Elias Gutierrez Dominates Day 1a at EPT Monte Carlo Main Event
After 10 levels of intense play on Day 1a, 119 will return into Day 2 of the prestigious €5,300 EPT Main Event at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo, hosted at Sporting Monte-Carlo.
The initial flight attracted 393 entries, which beats the number of last year's EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Day 1a by exactly 30 entries. Today's field contributed €2,580,200 to the prize pool but that figure is already over €3 million as, of the time of writing, over 130 more players have already booked their seat at the table for Day 1b.
Leading the way is Spanish poker player and streamer Elias Gutierrez, who bagged in an impressive 336,000 chips, the equivalent of 11 starting stacks.
Rania Nasreddine claimed second place with 302,000. She took out three players at once which is a feat few poker players achieve. Nasreddine’s pair of sixes held strong against three opponents, including Barny Boatman, propelling her into the top two chip leaders of Day 1a. They are the only two with over 300,000 in chips.
Amaury Mamou-Mani rounds up the top three with 266,500.
EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elias Gutierrez | Spain | 336,000 | 224 |
| 2 | Rania Nasreddine | United States | 302,000 | 201 |
| 3 | Amaury Mamou-Mani | France | 266,500 | 177 |
| 4 | Vladyslav Martynenko | Ukraine | 265,500 | 177 |
| 5 | Alan Ferraro | Italy | 243,500 | 162 |
| 6 | Tudor Zapsa | Moldova | 240,000 | 160 |
| 7 | Alexandre Reard | France | 234,500 | 156 |
| 8 | Peter Jorgne | Sweden | 226,000 | 150 |
| 9 | Aaron Olechnowicz | Mexico | 208,000 | 138 |
| 10 | Vahe Martirosyan | Armenia | 192,000 | 128 |
Several notables turned out for the opening flight of the Main Event, and among those returning for Day 2 with a good stack are PokerStars Ambassador Rafael Moraes who bagged 188,500, Adrian Mateos (129,500), Davidi Kitai (82,000) and Peter Jorgne with 226,000. After requiring a second buy-in, things took a turn for the better for Jorgne and he ended up bagging a top ten stack. Jorgne finished second in the EPT Paris Main Event in 2023 and fifth this year. He is now trying his luck in Monte Carlo.
Five of the PokerStars Gold Power Pass winners also competed today, with two of them making it through to Day 2: Edgaras Kertenis with 185,000 and Andrei Mjagkov with 133,000.
Last year's EPT Main Event Monte Carlo third-place finisher, Leo Worthington-Leese, had a rollercoaster of a day on the felt. In the end, he not only lost a pot worth around 120,000 but was also eliminated in the last hour before the end of Day 1a by Gutierrez.
Maria Konnikova was also among those that failed to qualify for Day 2. She jumped ahead early but fell in Level 8. Other players who couldn't find a bag include Hossein Ensan, Jon Kyte, Ankit Ahuja, Ian Hamilton, Jason Wheeler, and PokerStars Ambassadors Boatman, Simon Wiciak, Sam Grafton, Ramon Colillas, Andre Akkari and Guillermo Sanz.
The countdown to Day 1b is on, slated to commence on Monday, April 29, at 12:00 p.m. local time, it will be the same structure as Day 1a. Everyone starts with a fresh 30,000 stack and blinds begin at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Registration is open until start of Day 2.
Stay tuned for more live coverage of the 2024 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event as the PokerNews live reporting team brings you all the action straight from the source.