€1,100 FPS Main Event | 2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

04-30-2023 12:55 UTC+1

Maksym Mamon Eliminated In 8th Place (€36,940)

Andrew Knowles

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Daisuke Ogita opened to 525,000 from under the gun and Maksym Mamon moved all in for 2,275,000 in early position. The rest of the table got out of the way and Ogita made the call to put Mamon at risk.

Maksym Mamon: Q♠Q♥
Daisuke Ogita: K♦9♦

Mamon was in great shape preflop, but when the board ran out A♥K♠7♥6♠5♥, the flopped king for Ogita scored the pot to send Mamon to the rail in eighth place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daisuke Ogita	17,850,000 4,125,000	4,125,000
Maksym Mamon	Busted

Tags: Daisuke Ogita Maksym Mamon

04-30-2023 12:35 UTC+1

Chen Makes Amazing Hero Call

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

Level 33 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

Anatoly Chen opened the action from early position to 500,000 with A♦J♣ and it folded to Adel Rahou in the big blind with A♠8♣ who made the call.

The flop fanned out Q♠4♣3♦ and both players checked their options to the 6♦ turn. Rahou elected to take the betting lead with a sizing of 525,000 and Chen came along.

The 2♦ peeled off on the river and Rahou continued his bluff with a bet of 1,350,000. Chen took some time, but in the end made the hero call with ace-jack high to take down the sizable pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Anatoly Chen	10,750,000 2,750,000	2,750,000
Adel Rahou	2,850,000 -3,700,000	-3,700,000

Tags: Adel Rahou Anatoly Chen

04-30-2023 11:22 UTC+1

Final Table Player Profiles: Seat 8: Tomas Patka, 27, Trencin, Slovakia, resides in Austria - 16,350,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

Tomas Patka hails from Slovakia, but he currently lives in Austria, about 15 minutes from the border with his home country. Online poker has to do with it.

Patka is a tournament specialist who started playing the game when he was 18. Patka said he used to play hockey, but an injury prevented him from pursuing a sports career, so he chose poker. You wouldn't see him here in Monaco had he not qualified to the FPS for €100 at PokerStars.

Now on the biggest live event final table of his career, he's already locked up a great return on his investment. He's in excellent shape to squeeze even more from the record-breaking prize pool, having vaulted into the chip lead on the last hand of Day 3.

Tags: Tomas Patka

04-30-2023 11:17 UTC+1

Final Table Player Profiles: Seat 7: Anatoly Chen, 49, St. Petersburg, Russia - 8,525,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

Anatoly Chen used to be a regular competitor on the EPT circuit. In fact, his first reported live cash came eight years ago here at EPT Monte Carlo. The 22nd place from what was then called the EPT Grand Final remains his best result. But if he fades the earliest exit tomorrow, he'll set his new career-high score.

Chen doesn't worry about that. He said he is just enjoying his time playing poker, for which he didn't have much time in recent years. While the businessman now retired, he laughed when asked if he has time for more hobbies: "I have four children," he explained.

Chen splits time between his hometown St. Petersburg and Barcelona, where he has a house. He's now on the way to Barcelona. Chen said his wife told him not to tell the kids about the live stream. But cards have run through the Chen family DNA anyway. "My grandpa and my dad both played cards," Chen revealed.

Tags: Anatoly Chen

04-30-2023 11:15 UTC+1

Final Table Profiles: Seat 6: Quentin Laugt, 31, Cannes, France, resides in Porto - 10,725,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

An experienced online grinder, Quentin Laugt started building his live tournament profile here at EPT Monte Carlo. Back in 2014, he scooped his first live cash in the €330 Mini FPS.

Nine years later, the 31-year-old from Cannes will be playing the biggest final table of his career. Laugt already knows how it feels to win a live tournament on the EPT stage --he snagged a spadie in an EPT Malta 2015 turbo side event.

This time, he will be playing for the shard, though. If he ladders one more position, he'll top his best live result, a €42,000 first-place prize from the Mini USDO Cannes 2022. A top-five finish would beat Laught's largest career payday, a €72,000 online paycheck.

