Welcome to the 2022 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event
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The flagship tournament of the 2022 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® awaits as of May 2, 2022. At noon local time, Le Sporting Monte Carlo will welcome poker enthusiasts from near and far for the marquee event of the EPT stop, which has returned to the French Riviera after a three year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All signs point towards a very successful EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event as the attendance numbers of the early events all convinced. Not only the high-stakes competitions but also the FPS €1,100 Main Event gathered large fields and the latter set a new record for the venue in Monte Carlo with a field of 1,918 entries.
The first EPT Main Event since the return to the live poker arena in Prague attracted a field of 1,190 entries and missed out on a record for the stop in the Czech capital by just three entries. Whether or not a similar performance can be expected for the French Riviera remains to be seen.
History of the EPT stops in Monte-Carlo
| Stop # | Year | Entries | Prize Pool (EUR) | Winner | Country | First Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 2005 | 211 | € 1,983,400 | Rob Hollink | Netherlands | € 635,000 |
| 14 | 2006 | 298 | € 2,801,200 | Jeff Williams | United States | € 900,000 |
| 22 | 2007 | 706 | € 6,636,400 | Gavin Griffin | United States | € 1,825,010 |
| 33 | 2008 | 842 | € 8,420,000 | Glen Chorny | Canada | € 2,020,000 |
| 44 | 2009 | 935 | € 9,350,000 | Pieter De Korver | Netherlands | € 2,300,000 |
| 57 | 2010 | 848 | € 8,480,000 | Nicolas Chouity | Lebanon | € 1,700,000 |
| 83 | 2012 | 665 | € 6,650,000 | Mohsin Charania | United States | € 1,350,000 |
| 91 | 2013 | 531 | € 5,310,000 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | € 1,224,000 |
| 99 | 2014 | 650 | € 6,500,000 | Antonio Buonanno | Italy | € 1,240,000 |
| 106 | 2015 | 564 | € 5,640,000 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | € 1,082,000 |
| 112 | 2016 | 1098 | € 5,325,300 | Jan Bendik | Slovakia | € 961,800 |
| 117 | 2018 | 777 | € 3,768,450 | Nicolas Dumont | France | € 712,000 |
| 121 | 2019 | 922 | € 4,471,700 | Manig Loeser | Germany | € 603,777 |
PokerStars first headed to Monte Carlo back in 2005 during Season 1 of the EPT and returned for most of the years. Until 2016 it was referred to as the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final, wrapping up the season of the live poker tour before the operator switched to an annual schedule instead. The very first EPT Monte Carlo champion was Rob Hollink and another Dutchman lifted the trophy in 2009 when Pieter de Korver took home a top prize of €2,300,000 when he came out on top of a 935-entry field in the €10,600 buy-in.
Other big names to win their maiden EPT Main Event title on the French Riviera were Jeff Williams, Gavin Griffin, Mohsin Charania, Steve O'Dwyer and Adrian Mateos. In 2016, the buy-in was lowered to €5,300 and Jan Bendik was the first winner thereafter in a record-setting field of 1,098 entries. French driving instructor Nicolas Dumont followed and Manig Loeser is the defending champion following his victory back in 2019.
All players aiming to follow in the footsteps can enter throughout two starting days and prior to the start of Day 2 on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. The two flights feature a total of ten levels of 60 minutes each and each participant is allowed a total of two entries during the registration period.
With blinds of 100-100 and a big blind ante of 100, the EPT €5,300 Main Event is renowned for its deep structure and each participant has 30,000 chips available, good enough for 300 big blinds in the very first level. There will be a break every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break upon completion of level six with the action concluding just after midnight local time.
Approximately 15% of the field will be paid and a 30-second shot clock will be implemented as of Day 3 when the tournament is expected to be near the money bubble. As of Day 2, the level duration also increases to 90 minutes each and will be halved once there are three players remaining or a deal has been made.
The PokerNews live reporting team will provide exclusive updates from the flagship Main Event until a winner has been crowned and live-stream action will be available as of Day 2 on the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels as well.
. Kitty Kuo had checked and then faced a bet worth 10,000 by Japan's Rintaro Kagawa. Without much hesitation, Kuo called and Kagawa tabled the 
for aces and jacks to win the first big pot of the day.
flop, Francky Magliocco in the small blind checked to Youness Ait Hssain and the latter bet 4,500 in the hijack. He forced one fold for Magliocco to then check-raise to 12,000 and it folded back to Ait Hssain to make the call.
river with the superior stack. Ait Hssain called all-in with 
but Magliocco had the superior flush in 
.
.
flop was checked to Luca Giovannone in the cutoff, who bet 3,000 into 2,800 and earned calls from Kayhan Mokri in the small blind and Pasquale Di Ceglie in the hijack.
river for 13,200 and Di Ceglie folded. Giovannone called after a few seconds with the 
for two pair by Mokri.
board was checked down, the 
, Reza Mostafavi shoved his last 15,900 and Khashayar Maragheh went into the tank. 
and Maragheh clapped in frustration while briskly tossing his hand into the muck.
, Thi Xoa Nguyen checked in the small blind and so did Julien Sitbon in middle position and Tsugunari Toma on the button.
. Tsugunari Toma had the by far biggest stack of the three players involved and turned over 
.
, Tim Klaversma was seen paying off Fabrice Maltez, who had committed his last 35,000 with 
river. Toma secured a double knockout and soared to the top of the leaderboard by a healthy margin.
