides a reliable source of income even when he’s on the road.

And he’s on the road a lot.

“Last spring I bought a high end Class B RV for my travels,” Brewer says. “Since 2023 I have spent about six months per year living on the road, and now that I have a home on wheels I foresee many more travels on my horizon.”

When Brewer bought that RV with a view to travelling farther and more frequently, even he couldn’t have foreseen where he would end up this week. He is here in Monte Carlo, on the French Riviera, playing the EPT Main Event.

For the avoidance of doubt, no, he didn’t drive here. The RV is back home still. But Brewer didn’t even have to pay the price of a tank of gas to get here, having earned his passage to Monaco via a Gold Pass he won in a freeroll hosted by PokerStars Ambassador Caitlin Comeskey.

“I had been playing more tournies that had travel prizes,” Brewer says. “I was just talking with my buddies about how sick that would be to win an experience, even if it was just like tickets to a sporting event or something.”

Comeskey’s freeroll promised a Gold Pass to the player who knocked her out of the event, and Brewer was well prepared when he saw the Ambassador draw up a seat at his table.

“I had her covered,” he says, going on to describe seeing a short-stacked player shove from under the gun and Comeskey reshove from one seat over. “I knew it was an any two situation. I had the ole Dnegs T-7 off. She had ace-jack. I remember seeing a 10 on the flop and just yelling ‘HOLD!'”

The thing was, there was also a jack on that flop, which Brewer hadn’t initially noticed. However, by the time the turn and river were also out, Brewer had hit one of his outs and had the hand locked up. He was heading to Monte Carlo.

“I remember talking to my buddy and telling him to pull Caitlyn’s stream back up to see the sick suckout I just pulled off,” Brewer recalls. “I was, and still am to be honest, in disbelief. I don’t think its going to really set in until I sit down at a table in Monte Carlo.”

Though he admits today to still feeling the effects of a 20-hour journey to the Sporting Club, that moment of truth is now here. He took his seat — “a David among Goliaths,” to borrow Brewer’s phrasing — at noon on Monday. The game is on.

“Poker is a crazy thing,” Brewer says. “I never would’ve guessed that I would be where I am in life because of a silly game like poker. I don’t have any crazy life changing scores, but poker has treated me well.

“Aside from making a modest living for the last 10 years dealing and playing, I have met countless friends, traveled all over the country, and have some of the coolest stories because of poker. I can’t really ask for much more.

“With any luck I could transition from mainly dealing, to mainly playing. Would be a dream to just drive my van around the country with my dog, meeting new friends, chasing new experiences, and making deep runs chasing some hardware.”

If you’re looking for someone to root for in this EPT Main Event, Brewer is your man.

---

WHEN NOT WINNING IS BETTER THAN WINNING

Here’s a controversial statement: Sometimes, very rarely, but sometimes, stone-bubbling a satellite to a big live event and not winning the package can have a far greater impact on your poker career than winning ever would.

I know, it sounds ridiculous. But before you close down this tab faster than a NSFW pop-up, let Gold Pass winner Jay Choi explain. 

The 38-year-old from Toronto, Canada, won his way to EPT Monte Carlo by winning the Red Spade Open — an Ontario-only $100 buy-in event with $200K guaranteed and more than 2,100 entrants. He took it down and not only banked the $29K top prize, but also picked up a Gold Pass worth $10,300 that he’s chosen to use in Monaco.

“But he won the package, what on earth are you blabbing about?” you ask. 

Well, that’s not the online satellite bubble we’re talking about. In the build-up to the 2023 PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) Choi stone-bubbled a satellite to win a $30K Platinum Pass. Had he won it, he’d have gone to the Bahamas and played in the $25K PSPC, an event that had more than $5M up top.

Choi describes the blow as the biggest obstacle in his poker career. 

And yet it has also proved to be the turning point. Not only did the pain of missing out provide him with “lifetime emotional damage immunity to bubbling tournaments”, it also resulted in him stepping back, focusing more on his career as a Business Intelligence Analyst at the public broadcaster in Canada, and setting himself up for the future, while continuing to learn poker on the side.

