Twelve months ago, at the end of a long day of play that went past midnight, Boris Angelov stood by his rail with a helpless feeling. After battling Derk van Luijk heads up for six hours, Angelov’s last chips were in the middle and he could do nothing but watch as Van Luijk lifted his arms in the air in celebration.
The 28-year-old Bulgarian has come a long way in the year since that heartbreaking runner-up finish, but his journey ultimately brought him back to the same place: the chip lead heading into the final day of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte-Carlo Main Event.
Angelov busted Miguel Capriles on the final hand of Day 5 to bag up 8,400,000 and sit atop the final day's leaderboard for a second consecutive year. It’s a ride that even he recognizes was seemingly impossible.
End of Day 5 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 |
“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 after the conclusion of play.
Angelov was making his first appearance at a major final table in 2024, but it proved to be just a prelude to an incredible year. Two months after finishing runner-up to Van Luijk, he made the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event, where he finished in fifth place for $2,500,000. Since this event last year, Angelov has nearly $4 million in live earnings, including winning the €5,700 Mystery Bounty event at EPT Barcelona in August.
“It’s nothing short of incredible. I think I’ve played well. I’ve been really fortunate to get the spots I’ve gotten. I think I’ve executed well,” Angelov said, reflecting back on what the past year has been like for him.
Angelov is only the ninth player in EPT history to make the final table of the same event two years in a row. Most of those occurrences came in the early years of the EPT when field sizes were smaller. He’s only the third to do it in the last decade, joining Vladislav Naumov and Peter Jorgne.
Angelov would be going for a second title if a few cards had gone in his favor last year. He had Van Luijk all in and at risk several times during their heads-up marathon, only for the Dutchman to survive all of them. Angelov lowered his head in anguish and had to be comforted by his rail when the last card hit the table, but he now admits he doesn’t have any regrets over what happened then.
“It was my first really big final table. Obviously, I really wanted to win. The trophy looks really nice, as well. I don’t really feel bittersweet because I think I gave it my all. Just the result wasn’t my way in the end,” he said. “But that doesn’t linger on me. My game plan is to just play my game tomorrow and whatever happens, happens.”
If he wants a shot at redemption and to finally get his hands on the Golden Shard trophy, he’ll have to overcome the five competitors who are out to stop him. They include Aleksandr Shevliakov (7,250,000), the Russian-born pro who now lives in Slovenia. Shevliakov is 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.
Mariusz Golinski (6,495,000) also has experience at major final tables. A few months ago, Golinski finished fourth in the WSOP Europe Main Event for €415,000. He also made the final tables of both the Eureka High Roller and €10,300 High Roller at EPT Prague in December. Canadian Jamil Wakil (4,975,000), a regular on the high roller circuit, is fourth in chips and is making his second PokerStars Live final table after finishing sixth in the PCA in 2023.
Two amateurs enter the final table as the shortest stacks, Enrico Coppola (4,715,000) and Khossein Kokhestani (3,860,000). Coppola, an Italian businessman who owns hotels across several countries, usually sticks to high roller events and made the final table in EPT Barcelona last year. His one EPT Main Event result was a 16th-place finish here in Monte Carlo in 2016. The Ukrainian Kokhestani, a dentist by trade, won the PokerStars Eureka Hamburg Main Event last July for €110,070, his first and biggest recorded live score.
Day 5 Action
Day 5 began with 18 players returning to Sporting Monte-Carlo out of a starting field of 1,195. The day started with a bang. On the first hand Andreas Goeller shoved for 1,800,000 and Coppola tanked for several minutes before calling with trip aces. Goeller could only show two pair and exited in 18th place after beginning the day in sixth chip position.
Mykhailo Demydenko (17th), Stanislav Petriv (16th), Alexandros Kolonias (15th), and Manuel Cortada (14th) soon followed to the exit. Just before players went on the first break of the day, Malcolm Franchi got his last 940,000 in with ace-king and had Angelov’s ace-three dominated, but Angelov spiked a three on the river to win the pot and bust Franchi in 13th.
Shevliakov took care of the next two bustouts, rivering a straight to crack a set of nines and send Mateusz Moolhuizen to the rail in 12th, then spiking a flush to beat Diego De Martino’s set of threes as De Martino was eliminated in 11th. Artem Shaganov then raised to 600,000 under the gun and Coppola called in the cutoff. Shaganov got his last 150,000 in on a king-high flop with top pair, but Coppola had flopped a set of jacks and the final table of nine was set.
Coppola had the chip lead with 7,465,000 at the start of the final table, while Angelov followed in second with 6,690,000. Golinski was the short stack, but found an early double up with two aces as Kestutis Jungevicius missed a flush draw.
Left with just 330,000, Jungevicius got involved in a three-way all in as Leon Zeaiter also shoved for 1,540,000 and Angelov put both players at risk. Angelov had jacks and Zeaiter ace-king for a massive flip, and Zeaiter spiked trips on the flop to scoop the pot and double up off Angelov while sending Jungevicius out in ninth.
Golinski won a race with sevens against Zeaiter’s ace-ten on the last hand before dinner break. Zeaiter, who became infamous throughout the tournament for his unorthodox style, ultimately had it be his undoing. He led into Golinski on an ace-high flop for 220,000, then bet 460,000 on the turn. He shoved for 1,740,000 on the river and Golinski called with ace-king, while Zeaiter could only show a pair of sevens and was eliminated in eighth place.
Angelov brought the night to an end when he flopped top pair and called Capriles’ shove for 2,035,000. Capriles was looking to complete a flush draw but missed the turn and river, and became the last casualty of the day.
Final Table 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 |
The remaining six players return tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. local time to play down to a champion. Each is guaranteed at least €199,750, while the eventual champion will take home €1,000,000. Play resumes with 22 hands remaining in Level 30 with blinds of 60,000/120,000 and a 120,000 big blind ante.
A gold-plated trophy and seven-figure score await one of these players tomorrow, and PokerNews will be providing all the action until a new EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event champion is crowned.
