The omens had always been good for the arrival of the European Poker Tour (EPT) to Monte Carlo this year — and the Main Event has made very good on its promise.

With record-breaking fields across many poker events, including at EPT Paris in February, the 2023 €5,300 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event has joined the list.

Organisers confirmed this afternoon that the field in this tournament hit 1,098 entries (including 223 re-entries), which is tied most for any main event at this venue.

That previous number amassed in 2016, when Jan Bendik beat a field of 1,098 entries. The tournament was a freezeout back then, so there were necessarily more unique players. But the PokerStars hierarchy is no less happy to see this huge field, improving on the 1,073-entry field from last year.

EPT Monte Carlo attendance stats:

1a: 363 entries, 104 players advanced
1b: 700 entries, 228 players advanced
2: 35 new entries
Total: 1,098 (inc. 223 re-entries)

The prize pool is €5,325,300 with the winner set for a payday of €890,000. Unfortunately we can’t claim that as a record-breaker as the EPT Grand Final, as this event in Monte Carlo used to be called, used to require a €10,000 buy-in. (It became a €5K event in 2016.)

However, this is only the third time since then that the prize pool topped €5 million. And there’s not a poker player alive who wouldn’t relish a €890,000 payday.

Remember, the France Poker Series (FPS) Main Event also hit a new record for entries in this room this week. So this has been a very successful festival indeed.

EPT MONTE CARLO 2023 PAYOUT SCHEDULE

€5,300 EPT Main Event
Dates: April 30-May 6, 2023
Entries: 1,098 (inc. 323 re-entries)
Prize pool: €5,325,300

1 – €890,000
2 – €556,600
3 – €397,450
4 – €305,750
5 – €235,150
6 – €180,900
7 – €139,150
8 – €107,050

9 – €82,350
10-11 – €63,300
12-13 – €52,750
14-15 – €45,900
16-17 – €39,950
18-20 – €34,700
21-23 – €30,200
24-27 – €26,250
28-31 – €22,850
32-39 – €19,850
40-55 – €17,250
56-71 – €15,000
72-95 – €13,050
96-119 – €11,350
120-143 – €9,850
144-159 – €8,700

2023 MAIN EVENT COUNTRIES BREAKDOWN

As expected, French players were the most prevalent in the EPT Monte Carlo field. There were 152 players, representing nearly 20 percent of the field, from France. European neighbours Italy (74 or 9.6%), the UK (42 or 5.4%), Spain (37 or 4.8%) and Germany (35 or 4.5%) round out the top five.

There were players from 63 countries here, including the likes of Kuwait, Moldova and Senegal.

Nationalities list:
France – 152 (19.61%)
Italy – 74 (9.55%)
United Kingdom – 42 (5.42%)
Spain – 37 (4.77%)
Germany – 35 (4.52%)
Romania – 33 (4.26%)
Canada, Switzerland, USA – 23 (2.97%)
Japan – 21 (2.71%)
Russia, Ukraine – 18 (2.32%)
Brazil, Bulgaria – 16 (2.06%)
Greece, Ireland, Israel – 13 (1.68%)
Norway, Portugal – 12 (1.55%)
Austria – 11 (1.42%)
Belarus, Lebanon, Poland, Turkey – 9 (1.16%)
Australia, Hong Kong – 8 (1.03%)
Argentina, Hungary, Iran, Latvia, Netherlands – 7 (0.90%)
Estonia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania – 6 (0.77%)
Finland – 5 (0.65%)
Croatia, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Sweden – 4 (0.52%)
Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Iceland, India, Serbia, Slovenia – 3 (0.39%)
Belgium, Colombia, Montenegro, New Zealand, South Korea, Tunisia – 2 (0.26%)
Albania, Algeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Georgia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Morocco, Senegal – 1 (0.13%)

EPT MONTE CARLO MAIN EVENT HISTORY

2005: 211 players, €1,983,400 prize pool, Rob Hollink (Netherlands) for €635,000
2006: 298 players, €2,801,200 prize pool, Jeff Williams (USA) for €900,000
2007: 706 players, €6,636,400 prize pool, Gavin Griffin (USA) for €1,825,010
2008: 842 players, €8,420,000 prize pool, Glen Chorny (Canada) for €2,020,000
2009: 935 players, €9,350,000 prize pool, Pieter De Korver (Netherlands) for €2,300,000
2010: 848 players, €8,480,000 prize pool, Nicolas Chouity (Lebanon) for €1,700,000
2012: 665 players, €6,650,000 prize pool, Mohsin Charania (USA) for €1,350,000
2013: 531 players, €5,310,000 prize pool, Steve O’Dwyer (Ireland) for €1,224,000
2014: 650 players, €6,500,000 prize pool, Antonio Buonanno (Italy) for €1,240,000
2015: 564 players, €5,640,000 prize pool, Adrian Mateos (Spain) for €1,082,000
2016: 1,098 players, €5,325,300 prize pool, Jan Bendik (Slovakia) for €961,800
2017: 727 players, €3,525,950 prize pool, Raffaele Sorrentino (Italy) for €466,714
2018: 777 entries, €3,768,450 prize pool, Nicolas Dumont (France) for €712,000
2019: 922 entries, €4,471,700 prize pool, Manig Loeser (Germany) for €603,777
2022: 1,073 entries, €5,204,050 prize pool, Marcelo Mesqueu (Brazil) for €929,840
2023: 1,098 entries, €5,235,300 prize pool, €890,000 for the winner

*held as PokerStars Championship in 2017

With thanks to Jan Kores, EPT Media Coordinator, for statistical research.

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