Razvan Gherghe opened to 500 from late position and Sylwia Studniarz three-bet to 2,000 from the small blind. Gherghe four-bet to 6,500 and Studniarz called.
The flop came 8♦4♥4♦ and Studniarz bet 5,000, which Gherghe called. The turn was the 8♠ and Studniarz checked. Gherghe moved all in for 7,400 and Studniarz had a little think before making the call.
Gherghe had 5♣5♠ for pocket fives, but Studniarz turned over 7♠7♥ for a higher two pair, sevens with the fours on board.
The river came the 3♦ and Studniarz held to win the pot, sending Gherghe to an early exit.
With 3,200 in the pot on a flop of A♠K♥2♣, Boris Berthomet bet 2,000 from the small blind and Stephen Song called on the button.
Berthomet bet another 5,000 on the 10♠ turn and Song again called. The river was the 10♣ and Berthomet bet 1,700.
Song this time came back with an all-in shove. Berthomet, with around 20,000 remaining, then went deep into the tank.
"I want to call. Can you bluff here?" he wondered as several minutes came off the clock.
"Sorry guys," he eventually said and another tablemate called the clock. Berthomet allowed his 30-second timer to run out before his hand was declared dead. Song returned his cards face down as he scooped the pot.
There's perhaps no tournament on the EPT calendar more prestigious than the PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte-Carlo Main Event, running at the Sporting Monte-Carlo casino here on the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean coast. It's the 20th anniversary of the event and Day 1b is the final starting flight for this event, although registration remains open until the start of Day 2.
In 2024, Derk van Luijk came out on top of the 1,208 entry field, defeating Boris Angelov after a six-hour heads-up battle to claim the €1,000,000 top prize. The reigning champion has already bagged an above average stack on Day 1a.
The overall chip leader following the conclusion of Day 1a was David Docherty, best known for his 2023 Irish Open victory which gave him a career high score of €365,000. Docherty is on the hunt for his first EPT title and is the man to beat for those joining Day 1b, starting at 12 p.m. local time.
David Docherty
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
David Docherty
United Kingdom
279,500
233
2
George Tomescu
Romania
275,000
229
3
Christian Alilovic
France
260,500
217
4
Qing Lu
United States
240,500
200
5
Jeremie Beneteau
France
236,500
197
6
Stanislav Petriv
Ukraine
225,000
188
7
Boris Kuzmanovic
Croatia
208,500
174
8
Adi Rajkovic
Austria
204,500
170
9
Mariusz Golinski
Poland
201,000
168
10
Sameer Chaturvedi
India
196,000
163
In Day 1b, players begin with a 30,000 starting stack and will play 10 hour-long levels, with a break every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6. Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2 and players can take a maximum of two entries in this event.
Those who make it through and bag at the end of the evening will proceed to Day 2, which commences on Tuesday, April 6 at noon.
Stay tuned to the action on PokerNews as reporters bring you live updates straight from the tournament floor.
