€10,200 Mystery Bounty
Day 2 Completed
2022 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo
€10,200 Mystery Bounty
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2022 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo
Buy-in
€10,200
Prize Pool
€390,100
Entries
83
Level
25
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
83
Players Left
1
Jean-Noel Thorel Claims Third Career Victory in the €10,200 Mystery Bounty Event (€107,290 in Cash + €77,500 in Mystery Bounties)
Level 25
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
The first major title of the 2022 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® at the Monte-Carlo Sporting complex on the French Riviera has been awarded. Out of a field of 83 entries in Event #4: €10,200 Mystery Bounty, French entrepreneur Jean-Noel Thorel prevailed in heads-up against Spanish poker pro Sergi Reixach to win his third ever victory on the live poker circuit.
Thorel and Reixach were responsible for the lion's share of the eliminations in the money and shared the biggest portion of the €390,100 in cash and €415,000 in Mystery Bounty prizes. Reixach as well as fourth-place finisher Imad Derwiche drew the golden envelope with the highest bounty of €100,000 while Thorel and Sam Greenwood scored an instant payday of €50,000.
Only the top 11 spots earned prizes for their efforts. Among the players in the money were Belarmino De Souza, EPT regular and recent 2022 Irish Open champion Steve O'Dwyer, Rodrigo Selouan, and Timothy Adams. French poker pro Johan "YoH ViraL" Guilbert was eliminated on the bubble to let the bounty bonanza commence shortly thereafter.
Final Result €10,200 Mystery Bounty Event
| Place | Winner | Country | Cash Prize (EUR) | Bounty Prize (EUR) | Total Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | €107,290 | €77,500 | €184,790 |
| 2 | Sergi Reixach | Spain | €76,260 | €177,500 | €253,760 |
| 3 | Belarmino De Souza | Brazil | €49,930 | €49,930 | |
| 4 | Imad Derwiche | France | €38,420 | €100,000 | €138,420 |
| 5 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | €30,430 | €10,000 | €40,430 |
| 6 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | €23,800 | €50,000 | €73,800 |
| 7 | Rodrigo Selouan | Brazil | €18,720 | €18,720 | |
| 8 | Lukasz Szymon Grossmann | Poland | €14,630 | €14,630 | |
| 9 | Timothy Adams | Canada | €11,120 | €11,120 | |
| 10 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | €9,750 | €9,750 | |
| 11 | Hiroshi Nishiyama | Japan | €9,750 | €9,750 |
The final day of the tournament got back underway with 50 players out of 71 entries remaining and another dozen entries were added in the first hour of play thanks to the extended late registration. Only one of the last minute additions eventually made it into the money as Japan's Hiroshi Nishiyama was the first player to take home a cash prize.
All other hopefuls fell by the wayside as the field raced towards the money bubble. Among the casualties were also the Day 1 big stacks Ben Heath, Luciano De Hollanda, Kayhan Mokri, Alex Kulev and Guram Andronikashvili. They all bowed out much earlier than they were hoping for with Heath falling on the final three tables during a frantic period of the tournament.
Heath first doubled his short stack through Dimitar Danchev only to then come up second-best to Iman Derwiche. For Danchev, there was no happy end either as he was knocked out soon after. On the final three tables, Sam Greenwood surged into the lead with back-to-back eliminations when he turned a straight flush to knock out Motoyoshi Okamura and then flopped the nut flush to felt Pavel Veksler.
However, the Canadian then went on a slippery slope and became the short stack close to the money bubble only to bounce back. The two German High Roller regulars Claas Segebrecht and Dietrich Fast were eliminated just shy of the cash bubble and Johan Guilbert became the bubble boy after a clash with Sergi Reixach.
Once in the money, it didn't take long to award the first two Mystery Bounties with values of €10,000 and €50,000. The loudest celebration then came from Derwiche when he drew one of the two golden €100,000 Bounty envelopes by knocking out Timothy Adams, who he had previously joked to be gunning for.
From there on, Reixach went on a rampage and scored the next three eliminations including Lukasz Szymon Grossmann (€10,000), Rodrigo Selouan (€25,000) and Greenwood (€35,000). Jean-Noel Thorel then sent Steve O'Dwyer to the rail and immediately drew a €50,000 Mystery Bounty prize on his first attempt. Reixach and Thorel split the next €15,000 bounty when their ace-kings held against the ten-eight suited of Derwiche.
Reixach suffered several setbacks and his commanding lead was cut short thanks to the emergence of Thorel and Belarmino De Souza. It was then Brazilian De Souza who had his aces cracked by the five-four suited of Reixach, who drew the second €100,000 envelope and entered heads-up with a small lead.
During one of the first hands of the duel between Reixach and Thorel, both got their chips in preflop with ace-queen and Thorel hit running hearts for a flush. Despite the large lead thereafter, a tense and fierce fight of more than an hour unfolded in which Thorel eventually emerged victoriously to win his third ever title on the live poker circuit. Reixach may have walked away as the runner-up but claimed more money thanks to the Mystery Bounty format.
The first High Roller contest of the first EPT stop in Monte-Carlo for three years certainly convinced with a large field and promises more enticing high stakes action in the days to come. Stay tuned for more as the PokerNews team will provide live coverage of all marquee events on the French Riviera.
The Mystery Bounties at a Glance
Level 25
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
With a cash prize pool of €390,100 and €415,000 allocated in eleven Mystery Bounties, more than half of the prize money was up for grabs by chance and selecting the fortunate envelopes.