Tags: Quentin Laugt

04-30-2023 11:12 UTC+1

Final Table Player Profiles: Seat 5: Maksym Mamon, 41, Zurich, Switzerland - 2,625,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

You may not find many results when searching for Maksym Mamon's poker pedigree. But make no mistake, Mamon started playing poker about 20 years ago. Mamon is a recreational player; he runs a business at home in Switzerland. But he says he tries to play every week, be it online or live.

"My problem is that it takes so much time, so I can't play too often," Mamon admitted. So he won't stay in Monaco for the EPT part of the festival — the business won't wait. Still, Mamon is looking forward to playing on the live-streamed feature table as he's never experienced that.

He came to Monte Carlo with his family, but it's mostly the sea that draws their attention. "It's the only thing we miss in Switzerland," Mamon said after naming hiking, skiing, and cycling among his hobbies --activities that suit his Swiss address.

Tags: Maksym Mamon

04-30-2023 11:10 UTC+1

Final Table Profiles: Seat 4: Adel Rahou, 32, Marseille, France - 6,550,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

Encouraged by friends who love live tournaments, it was only last year when Adel Rahou started playing MTTs. A seasoned cash game player, the 32-year-old from Marseille abandoned his favorite format to make waves in live events.

Last year, he was on the last two tables at WSOP Circuit in Cannes. But now he finally got the first final table under his belt. It's no doubt that Rahou will try to capitalize on his live poker experience and the numerous hours he's spent at cash game tables in southern France.

Rahou will enter the final table with a clear goal — to honor his friends, thanks to whom he is now able to battle for a tournament trophy.

Tags: Adel Rahou

04-30-2023 11:07 UTC+1

Final Table Profiles: Seat 3: Daisuke Ogita, 43, Tokyo, Japan - 13,725,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

Daisuke Ogita picked up poker six years ago. Since then, he's racked up more than $800,000 in live cashes and already knocks on the door of Japan's all-time top 10, according to the Hendon Mob. An outright victory here in the FPS Main Event would push him from 15th to 10th.

Ogita isn't a professional player, though. He works in advertising. But he also likes to travel and combines his trips with poker. The 43-year-old is fresh off winning a spade-shaped trophy; he scooped one on the very last day of EPT Paris after topping the €5k 6-Handed Turbo. So Ogita won't be stressed on the big stage. He's taking it easy, enjoying the run and doesn't worry about the result.

Tags: Daisuke Ogita

04-30-2023 11:04 UTC+1

Final Table Profiles: Seat 2: Stefan Dimitrov, 29, Burgas, Bulgaria - 3,525,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

Stefan Dimitrov's tournament résumé is modest so far, but that might change very soon. Dimitrov, a 29-year-old poker pro from Burgas, has been mostly grinding spin & go’s. He only started adding tournaments to his sessions lately: "Because they're fun." Dimitrov wouldn't call it a transition; he still focuses on his bread-and-butter game.

But he found tournaments enticing and is already proving to be a versatile player. Dimitrov admits he still struggles to adjust to the live tournament scene. "I'm used to seeing all the numbers on the screen. I like to take time to process things."

That said, Dimitrov has felt that every day at a physical poker table helps him gain the experience required to be able to play his best. It also helps that he likes to play all sorts of sports, from football to tennis. Being in shape comes in handy if he plans to run deep, just like in the FPS Main Event. It won't be his last tournament in Monaco, as he's qualified for the EPT Main Event online at PokerStars.

Tags: Stefan Dimitrov

04-30-2023 11:01 UTC+1

Final Table Profiles: Seat 1: Rubens Sellam, 51, Marseille, France - 2,150,000

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Andrew Knowles

Rubens Sellam arrived at the EPT Monte Carlo this week with his son. And while the son was playing the FPS Cup, his very first live tournament, the father was busy running deep in the FPS Main Event.

The 51-year-old from Marseille is a regular fixture on the FPS circuit. He cashed in the same tournament in 2022, but, with less than $8,500 in total live winnings, tomorrow will be Sellam's biggest payday.

The French amateur was on a nub on the final table, but he bounced back and secured a couple of extra pay jumps. He'll try to do the same again when he enters his first televised final table with fewer than nine big blinds.

Tags: Rubens Sellam