Ossi Ketola is a Finnish high-stakes poker player, entrepreneur, and eSports pro.
In this player profile, you'll find out all about how he made his money, who's he's played — and beaten — at the very highest stakes, and what exactly his net worth is.
Ossi Ketola Background
Known as "Monarch", Ketola started out playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) professionally. He then started his own company, CSGOEmpire, a CSGO gambling site. More recently, he has been seen playing in a series of high stakes poker matches aganist the world's best
Ossi Ketola Poker History
As a poker player, Ketola has over $4.7 million in live tournament cashes, according to The Hendon Mob. That includes a $2,970,000 score for second place in $159,000 Triton Poker Monte Carlo Super High Roller in November 2024.
Ketola, however, rarely plays live tournaments and instead is known more as a high-stakes heads-up poker crusher who takes on all comers for the largest stakes in the world.
Ossi Ketola Onyx SHRS Cyprus Cash Games
In August 2025, at the first-ever Onyx Super High Roller Series Cyprus, he faced Danish pro Kayhan Mokri for $2 million a piece in a heads-up match that was livestreamed on Onyx Live's YouTube channel.
"Monarch" lost the match, but he would come back the following day to face poker legend Dan "Jungleman" Cates in a series of heads-up matches, ranging from $1 million to $6 million buy-ins.
Once again, Monarch was foiled by the more experienced opponent, with Jungleman winning $15 million from the entrepreneur, in what became the biggest televised poker game in history.
| Match | Buy-In | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Match 1 | €1,000,000 | Jungleman |
| Match 2 | €1,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 3 | €3,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 4 | €5,000,000 | Jungleman |
| Match 5 | €5,000,000 | Jungleman |
| Match 6 | €6,000,000 | Jungleman |
Ossi Ketola Triton Jeju Cash Games
One month later, Ketola was playing at the Triton Super High Roller Series in Jeju. He played three events, cashing in one, but was much busier away from the tournament tables playing yet more high stakes cash games.
This time he took on five different players across a week of play, culminating in a $16 million dollar heads-up matach against Bjorn Li, that featured a record $12,700,000 pot — the largest ever for a televised poker hand. Monarch would go on to win that match, stemming his losses for the trip to just $2 million.
| Match | Date | Opponent | Buy-In | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1 | Sept 13 | Wiktor Malinowski | $2,000,000 | Malinowski |
| Match 2 | Sept 13 | Wiktor Malinowski | $4,000,000 | Malinowski |
| Match 3 | Sept 14 | Alex Foxen | $2,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 4 | Sept 14 | Alex Foxen | $5,000,000 | Foxen |
| Match 5 | Sept 15 | Alex Foxen | $6,000,000 | Foxen |
| Match 6 | Sept 15 | Alex Foxen | $6,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 7 | Sept 15 | Alex Foxen | $6,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 8 | Sept 16 | Elias Talvitie | $3,000,000 | Talvitie |
| Match 9 | Sept 16 | Elias Talvitie | $3,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 10 | Sept 17 | Kayhan Mokri | $2,000,000 | Mokri |
| Match 11 | Sept 17 | Kayhan Mokri | $2,000,000 | Mokri |
| Match 12 | Sept 17 | Kayhan Mokri | $4,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 13 | Sept 18 | Kayhan Mokri | $5,000,000 | Mokri |
| Match 14 | Sept 19 | Bjorn Li | $2,000,000 | Li |
| Match 15 | Sept 19 | Bjorn Li | $2,000,000 | Monarch |
| Match 16 | Sept 19 | Bjorn Li | $2,000,000 | Li |
| Match 17 | Sept 19 | Bjorn Li | $2,000,000 | Li |
| Match 16 | Sept 19 | Bjorn Li | $8,000,000 | Monarch |
Is Ossi Ketola Good at Poker?
In order to play against some of the best poker players in the world, you don't just need to be brave, you need to know what you're doing. It's clear that Ossi Ketola has very good poker abilities, and the fact that he's taken on some of the best in the world and won shows you just how good he is.
However, most of these battles have taken place at the cash game tables. Some people would say that Ketola would need to prove himself at the tournaments in order to show just how good he is.
What is Ossi Ketola's Net Worth?
While it's unclear what Ossi Ketola's net worth is exactly, in order to play these seven-figure buy-in poker matches with such regularity, it would be estimated to be in the hundreds of millions — perhaps even more!
