Feature Coverage Day 5 | 2018 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo©Casino EPT

04-28-2018 19:04 UTC+2

Randy "nanonoko" Lew Eliminated at €1,100 EPT National Final Table

Yori Epskamp

In the final hand before the dinner break, a massive clash between Michal Mrakes, Randy Lew and Danilo Cangianiello in the €1,100 EPT National resulted in the Team PokerStars Pro Online biting the dust in 7th place (€33,740). After Mrakes had opened to 450,000, Lew moved all in for 3,230,000 to his direct left. Danilo Cangianiello called all in from the small blind for 1,445,000 and action was back on Mrakes.

The Czech tournament crusher thought long and hard before reluctantly putting a large stack of T-100,000 chips in to put both players at risk.

Danilo Cangianiello:
Michal Mrakes:
Randy Lew:

The flop was and Cangianiello clapped his hands in excitement. Neither the on the turn nor on the river changed anything and Cangianiello tripled up. Mrakes dragged the big side pot from Lew and has 4,300,000, while Lew said his goodbyes.

There are six players remaining as the field goes on a 75-minute dinner break. Runaway chipleader is Federico Petruzzelli, who's been on a tear since the start. Petruzzelli eliminated both Sorin Sufragiu in 9th (€18,910) and Giuseppe La Guardia (8th - €24,620) and already has over 50% of the chips in play in front of him.

Dinner Break Counts

Seat	Name	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Abdullatif Attia	France	5,725,000	29
2	Michal Mrakes	Czech Republic	4,300,000	22
4	Abraham Passet	Germany	3,175,000	16
6	Federico Petruzzelli	Italy	22,025,000	111
8	Danilo Cangianiello	Italy	4,650,000	23
9	Guillaume Diaz	France	5,125,000	25

Tags: Federico Petruzzelli Michal Mrakes Randy Lew

04-28-2018 17:58 UTC+2

Players and Staff Enjoy Carnival-Themed PokerStars Party

mnuwwarah

A big PokerStars Live event isn't complete without a PokerStars players party, and the one for PokerStars and Monte-Carlo©Casino EPT went down Friday night. It turned out to be quite the show, complete with a carnival theme, and seemed to be enjoyed by all who made the trip to the gala.

Things kicked off early in the evening and players and staff — those who didn't have to work deep into the night, anyway — headed out to find a typical setup with a dance floor and an open bar, which everyone began to enjoy. There was also a food spread featuring appetizers, pasta and lamb among the entrees, and a table with numerous dessert choices.

But that's all fairly standard for a PokerStars party. What made this one unique was the spread of carnival games and performers around to liven things up.

Those looking to flex their athletic muscles could compete with either arms or legs. For the former, there was a classic "throw an object at a pyramid of cans" setup where competitors could win little plush prizes if they knocked over all the cans. For the latter, a carnival-style soccer goal had been erected, with players tasked to kick the ball through holes in the goal worth different point values.

Other attractions included the classic claw game, grabbing prizes from a bin, and a shooting gallery.

Perhaps nothing, however, proved more popular than the mechanical bull.

And then, there were the performers. A man on stilts sauntered about, spinning glowing sticks. Others piloted actual robots, wandering them on to the dance floor where they did anything but fit into the crowd.

Drinks were downed. Food was consumed. Dances ranging from the graceful to the drunk and sloppy were on display. PokerStars Team Pros Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov went at each other in air hockey so hard their knuckles were in mortal danger.

By the time things wrapped up around midnight, everyone seemed to be in agreement that PokerStars had put together a strong party, and it was on to after hours for the adventurous or bed for the faint of heart.

04-28-2018 17:52 UTC+2

€1,100 EPT National: Final Table Photos

Yori Epskamp

Photos by René Velli / PokerStars.

04-28-2018 16:54 UTC+2

€2,200 EPT National High Roller Down to Two Tables; Margets and Kiletto Bust

Yori Epskamp

With the bustouts of Leo Margets in 18th and Lily Kiletto in 17th place, the €2,200 EPT National High Roller is now down to its final two tables. Seating and chip counts are as follows:

Table	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	1	Karim Abdelmoumene	France	470,000
1	2	Jeff Hakim	Lebanon	190,000
1	3	Christopher Chaudey	France	560,000
1	4	Mikhail Soltanov	Russia	300,000
1	5	Honglin Jiang	New Zealand	1,200,000
1	6	Smain Mamouni	France	950,000
1	7	Benjamin Saada	France	350,000
1	8	Alexandre Reard	France	670,000

