2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®

Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2017 PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
aa
Prize
€466,714
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€3,525,950
Entries
727
Level Info
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
25,000

MacDonnell's Ace-King No Good

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante

After Marc MacDonnell bet 700 on a {K-Clubs}{6-Diamonds}{4-Hearts} flop, Artur Sahakyan minraised to 1,400 and MacDonnell called. On the {2-Clubs} turn, MacDonnell took back the initiative by leading out 2,200. Sahakyan made the call in position.

The river was the {8-Diamonds} and MacDonnell fired out 4,500. Sahakyan quickly called and MacDonnell showed {A-Hearts}{K-Hearts} for top pair top kicker. It wasn't good; the Armenian held {K-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds} for two pair and took down the hand.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Artur Sahakyan am
Artur Sahakyan
32,000
32,000
32,000
Profile photo of Marc MacDonnell ie
Marc MacDonnell
27,500
-700
-700

Tags: Artur SahakyanMarc MacDonnell

Fatehi Takes it on the River

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante

Ali Reza Fatehi raised to 500 and was called by one player before Florian Maurer came along for the same amount. Roman Papacek then three-bet to 2,500 in the big blind and Fatehi and Maurer were the only callers. The flop came {J-Clubs}{8-Spades}{4-Hearts} and Papacek made it 4,200 to go, Ali called and Maurer folded.

The {7-Diamonds} turn went check, check, and Papacek also checked the {6-Hearts} river. Fatehi bet 6,500 and then asked "do you have ace king" to Papacek, who shook his head and eventually folded soon after. The table also features Jeffrey Hakim, Dietrich Fast and Orpen Kisacikoglu as well.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ali Reza Fatehi ir
Ali Reza Fatehi
63,000
10,000
10,000
Profile photo of Orpen Kisacikoglu tr
Orpen Kisacikoglu
51,000
1,000
1,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Dietrich Fast de
Dietrich Fast
39,000
39,000
39,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Jeffrey Hakim us
Jeffrey Hakim
34,000
34,000
34,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Roman Papacek cz
Roman Papacek
17,000
17,000
17,000

Tags: Ali Reza FatehiDietrich FastFlorian MaurerJeff HakimOrpen KisacikogluRoman Papacek

Lena Takes Two

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante

On a table with plenty of big names such as [Removed:172], Mark Teltscher, Javier Gomez Zapatero and Sam Grafton, Giovanni Lena just claimed two pots in a row. Grafton raised to 450 and Lena called on the button, as did Gomez Zapatero in the small blind. On the {A-Diamonds}{Q-Diamonds}{Q-Spades} flop all three players checked.

On the {3-Spades} turn, Lena bet 800 and just Gomez Zapatero called. The {J-Clubs} river was checked through again and Gomez Zapatero showed {6-Clubs}{6-Hearts}, which Lena had beat with {J-Spades}{10-Spades}.

One hand later, a raise to 450 by Elvin Muratovic was three-bet to 1,600 by Grafton and Lena called, as did Muratovic. The flop came {9-Spades}{6-Spades}{2-Hearts} and Grafton continued for 1,800 when it was checked to him. Only Lena called and the {5-Diamonds} on the turn saw a check by the Brit and a bet of 5,000 by Lena. That was enough to shut down all further action and Lena claimed back-to-back pots.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of [Removed:172] de
[Removed:172]
39,000
9,000
9,000
Profile photo of Mark Teltscher gb
Mark Teltscher
33,000
33,000
33,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Giovanni Lena it
Giovanni Lena
31,000
31,000
31,000
Profile photo of Sam Grafton gb
Sam Grafton
27,000
27,000
27,000
Profile photo of Javier Gomez Zapatero es
Javier Gomez Zapatero
26,000
-4,000
-4,000

Tags: Elvin MuratovicGiovanni LenaJavier GomezMark TeltscherSam Grafton

SnapChat Feature Requested

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante

Joining the action on the {8-Clubs}{4-Clubs}{2-Spades}{6-Diamonds} turn, Justin Bonomo in the big blind and Max Silver on the button checked with a pot of around 7,300 in the middle. Bonomo also checked the {J-Hearts} river and Silver bet 3,600, which Bonomo eventually called. Silver showed {10-Spades}{9-Spades} for a busted straight draw and Bonomo won the pot with {A-Hearts}{K-Diamonds}.

