€25,000 EPT High Roller
Day 2 Completed
2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo
€25,000 EPT High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo
Buy-in
€25,000
Prize Pool
€5,066,110
Entries
211
Level
33
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
123
Players Left
21
Lithuania Back on Top After Day 2 of the €25,000 EPT High Roller
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
After another 10 levels of play, Day 2 of the €25,000 High Roller at 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®️ is in the books. Leading the 21 remaining players is Lithuania’s Dominykas Mikolaitis, who tops the leaderboard with 1,525,000 chips. This number will amount to 102 big blinds at the start of Day 3.
Mikolaitis takes over the end-of-day chip lead from Day 1 Chip Leader and fellow countryman Marius Kudzmanas, who busted in 26th place for €50,150 on Day 2. Mikolaitis is no stranger to these buy-ins, most recently cashing for $90,350 when he finished ninth in a $25,000 buy-in event during the PCA 2023. Looking to best that score, he will have his eyes set on the final table and beyond with his chip lead in the bag.
Roman Samoylov sits second in chips and trails Mikolaitis by a fair margin, as he will bring 1,120,000 into the start of Day 3. Not much is known about the Israeli player, except that has already won a hyper turbo side event here in Monte Carlo for €36,160. High stakes phenomenon and recent runner-up in the EPT Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller Mikita Badziakouski meanwhile, rounds out the top 3, bagging 1,055,000. The likes of Steve O'Dwyer and PokerStars Ambassador Alejandro Lococo also make the top ten chip counts, sitting in fourth and eighth place respectively
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Stacks
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | 1,525,000 | 102 |
| 2 | Roman Samoylov | Israel | 1,120,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 1,055,000 | 70 |
| 4 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 705,000 | 47 |
| 5 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | 690,000 | 46 |
| 6 | Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 675,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 663,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 575,000 | 38 |
| 9 | Enrico Camosci | Italy | 480,000 | 32 |
| 10 | Markkos Ladev | Estonia | 475,000 | 32 |
95 players bagged back on Day 1. However, the late registration period only ended at the start of Day 2, resulting in a last-minute addition of 28 entries. Together, they brought the total field to a very respectable size of 211. Of the 123 that started Day 2, 31 would make the money for a guaranteed cut of €43,550 out of the €5,066,110 prize pool.
The bubble ended up lasting about an hour of playtime. Some pots were played and the players applied a lot of preflop pressure, but no all-in and calls occurred. Then, in the penultimate level of the day, Isaac Haxton became the unfortunate bubble boy when his ‘’disaster prevention bell’’ could not prevent Mikita Badziakouski from hitting his gutshot straight draw against the top pair of Haxton.
Recap of the Rest of Day 2
As mentioned, Day 2’s field grew significantly before the start of play. Many of the 28 players who decided to make use of the option to maximum late register were familiar faces. Among them were Martin Jacobson, Erik Seidel, and most recent €100,000 Super High Roller Champion Alex Kulev. However, only Conor Beresford and Markkos Ladev were able to cash in on their impulse to buy in at the latest moment, as both have made it to Day 3.
Throughout the day, famous names in the poker scene busted left and right. Among the carnage were Sam Greenwood, Artur Martirosian, Timothy Adams, Justin Bonomo, and Christoph Vogelsang. Seth Davies, Davidi Kitai, Juan Pardo and PokerStars Ambassador Ramon Colillas fell nearer to the money, but they too did not last long enough to experience bubble play.
After the bubble was done and over with, there were mincashes for Sam Grafton, Tom-Aksel Bedell, Romain Lewis, and Orpen Kisacikoglu (€43,550). Nick Petrangelo, Aliaksandr Hirs, and Masashi Oya made it one pay jump further, and cashed for €50,150. The final bust-outs of the night were Finnish powerhouse Patrik Antonius and Barak Wisbrod, who each cashed €57,600.
Among the ones who did make it to Day 3 but will return with a shorter stack are Adrian Mateos (275,000), Ben Heath (220,000), and Dominik Nitsche (150,000). They will each bring 20 big blinds or less into Day 3.
As mentioned before, when Day 2 had reached its completion after ten hours of play, only 21 players remained. Each of them is guaranteed €57,600 and will restart Day 3 Saturday, 6th of May at 12.30 p.m. local time. Blinds will restart in Level 21: 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 big blind ante. A long and arduous day is ahead of the field as the €25,000 EPT High Roller will play down to a champion, who will take home the €1,070,260 top prize and, of course, the coveted trophy.
PokerNews will also be present to bring you the exciting grande finale of the last High Roller of what has been a wonderful EPT Monte Carlo stop, so stay tuned to this very page.