2	1	Yin Liu	China	480,000
2	2	Dmitry Shchepkin	Russia	470,000
2	3	Massou Cohen	France	220,000
2	4	Dario Sammartino	Italy	1,700,000
2	5	Xiaojie Cheng	China	180,000
2	6	Isabel Baltazar	France	300,000
2	7	Matous Houzvicek	Czech Republic	350,000
2	8	Raffaele Carnevale	Italy	770,000

Payouts

Place	Prize (in €)
1	173,000
2	109,000
3	78,000
4	62,000
5	48,500
6	38,000
7	28,580
8	20,000
9	15,500
10-11	13,000
12-13	11,000
14-15	9,700
16	8,600

04-28-2018 16:23 UTC+2

Two-Time EPT Champion Coren-Mitchell in the Main Event Field

Will Shillibier

We've seen Mark Teltscher, Steve O'Dwyer and John Juanda. All are former EPT champions in their own right, and they've been joined in the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo©Casino EPT field by another former champion, and this one is a special one.

Victoria Coren-Mitchell took down EPT 3 London for £500,000, and then followed it up with a history-making second title at EPT 10 San Remo for a further €476,100. She spoke to us briefly and explained how she was enjoying a break with her husband and child.

"We took the train to Paris and then drove down from there," she explained, "It's a fun holiday now, but it's expensive! By the time you are here you have to come third to make your money back."

Coren-Mitchell could have been excused for thinking that, after the introduction of the PokerStars Championship tournaments, that her feat of winning two EPT titles was secure in the annals of history. However, with EPT Sochi a month ago, the tournament is back on the European poker calendar.

Now that it's back, how would she feel if a former champion joined her in the two-time club?

"I would be very happy for them," she said jovially, "I think it would show that there are still people and players around in poker today who have been playing poker for long enough that it's possible."

Last year Coren-Mitchell cashed in the PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo Main Event, and she's back for another EPT stop this year. Will we be seeing more of her at tournaments in the future?

"Maybe. I was going to go to Barcelona but then I went on a proper holiday instead. I'd definitely play a bit more if they had a big tournament in London. I'm thinking of organizing a big tournament in London. It's a case of if you want something done, then you have to do it yourself!"

Kenny Hallaert and Victoria Coren-Mitchell

We'll be keeping an eye on Coren-Mitchell throughout the rest of the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo©Casino EPT Main Event.

Tags: Victoria Coren-Mitchell

04-28-2018 15:52 UTC+2

Gaelle Baumann Bubbles the €1,100 EPT National Final Table

Yori Epskamp

The final table in the €1,100 EPT National is set after Gaelle Baumann was the one to bubble the final table. With ten players left, Michal Mrakes opened with from the cutoff, Baumann three-bet shoved 1,300,000 (16 big blinds) on the button with and Mrakes called. The best hand held up to send the French pro to the rail in 10th place (€15,830).

The final table is set with the following players and chip counts. Players will return in the level 40,000/80,000.

€1,100 EPT National Final Table

Seat	Name	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Abdullatif Attia	France	1,150,000	14
2	Michal Mrakes	Czech Republic	8,805,000	110
3	Randy Lew	United States	4,715,000	59
4	Abraham Passet	Germany	3,540,000	44
5	Giuseppe La Guardia	Italy	3,505,000	44
6	Federico Petruzzelli	Italy	9,395,000	117
7	Sorin Sufragiu	Romania	3,575,000	45
8	Danilo Cangianiello	Italy	2,750,000	34
9	Guillaume Diaz	France	7,555,000	94

Payouts

Place	Price (in €)
1	250,000 + $30,000 Platinum Pass
2	143,000
3	100,000
4	74,120
5	57,840
6	44,000
7	33,740
8	24,620
9	18,910

Tags: Gaelle Baumann Michal Mrakes Randy Lew

04-28-2018 15:46 UTC+2

Photos: €100K Super High Roller

mnuwwarah

Photos by Rene Velli.

Ole Schemion (L) and Christoph Vogelsang

04-28-2018 15:32 UTC+2

€2,200 EPT National High Roller Down to Three Tables

Yori Epskamp

It didn't take long for the players in the €2,200 EPT National High Roller to reach the final three tables. Dario Sammartino is the man in charge with 1,400,000 in chips, while players like Alexandre Reard (600,000), Lily Kiletto (400,000), Leo Margets (350,000) and Jeff Hakim (250,000) are still in contention as well.

They'll play down until a winner is crowned later tonight, with €173,000 up for grabs for first.

