€5,300 EPT Main Event Day 4 | 2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo

05-04-2023 18:39 UTC+2

Pieter Aerts Eliminated in 17th Place (€39,950)

Matt Hansen

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Joachim Haraldstad opened from the cutoff and Pieter Aerts defended out of the big blind.

Aerts checked on the flop of Q♣7♦2♦ and Haraldstad checked back. Aerts checked again on the A♦ turn and Haraldstad bet 75,000. Aerts called.

Aerts checked once more on the 3♣ river and Haraldstad bet 600,000 to tap his opponent for his final 300,000 or so. Aerts went in the tank and then called all in.

Haraldstad showed A♣K♠ for a pair of aces and it was good as Aerts showed a pair of queens with K♦Q♠ to mark his elimination ahead of the two-table redraw.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joachim Haraldstad	2,300,000 380,000	380,000

Pieter Aerts	Busted

Tags: Joachim Haraldstad Pieter Aerts

05-04-2023 18:39 UTC+2

Vasylchenko Picks Up Kings

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Matt Hansen

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Oleg Vasylchenko raised to 60,000 from the cutoff and Kenan Taylor shoved 625,000 from the small blind. The big blind got out of the way and Vasylchenko called for his last 325,000 without hesitation.

Oleg Vasylchenko: K♠K♥
Kenan Taylor: A♥7♣

The board ran out 2♣10♠5♥2♠8♦ and the kings held to give Vasylchenko a double that put Taylor on the ropes.

Player	Chips	Progress
Oleg Vasylchenko	710,000 255,000	255,000
Kenan Taylor	300,000 385,000	385,000

05-04-2023 18:32 UTC+2

Meragal Rips on Martirosian

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Matt Hansen

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Artur Martirosian opened to 65,000 under the gun and Maduka Meragal called from the big blind. The flop came A♦Q♣7♠ and Martirosian continued with a bet of 50,000. Meragal check-raised to 150,000 and Martirosian called.

The turn was the K♣ and Meragal led out with a bet of 200,000. Martirosian raised to 475,000 and Meragal instantly announced all in. Martirosian wasted little time before sending his cards to the muck and Meragal raked in the pot with a few eyebrows raised at the table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maduka Meragal	2,460,000 700,000	700,000
Artur Martirosian	1,280,000 620,000	620,000

Tags: Artur Martirosian Maduka Meragal

05-04-2023 18:30 UTC+2

Wheeler Chips Up Through Taylor

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Matt Hansen

Level 24 : Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante

Kenan Taylor raised to 60,000 with 4♠4♦ from the cutoff and Jason Wheeler made it 225,000 from the button with A♣10♣. The blinds got out of the way and Taylor called to mine for a set.

The flop was 9♦9♠7♥ and Taylor checked. Wheeler bet 140,000 and Taylor called to see A♦ on the turn.

Both players checked the turn and the river was J♦.

Taylor used his last time bank chip before he put out 375,000. Wheeler called quickly and showed his pair of aces to take the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason Wheeler	2,720,000 770,000	770,000
Kenan Taylor	685,000 1,085,000	1,085,000

Tags: Jason Wheeler Kenan Taylor

Level: 24

Blinds: 15,000/30,000

Ante: 30,000

05-04-2023 18:18 UTC+2

High Stakes Legend Patrik Antonius Says Live Streams Should "Focus on the Poker"

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Connor Richards

Level 23 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

While many of the biggest stars from poker's golden era of the mid-2000s are only mentioned in "Where Are They Now?" pieces, Patrik Antonius is not one of them. In fact, the Finland all-time money leader is as relevant as ever.

Not only is Antonius still regularly competing in the televised cash games that boosted his career early on, he is also a force to be reckoned with in on the current high roller tournament scene and even won his first Triton title last year. Additionally, Antonius recently signed on as an ambassador for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Thrill Team, something he said he got involved in "accidentally" before adding that he was "happy to get invited to join the Thrill Team."

"It's nice," Antonius said. "WSOP is a big brand and they have a lot of influence in the industry. And it's nice that they have this app so a lot of new players can have an experience playing poker on an app like this for free. And if they like it they can start playing for real money and so on. So it's nice, it's nice that they have an app like this."

Antonius appeared as a guest on the most recent episode of the PokerNews Podcast and spoke about winning his first Triton title, how High Stakes Poker impacted his career and representing the WSOP Thrill Team in the upcoming Main Event. The full conversation with the Finnish poker legend can be heard here.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON PATRIK ANTONIUS!

05-04-2023 18:07 UTC+2

Break Time

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Connor Richards

Level 23 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

The remaining 17 players have been sent on another 20-minute break.

05-04-2023 18:06 UTC+2

Maue Shows Martirosian the Bluff

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Connor Richards

Level 23 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Artur Martirosian opened to 55,000 in the cutoff and Pieter Aerts called on the button before Leonard Maue three-bet to 300,000 out of the big blind. Martirosian responded with a four-bet to 550,000 as Aerts folded and Maue called.

Maue checked on the flop of 5♠2♣Q♦ and Martirosian bet a tiny 120,000. Maue check-raised to 550,000 to bring a quick fold from the Russian.

Maue proudly showed a stone bluff with J♠10♠ for just jack-high with a few backdoor draws as the two headed to break.

Player	Chips	Progress
Leonard Maue	3,000,000 1,300,000	1,300,000
Artur Martirosian	1,900,000 150,000	150,000

Tags: Artur Martirosian Leonard Maue Pieter Aerts

05-04-2023 18:02 UTC+2

Jimmy Velasquez Eliminated in 18th Place (€34,700)

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Adam Lamers

Level 23 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Maduka Meragal opened to 55,000 in the cutoff and Jimmy Velasquez defended from the big blind. The flop fell 7♦6♠2♣ and Velasquez check-called a bet of 30,000 from Meragal.

The turn was the 9♠ and Velasquez checked again. Meragal bet 80,000 and Velasquez check-raised all in for around 600,000. Meragal stood up from his chair as he got a rough count and then called.

Jimmy Velasquez: A♠7♠
Maduka Meragal: 9♥9♣

Meragal turned a set of nines but Velasquez had outs with a flush draw. The river was the Q♥ and Velasquez was unable to improve as he was eliminated in 18th place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maduka Meragal	1,760,000 760,000	760,000
Jimmy Velasquez	Busted

Tags: Jimmy Velasquez Maduka Meragal

05-04-2023 17:55 UTC+2

Red Aert: Meragal Doubles Up an Opponent

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Connor Richards

Level 23 : Blinds 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante

Pieter Aerts opened to 355,000 from middle position with just 5,000 behind and Pieter Aerts three-bet jammed from the small blind before Aerts called off for his tournament life.

Maduka Meragal: 9♠9♣
Pieter Aerts: A♦K♠

A king in the window was good news for Aerts as the board ran out 3♦6♥K♣3♥Q♦ to earn him a double.