€3,000 Mystery Bounty Day 1 | 2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

05-02-2023 16:46 UTC+2

Grafton Separates Himself from the Field

Frank Visser

Level 4 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

The €3,000 Mystery Bounty Event has grown so big that the tournament is now split across two different rooms. The secondary room contains six tables or so for now, and Sam Grafton was spotted at one of them.

He played a hand against Sergi Enric Miralles Martinez and bet 1,100 from the button on a flop of 10♣5♥10♦. Big blind Martinez made the call before the duo checked the 8♠ turn.

The 5♠ river brought the second pair on the board and Martinez checked for the third time. Grafton now put out a pot-sized bet of 5,500 and Martinez quickly called. Grafton tabled 8♥7♦ for the turned two pair and he could rake in the pot as Martinez mucked his hand.

Grafton now plays over twice the starting stack and is off to a great beginning of his Mystery Bounty adventure.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sam Grafton	63,500 33,500	33,500

Sergi Enric Miralles Martinez	20,500

Tags: Sam Grafton

05-02-2023 16:32 UTC+2

Goasdoue Gets Even More Chips to Add to His Stack

Frank Visser

Level 4 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Fellow countrymen Alan Goasdoue and Antoine Labat were in a pot worth 7,000. The board was completed up until the turn and read 5♥2♠6♠K♣. Goasdoue put out a bet of 3,000 and Labat check-called.

K♠ was the river and Labat checked again. This time, Goasdoue put out a bulk of his chips, plenty to put Labat all-in. Labat did not have to think long before he mucked his cards, leaving himself just over 12,000 behind.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alan Goasdoue	108,000 78,000	78,000
Antoine Labat	12,100 -17,900	-17,900

Tags: Alan Goasdoue Antoine Labat

05-02-2023 15:45 UTC+2

Botez Jumps Ahead Early

Matt Hansen

Level 3 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

Olivier Bazin limped in from early position and Florian Duta followed suit from the next seat over. Yoni Khalifa called from the small blind and Alexandra Botez checked her option.

The flop was 2♣K♠Q♦ and Botez took it down with a bet of 600. The small pot adds to an early run for Botez that has doubled her starting stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alexandra Botez	66,500 36,500	36,500
Olivier Bazin	53,400
Florian Duta	43,000
Yoni Khalifa	14,000

Tags: Alexandra Botez Florian Duta Olivier Bazin Yoni Khalifa

05-02-2023 15:03 UTC+2

Konnikova Shoves the Turn; Pehlivan Finds a Small Double

Matt Hansen

Level 2 : Blinds 100/300, 300 ante

Action was heads up with over 30,000 in the pot and 10♣J♦K♠6♦ on the the board when Sosia Jiang checked to Maria Konnikova. Konnikova shoved with around 15,000 and Jiang shuffled red chips with her left hand while she considered her options. After a few moments of thought, Jiang gave it up and the pot went to Konnikova.

Meanwhile, Omur Pehlivan was all in on another table for just over 4,000. Giovanni Salvatore was the one to look him up and the cards were already on their backs.

Omur Pehlivan: K♣Q♦
Giovanni Salvatore: A♣2♥

The board ran out 5♠3♣K♠6♦Q♠ and Pehlivan held on after a flopped pair of kings to secure the small double with two pair.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maria Konnikova	45,000 6,000	6,000

Sosia Jiang	27,000 27,000	27,000
Giovanni Salvatore	24,000 24,000	24,000
Omur Pehlivan	9,000 9,000	9,000

Tags: Giovanni Salvatore Maria Konnikova Omur Pehlivan Sosia Jiang

05-02-2023 15:01 UTC+2

''Favorite Hands'' Clash in Huge Preflop Confrontation

Frank Visser

Level 2 : Blinds 100/300, 300 ante

David Lascar had put 6,000 chips in the middle from the cutoff, for what is assumed to be a four-bet, and Adrian State was all in from the button for 30,100.