Tags: Alexandre Reard Dario Sammartino Jeff Hakim Leo Margets Lily Kiletto

04-28-2018 14:47 UTC+2

13 Left at First Break €1,100 EPT National; Petruzzelli Leads, Vrakas Eliminated

Yori Epskamp

At the first break, the field in the €1,100 EPT National is down to its final 13 players. Two-time National winner Georgios Vrakas was the last to go just shortly before the break.

From under the gun, Vrakas moved in with his last 12 big blinds holding . Guillaume Diaz called in middle position with and Vrakas was unable to connect to the board. The Greek received €9,700 for his 14th place finish.

The stacks of the 13 remaining players are as follows. Federico Petruzzelli holds the chip lead with 9,000,000, followed by Diaz (7,200,000) and Michal Mrakes 5,000,000. Team PokerStars Pro Online Randy "nanonoko" Lew sits in fourth place with 4,100,000.

Table	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	1	Abraham Passet	Germany	2,000,000
1	2	Guillaume Diaz	France	7,200,000
1	3	Dragos Trofimov	Moldova	3,700,000
1	4	Laszlo Barthi	France	1,300,000
1	5	Michal Mrakes	Czech Republic	5,000,000
1	6	Gaelle Baumann	France	1,900,000

2	1	Danilo Cangianiello	Italy	4,000,000
2	2	Federico Petruzzelli	Italy	9,000,000
2	3	Samy Boutaleb	France	550,000
2	4	Giuseppe La Guardia	Italy	3,200,000
2	5	Randy Lew	United States	4,100,000
2	6	Sorin Sufragiu	Romania	2,500,000
2	7	Abdullatif Attia	France	1,000,000

Tags: Dragos Trofimov Federico Petruzzelli Georgios Vrakas Randy Lew Sanchez Diaz

04-28-2018 14:39 UTC+2

Tennis Star and TV Host Mariano Zabaleta Opens Up About His Passion For Poker

Yori Epskamp

A warm smile accompanies former tennis star, TV host and poker enthusiast Mariano Zabaleta as he takes a moment to talk about his presence at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo©Casino EPT, his love for the game of poker and the parallels between tennis and poker. Zabaleta had been in the principality of Monaco for the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters ATP tour before this event and will be present at the EPT until April 29.

A Spanish translator is present to make sure nothing gets lost in translation, but the first thing out of the tennis star's mouth needs no translation:

"I love poker," he says with a big grin.

"I've played poker for many years," he continued. "I've played many LAPT events in the past and was invited by PokerStars to come over here. Obviously, I'm very excited to play at this fantastic event."

According to The Hendon Mob, Zabaleta cashed two LAPT events in Lima, Peru, back in 2012: a fifth place in a $500 turbo event ($2,100) and 28th place a day later in the $1,100 Grand Final ($1,875). It shows Zabaleta's passion for poker goes back a while. Did he discover poker while playing the APT tour?

"I love tennis just like I love poker," he said. "You have to be prepared. Playing poker gives me the same adrenaline as playing tennis. That's why many other tennis players have been interested in playing poker as well."

Zabaleta's tennis career has been a major success, with three singles titles, five runner-up finishes and $3,204,127 in career prize money. His highest ranking was 21st, back in 2000. Zabaleta's deepest run at a Grand Slam event was at the 2001 US Open, where he made the quarterfinal as an unseeded player.

When asked about his best poker results, Zabaleta erupts in laughter.

"I play like shit."

Playing "like shit" or not, Zabaleta's competitive drive is present in poker as well.

"I've always wanted to get to a final table," he said. "I've been able to get from a Day 1 to a Day 2, and even a Day 3, but I'm not really making any money. As an average Joe, just like other people can't imagine playing tennis for four, five hours straight, I can't believe poker players can do that. After eight, nine hours, my mind is so exhausted. It's really tough to win a tournament."

After hanging up his rackets, Zabaleta became a TV host for ESPN and presents the very popular Argentinian show "Con Amigos Así" (translated as: "with friends like this [who needs enemies]"). Famous athletes often appear on the show and they do what Zabaleta called "fun stuff."

To get an idea of "Con Amigos Así," check out the video below of the latest episode.

Back in his heyday as a tennis pro, Zabaleta was known for his unusual but effective service. Has the Argentinean brought the proverbial ace up his sleeve to the poker table as well?

"I don't play enough to know," Zabaleta admitted. "I play whatever seems right at the time. If it feels good, I go for it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't," he concluded with a laugh.

Zabaleta has played the €2,200 National High Roller, but wasn't able to cash, and will play the Right to Play Charity Tournament on April 28 at 6 p.m.

He may never reach $3 million like he did on the tennis court, but Zabaleta will continue to enjoy the game, especially as a celebrity guest of PokerStars.