2024 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

€100,000 EPT Super High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info

2024 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a9
Prize
€1,967,440
Event Info
Buy-in
€100,000
Prize Pool
€6,985,440
Entries
72
Level Info
Level
24
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Players Info - Day 1
Entries
58
Players Left
29

€100,000 EPT Super High Roller

Day 1 Completed

Reigning €100,000 EPT Monte Carlo SHR Champion Alex Kulev Bags Big on Day 1

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Alex Kulev
Alex Kulev

The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo continued today with the biggest buy-in tournament on the schedule; the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller. The Sporting Monte-Carlo opened its doors to high rollers from across the globe, all willing to compete at some of the highest stakes here in Monaco.

Over the eight levels of play, a total of 58 entrants tried their luck on the felt contributing to a prize pool that already stands at a massive €5,627,160. But with registration still open until the start of Day 2 tomorrow, this figure is only expected to grow.

As the dust settled, 29 players found a bag for tomorrow, with Jacob Amsellem capturing the title of the chip leader as he takes through a total of 1,094,000 for the Day 2 restart. Amsellem only took his seat on Level 8 of the day but seemingly used his time wisely to convert his late start into the largest stack in the room.

End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Jacob AmsellemFrance1,094,000182
2Ben HeathUnited Kingdom1,092,000182
3Alex KulevBulgaria1,091,000182
4Mikita BadziakouskiBelarus851,000142
5Nick PetrangeloUnited States848,000141
6Justin BonomoUnited States818,000136
7Vicente DelgadoSpain692,000115
8Shyngis SatubayevKazakhstan599,000100
9Masashi OyaJapan590,00098
10Stephen ChidwickUnited Kingdom555,00093

The Fall and Rise of Heath and Kulev

With players starting with 250 big blinds, it was going to take a real cooler to see these confrontations ending in an all-in and a call, but that’s exactly what happened to Ben Heath on the second level of the day. Heath picked up pocket kings, but was unfortunate enough to run into the pocket aces of Dan Smith, resulting in one of the day's first casualties.

Heath was quickly onto his second bullet and virtue of a flopped nut flush against Juan Pardo on the last level of the day, managed to bag big for the Day 2 restart.

Ben Heath
Ben Heath

Heath wasn’t the only one to experience a swingy session on the felt as the reigning champion of the EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller, Alex Kulev, saw off his first bullet when a hero call against opponent Masashi Oya went wrong.

However, Kulev gained a lot of traction on his second attempt, and managed to bag the third largest stack of the remaining players, meaning all eyes will be on Kulev as he navigates his 1,091,000 into back-to-back titles here in Monaco.

Day 2 is set to commence tomorrow, Sunday, April 28 at 12:30 p.m. local time which is when registration will end. Players will be returning to blinds of 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to bring you more coverage of the EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller, so stay tuned.

Tags: Alex KulevBen HeathDan SmithJacob AmsellemJuan PardoJustin BonomoMasashi OyaMikita BadziakouskiNick PetrangeloShyngis SatubayevStephen ChidwickVicente Delgado

End of Day 1 Chip Counts (full)

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Jacob Amsellem fr
Jacob Amsellem
1,094,000
664,000
664,000
Day 1 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Ben Heath gb
Ben Heath
1,092,000
175,000
175,000
Profile photo of Alex Kulev bg
Alex Kulev
1,091,000
-119,000
-119,000
Profile photo of Mikita Badziakouski by
Mikita Badziakouski
851,000
171,000
171,000
Profile photo of Nick Petrangelo us
Nick Petrangelo
848,000
Profile photo of Justin Bonomo us
Justin Bonomo
818,000
188,000
188,000
Run It Once
Profile photo of Vicente Delgado es
Vicente Delgado
692,000
90,000
90,000
Profile photo of Shyngis Satubayev kz
Shyngis Satubayev
599,000
334,000
334,000
Profile photo of Masashi Oya jp
Masashi Oya
590,000
-70,000
-70,000
Profile photo of Stephen Chidwick gb
Stephen Chidwick
555,000
-40,000
-40,000
Profile photo of Orpen Kisacikoglu tr
Orpen Kisacikoglu
516,000
216,000
216,000
Profile photo of Christoph Vogelsang de
Christoph Vogelsang
505,000
145,000
145,000
Profile photo of Sam Grafton gb
Sam Grafton
490,000
-102,000
-102,000
Profile photo of Dan Smith us
Dan Smith
479,000
-196,000
-196,000
Run It Once
Profile photo of Morten Klein no
Morten Klein
435,000
55,000
55,000
Profile photo of Lewis Spencer gb
Lewis Spencer
425,000
5,000
5,000
Profile photo of Sergio Aido es
Sergio Aido
425,000
73,000
73,000
Profile photo of Aleksejs Ponakovs lv
Aleksejs Ponakovs
375,000
161,000
161,000
Profile photo of Byron Kaverman us
Byron Kaverman
362,000
12,000
12,000
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
350,000
90,000
90,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of David Yan nz
David Yan
333,000
333,000
333,000
Profile photo of Yaman Nakdali es
Yaman Nakdali
311,000
66,000
66,000
Profile photo of Steve O'Dwyer ie
Steve O'Dwyer
289,000
-166,000
-166,000
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Matthias Eibinger at
Matthias Eibinger
204,000
Profile photo of Ilya Nikiforov ee
Ilya Nikiforov
203,000
51,000
51,000

Read full

Day 1 Concludes

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Day 1 has concluded with 29 players bagging up chips for Day 2, which will commence at 12:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, April 28.

