2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

€2,200 FPS High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info

2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
109
Prize
€406,670
Event Info
Buy-in
€2,200
Prize Pool
€2,369,280
Entries
1,234
Level Info
Level
37
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
182
Players Left
7

€2,200 FPS High Roller

Day 2 Completed

Liperis in Contention for Another Deep Run in the €2,200 FPS High Roller

Level 33 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Yiannis Liperis
Yiannis Liperis

It was another long day at the office at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® with over 13 hours of poker taking place. Eventually, Day 2 was brought to a close with seven players remaining in the €2,200 FPS High Roller and they will be forced to crown a winner tomorrow.

There was never a runaway chip leader throughout the day and there still isn't heading into the final day tomorrow. The big headline with just seven players remaining is Yiannis Liperis who is looking to better his performance from last year. In 2022, Liperis made a deep run in this same event where he finished in fourth for just shy of €100,000.

Liperis will be returning with a stack of 7,850,000 chips when the cards go back in the air and would like nothing more than to be holding the trophy when all is said and done. The poker pro from Cyprus has cashed for nearly $2.5 million in his career and has his sights set on another six-figure payout.

The competition will be tough and it is still anyone's game with everyone hovering around an average stack. Sim Kok Wai will be entering Day 3 as the slight chip leader with 8,650,000 chips. Wai was able to capture the chip lead after spiking an ace on the river in a key pot in the last level of the night for a big double-up.

Final Table Seating Assignments

SeatPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Yiannis LiperisCyprus7,850,00026
2Marco RegonaschiItaly4,800,00016
3Weiran PuChina5,175,00017
4Paolo BoiItaly2,000,0007
5Candido CappielloItaly4,625,00015
6Walter RipperBrazil3,900,00013
7Sim Kok WaiMalaysia8,650,00029

Day 2 Action

There were 182 players who returned to the felt for Day 2 and they were all guaranteed at least a min-cash of €3,340. There was no shortage of action at the start of play as the field dwindled down to less than 80 players at the first break. Some of the notable early eliminations belonged to Harry Lodge, PokerStars ambassador Benjamin Spragg, Conor Beresford, Maria Konnikova, and Mauricio Salazar Sanchez.

As the day dragged on, the pay jumps started to become more significant and the action slowly crept to a halt. Upon reaching the final table bubble, the two tables were forced to go hand-for-hand due to some excessive stalling. In the end, it was Marco Lupino who was eliminated in tenth place when his pocket aces got cracked just one hand after he doubled up.

While the other nine players joined in celebration with their rails, it was time to get back to business with the day winding down. It was determined that a winner could not be crowned this evening and so the table agreed to play one more level and then return for Day 3 on Monday. In that period of time, it was Tom Orpaz and Enrico Camosci who were sent to the rail in ninth and eighth place, respectively.

Orpaz was grinding the short stack for much of the day after an early cooler but managed to work his way to the final table. However, his table talk was not enough to will the cards in his favor late in the night. As for Camosci, he was on the receiving end of Wai's ace on the river for a chip-lead pot. Camosci's Italian rail felt the pain as he was eliminated just a couple of hands later.

Sim Kok Wai holds the chip lead
Sim Kok Wai holds the chip lead

Any aggressive action completely ceased in the last 20 minutes of the night as players were carefully trying to bag their chips for Day 3. The chips will have to be on the move when the action resumes as the average stack is less than 20 big blinds and the chip leader will be sitting on just 29 big blinds.

The cards are scheduled to go back in the air at 11:00 a.m. local time with the blinds resuming on level 34 at 150,000/300,000 and a 300,000 big blind ante. The levels will continue to be 40 minutes in length until only three players remain and then they will be shortened by half. Each player has locked up at least €63,610 thus far, but the winner will be taking home €406,670.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor to bring you live updates and all of the eliminations en route to crowning a winner.

Tags: Benjamin SpraggCandido CappielloConor BeresfordEnrico CamosciHarry LodgeMarco LupinoMarco RegonaschiMaria KonnikovaMauricio Salazar SanchezMonte Carlo CasinoPaolo BoiSim Kok WaiTom OrpazWalter RipperWeiran PuYiannis Liperis

Play Has Concluded for the Night

Level 33 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

The action is finished for the night on Day 2 and the final seven players will return tomorrow (actually later today) at 11 a.m. local time to play down to a winner. The full chip counts and a recap of the day's action will be posted shortly.

Wai and Boi Wage War Postflop

Level 33 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

With the average stack being just over 20 big blinds, most pots are taken down preflop, either by raises or three-bets. However, Paolo Boi and Sim Kok Wai played one of the few postflop hands when Wai made it 500,000 from the hijack and Boi defended his big blind.