“I wasn’t good enough to do well in that tournament at the time,” he tells us before play begins on Day 1B of the Main Event. But things are different now.

“I’m now fortunate enough to be able to play poker as a serious hobby,” he says. “I’m grateful that I continued to improve at the game and put myself in a position to win the Gold Pass.”

Choi fell in love with the game as a teenager but only began to take the game seriously in 2020. Since then, he finished second in the $11 Sunday Storm – an online tournament with 20,000 entries – and he won an online circuit event in 2023.

Aside from winning the Red Spade Open and booking the Gold Pass, he says his proudest poker moments were making two live final tables at the Wynn in Las Vegas throughout December 2024. During those tournaments, he found himself playing against Phil Ivey and flopped not one but two sets against one of the game’s all-time greats.

Since winning the Gold Pass, Choi says he’s had great motivation to study and play the game fastidiously. He’s about to play his first EPT Main Event, but his ability to handle defeat with grace and flop sets against legends should stand him in good stead.

“I feel really good today,” he says. “Now I feel prepared.”

---

“JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS”: A GOLD PASS WINNER’S APPROACH TO BIG LIVE EVENTS

Poker isn’t a profession for Ireland’s John Howlett, nor is it a pressure or a promise of a better life. It’s simply a passion he’s woven into his everyday life, and he knows exactly where the game fits in his world.

“I’m mostly a Sunday player, that’s about it,” he tells us at EPT Monte Carlo, an event he’s playing thanks to a Gold Pass win in the PokerStars Power Path. But despite being seated among hundreds of hopefuls in a €5,300 buy-in tournament with tons of prestige and what’s sure to be a massive prize, he’s unfazed. 

“I’m above starting stack, been pretty card dead,” he says. “But I’ve played enough online. I’m not daunted by this at all. I have no nerves. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

Howlett, a Dublin-based software engineer, has indeed been in this exact situation before. He won a Gold Pass in 2024 and redeemed it for a trip to EPT Barcelona, but busted early in the Main Event. “Because I went out so quickly, it ended up being more of a holiday with my wife than poker-focused,” he says, with a laugh. 

Read more about the PokerStars Power Path

It’s that kind of casual coolness and measured optimism that defines Howlett’s entire poker philosophy. Despite winning the Sunday Million for $110K in 2013, then winning a Platinum Pass to the $25K PokerStars Players’ Championship (PSPC) in 2023 (and cashing it), he’s never considered poker a replacement for his day job.

“I’ve always worked,” he says. “I’m not wealthy, but I’m not broke either. The wins and losses don’t really change my life. The Sunday Million win was big – excitement levels were off the charts – but it wasn’t enough to quit. I was in a very different life position, I was a lot younger, and the money meant a lot more to me.”

He’s had plenty of poker success, but he often goes months without playing, and when he does, the stakes remain modest. 

That pragmatism extends to how he’s spent his winnings. There have been no wild splurges, just the occasional trip to a fancy restaurant or an upgrade on a holiday flight. His poker winnings simply give him peace of mind and allow for generosity towards friends and family.

“I’m not very materialistic,” he says. “I’ve come from nothing, so I’m not the kind of person who’s going to burn through money. It’s more about the day-to-day comfort it provides.”

He’s not in the game to chase poker glory – he knows the variance too well for that. “I don’t consider myself an extremely good player, so me winning these passes – I put it down to luck rather than skill,” he says. “But that’s the good thing about it. If winning [a Gold Pass] was purely down to skill, I probably wouldn’t even try.”

Howlett gets that most of the time in tournaments, you’re walking away with nothing.

Still, he knows the stakes at this event are massive. At the time of our interview, he was sitting at the same table as EPT champ Barny Boatman, and put Boatman to the test before forcing a fold. “If I won this,” he admits, “it would be life-changing.” 

But even then, Howlett would likely return to his regular life. “I’ve always played poker,” he says. “But never wanted it as a career. I study enough to minimise my insecurities at the table, but I don’t have an interest in studying 10 hours a day. That would put too much weight and value into it emotionally. 

“I prefer to just show up and see what happens.”