Runner-up Sergi Reixach was responsible for five eliminations and earned as many bounties, one of which he chopped with the eventual champion Jean-Noel Thorel.
Below are all the Mystery Bounty Prizes in order of how they were collected and their totals.
| Order Claimed | Value | Bounty Claimed By |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | €10,000 | Steve O'Dwyer |
| 2 | €50,000 | Sam Greenwood |
| 3 | €100,000 | Imad Derwiche |
| 4 | €10,000 | Sergi Reixach |
| 5 | €25,000 | Sergi Reixach |
| 6 | €35,000 | Sergi Reixach |
| 7 | €50,000 | Jean-Noel Thorel |
| 8 | €15,000 | Sergi Reixach & Jean-Noel Thorel |
| 9 | €100,000 | Sergi Reixach |
| 10 | €10,000 | Jean-Noel Thorel |
| 11 | €10,000 | Jean-Noel Thorel |
| Total | €177,500 | Sergi Reixach |
| Mystery | €100,000 | Imad Derwiche |
| Bounties | €77,500 | Jean-Noel Thorel |
| Earned By | €50,000 | Sam Greenwood |
| Players | €10,000 | Steve O'Dwyer |
Sergi Reixach Eliminated in 2nd Place (€76,260 in Cash + €177,500 in Mystery Bounties)
Level 25
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Jean-Noel Thorel raised it up from the button and Sergi Reixach defended the big blind to see a flop of 
. Reixach opted to check and Thorel then splashed in a bet worth 480,000. The shove by Reixach for around 1.2 million followed and Thorel called without asking for an exact count.
Sergi Reixach: 
Jean-Noel Thorel: 
The two live cards and flush draw of the Spaniard missed on the 
turn, as did on the 
river, to crown Thorel as the champion. Reixach earned a cash prize of €76,260 and €177,500 in Mystery Bounties along the way.
For Thorel, it was the third ever victory on the live poker circuit and it came with a cash prize of €107,290 and €77,500 in Mystery Bounties.
A full recap of today's action is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
8,300,000 | 1,825,000 |
|
Busted |
Reixach Adds a Small Bunch of Chips
Level 25
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Sergi Reixach moved all-in two times in quick succession and flashed the 
once before collecting the chips.
The next limped pot led to the 
flop on which Jean-Noel Thorel bet and Reixach folded.
Another limped pot brought the 
flop on which Thorel check-called for 120,000 and they headed to the 
turn. Thorel checked once more and Reixach bet 175,000 to claim the pot right there.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,475,000 | -720,000 |
|
|
1,825,000 | 720,000 |
Reixach Wins Some, Loses Some
Level 25
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Jean-Noel Thorel raised to 560,000 from the button and Sergi Reixach responded with a three-bet shove for 1,030,000. Thorel considered it for a bit but opted to fold.
On the next hand, Reixach limped in on the button and Thorel opted to check. They both checked through the 
flop to the 
on the turn. Thorel bet 125,000 for Reixach to call. The river completed the board with the 
and they both checked again. Thorel showed the 
for the pair of tens and the pot as Reixach mucked his hand.
Another hand later, Thorel limped in on the button and Reixach checked. The flop came 
, Reixach check-called the 125,000 bet of Thorel but check-folded on the 
turn when Thorel continued with a bet of 175,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,195,000 | -255,000 |
|
|
1,105,000 | 255,000 |
Thorel Pulls Further Ahead
Level 25
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
In a limped pot, Jean-Noel Thorel and Sergi Reixach checked all the way to the 
river on which Thorel announced "nothing" but revealed the for a straight to win the pot.
The next limped pot saw a flop of 
on which Reixach check-called a bet worth 120,000. Another two check-calls for 200,000 each followed on the turn and river. Thorel tabled the 
for kings and fours, which beat the 
of Reixach.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,450,000 | 885,000 |
|
|
850,000 | -880,000 |
Level: 25
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 120,000
Break for the Final Two Players
Level 24
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
The last few hands before the end of the level brought no major excitement. Sergi Reixach got a few open-shoves through, one of which saw Jean-Noel Thorel fold the 
in the big blind.
Ultimately, Reixach also limp-folded to raises or all-ins by Thorel and remains the vast underdog in this heads-up duel as a 15-minute break kicked off.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,565,000 | -805,000 |
|
|
1,730,000 | 800,000 |
Mix Up Causes Confusion, Thorel Leaves Reixach Short
Level 24
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Jean-Noel Thorel raised to 275,000 from the button and Sergi Reixach defended.
They both checked through the 
to the 
on the turn. Reixach check-raised the 100,000 bet of Thorel to 600,000 and was called.
The 
completed the board and Thorel bet 600,000 out of turn. The floor was called and Reixach had the option. Reixach seemed uncomfortable with the situation and felt bad. He bet 600,000 for Thorel to make the call. Reixach and the floor explained to Thorel that he had the option still but Thorel insisted on calling.
Reixach showed the 
for the straight but then Thorel flipped over the 
for the nut flush.
Reixach put his hands in his hair: "Oh no, you're supposed to raise..."
The floor explained to Thorel that he was supposed to raise when he was last to act and had the nuts as per the rules. Thorel nodded and the floor was ready to give him a penalty but Reixach objected and said he'd wouldn't play like that. In the end, no penalty was given as everyone agreed things had become confusing and they continued play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,370,000 | 1,320,000 |
|
|
930,000 | -1,320,000 |