Aleksandr Shevliakov raised to 400,000 from under the gun and Mariusz Golinski moved all in from the small blind for 3,775,000. Shevliakov called with the covering stack and players flipped their cards.
Mariusz Golinski: A♠9♠
Aleksandr Shevliakov: A♥K♥
Golinski was dominated and at risk as the flop came Q♥J♦10♥ to give Shevliakov a straight and the nut flush draw.
Golinski was drawing to a split and then drawing dead as the turn came the 5♥ to further improve Shevliakov's hand to a flush.
The river was the 2♥, and Shevliakov won the pot and extended his massive chip lead.
Golinski was eliminated from the tournament in fifth place for €259,900.
Boris Angelov open-raised to 450,000 from the cutoff with A♦Q♣ and Enrico Coppola called in the big blind with Q♦4♦.
Both players paired their queen on the J♦Q♠2♥ flop and Coppola checked. Angelov bet 275,000 and Coppola called.
The turn was the 3♦ and Coppola picked up a flush draw. He checked and Angelov bet 675,000. Coppola moved all in and Angelov called for 2,725,000. Angelov needed to fade a diamond or four.
The river was the K♣ and Angelov held with his pair of queens and ace-kicker. He cheered and ran to the rail as he made another double up to bring his stack back up to 7,200,000 and putting him in the middle of the pack.
Action folded around to Boris Angelov, who moved all in from the small blind for 1,600,000. Aleksandr Shevliakov called in the big blind and players flipped their cards, with Angelov at risk.
Boris Angelov: 6♠6♣
Aleksandr Shevliakov: Q♦10♠
The board ran out 2♠7♣2♦K♥9♣ and Angelov held with his pocket sixes to double up his stack. Angelov was still the shortest stack at the table, but doubled up to around 22 big blinds to bring himself back into the game.
Boris Angelov raised to 350,000 on the button and Khossein Kokhestani defended J♣8♣.
Both players checked the 9♦7♦5♣ flop. Kokhestani then led out for 400,000 on the K♦ turn and Angelov called.
The river was the A♠ and Kokhestani moved all in with jack-high. He buried his face in the collar of his jacket as Angelov, with 2,230,000 remaining, went deep into the tank. Angelov ended up using three time banks before eventually folding A♦J♥.
Enrico Coppola raised to 280,000 under the gun and Boris Angelov three-bet to 660,000 on the button with A♣9♠. Coppola quickly folded the same A♠9♦.
The next hand, Mariusz Golinski opened to 250,000 under the gun and Coppola defended his big blind.
Golinski continued for 125,000 on the 5♠5♣3♦ flop and Coppola raised to 375,000. Golinski called and the J♠ fell on the turn.
Coppola then bet 750,000 and Golinski again called. The river was the A♠ and Coppola bet another 950,000. Golinski called with A♥Q♠ for two pair, but Coppola had 3♥3♣ for a flopped full house to win the massive pot.
Action folded around to Boris Angelov, who completed the small blind with A♥4♥. Aleksandr Shevliakov raised to 420,000 from the big blind with Q♦6♣ and Angelov called.
The flop came 2♣3♣10♥ and Angelov checked. Shevliakov continued for 240,000 and Angelov called.
The 4♣ turn gave Angelov a pair to go with his gutshot draw and he checked again. Shevliakov fired out 500,000 and Angelov called.
On the 7♥ river, Angelov checked and Shevliakov used two time banks before firing a third barrel of 800,000.
Angelov went into the tank before making a heroic call with his pair of fours to win the pot, scooping in the 4,040,000 chip pot and thinning the gap between himself and current chipleader Shevliakov.
Jamil Wakil raised to 270,000 under the gun as action folded around to Aleksandr Shevliakov in the small blind. He attempted to raise to 350,000, claiming he didn't see Wakil's open, and the floor had to be called over. Shevliakov was eventually forced to make it 420,000 and Wakil moved all in for 3,895,000. Shevliakov snap-called.
Jamil Wakil: Q♦J♦
Aleksandr Shevliakov: A♥K♥
Wakil stood up from his seat and stared across at Shevliakov as the flop came 10♣7♠3♣. The rest of the board came 6♣K♠ to give Shevliakov top pair and Wakil was sent to the rail in sixth place.
"He did it to somebody else yesterday," Wakil said, not believing Shevliakov's explanation. Shevliakov came over to talk to Wakil after the hand before Wakil left the stage.
It's time for the six remaining players to return for the Final Day of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte-Carlo Main Event. The event will play down to a winner today and a new champion will be crowned.
Boris Angelov has already made history, becoming one of only three players in the last decade to make the final table of the same event two years running. Can he go one better than his runner-up finish last year and top the field to walk away with the €1,000,000 top prize here at the Sporting Monte-Carlo? Angelov is well positioned to do so, as he returns to the table as chipleader with 8,400,000 chips, just as he led the final six as chipleader in 2024.
“I feel pretty fortunate to be here, to be honest. It’s crazy to think about, statistically, how all this is possible. I don’t really have an explanation,” Angelov said, speaking to PokerNews reporter David Salituro after the conclusion of play on Day 5.
Angelov will face competition from a varied field of excited amateurs and aspiring pros. Aleksandr Shevliakov, sits second in chips with 7,250,000. The Russian-born pro, who now lives in Slovenia, is himself no stranger to EPT final tables, finishing runner-up in the EPT Paris High Roller in 2023 and seventh in the same event last year.
Start of Day 6 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Boris Angelov
Bulgaria
8,400,000
70
2
Aleksandr Shevliakov
Russian Federation
7,250,000
60
3
Mariusz Golinski
Poland
6,495,000
54
4
Jamil Wakil
Canada
4,975,000
41
5
Enrico Coppola
Italy
4,715,000
39
6
Khossein Kokhestani
Ukraine
3,860,000
32
Boris Angelov
The next player to bust will be awarded a payout of €199,750, with all eyes on the seven-figure first prize and the gold-plated EPT Main Event trophy.
Remaining EPT Main Event Payouts
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
€1,000,000
2
€615,000
3
€439,200
4
€337,900
5
€259,900
6
€199,750
7
Miguel Capriles
Venezuela
€153,600
8
Leon Zeaiter
Germany
€118,150
When action resumes at 12.30 p.m. local time, players will return to blinds of 60,000/120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. Blinds are no longer running on a timer as the event has adopted a new format for the structure, running a set number of hands, with 30 hands per level.
The final table will be shown on PokerStars Live YouTube channel and PokerNews updates will follow in sync with the stream's half-hour delay, commencing at 1 p.m. local time. Stay tuned as reporters bring you updates as the event plays down to a winner.