That’s something all current and future Gold and Silver Pass winners can take inspiration from. Don’t bog yourself down with the enormity of it all. Just have fun. Play your game. And whatever happens, keep everything steady, modest, and fully in perspective.

---

JON KYTE WINS POKERSTARS OPEN MONTE-CARLO FOR €340,000 

PokerStars Blog is spinning through 2025 like a broken record, repeating the same headline again and again, whether we’re in Campione, Dublin, or Monte-Carlo: Another major live event, another record breaker. 

The €1,100 PokerStars Open Monte-Carlo Main was the latest to exceed expectations, with 2,387 total entries (including 1,189 re-entries) creating a prize pool of €2,291,520.

Jon Kyte must also sound like a broken record when he’s letting his friends know he’s at yet another final table. You’ll know the Norwegian best from his runner-up finish at EPT Prague in 2023, where he landed a career-best €643,000. But since then, he’s been on an absolute tear, finishing fourth in a High Roller at EPT Barcelona for €280,750, and just missing out on his first World Series of Poker bracelet (2nd for $148,462 in an Omaha8 event).

Not including those results, 14 of his most recent 20 live cashes have been final-table finishes.

But today Kyte went the distance and captured the first major PokerStars title of his stellar career, defeating France’s final hope Gilles Cadignan heads up to win €340,000. 

“I have four little PokerStars spadies, but finally the big one!” Kyte told PokerStars Blog after his win. “This is what we play for. Every time I come to a PokerStars event I’m looking at the big trophies, and it feels amazing to finally get one.”

Kyte says he max late-regged the event on Day 1E but bagged a decent stack every day. “I had two major bluffs and if they call, I’m out, but they were the only times I was all-in.”

He entered the final six as chip leader and never fell far from the top of the counts, eventually taking a dominating lead into the heads-up battle: 51.5 million versus 20 million with blinds at 500K/1M/1M.

The pressure on Cadignan was constant, with Kyte leaving him little breathing room. Cadignan – who only really began to take the game seriously a year ago – managed to double up twice, first with A♦ 6♣ against K♥ J♣ , then with A♣ 6♣ against Q♥ 4♥ , but each time Kyte’s relentless aggression whittled his stack down.

The blinds rose to 600K/1.2M/1.2M, and Cadignan’s eight-big-blind stack shrank to 6.6 bigs. He jammed with K♠ 7♦ and Kyte quickly called with a dominating K♣ Q♦ , which held after the K♥ 9♥ 10♣ 3♥ 3♠ runout. Cadignan earned €214,070 for his efforts,  by far the biggest score of his poker career.

Kyte was clearly thrilled with the victory, though there was one thing that disappointed him. “I was thinking about jumping in the 8-Game, but I didn’t make it,” he said with a smile. “But I’ll take it.”

FINAL TABLE ACTION

The day began with six players representing six countries:

• Seat 1: Jack Corrigan, USA – 7,700,000
• Seat 2: Javier Tazon, Spain – 5,125,000
• Seat 3: Razvan Scutaru, Romania – 7,375,000
• Seat 4: Gilles Cadignan, France – 16,125,000
• Seat 5: Conor Bergin, Ireland – 10,700,000
• Seat 6: Jon Kyte, Norway – 26,800,000

Jack Corrigan, the American charge, was the first to fall in the first major collision of the day. Cadignan opened from under the gun, and Kyte called in the cutoff before Corrigan moved all in for approximately 23 big blinds. With the chip leader still to act behind him, Cadignan moved in over the top, but Kyte got out of the way. Corrigan was in bad shape, his A♦ Q♥ dominated by Cadignan’s A♣ K♠ , and there was no help on the board. He left with the same amount he started the day with: €70,420. 

The Spanish rail was next to leave after Javier Tazón’s fifth-place exit. Known as “MuckeDBoy” online, Tazón is an old-school grinder from Santander who made a name for himself back in 2012 when he broke the record for the most hands of online poker played without interruption: 52,220. Since then, he’s risen to the highest stakes in online cash games and sit & go’s and racked up $550K in live earnings – the lion’s share of which came from an Estrellas Poker Tour High Roller victory in 2015.

