€5,300 Main Event Day 5 | 2026 PokerStars EPT Monte-Carlo

1 day 22 hours ago

Malpelli Check-Raises Binder

Frank Visser

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Bernhard Binder put in 80,000 on the button, and Jose Malpelli defended in the big blind. Malpelli check-called Binder's continuation-bet of 55,000 on the Q♠10♣2♦ flop, after which both players knuckled the table on the 8♥ turn.

Malpelli also checked the 5♣ river, but Binder reaggressed with a bet of 225,000. After some thought, Malpelli raised to 625,000. Binder weighed his options, but decided to fold to forfeit the pot to Malpelli.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bernhard Binder	6,070,000 410,000	410,000

Jose Malpelli	1,475,000 485,000	485,000

Tags: Bernhard Binder Jose Malpelli

1 day 22 hours ago

Stefan Dimitrov Eliminated in 16th Place (€37,200)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Xavier Cortazar opened to 90,000 in the cutoff. Stefan Dimitrov then committed his stack of 490,000 from the big blind, and Cortazar immediately called with the covering stack.

Stefan Dimitrov: A♠4♦ All in
Xavier Cortazar: Q♠Q♣

Cortazar flopped a set on 2♥A♥Q♦ and left Dimitrov without outs on the 8♠ turn. The meaningless 10♠ river was dealt as a formality as Dimitrov took his exit in 16th place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Xavier Cortazar	3,260,000 555,000	555,000
Stefan Dimitrov	Busted

Tags: Stefan Dimitrov Xavier Cortazar

1 day 22 hours ago

Blaison Shoves Twice

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Stewart Morrison

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Hugo Blaison moved all in from the button for 280,000, and Jason Wheeler called, putting him at risk.

Hugo Blaison: A♣9♣ All in
Jason Wheeler: A♠7♦

The 10♥8♣J♠A♥10♦ board meant there was no double-up for Blaison, as both he and Wheeler chopped the pot.

The very next shuffle, Blaison moved all in again, but this time he scooped in the blinds as nobody called.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason Wheeler	2,180,000 80,000	80,000
Hugo Blaison	420,000 40,000	40,000

Tags: Hugo Blaison Jason Wheeler

1 day 22 hours ago

Updated Chip Counts

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Bernhard Binder	6,480,000 10,000	10,000

Roman Stoica	3,315,000 420,000	420,000

Xavier Cortazar	2,705,000 25,000	25,000
Longmao Fan	2,345,000 45,000	45,000
Jason Wheeler	2,260,000 30,000	30,000
Raul Mestre	2,100,000 50,000	50,000

Miroslav Rizov	1,840,000 205,000	205,000
Samuel Ju	1,595,000 155,000	155,000
Ognyan Dimov	1,490,000 140,000	140,000

David Djian	1,180,000 20,000	20,000
Rodrigo Selouan	1,060,000 40,000	40,000

Oshri Lahmani	1,050,000 40,000	40,000
Leonard Maue	1,005,000 10,000	10,000
Jose Malpelli	990,000 100,000	100,000
Stefan Dimitrov	530,000
Hugo Blaison	380,000 100,000	100,000

1 day 22 hours ago

Maue Shoves on Cortazar

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Stewart Morrison

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Leonard Maue raised to 80,000 first to act, and the action folded to Xavier Cortazar in the small blind, who three-bet to 220,000. Maue responded with a four-bet all-in for roughly 700,000, and Cortazar folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Xavier Cortazar	2,680,000 240,000	240,000
Leonard Maue	995,000 365,000	365,000

Tags: Leonard Maue Xavier Cortazar

1 day 22 hours ago

Mehdi Chaoui Eliminated in 17th Place (€37,200)

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Bernhard Binder raised his button to 80,000, and Mehdi Chaoui defended his big blind. Binder continued for 85,000 on the 2♦10♥J♠ flop, which Chaoui check-called.

The 3♥ turn saw Binder size up to 190,000. Chaoui then check-raised all in for 460,000, only to be snapped off by Binder.

Mehdi Chaoui: J♥7♦ All in
Bernhard Binder: Q♦J♣

Chaoui was outkicked and at risk of elimination. The 9♠ river did not provide a miracle for the Day 1a chip leader, who departed the EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event in 17th Place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bernhard Binder	6,470,000 605,000	605,000

Mehdi Chaoui	Busted

Tags: Bernhard Binder Mehdi Chaoui

1 day 22 hours ago

Stoica Four-Bets Wheeler

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Stewart Morrison

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Roman Stoica raised to 80,000 from the hijack and faced a three-bet to 340,000 from Jason Wheeler in the small blind. After taking a little bit of time to think over his options, Stoica responded with a four-bet to 625,000, and Wheeler snap-folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Roman Stoica	2,895,000 45,000	45,000

Jason Wheeler	2,290,000 560,000	560,000

Tags: Jason Wheeler Roman Stoica

1 day 22 hours ago

Fan Bests Blaison in Blinds

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Longmao Fan raised it up to 115,000 in the small blind. Hugo Blaison debated in the big blind before he called, seeing Fan continue for 80,000 on the subsequent 2♣K♥10♠ flop. Blaison raised to 210,000, and Fan called.

Fan check-called as Blaison piled in a bet of 280,000 on the 5♣ turn, after which the 7♦ river was checked to showdown. Fan showed Q♥Q♦ for a pair of queens.

Blaison could not beat it and mucked his cards in defeat, leaving him with 12 big blinds in his stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jason Wheeler	2,850,000 575,000	575,000
Roman Stoica	2,850,000 370,000	370,000

Longmao Fan	2,300,000 250,000	250,000
Jose Malpelli	1,090,000 170,000	170,000
Rodrigo Selouan	1,020,000 440,000	440,000

Hugo Blaison	480,000 1,105,000	1,105,000

Tags: Hugo Blaison Longmao Fan

1 day 22 hours ago

Djian Doubles in Blinds

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Stefan Dimitrov open-jammed in the small blind, and David Djian called off his stack of 580,000 in the big blind.

David Djian: K♦J♠ All in
Stefan Dimitrov: K♣6♣

The 8♠3♠7♠ flop diminished Dimitrov's outs, although the 4♦ turn still provided a sweat. The 4♥ river paired the board, however, which meant Djian's hand remained best and he doubled up.

Player	Chips	Progress
David Djian	1,200,000 560,000	560,000
Stefan Dimitrov	530,000 660,000	660,000

Tags: David Djian Stefan Dimitrov

1 day 22 hours ago

Cortazar Continues to Climb

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Stewart Morrison

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Raul Mestre opened to 80,000 from under the gun, and Xavier Cortazar called in the big blind.

Cortazar checked in flow on the K♦Q♠A♣ flop, but then called a continuation bet of 70,000.

The 4♦ turn saw another check from Cortazar, and another bet from Mestre, this time for a more substantial 220,000. Cortazar called again.

The flush-completing 6♦ completed the board, and this time, when Cortazar checked for a third time, Mestre checked back.

It proved a wise decision, as Cortazar flipped over A♦9♦ for a rivered nut flush.

Player	Chips	Progress
Xavier Cortazar	2,920,000 590,000	590,000
Raul Mestre	2,050,000 450,000	450,000

Tags: Raul Mestre Xavier Cortazar