Just at that moment, Isaac Haxton sat down in the nine seat and said to Silver: "Max, I would like to request a feature on SnapChat. It should be easy to give a copy to someone ... when they bust." SnapChat is the app that Silver invented and that request caused chuckles from everyone at the table.

Silver dropped some chips while Haxton was immediately moved to another table just two hands later.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Max Silver gb
Max Silver
48,000
5,000
5,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Justin Bonomo us
Justin Bonomo
32,000
2,000
2,000
WSOP 3X Winner
Run It Once
Profile photo of Isaac Haxton us
Isaac Haxton
30,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Isaac HaxtonJustin BonomoMax Silver

Castelluccio Has the Right Read But Still Goes Bust

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante

The final board read {7-Spades}{a-Hearts}{8-Diamonds}{k-Hearts}{9-Diamonds}. Ivan Banic was in the small blind and fired in 8,600, only to see Sergio Castelluccio move all in from the button for 29,250. Banic thought for a little over a minute and then flicked in a chip to call.

"You have pocket kings right?" Castelluccio asked.

Banic indeed revealed {k-Spades}{k-Clubs} for a turned set. Castelluccio sighed and showed {a-}{10-}, taking his leave when he was assured Banic had him covered.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ivan Banic hr
Ivan Banic
69,000
27,000
27,000
Run It Once
Profile photo of Sergio Castelluccio it
Sergio Castelluccio
Busted

Tags: Sergio CastelluccioIvan Banic

It's Time for Peter Chan

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante
Peter Chan
Peter Chan

Over at table 9, "Peter" Ping San Chan is drawing attention to himself. Not in the last place due to his massive watch, that even here in the Principality of Monaco is making heads turn. Let's just say it would cover the buy-in of an earlier tournament this week with ease.

Chan's taste for the ultra-rich doesn't only show in his accessories, he's also a fixture on the Super High Roller circuit in the east. In 2013, Chan finished 3rd in the HK$ 1,000,000 tournament, cashing 4,123,000 Hong Kong dollars (appr. $531,139 USD). Last year, Chan banked another HK$ 2,339,900 ($301,712 USD) by finishing 6th in the HK$ 500,000 Triton Super High Roller.

Today, Chan is already up to 80,000 after winning a decent-sized hand followed up with a sweet bluff. In the first hand. Chan held {A-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds} and bet 2,600 on a {10-Diamonds}{7-Hearts}{3-Hearts} flop. Pavlos Karagiannidis check-raised to 5,500 and Chan called. Both players checked the {A-Spades} on the turn. On the river, Karagiannidis check-called 6,000 but couldn't beat Chan's two pair.

An orbit later, the board read {Q-Diamonds}{5-Hearts}{4-Hearts}{Q-Hearts} and Luigi Grisa bet 4,500. Chan raised to 12,000 and Grisa folded. The Hong Kong resident tabled {6-Clubs}{2-Clubs} with a smile for just six-high.

"You don't need a watch to know what time it is," laughed another player at the table as Chan raked in the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Peter Chan hk
Peter Chan
80,000
80,000
80,000

Tags: Peter Chan

Update Your Own Chip Count Using the PokerNews MyStack App!

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante
PokerNews My Stack
PokerNews My Stack

PokerNews has activated the MyStack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.

You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.

Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.

Big PokerStars Televised Cash Game Soon to Start

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante

Faraz Jaka, known also as the "Homeless Millionaire" is at the PokerStars Championship presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® to play a big televised cash game with celebrity Kevin Hart and other Team PokerStars Pros. He chats to Laura before play about getting prepared.

More for Varnell

Level 2 : 75/150, 0 ante

Roman Papacek raised to 450 and Nader Alfred on the button, Craig Varnell in the small blind and Ghanim Dashti in the big blind all called. The flop came {10-Spades}{9-Hearts}{3-Spades} and the action checked to Papacek, who bet 650. Alfred called before Varnell check-raised to 2,850. This forced a fold from Dashti, while Papacek called and Alfred also folded.

On the {4-Spades} turn, Varnell continued for 4,200 and received a call before making it 8,800 to go on the {7-Hearts} river. Papacek called and mucked his cards when Varnell showed {8-Spades}{7-Spades} for a flush as winning hand. At the same time, Stephen Woodhead sat down on the same table to fill the gap between Papacek, Alfred and Varnell.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Craig Varnell us
Craig Varnell
72,000
20,000
20,000
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Stephen Woodhead gb
Stephen Woodhead
30,000

Tags: Craig VarnellNader AlfredGhanim DashtiRoman Papacek