His tournament came to an end when he three-bet shoved for 20 big blinds from the small blind with A♣ 9♥ after a button open from Jon Kyte. He got the bad news when Kyte snap-called with K♦ K♥ and after no help on the board, Tazón collected the second-best live score of his career: €89,320. 

That meant a few ladder-ups for the start-of-day short stack, Razvan Scutaru of Romania, but he too would fall to Kyte. Action folded to Kyte in the small blind, and he set Scutaru all in for his last 13 blinds. Scutaru made the call with K♠ 2♦ , but had only one overcard to Kyte’s 3♥ 3♣ , which held. That meant fourth place and a €117,720 score, by far his biggest.

When three-handed play began during the 250K/500K/500K level, it was Ireland’s Conor Bergin who needed the most help, trailing the almost even stacks of Kyte and Cadignan. He got it when he rivered a flush and got multiple streets of value from Kyte, who called with his pocket aces. That took Bergin up to 29.4 million.

Kyte bounced back just a few hands later when he doubled up through Cadignan. He bet on a 5♦ 7♥ K♠ 3♣ 10♣ board and Cadignan set him all in after thinking for a minute. Kyte snap-called and confidently turned over 3♦ 3♠ for a turned set, which beat Cadignan’s bluff with A♦ Q♣ . The Frenchman dropped down to 8 million, while Kyte was back in front with 30 million.

Chips moved back and forth, and Bergin’s stack eventually dwindled to around 10 million before the next big clash. The Irishman was all in with A♦ 10♠ and in good shape against Kyte’s K♣ J♣ , but the 4♦ 8♦ 9♥ 10♥ J♥ runout meant Kyte rivered the winner. Bergin’s been in fine form lately, finishing third in the High Roller in Campione, and added to €153,330 to his CV today.

From then on, Kyte kept his eye on the big trophy. It was only a matter of time until he got it.

Event 1 – €1,100 PokerStars Open Main Event

Dates: April 30-May 4, 2025
Entries: 2,387 (inc. 1,189 re-entries)
Prize pool: €2,291,520

1st – Jon Kyte (Norway) – €340,000
2nd – Gilles Cadignan (France) – €214,070
3rd – Conor Bergin (Ireland) – €153,330
4th – Razvan Scutaru (Romania) – €117,720
5th – Javier Tazón (Spain) – €89,320
6th – Jack Corrigan (USA) – €70,240

Click here for full results.

---

SILVA TAKES GOLDEN PATH FROM URUGUAY TO PA TO MONACO

It’s now more than 20 years since Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker after qualifying online at PokerStars, and since then the idea of winning a seat to a major live poker event in an online satellite has become normalised in many ways.

But not for everyone.

“Well I think everything is unusual about it,” says Dario Silva, a 28-year-old medical biller from Springfield, NJ, who is making his EPT debut in Monte Carlo. “From playing online to getting a seat in one of the most important tournaments in the world is just unreal.”

Silva is right, of course. The tournament here in Monaco has a €5,300 buy-in and will likely pay its winner around €1 million. That’s why many of the game’s elite pros have come here to do battle, and why dozens of recreational poker players target the event as a kind of bucket-list ambition.

Silva was very much among them until he made the dream come true thanks to winning a Gold Pass through the PokerStars Power Path. A meagre buy-in earned a trip to Europe for Silva and his wife, encouraging a player who usually sticks to the online games on PokerStars PA to dip his toes into live poker as well.

Read more about the PokerStars Power Path

“After I won the Gold Pass I played a few tournaments in Philadelphia,” Silva says. “They went well.” One sixth-place finish in a $240 buy-in event in Bensalem in March this year accounts for Silva’s entire Hendon Mob entry to date.

But Silva is experienced enough in poker to know how to roll with the punches. He was in his seat for the start of play on Day 1A but a huge pot before the second break landed him on the rail. He was close to a double-up but got rivered instead.

“It happens in poker,” he says, showing no hard feelings. He says he’ll be back to play the qualifiers’ freeroll tomorrow, and will check the schedule for other events too.