Lascar asked for confirmation whether the tournament had reentries and, after he received the affirmitve answer, made the call.

Adrian State: 9♥9♠
David Lascar: 4♣4♠

''My favorite hand'', State explained. ''Me too'', Lascar responded.

The board ran out without any significant cards: 10♣2♦A♣Q♣Q♦. It turned out that Lascar covered State by 4,000 chips and State secured the very early double-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Adrian State	60,900 60,900	60,900
David Lascar	4,000 4,000	4,000

Tags: Adrian State David Lascar

05-02-2023 14:24 UTC+2

Immediate Five-Bet Action

Frank Visser

Level 1 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante

Action was thee-handed over at table nine, when Razvan Belea opened to 600 from the button. Ian Hamilton called from the small blind before Georgios Karakousis put in the three-bet to 2,100. Belea opted for a four-bet to 5,500 and Hamilton quickly fled the raising war.

Karakousis then five-bet jammed, covering Belea's 19,400 stack. Belea snap called and it was revealed why.

Razvan Belea: K♣K♠
Georgios Karakousis: 3♣3♠

Karakousis was making moves with his low pocket pair, but Belea was comfortably sitting on his cowboys.

The board remained sweat-free with 8♣6♦2♥9♥6♣ hitting the felt and Belea secured an early double-up after losing some chips prior to this hand. Karakousis was left with 7,000 chips, which still is enough for 35 big blinds during the first level of the tournament.

While the hand was happening, French powerhouses Alan Goasdoue and Antoine Labat also showed up to take their seats at this table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ian Hamilton	42,500 12,500	12,500

Razvan Belea	39,600

Alan Goasdoue	30,000
Antoine Labat	30,000
Georgios Karakousis	7,000

Tags: Alan Goasdoue Antoine Labat Georgios Karakousis Ian Hamilton Razvan Belea

05-02-2023 12:56 UTC+2

Welcome to Day 1 of the €3,000 Mystery Bounty at EPT Monte Carlo

Matt Hansen

The clouds have broken in Monaco and it’s time for Day 1 of the €3,000 Mystery Bounty at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino©. Cards go in the air at 2 p.m. local time for this three-day event.

The last €3,000 Mystery Bounty was held at EPT Paris and a field of 787 turned out to award the winner’s share of the €2,115,456 prize pool to Humberto Lopes Galindo of Portugal. The 2022 Prague edition saw Mathieu Di Meglio outlast a large field of 776 to win a tournament that offered two €100,000 bounties.

€3,000 Mystery Bounty Day 1 Structure

Level	Duration	Small Blind	Big Blind	Ante
1	40 min	100	200	200
2	40 min	100	300	300
3	40 min	200	400	400
20-min Break
4	40 min	200	500	500
5	40 min	300	600	600
6	40 min	400	800	800
75-min Dinner Break
7	40 min	500	1,000	1,000
8	40 min	600	1,200	1,200
9	40 min	600	1,200	1,200
20-min Break
10	40 min	1,000	1,500	1,500
11	40 min	1,000	1,500	1,500
12	40 min	1,000	2,000	2,000

Players will start with 30,000 and Day 1 will play 12 40-minute levels before players bag up for Day 2. Mystery Bounty Tokens come into play at the beginning of Day 2 and they can be redeemed for an envelope from the hopper at the first break and beyond. Possible prizes start at €1,000 and range up to €100,000. All bounties must be claimed by the end of the festival dates.

Blinds will kick off in Level 1 at 100/200/200 and breaks are scheduled every three levels with a 75-minute dinner break on the books after Level 6. Registration is open until 12:30 p.m. on Day 2 and second-day registrants will sit down with 15 big blinds.

Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all day long for updates live from the floor of the €3,000 Mystery Bounty at the 2023 EPT Monte Carlo at Sporting Monte-Carlo in beautiful Monaco.

Tags: Humberto Lopes Galindo Mathieu Di Meglio