Ryan Riess ended up all in with his severe short stack and was called by initial raiser Viktor Katzenberger.
Ryan Riess:
Viktor Katzenberger:
Riess paired his nine on the flop, while Katzenberger picked up a flush draw on the . The river was a blank and Riess survived yet another all in on the final table.
Last year, Haoxiang Wang got as close as you can to winning a European Poker Tour EPT Main Event, going into the final table at EPT Barcelona as the chip leader but ultimately having to settle for second.
In Monte Carlo, there’s a chance for redemption as his countrymate and roommate here in Monaco Wei Huang now sits at the €5,300 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event final table big stage with the golden trophy and €827,700 on the line.
“Last year I lost the championship, so I really want my friend to win, so I can touch the trophy,” Wang told PokerNews.
Click here to the read the full article at the PokerNews homepage.
Wei Huang open-jammed first to act with the for 3,060,000 and Manig Loeser in the small blind asked for a count with the . Loeser then made the call and Ryan Riess folded in the big blind.
Huang paired his deuce on the flop and spiked the turn to take the lead. A blank followed on the river and Huang jumped into the second spot with five players remaining.
Strangely enough, it could have something to do with Sam Grafton. Yesterday, Sasha Salinger caught up with the current EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table chip leader.
Ryan Riess opened the cutoff to 250,000 with the and Wei Huang just called on the button with the . Nicola Grieco had the in the small blind tossed in raising chips to make it a three-bet to 705,000.
Riess folded and Huang moved all in, Grieco beat him into the pot for his last 3,005,000.
The board came and Grieco doubled to join the top of the leader board alongside Manig Loeser.
Ryan Riess open-shoved the button in the first hand after the break for 1,925,000 and Wei Huang called in the small blind.
Ryan Riess:
Wei Huang:
"Both my suits are live," Riess said before the flop fell to give Riess an open-ended straight draw. The turn gave Huang the spade draw, but Riess got there with the river to double.
Manig Loeser raised to 160,000 from under the gun, Luis Medina three-bet shoved his final 485,000 and Loeser quickly called it off.
Luis Medina:
Manig Loeser:
There was no help for the Portuguese on a flop but he picked up extra outs with the on the turn. The river wasn't one of them and Medina was gone in sixth place.
At noon local time, the Main Event of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour will kick off its final day. Over the course of four days, a field that started off with 922 players has been whittled down to the final six. All remaining contestants can look forward to a payday of at least €152,800, but the lion's share of the prize pool of €4,471,700 is still up for grabs. The winner at the end of the night will receive €827,700 in prize money, plus adding the accolade of being called an EPT champion to their name.
EPT Monte Carlo always lures the best of the best to the rich principality in the south of France, and it comes to no surprise that two high stakes phenoms have made their way to the final six. Germany's Manig Loeser (4,005,000 / 67 bb) is a common sight in tournaments sporting five- and six-figure buy-ins and ranked #18 on the Global Poker Index (GPI). Loeser has the advantage of being used to the spotlights as well as the money at stake, and will certainly be one of the favorites up front.
2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ryan Riess
United States
3,585,000
60
2
Wei Huang
China
5,690,000
95
3
Nicola Grieco
Italy
7,160,000
119
4
Viktor Katzenberger
Hungary
6,070,000
101
5
Manig Loeser
Germany
4,005,000
67
6
Luis Medina
Portugal
1,105,000
18
Loeser faces strong opposition from none other than 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (3,585,000 / 60 bb). Over the years, Riess certainly has put his name up for consideration in regards for most accomplished world champ ever and his current #15 GPI ranking reflects that, putting himself even ahead of Loeser. A win for Riess would cement his legacy as one of poker's top talents, and while three people have won both the WSOP Europe Main Event and an EPT title, Riess could become the first person to combine poker's biggest price with EPT success.
Loeser and Riess will have to battle it out with Nicola Grieco, who starts as the chip leader with 7,160,000 in chips (119 bb). Grieco is an animated character at the table, and the passionate Italian has the chips and confidence to put on a show today and make him a dangerous wild card. Second in chips is Hungarian cash games Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000 / 101 bb), who relocated to Malta to pursue a professional poker playing career. Katzenberger, a cash gamer by trade, has already locked up his biggest tourney score ever.
For recreational player Wei Huang, his first trip to Monaco has become a roaring success. The 34-year old from Shanghai looks up to Erik Seidel as his poker idol, but can pull off a feat the poker giant has never done before: winning an EPT Main Event. Rounding out the final six is 56-year old Luis Medina from Portugal (1,105,000 / 18 bb), who's the only short stack at the start of the final table.
Action of the final day will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and PokerNews coverage will follow along with the live stream. Make sure to check back regularly as the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo draws to a close and one of these six will add their name to the tour's rich history of winners.
Will Ryan Riess become the first WSOP Main Event champion to also win an EPT Main Event?
Former World Champion Ryan Riess needs little introduction. Having won the 2013 WSOP Main Event, Riess already has a place in poker history. That $8,361,570 prize will be hard to top for the 28-year-old, but Riess has continued to deliver excellent results in the years after his great run in Las Vegas. He's racked up a total of $14.2 million, and his pedigree includes several six-figure cashes in the EPT high buy-in tournaments where Riess regularly rubs shoulders against the top players in the world.
While based in Vegas, Riess has frequently been visiting Europe to travel around the poker circuit. He will play on his first EPT Main Event final table tomorrow, but he'd already come close to making the last table in a PokerStars-sponsored Main Event; he finished 15th at PokerStars Championship Bahamas back in 2017.
Recreational player Wei Huang is enjoying his first trip to Europe, and he's on his way to make the most out of it. The 34-year-old from Shanghai entered Day 4 of the Main Event last in chips with 30 players left, but he showed high resistance and even took over the pole position on the last three tables. A crucial hand that propelled Huang to a massive leap through the standings saw him cooler Melika Razavi in a flush-over-flush encounter.
Huang, who wears the gear of his favourite football team Shanghai Greenland, works in PepsiCo financial department back in China. He plays poker only occasionally, but now eyes to become the first Chinese champion of the flagship European tournament, not even a year since Haoxiang Wang's narrow miss at EPT Barcelona. Huang revealed that he looks up to Erik Seidel.
![[user38873]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop, while Katzenberger picked up a flush draw on the 
. The 
river was a blank and Riess survived yet another all in on the final table.
. Loeser then made the call and Ryan Riess folded in the big blind.
flop and spiked the 
turn to take the lead. A blank 
followed on the river and Huang jumped into the second spot with five players remaining.
and Wei Huang just called on the button with the 
. Nicola Grieco had the 
and Grieco doubled to join the top of the leader board alongside Manig Loeser.
to give Riess an open-ended straight draw. The 
turn gave Huang the spade draw, but Riess got there with the 
river wasn't one of them and Medina was gone in sixth place.
