Tight Race at the Top as Andreas Goeller Bags Day 2 Chip Lead
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte-Carlo 2025 champion is set to walk away with €1,000,000 after the entry numbers, prize pool and payouts were confirmed on Day 2. A total of 1,195 entries made this the second biggest Main Event in the stop's 20-year history, just a few entries short of last year's numbers, culminating in a prize pool of €5,795,750.
The Sporting-Monte Carlo venue was packed to the rafters with hopefuls as the tournament got underway, 448 players returning for Day 2 to see the roof retract and the welcome return of sunshine here on the Mediterranean coast. Of those, 175 made the money and locked up at least a min-cash of €8,500, while 149 bagged for Day 3.
Andreas Goeller took the chip lead late on thanks to a great call against Antoine Saout in a massive pot, which took Goeller up to 831,000 chips, much to his delight. The Italian player came fifth in the EPT San Remo back in 2014, which makes up the majority of his recorded live scores. Goeller will be looking to top that score as he enters Day 3 with the chip advantage.
Goeller's lead, however, is all but secure. Jeremie Beneteau bagged in second place with 829,000, meaning less than one big blind seperates the two when they return. Third place Mariusz Golinski bagged for 820,000, making it a super tight race at the top of the chip counts.
Top Ten End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andreas Goeller | Italy | 831,000 | 208 |
| 2 | Jeremie Beneteau | France | 829,000 | 207 |
| 3 | Mariusz Golinski | Poland | 820,000 | 205 |
| 4 | Leon Zeaiter | Germany | 796,000 | 199 |
| 5 | Sebastian Gaehl | Germany | 757,000 | 189 |
| 6 | Mengshi Tian | Hong Kong | 755,000 | 189 |
| 7 | Juan Pardo | Spain | 685,000 | 171 |
| 8 | Nicolas Tytgat | France | 559,000 | 140 |
| 9 | Ramana Epparla | United States | 510,000 | 128 |
| 10 | Manuel Carvalho | Portugal | 500,000 | 125 |
The bubble burst during the last level of play when Ian Gascoigne ran his ace-queen into a set of fours on an ace-high flop against Conor Beresford. The rest of the room clapped and cheered as they made their way into the money. Beresford went on to bag for 282,000.
Several former EPT champions are still in contention, including Sebastian Malec (395,000), Patrik Antonius (227,000), Dimitar Danchev (163,000), Manig Loeser (129,000), Noah Boeken (102,000), and Antonio Buonanno (100,000). Defending champion Derk van Luijk was eliminated just short of the money and will not be in the running for back-to-back titles.
PokerStars Ambassadors Kenny Hallaert and Benjamin Spragg were battling on the feature table early on Day 2. Both reached paid positions, but only Hallaert advanced (83,000), while Spragg took the min-cash of €8,500 after being eliminated in 155th place. That makes Hallaert the last Ambassador standing in the Main Event.
Other notables who found a bag include Andras Nemeth (400,000), Nacho Barbero (282,000), Day 1b chip leader Cesar Garcia (212,000) Boris Angelov (194,000) and Niclas Thumm (127,000).
Day 1a chip leader David Docherty wasn't so fortunate. He lost a huge pot against Qing Lu midway through the day and was eliminated in 226th place.
Day 3 starts on Wednesday, May 7, at 12 p.m. local time with the blinds at 2,000/5000 and will play for five 90-minute levels. The feature table will be streamed by PokerStars from 12:30 p.m. local time on YouTube and Twitch.
Stay tuned for live updates of Day 3 as PokerNews brings you coverage straight from the tournament floor as the Main Event runs deeper into the money.