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Twelve years ago, Raul Mestre noted his last in-the-money finish at a PokerStars European Poker Tour Main Event, getting tenth place at EPT Sanremo after two final table appearances in 2011 and 2008. Mestre then took a long break from live poker until he was picked up as a PokerStars Ambassador earlier this year. He returned to the live scene with a bang, winning the Spin & Go Championship at EPT Paris in February. He then set his eyes on the 2026 EPT Monte-Carlo €5,300 Main Event, and now finds himself among the 20 remaining players at the dawn of Day 5.
Outlasting a field of 1,011 entries, Mestre has already proved he can still dominate in the modern era. Despite his prolonged absence from live tournament poker, the Spanish player and coach has consistently been among the top counts the past few days and returns to Sporting Monte-Carlo at noon local time with 2,910,000 in chips. For the third day in a row, Mestre will sit down with a top-four stack at the start of play, this time having only Bernhard Binder's 4,540,000 to catch up to.
Roman Stoica will begin the day in third place with a stack of 2,480,000, having his sights on the €825,000 top prize, the largest share of the €4,903,350 prize pool. Another big stack belongs to Jason Wheeler, who is looking to turn his 2,140,000 into his first EPT victory on his 20th in-the-money appearance, while Laurent Polito rounds out the top ten with 1,245,000 as the highest-placed Frenchman.
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 |
2015 EPT Deauville winner Ognyan Dimov is the last player remaining who can claim an incredibly rare second EPT Main Event trophy, sitting just below the average stack with 1,040,000 in chips. Day 1a chipleader and Moroccan all-time money leader Mehdi Chaoui is still in the race with a stack of 805,000, while 2023 EPT Monte-Carlo runner-up Leonard Maue will have to spin up his short stack of 460,000 for a chance at capturing the title this time around.
The 20 returning players have all secured €32,350 already, with a pay jump to €37,200 happening when 17 remain. Making the final eight will guarantee a payout of €99,450, while the top four will all take home at least a quarter million euros.
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 |
The EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event will resume in Level 25. Blinds will be at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante, and levels will remain 90 minutes long until the final table has been reached. The tournament will then switch to a certain number of hands per level instead. The penultimate day of the Main Event will aim to play down to six players, although play may be concluded earlier.
The PokerStars stream will be on full force on their YouTube and Twitch channels. Implementing a new dynamic delay means the stream starts at 3 p.m. local time, promising a better viewing experience with fewer breaks. The PokerNews live report will follow the same delay as the stream for the final two days of the EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event to prevent spoilers.
Twenty remain with only eight spots at the final table. Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out who will make the cut and follow all the exciting action along the way.
