Morten Hvam Leads the Final 16 Into Day 4 of the €5,300 Main Event at EPT Monte Carlo
Day 3 of the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event has come to an end and 16 players are moving on to Day 4 of the flagship event of the 2022 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®.
A total of 1,073 runners turned out for the Main Event and only two tables remain from the 85 players started Day 3. The returning 16 players will play for a top prize of €939,840 from a total prize pool of €5,204,050.
Morten Hvam is the chip leader going into the penultimate Day 4 and he is followed closely by PokerStars Ambassador Ramon Colillas and bracelet winner Hugo Pingray. Nariman Yahgmai and Francky Magliocco round out the top five chip counts after Day 3.
Also alive are two PokerStars online qualifiers, Erkan Soenmez and Jussi Nevanlinna, and among the rest of the pack are Jaime Cervantes, Dragos Trofimov, Ferenc Deak, as well as bracelet winners Niall Farrell and Justin Saliba.
2022 EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count | Day 4 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morten Hvam | Denmark | 3,895,000 | 156 |
| 2 | Ramon Colillas | Spain | 3,480,000 | 139 |
| 3 | Hugo Pingray | France | 3,360,000 | 134 |
| 4 | Nariman Yaghmai | Iran | 2,600,000 | 104 |
| 5 | Francky Magliocco | France | 2,550,000 | 102 |
| 6 | Ferenc Deak | Hungary | 2,190,000 | 87 |
| 7 | Erkan Soenmez | Germany | 2,075,000 | 83 |
| 8 | Marcelo Simoes | Brazil | 1,845,000 | 74 |
| 9 | Jussi Nevanlinna | Finland | 1,710,000 | 68 |
| 10 | Yannick Cardot | France | 1,525,000 | 61 |
Day 3 Highlights
Hvam was the chip leader at the end of Day 1b and he has returned to the top after falling back from the pack on Day 2 and starting Day 3 with 465,000. He got started early and eliminated Lucas Sfez during a run that saw him get to over 2,000,000 just before the second break. The top stack scored another big hand late to cross 3,000,000 when Fausto Tantillo jammed with eights but ran into Hvam’s pocket kings.
Elsewhere in the room, Colillas was running it up at the featured table throughout the afternoon. The PokerStars Ambassador started the day in the top ten and kept pace several big hands, including a clash with Julien Martini that brought back memories of their heads-up battle in the 2019 PokerStars Players Championship, where Colillas came out on top for a $5,100,000 prize.
Colillas moved above 1,000,000 after the hand with Martini and climbed again later with a big pot against Arthur Conan, only to take the chip lead for a short time in the late stages of the day after picking up a double knockout on the featured table. The Spaniard will return in search of his first EPT title.
Ana Marquez was the last woman standing in the tournament after an impressive run that saw her bow out in 26th place for €26,230. Other players coming up short on Day 3 include Jonas Lauck, Gaelle Baumann, and bracelet winners Ole Schemion and Simone Andrian.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €939,840 |
| 2 | €564,640 |
| 3 | €397,590 |
| 4 | €298,710 |
| 5 | €228,460 |
| 6 | €167,050 |
| 7 | €125,420 |
| 8 | €89,770 |
| 9 | €69,990 |
| 10-11 | €58,130 |
| 12-13 | €52,090 |
| 14-15 | €46,890 |
| 16 | €41,680 |
Day 4 on Friday
Action will pick up on Day 4 at Noon local time on Friday with 24:38 left in Level 23 with blinds at 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante. The plan is to play down to the final six players and return to crown a champion at Saturday’s finale. All of the action can be seen on PokerStars TV via YouTube and Twitch, with livestreaming featured on a 30-minute security delay.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team throughout the rest of the week for live updates from the floor of the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event at Monte Carlo Sporting Complex on the shores of the French Riviera.
and the nines held to eliminate Grieco from the tournament in 17th place for €41,680.
and Yaghmai check-folded to a bet of 75,000 by Colillas.
and 
to confirm Foggin's elimination in 18th place for a €36,480 payday.
and the queens held to eliminate Wheeler from the tournament in 19th place for €36,480.
flop gave Der Megreditchian more equity with the gutshot but he missed on the 
river to bow out in 20th place for €36,480.
and Romero's superior pocket pair held to eliminate Turmezey in 24th place for €26,230.
