Pieter Aerts, who came into the day second in chips, appeared to have received to a small dent to his big stack.
He looked to reclaim so chips as he opened to 11,000 from the cutoff. Manuel Valduga then three-bet to 27,000 on his direct left, which folded out the blinds. Aerts then made it 70,000 and Valduga quickly released his hand.
In a heads-up pot on a board of A♥J♣6♥Q♣, Kiryl Asaulenka checked in the big blind and Parker Talbot bet 51,000 on the button. Asaulenka called.
Asaulenka checked again on the 4♣ river and Talbot thought for a minute before checking back. Asaulenka tabled A♦10♥ for a pair of aces and the PokerStars Team Pro mucked in defeat while speculating that his opponent would have snap-called if he jammed.
"I dodged a bullet," Talbot said as he patted himself on the back.
Moments after playing a four-bet pot against each other, Sirzat Hissou and Arunas Sapitavicius were once again battling each other. Hissou opened to 11,000 from the hijack with Sapitavicius and Harry Lodge calling from the button and big blind, respectively.
Hissou continued for 14,000 on the Q♥4♥3♠ flop, and only Sapitavicius called. Hissou then check-called for 22,000 on the 8♥ turn. Fireworks began to spark on the A♠ river as Hissou fired for 13,000. Sapitavicius then moved all in as the bigger stack, and Hissou, with around 245,000 behind, called for his tournament lifevafter a small bit of thinking time.
Sapitavicius tabled his A♥Q♣ for aces and queens, which bested the A♣3♣ held by Hissou.
Francisco Caballo Pena opened the action to 11,000 from the hijack and Sirzat Hissou put in a three-bet to 35,000 on the button. Arunas Sapitavicius was next to act in the small blind and put in a cold four-bet to 80,000. It folded back around to Pena who folded and Hissou made the call.
The flop fanned out 5♣5♠4♥ and Sapitavicius continued for 45,000, which Hissou came along. On the 7♥ turn both players slowed down with a check to the J♥ river and again action went check-check.
Sapitavicius tabled 9♥9♦ for a pair of nines and Hissou flashed A♣K♥ before tossing his cards into the muck.
In a heads-up pot on a flop of 3♣4♠3♥, Silviu Baltateanu bet 18,000 from the small blind and Pooria Moghani called in the cutoff.
Baltateanu sized up to 58,000 on the 2♥ turn and Moghani again called. The A♥ river completed the board and Baltateanu fired a final bet of 85,000. Moghani used a time bank and then called.
Baltateanu tabled K♦K♣, which was good to win the pot as his opponent mucked.
The 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® headline tournament, the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event, is approaching its business end with just 126 players remaining from the record-matching 1,098 entries.
Those returning for Day 3, which begins at noon local time, are all duking it out for the lion's share of the €5,325,300 prize pool, where the winner will walk away with €890,000 and the prestigious EPT trophy.
Despite being a few days away from the champion being crowned, there is plenty to be excited about as the Main Event is littered with some of poker's biggest stars.
Among those still in contention is PokerStars' ambassador and inaugural PokerStars Players Championship winner Ramon Colillas, who is starting today's session as one of the big stacks. Also donning the PokerStars patch is Ambassador Parker Talbot, who finds himself sitting in the middle of the pack.
Parker Talbot
Talbot is no stranger to a deep run in an EPT Main Event, as he managed a fifth-placed finish at the EPT Prague Main Event last December for €278,450. The Canadian is still looking to book his first-ever live tournament win and is one of the players that poker fans worldwide will be rooting for.
Also looking to taste glory on the live felt once again is Mike Watson. The Canadian already has a collection of "spadie" trophies thanks to his €25,000 High Roller win at EPT Barcelona last year and his PCA Main Event win back in 2016.
While also being an absolute behemoth in live tournaments, Watson is also a formidable online player. He is one of the most successful players ever in PokerStars' Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), and with the 2023 edition around the corner, a big performance in Monte Carlo could put him in good shape to add to his seven SCOOP titles.
2023 EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Name
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Markkos Ladev
Estonia
881,000
176
2
Pieter Aerts
Belgium
876,000
175
3
Artur Martirosian
Russia
857,000
171
4
Kenan Taylor
United Kingdom
711,000
142
5
Mike Watson
Canada
675,000
135
6
Oleg Vasylchenko
Ukraine
657,000
131
7
Ramon Colillas
Spain
636,000
127
8
Ryhor Karapanau
Latvia
624,000
125
9
Maduka Meragal
Canada
620,000
124
10
Juan Pardo
Spain
570,000
114
The Day 2 survivors can take comfort in knowing that they've already locked up €9,850, with the payout increasing to €11,350 when 119 players remain. But of course, each player will do all they can to capture the winner's spoils.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize (EUR)
Place
Prize (EUR)
1
€890,000
14-15
€45,900
2
€556,600
16-17
€39,950
3
€397,450
18-20
€34,700
4
€305,750
21-23
€30,200
5
€235,150
24-27
€26,250
6
€180,900
28-31
€22,850
7
€139,150
32-39
€19,850
8
€107,050
40-55
€17,250
9
€82,350
56-71
€15,000
10-11
€63,300
72-95
€13,050
12-13
€52,750
96-119
€11,350
120-143
€9,850
As mentioned, Day 3 will kick off at 12 p.m. local time, with blinds resuming at 2,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. A 20-minute break is scheduled at the end of each level, and the plan for today's proceedings is to play five levels.
And as always, all of the action can be seen on PokerStarsTV via YouTube and Twitch, with the Main Event broadcasting cards-up coverage on a 30-minute security delay.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team throughout the rest of the week for live updates from the floor of the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event at Monte Carlo Sporting Complex on the shores of the French Riviera.
