Longmao Fan put in a raise to 120,000 in the cutoff. Bernhard Binder flat-called his button, and David Djian and Jose Malpelli came along from the blinds.
The quartet went on to check through the 5♥9♠2♣ flop, after which Djian bet 230,000 on the 6♠ turn. Malpelli and Fan made quick folds, but Binder stuck around and called.
The 8♠ was placed as the river. Djian sized up to 380,000, quickly being looked up by Binder. Djian stood up as he triumphantly tabled K♠J♠ for a flush, and he finger-gunned the cameras as he raked in the pot.
With the action unopened, Xavier Cortazar moved all in for 580,000 from the cutoff. Raul Mestre called on the button, and the blinds got out of the way.
Xavier Cortazar: 7♠7♣
Raul Mestre:8♠8♦
Cortazar, who hit quad jacks to crack pocket aces at the beginning of the day, was looking for a similar piece of magic from the deck.
Alas, no such help was forthcoming, as the Q♦4♥2♥6♥2♦ board kept the pocket eights firmly in the lead.
Jose Malpelli was first to act and raised to 160,000 with A♥J♠. It folded to Raul Mestre in the big blind, who called holding A♣4♣. The duo both checked the 7♣9♠J♦ flop, after which Mestre led out for 125,000 on the 4♠ turn.
Malpelli was having none of it and raised to 450,000, but Mestre was not done either as he announced a three-bet to 1,050,000.
Malpelli spent two time banks before folding top pair, surrendering the pot to Mestre.
Bernhard Binder was in early position when he raised to 160,000. It folded to the short stack at the table, Leonard Maue on the button, and he three-bet to 700,000, just under half his stack.
Binder quickly put his opponent all-in, and Maue called off the remainder of his stack.
Leonard Maue: K♣10♣
Bernhard Binder: A♠A♣
The 10♦9♥2♦ flop presented Maue with an opportunity to crack Binder's aces, but the 6♥ turn and 7♠ river left him stranded with a pair of tens.
The 2023 EPT Monte-Carlo runner-up took his exit in ninth place this time around, and he quickly left the feature table to pick up his payout.
Bernhard Binder kicked the action off with a raise to 160,000 from under the gun. When play folded to Oshri Lahmani on the button, he moved all in for 1,375,000. The action returned to Binder, who called.
Oshri Lahmani: A♦J♥
Bernhard Binder: A♠K♠
Binder improved to a pair on the 6♠Q♣K♥ board, and the 4♦ turn left Lahmani looking for one of just four outs to survive.
The deck obliged as the dealer burned and turned the 10♥ to complete the board, giving Lahmani Broadway and the double-up that came with it.
Jose Malpelli was in the cutoff and promptly moved in his stack of 1,515,000 for an all-in raise. It folded to big blind Samuel Ju, who snap-called with a covering stack.
Jose Malpelli: A♦6♦
Samuel Ju: A♠K♥
Malpelli was heavily dominated and had just three outs in the deck after the J♣4♣8♥Q♦ flop and turn. The river fell a miraculous 6♥, however, and Malpelli could not help but smile as he found a big double-up.
Jose Malpelli started the action with a raise to 160,000 from early position, which both Bernhard Binder and David Djian called from the hijack and big blind.
The action checked to Binder on the A♠2♣4♠ flop, who bet 120,000. Djian called, but Mapelli folded his J♣10♣.
Djian checked for a second time on the 2♥ turn, and once again called when Binder continued for 500,000.
When the 7♠ completed the board, Djian continued in flow and checked again. This time, Binder wisely checked back. Djian flipped over 4♥4♣ to show he had been lying in the weeds with a full house, which was more than enough to beat Binder's A♣Q♣.
Jose Malpelli raised his 10♠9♠ to 200,000 in the hijack. It folded to Roman Stoica on the button, who three-bet to 500,000 with A♠J♦. Malpelli called after some thought, after which the 9♦2♣4♣ flop was fanned.
After Malpelli checked, Stoica piled in a bet of 350,000. Malpelli called to the 4♦ turn, where both players checked in quick succession.
Malpelli then moved all in for 2,100,000 when the J♣ hit the river, putting around a pot-sized bet in the middle. Stoica spent one of his time banks before he folded top pair, and Malpelli was awarded the pot.
On the final hand of the day, Roman Stoica opened A♦Q♥ to 200,000 in the cutoff. Longmao Fan was in the small blind and three-bet to 700,000 with A♠5♠.
Stoica carefully counted his chips before he shipped them all in for a bet worth 2,300,000, and Fan wasted no time in folding his hand.
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
Samuel Ju
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.
Leonard Maue
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.
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