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Bernhard Binder Goes Wire to Wire on Day 5 of EPT Main Event to Lead Final Eight in Monte-Carlo
Typically, the penultimate day of an EPT Main Event is a tense affair, with ebbs and flows and the chip lead changing hands. If that was supposed to be the story on Day 5 of this year’s €5,300 Main Event, nobody told Bernhard Binder, who carved out a narrative of his own by going wire-to-wire and ending the day exactly where he started, at the top of the chip counts.
With the Monte Carlo leg of the European Poker Tour nearing its conclusion, 20 players returned to Sporting Monte-Carlo, each now within touching distance of poker immortality. From a field of 1,011 entries, they remained in contention to become an EPT Main Event champion, with an €825,000 top prize awaiting the winner.
Start-of-day chip leader Binder certainly didn't let the magnitude of the occasion affect him; responsible for four of the day's knockouts, the Austrian spent almost the entire day at the top of the leaderboard. Owing to some unfavourable runouts, Binder saw his lead slip away late in the day, but it was short-lived, and he remained unfazed throughout.
“It’s tournament poker, there are always ups and downs,” Binder told PokerNews after bagging up for the night. “You just need to adjust to your new situation; that is all you can do.”
All said, Binder will enter the final day with a stack of 7,250,000, over 20 big blinds clear of second-placed Raul Mestre, with the PokerStars Team Pro member bagging 4,525,000.
Final Table Seating
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Malpelli | France | 2,300,000 | 18 |
| 2 | Bernhard Binder | Austria | 7,250,000 | 58 |
| 3 | Roman Stoica | Moldova, Republic of | 3,200,000 | 26 |
| 4 | Samuel Ju | Germany | 4,000,000 | 32 |
| 5 | Longmao Fan | China | 2,475,000 | 20 |
| 6 | David Djian | France | 3,625,000 | 29 |
| 7 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | 2,950,000 | 24 |
| 8 | Raul Mestre | Spain | 4,525,000 | 36 |
Completing the overnight podium, Samuel Ju was the only other player to hold the chip lead during the day’s play. Ju seized the top spot after besting Binder when the two clashed late in the day. Although he later relinquished the lead, the German remains well within striking distance heading into the final day, returning with 4,000,000 in chips.
Day 5 Action
With just 20 players returning for the penultimate day, the tone was set early, as chips flew and bad beats were dished out at an alarming rate.
In the very first shuffle of the day, Miguel Franco was forced to vacate his seat almost as soon as he had sat in it. Having got his short stack all in preflop in excellent shape, he ended up with a bad beat story to take home with his 20th-place finish.
One table over, Ognyan Dimov's fortune landed on the other side of the coin, finding a two outer on the river to survive.
The ugliest of the early exchanges was yet to come, though, as Laurent Polito played a tournament-defining pot. Having put all the money in preflop with pocket aces, his opponent improved to quad jacks, leaving the Frenchman with less than one small blind. Soon after, he was eliminated in 19th place.
All told, by the end of the opening level, a quarter of the returning field had already been eliminated, including Mehdi Chaoui (17th). By the second break, the field had been whittled down to just 11 players following the exits of Day 2 chip leader Rodrigo Selouan (14th), the last remaining former EPT Main Event champion Ognyan Dimov (13th), and serial EPT Main Event casher Jason Wheeler (11th).
Next to fall, Xavier Cortazar, whose earlier quads had kept him alive in the tournament, could not summon another miracle escape. This time, he ran into yet another costly preflop confrontation, bringing his run to an end in 10th place, falling one place shy of the final table.
With the final table set, there was one final elimination in store before the day ended. Befitting of the day, it was chip leader Binder who dispatched Leonard Maue to the rail in 9th place, leaving just eight players to bag chips and return to the final day.
Each of the returning players has now locked up €99,450, and following the next elimination, all remaining players will be looking at six-figure scores.
Of course, the players will all have their eyes firmly fixed on the €825,000 first-place prize that comes alongside the Golden Shard trophy and the prestige of being crowned an EPT Main Event Champion.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €825,000 |
| 2 | €515,000 |
| 3 | €368,750 |
| 4 | €283,550 |
| 5 | €218,300 |
| 6 | €167,850 |
| 7 | €129,050 |
| 8 | €99,450 |
The eight remaining players will now return tomorrow, Sunday, May 10, at 12:30 p.m. local time, with play continuing until a champion is crowned.
The day will begin on Level 30, with blinds of 50,000/125,000 and a 125,000 big blind ante. There will be a short break after each level, with no set plan currently in place for an extended break for dinner.
Be sure to follow along with PokerNews, where full coverage continues with all the major moments until a champion is crowned.