€3,000 Mystery Bounty Day 2 | 2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

05-03-2023 21:50 UTC+1

Chin Wei Lim Eliminated in 24th Place (€6,350)

Matt Warburton

Level 24 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Chin Wei Lim raised to 40,000 from middle position and action folded around to Murad Akhundov, who called in the small blind.

The flop came 7♦10♠6♥. Akhundov checked and Lim bet 75,000. Akhundov raised to 275,000 and Lim pushed the rest of his chips into the middle. Akhundov made the call and cards were turned on their backs.

Chin Wei Lim: Q♣Q♠
Murad Akhundov: 10♥7♥

Lim had pocket queens and Akhundov had made two pair on the flop.

The turn came the 7♠ to give Akhundov the full house and leave Lim drawing to a queen. The river was the 5♠ to lock up the pot for Akhundov.

Lim was eliminated in 24th place for €6,350 (€9,350 including bounties).

Player	Chips	Progress
Murad Akhundov	1,200,000 575,000	575,000
Chin Wei Lim	Busted

Tags: Chin Wei Lim Murad Akhundov

05-03-2023 21:23 UTC+1

Konnikova Doubles Again, Then Busts

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Matt Warburton

Level 22 : 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Shortly after quadrupling up her short stack, Maria Konnikova doubled up again. Action folded to Jeremie Zouari, who shoved from the small blind. Konnikova made the call in the big blind with fewer chips and players flipped their cards.

Maria Konnikova: K♠J♣
Jeremie Zouari: Q♣10♣

Konnikova was ahead preflop with her king high. The board ran out 5♥J♦A♦3♣3♦ to give her a pair of jacks on the flop and she held to double up her stack to over 300,000.

It looked like Konnikova was on the comeback. A few hands later, however, she was seen leaving the tournament room with a wave and a smile.

With that, the tables were redrawn.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jeremie Zouari	300,000 -180,000	-180,000
Maria Konnikova	Busted

Tags: Jeremie Zouari Maria Konnikova

05-03-2023 21:10 UTC+1

Konnikova Quintuples in Heads Up Pot

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Frank Visser

Level 22 : 10,000/15,000, 15,000 ante

Jeremie Zouari opened from under the gun to 40,000 and Maria Konnikova called all in for her last two big blinds in the next seat over. Marc Boyer was in middle positon and called in a laughing fit, and Soraya Estrada and Murad Akhundov followed suit as well.

To everyone's but Konnikova's disappointment, Christophe Benzimra then jammed 530,000 in the middle and all the players who still had an option opted to fold.

Maria Konnikova: A♥9♠
Christophe Benzimra: 6♥6♣

A great spot for Konnikova, who had more than five times her bet in the middle of the table. The flop 7♣K♦2♦ remained clear for Benzimra, but Konnikova hit a 9♦ on the turn to pair up. Her pair remained the best on the Q♠ river and she celebrated the win with a cheer.

Player	Chips	Progress
Christophe Benzimra	490,000 381,000	381,000

Maria Konnikova	220,000 20,000	20,000

Tags: Christophe Benzimra Jeremie Zouari Marc Boyer Maria Konnikova Murad Akhundov Soraya Estrada

05-03-2023 20:34 UTC+1

Three Streets of Value for Zouari as Gonzalez Attempts to Catch Bluff

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Matt Warburton

Level 21 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

Jeremie Zouari raised from late position and Soraya Estrada called in the big blind.

The flop came 5♦K♥10♦. Gonzalez checked and Zouari bet small for 15,000. Gonzalez made the call.

The turn was the 8♥. Gonzalez checked again and Zouari bet 45,000, which Gonzalez again called.

The river fell the K♣. Gonzalez checked a third time and Zouari moved all in for 135,000. Gonzalez looked at her cards, put her head in her hands, crinkled her forehead and eventually made the call.

Gonzalez flipped over 8♦2♦ for a busted flush draw and pair of eights. She had then attempted to catch Zouari's bluff on the river. Unfortunately for her, Zouari had K♠J♠ for trip kings to give him the double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jeremie Zouari	480,000 347,000	347,000
Soraya Estrada	165,000 165,000	165,000

Tags: Jeremie Zouari Soraya Estrada

05-03-2023 18:32 UTC+1

Konnikava's Ace-King Brings a Double

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Frank Visser

Level 21 : Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante

All of Konnikava's 110,000 chips were in the middle when the action was caught and Aleksandar Tomovic had made the call with the covering stack.

