Enrico Coppola on Verge of Second EPT Final Table in a Year on Day 5 of EPT Paris Main Event
The penultimate day of the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Paris is about to begin, headlined by Day 5 of the prestigious €5,300 EPT Main Event. Only 16 players from the starting field of 1,474 entries will return to Le Palais des Congrès at noon local time, meaning the final table is within reach for the remaining contenders.
Two players in the field have been here before, as they have already accomplished the dream of making an EPT final table once in their careers. Less than a year ago, Enrico Coppola finished fourth in the most recent edition of the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, while Tomas Jozonis booked a third-place finish in the same tournament in 2018. Both were awarded with just over €300,000 for their tournament runs, but are now hunting an even larger payout: the seven-figure first prize of €1,148,600.
Jozonis and Coppola will return today in the middle of the pack, with Jozonis being in sixth place with a stack of 2,865,000, just shy of 60 big blinds, and Coppola closing out the top ten with 2,070,000 in chips. Both are trailing Nazar Buhaiov, the chip leader with 7,375,000, as the lion's share of the €7,075,200 prize pool is about to be divided, with Frenchman Thierry Gogniat following at a considerable distance with 4,475,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nazar Buhaiov | Ukraine | 7,375,000 | 148 |
| 2 | Thierry Gogniat | France | 4,475,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 4,340,000 | 87 |
| 4 | Jessica Teusl | Austria | 3,150,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Mitch Garshofsky | United States | 3,140,000 | 63 |
| 6 | Tomas Jozonis | Lithuania | 2,865,000 | 57 |
| 7 | Jorge Abreu | Portugal | 2,745,000 | 55 |
| 8 | Felix Schneiders | Germany | 2,735,000 | 55 |
| 9 | Raphael Bilger | France | 2,445,000 | 49 |
| 10 | Enrico Coppola | Italy | 2,070,000 | 41 |
Dutch grinder Joris Ruijs completes the podium with a stack of 4,340,000, while Jessica Teusl is looking to become the first female winner of an EPT Main Event in 12 years with her 3,150,000 chips. Popular poker streamer Felix Schneiders is also still in the mix, returning with 2,735,000 in his best-ever EPT Main Event run.
Among the shorter stacks are Romanian regular Mihai Tabac (1,790,000), NAPT winner Sami Bechahed (1,655,000), and online grinder Casimir Seire (1,175,000). Not being the first player eliminated today is vital to them, as the guaranteed payout of €47,250 will jump up to €56,750 when 15 remain.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,148,600 | 9 | €106,150 | |
| 2 | €717,350 | 10-11 | €81,650 | |
| 3 | €512,400 | 12-13 | €68,050 | |
| 4 | €394,150 | 14-15 | €56,760 | |
| 5 | €303,150 | 16 | €47,250 | |
| 6 | €233,200 | |||
| 7 | €179,350 | |||
| 8 | €137,950 |
Day 5 of the EPT Paris Main Event will resume with 48 minutes and 26 seconds to go in Level 26, with blinds at 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante. Each level after will be 90 minutes long until the final table is reached. At that point, the tournament will transition to using a set number of hands per level. The plan for today is to play down to the final six, although that remains subject to change.
PokerStars will be streaming the action on their YouTube and Twitch accounts all day, on a 30-minute delay. The updates on PokerNews will follow the same delay to prevent spoilers.
The 2026 EPT Main Event is getting into the business end, and PokerNews will follow the action closely to provide a comprehensive live report. Stay tuned as the cards will go into the air in Paris shortly.