The flop saw 579 hit the felt and Boi checked to Wai, who put in a continuation-bet of another 500,000. Boi had some tricks up his sleeve though, as he put in the check-raise to 1,450,000. Wai put in the million owed and the two went to the turn.

The 9 paired the board and saw Boi revert to checking again. Wai retook the betting lead by announcing ''all-in'', covering Boi's 2,200,000 remaining chips. Boi did not spend much time thinking about the situation as he quickly let his hand go, leaving himself nine big blinds behind.

Wai, on the other hand, is flourishing on the final table and is playing a stack of roughly nine million chips.

Player Chips Progress
Sim Kok Wai my
Sim Kok Wai
9,000,000 1,750,000
Paolo Boi it
Paolo Boi
2,200,000 -960,000

Tags: Paolo BoiSim Kok Wai

Enrico Camosci Eliminated in 8th Place (€48,920)

Level 33 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Enrico Camosci
Enrico Camosci

Enrico Camosci raised to 500,000 in the hijack and Sim Kok Wai announced all in for 3,530,000 on the button. The blinds folded and Camosci called after a shrug of the shoulders.

Sim Kok Wai: AQ
Enrico Camosci: QQ

The flop came K102 and the Italians rose to their feet as Camosci still held the lead. The K on the turn changed nothing but the A on the river vaulted Wai into the lead, leaving Camosci with just two big blinds.

A couple of hands later, Paolo Boi raised to 500,000 on the button and Camosci called the rest of his chips from the big blind. Boi was in a dominating lead with A10 against the A6 of Camosci. The board ran out K1088J and Boi's two pair eliminated Camosci.

Player Chips Progress
Sim Kok Wai my
Sim Kok Wai
7,250,000 3,250,000
Paolo Boi it
Paolo Boi
3,160,000 -680,000
Enrico Camosci it
Enrico Camosci
Busted

Tags: Sim Kok WaiPaolo BoiEnrico Camosci

Level: 33

Blinds: 125,000/250,000

Ante: 250,000

Tom Orpaz Eliminated in 9th Place (€37,630)

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Tom Orpaz
Tom Orpaz

Tom Orpaz shoved all of his 1,080,000 chips in the middle from the hijack and Walter Ripper rejammed from the small blind for a little more. Sim Kok Wai folded his big blind and the other two players revealed their cards.

Tom Orpaz: Q10
Walter Ripper: KQ

Ripper had the dominating hand, though the A77 flop brought some chop outs. Orpaz was yelling for a queen to grace the turn, but the 3 appeared instead. He tried the same trick one more time on the river, but this time the 4 showed up.

Orpaz shook hands with his opponents and excused the Brazilian rail for celebrating loudly. He was the first player to bust from the €2,200 FPS High Roller final table and stuffed his wallet with €37,630 as a result.

Player Chips Progress
Walter Ripper br
Walter Ripper
3,000,000 700,000
Tom Orpaz il
Tom Orpaz
Busted

Tags: Tom OrpazWalter Ripper

Ripper Finds a Way to Stay Alive

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Enrico Camosci opened to 400,000 in the cutoff and Walter Ripper jammed all in for 895,000 on the button. The blinds folded and Camosci made the call.

Walter Ripper: 77
Enrico Camosci: KQ

The flop came J53 and Ripper's pocket sevens were still out front. The 10 on the turn gave Camosci plenty of outs but the J on the river ensured Ripper of a double.

Player Chips Progress
Enrico Camosci it
Enrico Camosci
5,000,000 -900,000
Walter Ripper br
Walter Ripper
2,300,000 1,420,000

Tags: Walter RipperEnrico Camosci

Boi Finds a Miraculous Runout to Double on First Hand

Level 32 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Paolo Boi put in all his chips on the very first hand of the final table. He was in middle position and made the bet of 1,670,000. Walter Ripper awaited in the small blind and made the call to put Boi at risk.

Paolo Boi: KQ
Walter Ripper: KK

Boi was absolutely crushed, but the flop of 6AJ brought some relief. With a gutshot straight draw in his pocket, he went to the turn, which came the Q. Broadway would now be a chop, but he still had outs to scoop if a queen came on the river.

The river was precisely one of those queens, as the Q appeared as the final card. The railbirds went wild as the Italian player scored a big double-up. Ripper, on the other hand, was left with less than five big blinds.

Player Chips Progress
Paolo Boi it
Paolo Boi
3,840,000 2,240,000
Walter Ripper br
Walter Ripper
880,000 -1,670,000

Tags: Paolo BoiWalter Ripper