He also wants to see the Monte Carlo Casino and will also sign up to drive a super car around the winding streets of the Principality–one of numerous activities available to all PokerStars players.

“This is something that I never imagined,” Silva says.

Silva is originally from Uruguay, but moved to the United States six years ago and it was in America that he discovered poker. A co-worker was discussing the game and Silva soon realised it was something that rewarded skill as well as luck. He started dabbling online and had some immediate success. Even so, the Gold Pass was an unexpected bonus.

“It was just crazy, everything,” Silva says. “My family they couldn’t believe it, my coworker, the one that introduced me to poker he was happier than me. I’m still thinking that all this is just a dream.”

Silva is a huge Formula 1 fan and so there will be plenty to entertain him here in Monaco despite the early bust-out. And he is already hoping the experience here stands him in good stead as he continues his poker education.

“There was not poker goals at the beginning for me, because playing was just for fun,” he says. “But right now I’m entering to another chapter in poker…I would like to say thanks to everyone in PokerStars because, like I said, this is something that I never imagined.”

---

EVENT ROUND-UP: LONIS, MOKRI CONTINUE ROLLS

It’s Sunday, May 4, 2025 at the EPT Main Event is getting under way. But the EPT Monte Carlo festival has been going since Wednesday, which means plenty of prizes have been awarded already.

And these prizes are hardly small fry. Jesse Lonis, for instance, has already picked up a €449,802 payday for winning the €30K Super High Roller Warm-Up tournament — and that wasn’t even the biggest payout from that event.

Lonis, one of the cadre of top American pros who have been persuaded here to Monte Carlo, chopped the event heads up with another of them, Chris Brewer. Brewer’s prize was €449,803, but the pair flipped for the win and Lonis won that, which earned him the trophy.

Lonis was also at the final table of the €12,300 PokerStars Cuatro Knockout tournament, which drew 70 entries and built a prize pool of nearly €830,000. This is the tournament format where the bounties come into play when a quarter of the field is left (hence the “Cuatro”) and each bounty pays €12,000.

Lonis bust in sixth from this one, leaving fellow high roller stars Christopher Nguyen, Morten Klein, Juan Pardo, Andras Nemeth and Alisson Piekazewicz to do battle. Piekazewicz, better known as “heyalisson” online, beat Nemeth heads up to win €255,620, which included €72,000 in bounties. Nemeth won €155,200 including three bounty payouts.

Kayhan Mokri has enjoyed happy hunting on the EPT of late, particularly in the high roller events, and he got his trip to Monaco off to a great start with outright victory in the €10K Mystery Bounty tournament.

His envelope pulls added €32,500 to his €114,000 payout, to give him €146,500 from the event. That wasn’t enough to beat either Enrico Camosci, whose second place payout of €73,600 received a boost of €75,000 thanks to his bounty pulls, nor Manuel Carvalho, who officially finished third. Carvalho, however, made €100,000 from bounties, which brought his total payout to €152,600 when added to his third-place prize.

It’s not only about the high buy-in events at the EPT, even in such a lavish setting as Monte Carlo. The PokerStars Open Cup had a €550 buy-in and resultantly attracted 1,675 entries. That put a tasty €804,000 in the prize pool of which the winner was set for €125,000.

Four of the top five finishers were French, including all of the last three. Remy Murcia eventually downed countryman Jean-Andre Mondoloni heads-up for the win and that major spin-up of a relatively small investment.

Monte Carlo is also always a great location for Women’s Events, and this year’s €300 iteration attracted 98 entries, including 36 re-entries. This was a France 1-2 as well, featuring former EPT Barcelona final table player Isabel Baltazar squaring off against Anais Dambrine.

Although Baltazar’s poker winnings top seven figures, to Dambrine’s sub €3K total, this wasn’t Dambrine’s first rodeo either. In the same room last year, Dambrine finished fourth in the EPT Monte Carlo Women’s Event, which was won by Marle Spragg. There was no back-to-back miracle from Spragg, but Dambrine proved last year’s performance was no fluke. She outlasted everyone else this time and won €6,474. That’s more than double her previous combined total winnings. Baltazar won €6,000.

