2022 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

€100,000 Super High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info

2022 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k3
Prize
€1,385,430
Event Info
Buy-in
€100,000
Prize Pool
€4,074,840
Entries
42
Level Info
Level
20
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
80,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
42
Players Left
1

€100,000 Super High Roller

Day 3 Completed

Adrian Mateos Wins €100,000 EPT Super High Roller for €1,385,430

Level 20 : 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Adrian Mateos
Adrian Mateos

It was a performance that only one of the best players could pull off and Adrian Mateos will be walking out with another title at the 2022 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino. Besting a field of 42 entries, Mateos showed off his poker prowess over the past couple of days in the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller, defeating some of the best players in the world.

Mateos entered the final table of six players as the odds-on favorite with a healthy chip lead and he did not disappoint as he dominated his way to yet another victory. Mateos held a commanding lead going into three-way action and never looked back, finishing the tournament in around four hours.

Another seven-figure payout of €1,385,430 will pad Mateos' career resume which continues to establish the argument that the Spaniard may be one of the best players in the world. Mateos defeated Marius Gierse in heads-up action who faced a huge uphill battle staring across the table at the overwhelming chip leader. It only took five hands for Mateos to close the curtains on his counterpart despite a double up in the early going.

Final Table Payouts

PlacePlayerCountryPrize (EUR)
1stAdrian MateosSpain€1,385,430
2ndMarius GierseAustria€957,590
3rdMikita BadziakouskiBelarus€611,230
4thMikalai VaskaboinikauBelarus€468,610
5thLaszlo BujtasHungary€366,740
6thKent StaahleNorway€285,240

Winner's Reaction

"It feels amazing to win the Super High Roller seven years after winning the Main Event," he told PokerNews. "[The] Adrian from seven years ago was a different person. Today I think I'm more mature and a different player too.

"I'm still the same guy trying to compete and play the best. The pandemic helped me a lot to improve my game. I put a lot of work in studying online and playing a lot, so after the pandemic is more or less finished, I'm at my highest level and I'm ready to keep winning."

Mateos says that he is looking to pick up more seven-figure cashes after bagging two in the space of six months.

"I'm a really competitive person, I really like the competition. Especially in the highest stakes with the best opponents. I'm ready to keep playing and to try and keep winning."

Final Table Action

The action got underway with the final six players all locking up at least a min-cash of over €285,000. Mateos extended his chip lead in the early going but the first blow came at the hands of Gierse who found a favorable flop against Norwegian businessman Kent Staahle. Gierse picked up pocket aces against the pocket nines of Staahle and an eight-high flop spelled disaster for Staahle who stuck his entire stack in the middle. Short-stacked Laszlo Bujtas didn't mind seeing the action unfold, earning himself a pay jump. However, on the very next hand, Bujtas moved his eight big blind stack into the middle and was eliminated by Mikalai Vaskaboinikau.

That quickly brought the field down to just four players and it was Mikita Badziakouski who started to turn up the heat. For nearly two hours, the final four players battled it out with Badziakouski moving into second place and closing the gap on Mateos. Vaskaboinikau was forced to patiently watch from the sidelines, consistently ditching his rags into the muck. With under ten big blinds remaining, Vaskaboinikau finally picked up a hand to go with but it would be Mateos who flopped top pair and the Vaskaboinikau had to settle for fourth place.

Mateos continued to build on his lead and his two remaining opponents had ill-timed moves that resulted in that lead growing even more. Badziakouski was the first to run an unsuccessful bluff with ace-high into Mateos' second pair and Gierse followed that up with one of his own, betting three streets with nine-high and Mateos calling with two pair. Holding an eight-to-one chip lead over his two opponents, Mateos repeatedly applied ICM pressure that worked in his favor.

Badziakouski was the first to take a shot, putting his stack of five big blinds at risk with a suite-ace. However, Mateos woke up with a dominating hand once again and Badziakouski bowed out in third place. Gierse was ecstatic about the pay jump but knew he had a tough job in front of him, overcoming the insurmountable chip deficit. Despite doubling up in the very first hand of heads-up action, Gierse was unable to stage the comeback as the match ended just a few hands later.

With plenty of other tournaments taking place throughout the Monte Carlo Sporting complex, all six of the finalists quickly found another table to sit down at, whether it be the €5,300 Main Event or the €50,000 Single-Day High Roller. That wraps up the PokerNews coverage for this event but keep it locked here for updates throughout the festival over the next week.

Adrian Mateos
Adrian Mateos

Tags: Adrian MateosKent StaahleLaszlo BujtasMarius GierseMikalai VaskaboinikauMikita Badziakouski

Marius Gierse Eliminated in 2nd Place (€957,590)

Level 20 : 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Marius Gierse
Marius Gierse

Marius Gierse ripped all in for 690,000 on the button and Adrian Mateos found a hand to call with from the big blind.

