Hugo Blaison made it 60,000 to go in the cutoff. Small blind Stanislav Anufriiev committed his stack of 500,000, and Blaison quickly called with the covering stack.
Stanislav Anufriiev: A♦K♥
Hugo Blaison: A♠J♦
Blaison flopped a straight draw on 10♦7♠9♠, although the 3♥ turn helped him no further. The J♠ river did, however, giving him a pair of jacks to beat Anufriiev's ace-king and send him to the rail.
It folded to Jose Malpelli in the small blind. He raised to 90,000, seeing Thomas Eychenne call in the big blind. The K♥3♣5♣ flop had barely graced the felt before Malpelli continued with a bet of 110,000. Eychenne quickly called.
Another swift bet flew in on the 9♦ turn; this time Malpelli opted for a size of 250,000. Eychenne again wasted no time in calling. Malpelli then immediately moved all in on the 3♥ river for 500,000.
Eychenne went into the tank, visibly agonizing over his decision. Eventually, he tossed in a calling chip. Malpelli revealed K♦Q♣ for top pair, while Eychenne was stuck with 8♥5♦ for middle pair.
The huge pot was shipped to Malpelli, who nearly crossed the two-million mark as a result.
Bernhard Binder opened the action with a raise to 60,000 in middle position. Mehdi Chaoui responded with a three-bet to 195,000 in the cutoff, which Binder four-bet to 425,000.
Chaoui called, creating a massive pot as the players saw the 5♣Q♠2♥ flop. Binder continued for 225,000, seeing Chaoui toss in another call. Binder sized up to 475,000 on the 4♣ turn. Chaoui called again, revealing the 5♦ as the river.
Binder slowed down and checked. Chaoui then shoved all in, covering Binder's 745,000 remaining chips. Binder spent several time banks as he went deep into the tank. Ultimately, he decided to risk his tournament life and slammed in a call.
"Nice hand," Chaoui said as he could only show ace-high with his A♣6♣. Binder triumphantly tabled K♥Q♣ for top pair, and he raked in the pot worth over 125 big blinds to dethrone Chaoui as the chip leader.
Thomas Eychenne was first to act and raised to 60,000. Roman Stoica placed a small three-bet to 150,000 in the next seat over, and Jose Malpelli cold-called in the big blind.
Eychenne also came long, after which the trio checked through the A♠5♣6♥ flop. Malpelli checked again on the K♥ turn, but Eychenne took the initiative with a bet of 250,000. Stoica called before Malpelli mucked his cards.
Eychenne then took some time on the 9♥ river before he announced an all-in bet. Stoica quickly rechecked his cards, then immediately called.
Eychenne sighed as he flipped up 5♠5♦ for a set of fives. His bad news was confirmed when Stoica showed A♥10♥ for a flush, doubling him up to a stack of over 70 big blinds.
Eychenne, meanwhile, was left with just one big blind that the start-of-day chipleader would have to try and spin up.
Roman Stoica opened to 60,000 from under the gun, and Hugo Blaison called in the hijack. The action folded to Thomas Eychenne in the big blind, who moved all in for 230,000. Stoica then four-bet enough to commit Blaison, who opted to fold.
Thomas Eychenne: K♣Q♥
Roman Stoica: 9♦9♣
Eychenne was looking to continue his comeback from just one big blind, but the 8♦7♠9♠ flop made the task a difficult one.
As Eychenne stood from his seat, the dealer offered renewed hope with the J♣ turn card.
Alas, while the K♠ improved him to top pair, it wasn't enough for the start of day chip leader, who was eliminated.
It was October 2023 when Bernhard Binder, roughly one year after he started his poker journey, recorded his first cash in an event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour - a 23rd place at a $1,100 buy-in tournament at EPT Cyprus. Not even three years later, he plays the highest stakes imaginable, both live and online, and has amassed over $13,000,000 in lifetime earnings on The Hendon Mob. Now, in the 2026 EPT Monte-Carlo €5,300 Main Event, which boasts a €4,903,350 prize pool, Binder finds himself in a dream spot to add another six-figure score to his resume.