See full results from across the festival

---

EPT MONTE CARLO RESULTS SO FAR

There are 60 tournaments on the EPT Monte Carlo 2025 schedule and many of them have already crowned a winner.

Take a look through all the EPT Monte Carlo 2025 results so far.

---

ABOUT THE EVENT

Is there a better combination than Monte-Carlo and the European Poker Tour?

After all, this year will be the 20^th year since EPT Monte Carlo first headed to the legendary Principality on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Two decades later and Monaco is now a mainstay of live poker for the best players in the world. And that’s not just because of the luxurious surroundings.

Nope, there’s more to it than that. There’s arguably the most beautiful poker room in the world – the Salle des Etoiles. There’s the pantheon of greats that can call themselves Main Event champions. And there’s the prize pools that can change a player’s life in an instant.

When you put it like that, there’s no reason you shouldn’t take your seat at the table.

KEY FESTIVAL DATES

PokerStars Open

PokerStars Open Main Event: April 30-May 4 – €1,100
PokerStars Cup: May 2-3 – €550
PokerStars Open High Roller: May 3-4 – €2,200

EPT

EPT Super High Roller: May 3-5 – €100,000
EPT PL Omaha High Roller: May 4-5 – €25,000
EPT Main Event: May 4-10 – €5,300
EPT Mystery Bounty: May 6-8 – €3,000
EPT High Roller: May 8-10 – €25,000

Check out the full tournament schedule here.

GREAT DISCOUNTS AT STARS STORE

Don’t feel down if you’re not attending EPT Monte Carlo this year. Throughout the event, the Stars Store offers fantastic discounts and free shipping, so you can bring the look and feel of PokerStars to your home.

Remember to use the code ‘EPTMC25’ when placing your order between April 30 – May 10.

A GUIDE TO MONTE CARLO

Everything you have heard about the tiny principality of Monaco is true: it is lavish, ostentatious and eye-wateringly expensive. But it is also exceptionally beautiful with a fine beach and stunning views across the Mediterranean.

From how to get there to what to do when you arrive, check out this guide:

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO EPT MONTE CARLO

MONACO ON A BUDGET

No one who works for PokerStars Blog is a millionaire, yet we have been coming to Monaco as long as the European Poker Tour (EPT) and we’re still alive.

That’s because over the years, we’ve found out how to survive in Monte Carlo on a relatively meagre budget. Whatever you may think, our per diem doesn’t stretch to anything lavish, but we no longer approach Monte Carlo with a terror of bankruptcy.

We’re happy to share some of our tips for how to survive in Monte Carlo on a budget. Of course, you can break the bank if you want to, but you absolutely don’t have to.

Check out:

SURVIVING EPT MONTE CARLO ON A BUDGET

Activities calendar

WHAT TO DO ON YOUR DAY OFF?

Silver Pass Meet-Up
May 1, 19:30 – 20:30
Americas Room Terrace

If you thought winning a Silver Pass to play on the PokerStars Open in Monte Carlo was as good as it got, think again. Not only are all Silver Pass winners invited to a lavish meet-up party with a food and drink covered for you and a guest, but there’s also an incredible opportunity to win a Gold Pass, Silver Pass and other prizes while you’re there. Who knows? If you win the Gold, you could extend your stay and find yourself battling in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event…

Happy Hours
May 2, 5, 7, 9 – 21:30 – 23:30
SBM – Players Lounge
No signup required.

There’s never a dull moment in Monaco. If you’re not playing a tournament or cash game, you could head to the beach or explore the spectacular sights of the tiny principality. However you spend your day, players and guests are invited to unwind with free drinks at the Players Lounge. PokerStars is picking up the entire bar tab from 21:30 to 23:30 on May 2, 5, 7, and 9, and in a place as pricey as Monte Carlo, that’s an offer you shouldn’t pass up.