Maria Konnikova: A♦K♠
Aleksandar Tomovic: A♠8♦

The board ran out an uneventful 4♦7♠3♣9♣2♣ and Konnikova raked in a double-up seconds before she got moved to another table. Tomovic, on the other hand, was left with just over four big blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maria Konnikova	237,000 13,000	13,000

Aleksandar Tomovic	52,000 -58,000	-58,000

Tags: Aleksandar Tomovic Maria Konnikova

05-03-2023 18:03 UTC+1

Kassouf Plays it By His Book

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Frank Visser

Level 20 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

Will Kassouf made it 24,000 from the hijack and Recep Aydemir three-bet to 70,000 from the small blind. Sam Greenwood was in the big blind and eyed his opponents' stacks, but decided to fold.

This was when Kassouf's patented speech play took place. Over the course of several minutes, he engaged in talks with his opponent, discussing the strength of their hands, stack depths, and the quality of Daniel Negreanu's book, among other things, before he raised to 195,000. The talk did not slow down thereafter, however, as Aydemir was thinking about the predicament he had found himself in.

Sam Greenwood had had enough and said that he would have to call the clock if Kassouf kept talking, even though he wanted to give Aydemir time to think.

Kassouf quieted down for a bit but soon started up again. ''Will you show if I fold?'' asked Aydemir.

''I can't do that, I'll reveal how I play to the whole table. This is not in any book, only the Will Kassouf book.''

''Is it an audio book?'' Jamie Nixon chimed in.

After this exchange, time was finally called. Aydemir folded his hand during the countdown and showed 10♣10♠. Kassouf allowed Aydemir to pick one card of his holding to show as well and Aydemir picked the A♠.

Player	Chips	Progress
Will Kassouf	640,000 138,000	138,000
Jamie Nixon	453,000 123,000	123,000
Sam Greenwood	365,000 235,000	235,000

Recep Aydemir	230,000 -24,000	-24,000

Tags: Jamie Nixon Recep Aydemir Sam Greenwood Will Kassouf

05-03-2023 18:02 UTC+1

No Longer World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen Sets Sights On Poker

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Connor Richards

Level 20 : Blinds 5,000/10,000, 10,000 ante

Five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen shocked the public in July 2022 when he announced that he wouldn't be defending the title he had held for a decade. And while Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren were at St. Regis Hotel in Kazakhstan last month battling to take his place as supreme leader of the chess world, Carlsen was getting ready for a trip to the sunny Mediterranean coast.

Carlsen made a deep run extending into Day 3 in the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event as part of 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® before falling in 63th place €15,000.

In his first interview since giving up his World Chess Champion Title, Carlsen sat down with PokerNews and PokerStars for an exclusive look at what the future holds for the 32-year-old Norwegian chess prodigy.

READ ABOUT CARLSEN'S DEEP RUN AT EPT MONTE CARLO!

05-03-2023 17:21 UTC+1

Hrabec Hates the River

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Frank Visser

Level 19 : Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante

In a heads up pot between Roman Hrabec and Matthias Lipp there was around 100,000 in the middle. On the 2♦2♠J♣Q♦ board, Lipp bet 55,000 and Hrabec check-called.

The river fell the 5♥ and Lipp now announced all in by throwing his bounty token into the middle. He covered Hrabec, who snap-called.

Hrabec showed aces for a strong two pair, but Lipp hit a big river as he tabled 5♠5♦ for a full house. ''Wow,'' Hrabec muttered as he left for the payout desk.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matthias Lipp	481,000 451,000	451,000
Roman Hrabec	Busted

Tags: Matthias Lipp Roman Hrabec

05-03-2023 16:16 UTC+1

Bouquet Eliminated After Running Into Kings

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Matt Warburton

Level 18 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Lucas Silva Rocha raised from middle position and Rui Bouquet pushed all in. Rocha made the call and players flipped their cards, with Bouquet the player at risk.

Rui Bouquet: A♦Q♠
Lucas Silva Rocha: K♣K♥

Rocha was ahead with his pair of kings and the board ran out 8♦9♣8♥9♠6♠. Rocha held up and Bouquet was eliminated from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Lucas Silva Rocha	310,000 238,000	238,000
Rui Bouquet	Busted

Tags: Lucas Silva Rocha Rui Bouquet

05-03-2023 15:59 UTC+1

Bubble Bursts as Delval Bluffs It Off

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Frank Visser

Level 17 : 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante

On the last table still playing, Nicolas Julien and Frederic Delval were heads up in a pot of 45,000. Julien bet 24,000 from middle position on a board of K♣6♣A♥6♠. Delval announced his all-in for roughly 160,000 chips and Julien shrugged before he put in the call.

After it was confirmed that all other tables had finished play, their cards were tabled.

Frederic Delval: A♠4♠
Nicolas Julien: A♣K♠

Delval had turned his top pair into a bluff when the board paired, but Julien was not going anywhere with his flopped two pair. No chops were had as the river arrived the 8♠, and Delval was the last player to leave without a cash prize

All remaining 95 players have locked up at least €3,150.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nicolas Julien	630,000 571,000	571,000
Frederic Delval	Busted

Tags: Frederic Delval Nicolas Julien