Updated chip counts and a recap of the day will follow shortly.

Eibinger Gets Three-Bet Through in Last Hand of the Day

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Action folded to Nick Petrangelo in the cutoff, who opened to 11,000.

Matthias Eibinger was in the small blind and produced a three-bet to 127,000, leading to a swift fold from Petrangelo.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Nick Petrangelo us
Nick Petrangelo
848,000
328,000
328,000
Profile photo of Matthias Eibinger at
Matthias Eibinger
204,000
204,000
204,000

Tags: Matthias EibingerNick Petrangelo

Chidwick Spikes River to Bust Vaskaboinikau and Double Through Vieira

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Joao Vieira
Joao Vieira

Joao Vieira opened to 10,000 from early position, only to be met with a three-bet jam from Mikalai Vaskaboinikau to 56,000.

Action folded to Stephen Chidwick in the big blind, who produced a cold four-bet jam of 250,000. Vieira made the quick call.

Mikalai Vaskaboinikau: 54 All in
Stephen Chidwick: A9 All in
Joao Vieira: AK

Vieira looked in great shape to scoop the pot and remained so after the J210 flop and 8 turn.

However, the 9 rolled off on the river to give Chidwick a pair of nines and send him a chunky pot just before the end of the day.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Stephen Chidwick gb
Stephen Chidwick
595,000
500,000
500,000
Profile photo of Joao Vieira pt
Joao Vieira
80,000
-250,000
-250,000
Profile photo of Mikalai Vaskaboinikau by
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau
Busted

Tags: Joao VieiraMikalai VaskaboinikauStephen Chidwick

Kulev Continues to Chip Up

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Alex Kulev opened to 10,000 in the cutoff and was called by Lewis Spencer on the button and Pasacal Lefrancois in the big blind.

On the J109 flop, action was checked to Spencer, who put out a bet of 9,000. Lefrancois called before Kulev produced a check-raise to 40,000. Spencer called and Lefrancois got out of the way.

On the 2 turn, Kulev continued to fire, putting out a bet of 75,000. Spencer again called.

The 5 completed the board and after some thought, Kulev put out a bet of 200,000, earning a swift fold from Spencer.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Alex Kulev bg
Alex Kulev
1,210,000
375,000
375,000
Profile photo of Lewis Spencer gb
Lewis Spencer
420,000
-83,000
-83,000
Profile photo of Pascal Lefrancois ca
Pascal Lefrancois
120,000
8,000
8,000

Tags: Alex KulevLewis SpencerPascal Lefrancois

Heath Scoops a Massive Pot

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Ben Heath
Ben Heath

Yaman Nakdali raised to 10,000 from the hijack, Ben Heath called in the cutoff, and Juan Pardo three-bet to 40,000 from the button. Both players called.

The action checked to Pardo, who continued for 26,000 on the Q94 flop. Nakdali called and Heath check-raised to 58,000. Pardo called and Nakdali got out of the way.

Heath slowed down on the 7 turn. Pardo retook the lead for 70,000 and Heath responded with a second check-raise to 164,000. Pardo made the call.

The 8 landed on the river and Heath placed a bet of 163,000; an effective all in with just 1,000 behind the line. Pardo made a quick call. Heath tabled A10 for the flopped nut flush. With 1,000 still behind the line, Pardo was not required to show and slid his cards to the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ben Heath gb
Ben Heath
917,000
537,000
537,000
Profile photo of Yaman Nakdali es
Yaman Nakdali
245,000
148,000
148,000
Profile photo of Juan Pardo es
Juan Pardo
60,000
-615,000
-615,000

Tags: Ben HeathJuan PardoYaman Nakdali

Nikiforov Doubles Through Dvoress

Level 8 : Blinds 2,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Ilya Nikiforov moved all in for 70,000 from middle position. Action folded to Daniel Dvoress in the small blind, who rejammed for around 260,000, forcing a fold from the big blind.

Ilya Nikiforov: A10 All in
Daniel Dvoress: KQ

Nikiforov's ace-high was ahead and remained so after the 26659 runout, sending him a timely double up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Daniel Dvoress ca
Daniel Dvoress
190,000
-40,000
-40,000
Run It Once
Profile photo of Ilya Nikiforov ee
Ilya Nikiforov
152,000
37,000
37,000

Tags: Daniel DvoressIlya Nikiforov