After four days of poker at Sporting Monte-Carlo, Binder bagged a massive chip lead when play concluded with only 20 players remaining out of the field of 1,011 entries, and leads the hunt for the €825,000 top prize with a stack of 4,540,000. He was the only player to acquire more than 100 big blinds for the start of Day 5, and obtained more than one and a half times the chips of his nearest contender, PokerStars AmbassadorRaul Mestre
Raul Mestre
Unlike Binder, Mestre has been playing tournament poker for decades. He continued his strong showing at EPT Monte-Carlo on Day 4 by obtaining 2,910,000 for second place on the leaderboard, his third top-four appearance in a row. He will be aiming to reach the third EPT final table of his storied career and perhaps become the first member of Team Pro to win an EPT since Victoria Coren Mitchell in 2014. Rounding out the end-of-day podium is Roman Stoica with 2,480,000 in chips, while EPT veteran Jason Wheeler and Day 2 chipleader Rodrigo Selouan also earned a spot in the top ten.
End of Day 4 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Bernhard Binder
Austria
4,540,000
114
2
Raul Mestre
Spain
2,910,000
73
3
Roman Stoica
Moldova, Republic of
2,480,000
62
4
Miroslav Rizov
Bulgaria
2,305,000
58
5
Jason Wheeler
United States
2,140,000
54
6
Rodrigo Selouan
Brazil
1,820,000
46
7
Samuel Ju
Germany
1,640,000
41
8
Longmao Fan
China
1,540,000
39
9
Oshri Lahmani
Israel
1,255,000
31
10
Laurent Polito
France
1,245,000
31
Binder's Thoughts
Most of Binder's stack came from doubling up in a massive four-bet pot against then-chipleader Mehdi Chaoui.
"We can both have ace-five, so the river (a five which paired the board) is not a blank," Binder shared with PokerNews after he was done bagging his piles of chips. "I can only check and get showdown with my top pair against jacks or tens. Once he puts me all-in, I beat no value. But I have good blockers, and he is a capable player, so I called, and thankfully I was good."
When asked about his outlook on Day 5, Binder said, "I'm excited to play. It's a good spot, having a huge chip lead with 20 left in a 1,000-person field."
Chaoui had enough chips left to survive the day, although his stack of 805,000 places him on the lower end of the leaderboard, along with high-stakes regular Leonard Maue (460,000) and Spanish professional Miguel Franco (405,000). Meanwhile, Ognyan Dimov is the last remaining player in contention for a second EPT title, finding himself in the middle of the pack with 1,040,000 in chips.
Mehdi Chaoui
Casualties of Day 4
Day 4 started with 48 players, among whom was 2024 EPT Monte-Carlo champion Derk van Luijk. Unfortunately for him, he ran into a massive cooler against Wheeler early on, eliminating him in 47th for €16,100 and kickstarting Wheeler's rise. Wheeler also busted Benny Glaser in 27th for €24,450, and Maue took care of 2013 PCA champion Dimitar Danchev, who received the same amount for his 26th-place finish.
For the majority of the day, it looked like Thomas Eychenne could make another final table only a few months after his 2025 EPT Barcelona win. However, the Frenchman had a disastrous last level, doubling up two players to eventually be eliminated in 22nd for €28,150. EPT regular Boris Kolev took home the same amount when he became the final departure of Day 4, falling to Binder in the dying minutes of the day.
Thomas Eychenne
The remaining 20 players have each locked up €32,350 by making it to Day 5, with the next pay jump taking place when 17 players remain. With the final table tantalizingly close, however, all eyes will be on the six-figure sums reserved for the top seven.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
€825,000
9
€76,500
2
€515,000
10-11
€61,700
3
€368,750
12-13
€51,400
4
€283,550
14-15
€42,800
5
€218,300
16-17
€37,200
6
€167,850
18-20
€32,350
7
€129,050
8
€99,450
Day 5 will begin at noon local time tomorrow, Saturday, May 9. The tournament will restart with blinds at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante. The levels will remain 90 minutes long until the final table has been reached, at which point the Main Event will switch to a certain number of hands per level instead. The plan for Day 5 is to reach the final six players, although play may be halted earlier if the day gets too long.
PokerNews will be back on the floor for Day 5 of the EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event to provide an in-depth live report on the way to the final table and beyond, so make sure to tune back in for all the latest news and updates.
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