Day 2 of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo €100,000 EPT Super High Roller has concluded here at Sporting Monte-Carlo, with nine players returning for Day 3 to battle it out for the title.
The event attracted a total of 72 entries, comprising some of the biggest names in poker, and generating a prize pool of €6,985,440 with 11 places being paid and a minimum cash good for €174,600.
Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius leads the way, looking to add to his EPT Baden Main Event win in 2005, and is closely followed by Spanish crusher Juan Pardo and British phenom Ben Heath.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Counts | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | 3,940,000 | 65 |
| 2 | Juan Pardo | Spain | 3,400,000 | 56 |
| 3 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | 2,480,000 | 41 |
| 4 | Christoph Vogelsang | Germany | 2.390,000 | 39 |
| 5 | Byron Kaverman | United States | 2,085,000 | 34 |
| 6 | David Yan | New Zealand | 1,425,000 | 23 |
| 7 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 1,095,000 | 18 |
| 8 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | 775,000 | 12 |
| 9 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | 425,000 | 7 |
Day 2 Action
29 players navigated their way through Day 1, with Jacob Amsellem leading the way, and they were joined by 15 Day 2 entrants, including Antonius, Maher Nouira, Conor Beresford and Roman Hrabec, to bring the field at the start of Day 2 to 44 players.
Nouira’s second bullet was unfortunately a short one, as he was the first player to bust Day 2.
Amsellem’s tilt at the title would start to go south after running into the set of David Yan and he would not make the money.
Defending champion Alex Kulev was among the chip leaders at the start of Day 2 and he made a strong start, leading the way after the first break and eliminating Steve O’Dwyer after winning a race. He remains in the running for back-to-back titles but comes into the final table as the short stack.
The knockouts came relatively fast at the beginning of the day, but slowed down considerably once around 20 players were remaining, with players such as Dan Smith, Lewis Spencer and Joao Vieira departing before the final two tables.
Mikita Badziakouski lost a flip against Nick Petrangelo to bust shortly before the money, and Aleksejs Ponakovs and Orpen Kisacikoglu also departed at this stage.
Mike Watson was the unfortunate player to bust on the bubble, after missing his flush draw versus Jean-Noel Thorel’s top pair.
Pardo then eliminated Justin Bonomo in a battle of the blinds, while Byron Kaverman would send Petrangelo to the rail in tenth after his pocket eights held in a flip.
All players at the final table are guaranteed a minimum payout of €218,300, and the champion will be taking home the princely sum of €1,967,440.
Final Table payouts
| Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | €1,967,440 |
| 2 | €1,269,300 |
| 3 | €906,700 |
| 4 | €697,500 |
| 5 | €536,500 |
| 6 | €426,500 |
| 7 | €341,200 |
| 8 | €272,800 |
| 9 | €218,300 |
Day 3 will begin at 12.30 p.m. local time on Monday, April 29th and will be streamed on a 30-minute delay by PokerStars beginning at 1 p.m. PokerNews coverage will also be on a 30-minute delay in order to correspond with the stream.
Action resumes with 60-minute levels at Level 19 with blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage of what is guaranteed to be a thrilling conclusion to the event.