Daily Wellness Activities
May 2 – 7
Sign-up required at PokerStars Travel desk

Get your day started right with daily wellness activities arranged by PokerStars. We’ve partnered with a leading massage company and will have skilled coaches in town to help you bring your A-game to the tables.  From May 2-7, you could break a sweat with our running club (09:00 and 17:30), chill out with a brisk walk around town (10:00), and take part in mindset/breathwork sessions (11:00) that will be done in time for the first deal. Don’t forget to sign up at the PokerStars Travel desk, though, as space is limited.

Super Car Rides
May 1 – 9
SBM Entrance
Sign up required at PokerStars Travel desk

No trip to Monaco is complete without touring the track of the illustrious Grand Prix — and there’s no better way to do it than from behind the wheel of an Aston Martin or Ferrari super car. Sign up at the PokerStars Travel desk and you can find yourself behind the wheel of the kind of car you can probably only dream of owning (but which people in Monte Carlo drive to the shops).

Padel – American Style Tournament
May 3, 12:30 – 19:00
Sign-up required at PokerStars Travel desk

A fantastic day out is in store for anyone who signs up for the padel tournament. If you’re unfamiliar, padel is a variant of tennis played in doubles on an enclosed court, where you’ll play against fellow players and PokerStars Ambassadors (don’t worry, they’re not very good). Prizes are up for grabs for playing on the winning teams, transport and food/drink are sorted, and merch is on offer to everyone who gives it a go. Book your place and get playing.

Players Party
May 4,  19:00 – till late
Mediterranean Garden

The EPT Monte Carlo Players Party is always unmissable, but never more so than in Monte Carlo, where buying a round of drinks can hurt more than getting your aces cracked. Guests don’t have to worry about that on May 4 as there’s an open bar until late at the Mediterranean Garden, plus food and a live band.

Free Smoothies & Pancakes
April 30 – May 9
SBM Entrance

The ever-popular food stalls will be set up outside of the Sporting Club again this year, serving delicious smoothies and pancakes for all players and guests, all day. Don’t miss them: they’re excellent and completely free.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

For many years Monte Carlo was the home of the EPT Grand Final, before simply becoming one of the most glamorous stops on the poker calendar. 

Previous winners include poker superstars Steve O’Dwyer in 2013 – who overcame arguably the toughest final table in poker history – and Adrian Mateos in 2015.

2005 – Rob Hollink (Netherlands) – €635,000

2006 – Jeff Williams (United States) – €900,000 (RECAP)

2007 – Gavin Griffin (United States) – €1,825,010 (RECAP)

2008 – Glen Chorny (Canada) – €2,020,000 (RECAP)

2009 – Pieter de Korver (Netherlands) – €2,300,000 (RECAP)

2010 – Nicolas Chouity (Lebanon) – €1,700,000 (RECAP)

2012 – Mohsin Charania (United States) – €1,350,000 (RECAP)

2013 – Steve O’Dwyer (United States) – €1,224,000 (RECAP)

2015 – Adrián Mateos (Spain) – €1,082,000 (RECAP)

2016 – Jan Bendik (Slovakia) – €961,800 (RECAP)

2017 – Raffaele Sorrentino (Itay) – €466,714 (RECAP)

2018 – Nicolas Dumont (France) – €712,000 (RECAP)

2019 – Manig Löser (Germany) – €603,777 (RECAP)

2022 –  Marcelo Simões (Brazil) – €939,840 (RECAP)

2023 – Mike Watson (Canada) – €749,425 (RECAP)

2024 – Derk van Luijk (Netherlands) – €1,000,000 (RECAP)

EVERYTHING ELSE…

POKER NEWS LIVE UPDATES
Our live reporting partner will offer hand-by-hand updates from the Main Event.

POKERSTARS LIVE EVENTS PHOTOS
Check out all the photography from Monte Carlo and feel free to download pictures of your friends, family, favourite players (or yourself!)

EPT MONTE CARLO OFFICIAL SITE
The PokerStars Live official page, with everything you need to know about the tournament series in Monaco.

FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
There are 60 events set to play out across the tournament series. Here’s the day-by-day schedule.

DOWNLOAD THE POKERSTARS LIVE APP
All the info you need on your mobile device from the Apple iStore or Google Play for Android.

POKERSTARS BLOG ON TWITTER
Follow us on Twitter.

Back to Top