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€5,300 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
2025 PokerStars EPT Monte-Carlo
€5,300 Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info
2025 PokerStars EPT Monte-Carlo
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€5,795,750
Total Entries
1,195
Level
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
727
Players Left
259
Players Left 1 / 1,195
Filter
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
The players came in droves, packing the Sporting Monte-Carlo tournament room and even the cash game area on Day 1b as 727 players took their shot at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte-Carlo Main Event title.
Only 259 of those hopefuls managed to survive the day, led by Cesar Garcia, who built up a massive stack of 323,000 that puts him in the overall chip lead heading into Day 2. The Spaniard began his ascent up the leaderboard when he came from behind to bust Jan Eric Schwippert. On the last level of the night, he picked up aces against Vlad Darie’s queens to score another knockout and pull away from the rest of the field. Garcia already has multiple EPT deep runs on his poker resume, including finishing in 22nd place in Prague in 2023, 20th at the 2024 EPT Paris Main Event, and a final table appearance in Berlin in 2012.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | 323,000 | 215 |
| 2 | Sebastian Gaehl | Germany | 288,000 | 192 |
| 3 | Laurent Cessy | France | 250,000 | 167 |
| 4 | Shakhabiddin Muradov | Latvia | 241,000 | 161 |
| 5 | Nicolas Oger | France | 221,000 | 147 |
| 6 | Ignacio Sole | Spain | 213,500 | 142 |
| 7 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | 210,000 | 140 |
| 8 | Hrayr Grigoryan | Armenia | 201,000 | 134 |
| 9 | Landron Alexandre | France | 192,000 | 128 |
| 10 | Julien Mariani | France | 190,000 | 127 |
Sebastian Gaehl (288,000), Laurent Cessy (250,000), Shakhabiddin Muradov (241,000), and Nicolas Oger (221,000) round out the top five. Boris Angelov was tantalizingly close to the title at this event last year, coming out on the losing end of a marathon heads-up duel to finish second. He’s back for another shot, bagging up a top-10 stack with 210,000. Hrayr Grigoryan made his move on one of the last hands of the night, picking off a bluff from Gareth Fenney on the river to double up and climb up to 201,000.
Other notables advancing to Day 2 include Noah Boeken (186,500), Malcolm Franchi (175,000), EPT champion Sebastian Malec (142,500), Ari Engel (131,500), and Nikita Kuznetsov (115,000). Further down the leaderboard are Martin Kabrhel (106,500), Aram Zobian (98,500), recent Irish Open runner-up Umberto Ruggeri (92,000), Felix Schneiders (88,000), Jason Wheeler (80,000), Brian Kim (74,500), Poker Hall of Famer Patrik Antonius (63,500), and Enrico Camosci (62,500), who jumped into this event after finishing second to Christopher Nguyen in the Super High Roller earlier in the night.
Three past EPT Monte-Carlo champions also made it through, including Nicolas Chouity (168,500), Antonio Buonanno (88,000), and Manig Loeser (53,500). Coming back on short stacks are the likes of Ole Schemion (42,500), Conor Beresford (39,500), Joao Vieira (32,500), William Kassouf (29,000), EPT Cyprus champion Oliver Weis (24,000), and PokerStars Open champion Jon Kyte (16,500).
Notables to bust over the course of 10 hour-long levels included EPT Barcelona champion Stephen Song, Benny Glaser, Dario Sammartino, as well as Benjamin and Marle Spragg. Rania Nasreddine also busted her second bullet as her attempt to replicate last year’s third-place run ended today.
The 727 total entries recorded on Day 1b brought the field up to 1,129 through the two starting flights, with 382 returning at noon tomorrow for Day 2. Late registration remains open until the start of the day, with 79 entries needed to match last year’s record-setting field of 1,208. The action picks up on Level 11 with blinds of 1,000/1,500 and a 1,500 big blind ante, with levels being extended to 90 minutes for the duration of the tournament. Day 2 will also see the start of the PokerStars live stream, available on their official YouTube channel.
PokerNews will be back at noon tomorrow following all the action as the players find out the prize pool and begin their journey to the money bubble.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Players in Day 1b of the Main Event have bagged and tagged for the night. Out of 727 entries to the flight, 259 have made it through to Day 2. Standby for the recap on PokerNews.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Five players went to a flop of K♦10♠7♦ where Hrayr Grigoryan bet 6,000 from middle position. Roberto Perez called on the button, as did Gareth Fenney in the small blind.
Grigoryan bet another 18,000 on the J♠ turn and only Fenney called this time. The river was the 7♣ and Fenney moved all in.
Grigoryan slammed his chips down in frustration and spent several minutes shaking his head before calling for his last 39,500. Fenney could only show 8♦5♦ for a missed flush draw, while Grigoryan had A♦Q♣ for a straight to win the pot and double up.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Cesar Garcia and Vlad Darie were in a pot, with Garcia occupying the big blind position and Darie under the gun. The hand began with Darie opening and then calling Garcia's three-bet.
The flop came 3♠5♣5♠ and Garcia bet small. Darie called and the turn came the J♠. Garcia fired another barrel, this time for 14,000 and Darie called.
The river came the 7♣ and after a few seconds Garcia announced he was all in with the covering stack. Darie called him immediately and just as quickly left the table and the room as the cards were revealed.
Darie had Q♦Q♠ for two pair, queens and fives. Garcia had A♥A♣ for two pair with aces and fives to win the pot. His stack soared to above 300,000, putting him among the chip leaders as Day 1b drew to a close.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Enrico Camosci open-raised to 2,400 from under the gun and Mehdi Rebai three-bet to 6,500 from middle position, which Camosci called.
The flop came 3♠6♦J♠ and Camosci checked. Rebai bet 4,500 and Camosci check-raised to 11,000, nearly half his remaining stack. Rebai made the fold and Camosci showed the J♥ as he raked in the pot.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Kian Kiani open-raised from late position, Jerome Sgorrano three-bet to 7,500 and Kiani called. Both players slowed down with a check on the 5♥J♣10♦ flop.
The turn came the 2♣ and Kiani checked. Sgorrano made it 6,500 and Kiani called. The river was the Q♥ and Kiani switched to a lead for 15,000. Sgarrano went deep into the tank and was thinking for two minutes before a neutral player called the floor. The countdown began.
"This is good, I love to be under pressure," said Sgorrano, but his time bank wasted away and his hand was folded.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Tournament officials announced that Day 1b will end once each table plays five more hands.
Level 10
: Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Andrea Furlanetto was all in for 36,500 from the hijack, Marius Gicovanu put in his last 12,000 from middle position, Volga Uyanik shoved for 40,000 in early position, while Jose Jaraiz had all three opponents covered and at risk.
Marius Gicovanu: A♦9♦ 
Andrea Furlanetto: Q♥Q♦
Volga Uyanik: J♠J♦
Jose Jaraiz: A♠K♣
Furlanetto buried his head on the rail awaiting the board, which came 2♦7♣10♠9♥3♦ to keep his queens in the lead and earn him the pot. Gicovanu was sent to the rail, Furlanetto more than tripled up, while Uyanik took the small side pot off Jaraiz.
