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

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

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
3,250,000
Paolo Boi it
Paolo Boi
3,160,000
-680,000
-680,000
Enrico Camosci it
Enrico Camosci
Busted

Tags: Sim Kok WaiPaolo BoiEnrico Camosci

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
700,000
Tom Orpaz il
Tom Orpaz
Busted

Tags: Tom OrpazWalter Ripper

Marco Lupino Eliminated in 10th Place (€28,950)

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

Enrico Camosci raised to 475,000 in the small blind and Marco Lupino shoved all in for 1,005,000 in the big blind. Camosci quickly called and the cards were tabled.

Lupino showed K5 and Camosci was live with 96. The board ran out KJ10810 and Lupino's two pair was good for a double-up.

On the next hand, Camosci shipped all in for 3,200,000 on the button and Lupino quickly moved all in for just over 2,000,000 in the small blind. The big blind folded and the cards were on their backs again.

Marco Lupino: AA
Enrico Camosci: 55

The flop fell 965 with the five in the window to give Camosci a set of fives. The 4 turn and the 3 river eliminated Lupino in 10th place.

Player Chips Progress
Enrico Camosci it
Enrico Camosci
5,350,000
1,150,000
1,150,000
Marco Lupino it
Marco Lupino
Busted

Tags: Marco LupinoEnrico Camosci

Igor Pihela Jr Eliminated in 11th Place (€28,950)

Level 31 : Blinds 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Igor Pihela Jr
Igor Pihela Jr

Igor Pihela Jr open-jammed 2,200,000 chips from under the gun. Tom Orpaz was in the next seat over and rejammed for 2,800,000. Walter Ripper sat in the big blind with a stack of around two million as well and tanked for a while before eventually forfeiting his hand. The other two players were ordered to show down.

Igor Pihela Jr: AQ
Tom Orpaz: AK

Pihela Jr's hopes of a double diminished significantly as Ripper revealed he folded ace-queen as well. Indeed, neither of the two remaining queens appeared on 4A852 and that spelled the end of Pihela Jr's tournament life. He finished in 11th place and the €2,200 FPS High Roller is now on the final table bubble.

Player Chips Progress
Tom Orpaz il
Tom Orpaz
5,400,000
2,750,000
2,750,000
Walter Ripper br
Walter Ripper
1,825,000
-195,000
-195,000
Igor Pihela Jr ee
Igor Pihela Jr
Busted

Tags: Igor Pihela JrTom OrpazWalter Ripper

Florian Guimond Eliminated in 12th Place (€24,100)

Level 31 : Blinds 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Florian Guimond
Florian Guimond

Weiran Pu opened to 320,000 from under the gun and Florian Guimond shipped all in for around 1,400,000 in the small blind. The action folded back to Pu who quickly called to put Guimond at risk.

Florian Guimond: AQ
Weiran Pu: JJ

The flop came K74 and Pu was still in the lead with his pocket jacks. The 9 on the turn and the 7 on the river were no help to Guimond who was ousted in 12th place.

Player Chips Progress
Weiran Pu cn
Weiran Pu
3,960,000
2,540,000
2,540,000
Florian Guimond fr
Florian Guimond
Busted

Tags: Weiran PuFlorian Guimond

Antonio Calabro Eliminated in 13th Place (€24,100)

Level 30 : Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Antonio Calabro
Antonio Calabro

Antonio Calabro limped in from middle position before Marco Regonaschi made it 425,000 to go from the hijack. The other players folded quickly and Calabro went into the tank for several minutes. Eventually, he came up with a call and the two players saw a flop.

The 397 was fanned out and Calabro instantly went all in for 1,070,000. Regonaschi was just as quick with his single-chip call and there was a showdown.

Antonio Calabro: A9
Marco Regonaschi: KK

Calabro had flopped top pair and went with it, but Regonaschi was a big favorite with his overpair. No ace nor nine appeared on the 5 turn or Q river and Regonaschi slammed the table in ecstasy, shouting ''Yes, yes, yes!'' throughout the mostly empty tournament room.

Calabro, meanwhile, left the tournament dejectedly, though he did bag a nice sum of more than €24,000.

Player Chips Progress
Marco Regonaschi it
Marco Regonaschi
4,800,000
2,200,000
2,200,000
Antonio Calabro it
Antonio Calabro
Busted

Tags: Antonio CalabroMarco Regonaschi

Gareth McMahon Eliminated in 14th Place (€20,100)

Level 30 : Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Gareth McMahon
Gareth McMahon

Garteh McMahon sat in the under the gun position and played a stack of 790,000. He counted out his stack before he put it all at risk by announcing his all in. Florian Guimond was in the next seat over and called after getting confirmation from the dealer that it was indeed the correct amount. The other players were not interested in this carnage and laid their hands down.

Gareth McMahon: A7
Florian Guimond: AQ

McMahon was dominated and held his hands in front of his face as the 410A flop came to be. The turn paired the board with the 4 and he begged for a king to come on the river. The river did come a picture card, but it was of the wrong kind for McMahon; the J completed the board.

McMahon gave Guimond a fistbump before leaving, afterwards stating that this hand ''was the worst mistake of his life.''

Player Chips Progress
Florian Guimond fr
Florian Guimond
3,000,000
-220,000
-220,000
Gareth McMahon ie
Gareth McMahon
Busted

Tags: Florian GuimondGareth McMahon

Sam Benoliel Eliminated in 15th Place (€20,100)

Level 29 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Sam Benoliel
Sam Benoliel

Marco Regonaschi had jammed his 1,400,000 stack all in from the cutoff and received a call from Sam Benoliel on the button. Benoliel played less as he had only 950,000 chips in his stack. The rest of the table got out of the way and their holdings were revealed.

Sam Benoliel: JJ
Marco Regonaschi: AQ

A very big flip for both players and Regonaschi took a commanding lead on the Q79 flop. Benoliel shook his head while the 8 and 6 were put out to complete the board, while Regonaschi let out a few cheers.

Benoliel had to leave the tournament room and Regonaschi almost doubled his stack at the final two tables of the €2,200 FPS High Roller.

Player Chips Progress
Marco Regonaschi it
Marco Regonaschi
2,600,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
Sam Benoliel fr
Sam Benoliel
Busted

Tags: Marco RegonaschiSam Benoliel

Demosthenes Kiriopoulos Eliminated in 16th Place (€16,750)

Level 29 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Demosthenes Kiriopoulos
Demosthenes Kiriopoulos

Yiannis Liperis raised to 200,000 on the button and Demosthenes Kiriopoulos three-bet shoved all in for around 1,750,000 in the big blind. Liperis asked for a quick count and then called to put the Canadian at risk.

Demosthenes Kiriopoulos: 55
Yiannis Liperis: AQ

It was a coin flip but the flop of Q63 gave Liperis the lead with a pair of queens. The 4 on the turn gave Kiriopoulos some outs but the 10 on the river was not one of them.

Player Chips Progress
Yiannis Liperis cy
Yiannis Liperis
5,480,000
2,330,000
2,330,000
Day 1A Chip Leader
Demosthenes Kiriopoulos ca
Demosthenes Kiriopoulos
Busted

Tags: Demosthenes KiriopoulosYiannis Liperis