Day 3 Seating Assignment
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
For the latest info, be sure to check the PSLive App
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | 690,000 | 46 |
| 1 | 2 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | 395,000 | 26 |
| 1 | 3 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | 1,525,000 | 102 |
| 1 | 4 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 705,000 | 47 |
| 1 | 5 | Mario Navarro | Spain | 210,000 | 14 |
| 1 | 7 | Dominik Nitsche | Germany | 150,000 | 10 |
| 1 | 8 | Tomas Jozonis | Lithuania | 291,000 | 19 |
| 2 | 1 | Conor Beresford | United Kingdom | 250,000 | 17 |
| 2 | 2 | Saar Wilf | Israel | 305,000 | 20 |
| 2 | 3 | Markkos Ladev | Estonia | 475,000 | 32 |
| 2 | 4 | Milos Petakovic | Serbia | 110,000 | 7 |
| 2 | 5 | Roman Samoylov | Israel | 1,120,000 | 75 |
| 2 | 6 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | 440,000 | 29 |
| 2 | 8 | Quan Zhou | Hong Kong | 65,000 | 4 |
| 3 | 2 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | 663,000 | 44 |
| 3 | 3 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | 1,055,000 | 70 |
| 3 | 4 | Natan Chauskin | Belarus | 675,000 | 45 |
| 3 | 5 | Enrico Camosci | Italy | 480,000 | 32 |
| 3 | 6 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 575,000 | 38 |
| 3 | 7 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 275,000 | 18 |
| 3 | 8 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | 220,000 | 15 |
End of Day 2 Chip Counts (full)
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,525,000 | 125,000 |
|
1,120,000 | 827,000 |
|
1,055,000 | -245,000 |
|
705,000 | -120,000 |
|
690,000 | 100,000 |
|
675,000 | 526,000 |
|
663,000 | 78,000 |
|
575,000 | 320,000 |
|
480,000 | 270,000 |
|
475,000 | -145,000 |
|
440,000 | 21,000 |
|
395,000 | -215,000 |
|
305,000 | 210,000 |
|
291,000 | -27,000 |
|
275,000 | 10,000 |
|
250,000 | -39,000 |
|
220,000 | -80,000 |
|
210,000 | -70,000 |
|
150,000 | |
|
110,000 | -73,000 |
|
65,000 | -129,000 |
Ketzer Catches a Double in the Final Minutes of Day 2
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
As the clock winded down to the final five minutes of the day, Dominik Nitsche raised to 25,000 from the cutoff. Felipe Ketzer was in the small blind and made the three-bet to 90,000 before Nitsche four-bet shoved with the covering stack. Ketzer snap called and the players shared the final preflop showdown of the day.
Felipe Ketzer: A♦K♠
Dominik Nitsche: K♥J♥
Ketzer was in a great spot to score a big double-up in the nick of time. He flopped two pair on 4♠A♠4♣ and Nitsche was nearly drawing dead. The 8♥ decided the pot in Ketzer's favor, and he let out a few ''Vamos!'' as the meaningless 7♥ river completed the board.
With that, Day 2 has come to a close. Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap of this action-packed day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
590,000 | 355,000 |
|
|
150,000 | -260,000 |
Barak Wisbrod Eliminated In 22nd Place (€57,600)
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
The action folded around to Barak Wisbrod in the small blind who moved all in for 60,000 and was called by the bigger stack of Dominik Nitsche in the big blind.
Barak Wisbrod: 10♣2♠
Dominik Nitsche: 8♦7♦
The ten-deuce was slightly in the lead preflop, but when the board ran out A♥Q♦7♥8♥10♥, it was the two pair for Nitsche that scored the pot to send Wisbrod to the exit in 22nd place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
410,000 | 238,000 |
|
Busted |
Patrik Antonius Eliminated in 23rd Place (€57,600)
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Patrik Antonius raised to 24,000 from middle position and received a call from Markkos Ladev in the small blind. The pair saw a flop of 3♥9♦J♣, which they both checked.
The turn then fell the A♦ and Antonius now bet 25,000 after another check from Ladev. Ladev made the call and the 7♦ river was dealt.
Ladev checked for the third time and after a while Antonius decided to put his roughly 100,000 remaining chips at stake. He put them all in the middle and instantly got called by Ladev.
Antonius sighed, stood up and showed A♣10♣ for top pair. He felt it was no good and was correct, as his opponent had slowplayed his pocket aces and was sitting on top set with A♠A♥ in his hand.
The Finnish poker legend took his leave and was the first to make the payjump to €57,600.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
620,000 | 165,000 |
|
Busted |
Masashi Oya Eliminated in 24th Place (€50,150)
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Ben Heath limped his button and Masashi Oya went all-in for his last two big blinds. Daniel Dvoress was in the big blind and made the call, as did Heath.
The flop of K♠7♦4♠ checked through, as did the 5♦ turn. On the 10♠ river, Dvoress finally fired a bet and garnered a fold from Heath. Oya and Dvvoress then showed down.
Masashi Oya: A♥K♣
Daniel Dvoress: K♥7♣
Top pair for Oya, but it was no match against the flopped two pair of Dvoress. Oya was the final Japanese player to leave the tournament, and the only one to cash. He can proudly take back €50,150 to his home country.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
585,000 | 59,000 |
|
|
300,000 | -30,000 |
|
Busted |
Hirs Hits The Rail In Brutal Beat
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
The action folded to Aliaksandr Hirs in the small blind who moved all in for close to 150,000 and was snap-called by the bigger stack of Markkos Ladev in the big blind.
Aliaksandr Hirs: K♥J♠
Markkos Ladev: A♥J♦
Hirs was in rough shape preflop against the better kicker for Ladev, but when the flop came K♣K♦Q♦, the tables turned on the hand with Hirs well in the lead. The turn came the 9♦ which was still safe, however, the river fell the 10♥ to give Ladev a straight and send Hirs out in 25th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
455,000 | 150,000 |
|
Busted |
Dvoress Doubles Through a Flip
Level 20
: Blinds 6,000/12,000, 12,000 ante
Daniel Dvoress minopened the action from the cutoff to 24,000 chips. It folded to Adrian Mateos in the big blind, who put in a stack of T-25,000 chips to put Dvoress all-in. Dvoress went through two time extensions before he unsurely made the call.
Daniel Dvoress: A♥10♣
Adrian Mateos: 9♥9♠
Dvoress received good news on the flop, when he paired his ace on 3♠A♠5♥. Another ace came on the A♦ turn, and the river was not a nine but a Q♦.
Dvorress doubled to over 500,000 and Mateos was left with around 20 big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
526,000 | 121,000 |
|
|
265,000 | -340,000 |