Laurent Polito tossed in his final 10,000 from the hijack. Miroslav Rizov then raised to 125,000 in the cutoff, prompting the remaining players to get out of the way.
Laurent Polito: K♥2♦
Miroslav Rizov: A♥Q♦
Both players paired on the 2♠4♥Q♣ flop, but the A♠ turn made Rizov two pair to leave Polito with two outs. The J♣ river did not present the Frenchman with trips, eliminating him in 19th place.
With a raise to 80,000 in front of him, Laurent Polito three-bet to 255,000 on the button. The action then folded to Xavier Cortazar in the big blind, who moved all in for 1,095,000. The original raiser got out of the way, but Polito snap-called.
Xavier Cortazar : J♠J♣
Laurent Polito: A♠A♦
Polito couldn't watch as the dealer spread the flop, but he soon realized it was bad news.
The K♣8♠J♥ flop catapulted Cortazar into the lead with a set.
A dejected Polito could only watch on as the 9♣ turn and J♦ river only served to improve Cortazar to quads, leaving Polito with half of a small blind.
Raul Mestre opened his button to 90,000. Ognyan Dimov then jammed in his stack of 845,000 from the big blind, and Mestre immediately called.
Ognyan Dimov: 9♥9♣
Raul Mestre: 10♥10♣
Dimov was in dire shape against Mestre's higher pair, and the 2♣Q♣A♥ flop and 5♣ turn left him with just two outs in the deck. The river brought the miraculous 9♠, however, upgrading Dimov to a set to double him up.
In the first hand of the day, Hugo Blaison opened to 80,000 in the hijack, and Jason Wheeler called in the cutoff. Next to act, Miguel Franco moved all in for 405,000. When the action returned to Blaison, he chose to move all in as well, and Wheeler folded.
Miguel Franco: A♦Q♣
Hugo Blaison: A♥J♥
Franco was a big favourite to start his day with a double up, but the window card on the J♠4♦K♠ saw the roles reversed.
The 6♣ and 9♠ completed the board, and Franco was up and out of his seat almost as soon as he had sat down for the day.
The poker community is buzzing with anticipation at the upcoming $50 million guaranteed Anniversary Series online at PokerStars. Massive guarantees are up for grabs, including an impressive $1.5 million in the $109 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Main Event on May 24.
Thanks to the special relationship that PokerNews and PokerStars enjoy, PokerNews readers have the opportunity to turn a $5.50 investment into a shot at the $1.5 million guaranteed Anniversary Series Main Event.
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.
Bernhard Binder
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.
Ognyan Dimov
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.
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