Marius Gierse: {j-Clubs}{4-Spades}
Adrian Mateos: {k-Spades}{3-Clubs}

Mateos was in much better position to finish things this time around. The flop of {a-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}{6-Clubs} missed both players, leaving Mateos in the lead with king-high. The {9-Hearts} on the turn changed nothing and the {9-Diamonds} on the river eliminated Gierse in second place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
10,500,000
930,000
930,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Marius Gierse at
Marius Gierse
Busted
Day 1 Chip Leader

Tags: Adrian MateosMarius Gierse

Gierse Doubles In the First Hand of Heads-Up

Level 20 : 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

In the first hand of heads-up action, Marius Gierse shoved all in for 385,000 on the button. Adrian Mateos quickly called from the big blind and the cards were tabled.

Marius Gierse: {k-Diamonds}{6-Hearts}
Adrian Mateos: {a-Clubs}{6-Diamonds}

Gierse was in a dominating position and the flop of {10-Clubs}{5-Clubs}{4-Spades} left it that way. The {5-Hearts} on the turn and the {2-Spades} on the river earned Gierse the double-up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
9,570,000
-545,000
-545,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Marius Gierse at
Marius Gierse
770,000
385,000
385,000
Day 1 Chip Leader

Tags: Adrian MateosMarius Gierse

Mikita Badziakouski Eliminated in 3rd Place (€611,230)

Level 20 : 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Mikita Badziakouski
Mikita Badziakouski

Mikita Badziakouski was down to just 430,000 on the button and Adrian Mateos called from the big blind to Badziakouski at risk.

Mikita Badziakouski: {a-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds}
Adrian Mateos: {a-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}

Mateos, once again, picked up a dominating hand and the flop of {k-Spades}{k-Hearts}{10-Clubs} put the Spaniard way out front. The {7-Clubs} on the turn left Badziakouski drawing to a chop only but the {7-Hearts} on the river would send him home in second place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
10,115,000
1,385,000
1,385,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Marius Gierse at
Marius Gierse
385,000
-200,000
-200,000
Day 1 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Mikita Badziakouski by
Mikita Badziakouski
Busted

Tags: Adrian MateosMikita Badziakouski

Level: 20

Blinds: 40,000/80,000

Ante: 80,000

Another Bluff, Another Pot for Mateos

Level 19 : 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Marius Gierse limped in from the small blind with {9-Clubs}{8-Hearts} and Adrian Mateos checked the big blind with {a-Clubs}{2-Diamonds}. The flop came {a-Hearts}{j-Clubs}{10-Spades} and Gierse led out with a bet of 90,000 after flopping a straight draw. Mateos called with top pair and the {3-Clubs} rolled off on the turn.

Gierse sized up another bet of 280,000 and Mateos stuck around to see the {2-Spades} on the river. Gierse fired one more bullet of 750,000 and Mateos was able to make a quick call with two pair to increase his lead even further.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
8,730,000
1,180,000
1,180,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Marius Gierse at
Marius Gierse
585,000
-1,330,000
-1,330,000
Day 1 Chip Leader

Tags: Marius GierseAdrian Mateos

Mateos Picks Off a Bluff from Badziakouski

Level 19 : 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Mikita Badziakouski raised to 150,000 on the button with {a-Clubs}{6-Hearts} and Adrian Mateos defended from the big blind with {j-Spades}{8-Hearts}. The flop came {j-Clubs}{10-Hearts}{7-Clubs} and Mateos checked to Badziakouski who continued with a bet of 90,000. Mateos called with his top pair and the {q-Spades} landed on the turn.

Mateos checked again and Badziakouski fired another bullet of 250,000 this time. Mateos still called and the {4-Diamonds} completed the board. Mateos checked for the third time and Badziakouski counted out a third barrel of 700,000. Mateos went into the tank and used a couple of time banks before eventually picking off the bluff.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
7,550,000
2,440,000
2,440,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Mikita Badziakouski by
Mikita Badziakouski
1,340,000
-1,520,000
-1,520,000

Tags: Mikita BadziakouskiAdrian Mateos

Mateos Battles with Badziakouski

Level 19 : 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Mikita Badziakouski limped in on the button with {a-Hearts}{j-Diamonds} and Adrian Mateos checked his option in the big blind with {q-Spades}{9-Spades}. The flop came {q-Diamonds}{7-Diamonds}{3-Spades} and Mateos checked to Badziakouski who bet 60,000. Mateos check-raised to 225,000 with top pair and Badziakouski called.

The turn brought the {5-Clubs} and Mateos checked a second time. Badziakouski checked it back and the {6-Clubs} landed on the river. Mateos put together a bet of 165,000 with the best hand and Badziakouski managed to get away from his ace-high.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
5,110,000
-300,000
-300,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Mikita Badziakouski by
Mikita Badziakouski
2,860,000
-315,000
-315,000

Tags: Mikita BadziakouskiAdrian Mateos

Level: 19

Blinds: 30,000/60,000

Ante: 60,000