Francesco Tropea initiated the action with a raise to 120,000 under the gun, receiving calls from Uri Gilboa in the small blind and Marco Gambini in the big blind.
Following the flop of 5♣10♣Q♦, Gilboa quickly check-called Tropea's bet of 205,000, prompting Gambini to fold.
The 7♥ turn saw Gilboa check once more to Tropea, who deliberated briefly before placing a 500,000 bet. Gilboa swiftly grabbed his stack of 100,000 chips, totaling approximately 1,700,000, compelling Tropea to go all-in, as he had fewer chips remaining in front of him.
Francesco Tropea: K♥Q♥
Uri Gilboa: 7♣7♦
Tropea was drawing dead, so there was no saving card on the river, which turned out to be 8♠. Tropea finished in 30th place, securing a €6,590 prize.
Eusebiu Jalba opened to 120,000 from middle position before Pierre Basile three-bet 300,000 from the button. Action folded to Jalba, and he jammed as the bigger stack. Basile, with 970,000 total, called for his tournament life.
Pierre Basile: A♥K♥
Eusebiu Jalba: Q♥Q♠
Jalba's queen remained ahead after the 10♣8♠6♠ flop and J♦ turn, but the K♣ river paired Basile up to ensure his survival.
In a blind versus blind battle, Federico Macori bet 75,000 on a flop of J♣7♠7♥ and Vladimir Heinich called.
The turn was the 2♠ and Macori bet another 175,000. Heinich again called to see the K♥ river.
Macori then bet 700,000 and Heinich grabbed the bet to see how much it was before being reminded by the dealer not to touch the chips in the pot. Heinich ended up tanking for several minutes but ultimately gave up his hand as Macori took down another pot.
The action kicked off when Antonino Venneri opened from under the gun. Gerald Eisele, seated in the big blind, pushed all-in with his remaining 550,000 chips, prompting Venneri to make the call.
Gerald Eisele: J♣J♦
Antonino Venneri: K♦3♦
Initially, things seemed promising for Eisele with the flop and turn revealing 3♥9♦4♠10♣. However, the K♠ river card favored Venneri, improving him to two pair. This unfortunate turn of events sent Eisele packing in 31st place, earning him €6,590.
Federico Macori, opened to 125,000 from the cutoff and Francesco Tropea defended his big blind.
Tropea check-called for 180,000 on the K♥J♦3♠ flop after some extensive time in the tank. Tropea checked the A♥ turn and then after some more thinking time, he folded to a bet of 235,000.
Kuljinder Sidhu raised to 125,000 under the gun and Pedro Lourenco called on the button. Jason Wheeler then moved all in for 1,250,000 in the big blind, Sidhu reshoved, and Lourenco folded.
Jason Wheeler: J♦J♥
Kuljinder Sidhu: A♠K♣
The flop came 10♣9♥K♠ to give Sidhu the lead with a pair of kings, but Wheeler spiked the Q♥ on the turn to make a straight. The river was the 6♠ and Wheeler earned an early double up.
Today marks the continuation of the €1,100 PokerStars France Poker Series Main Event at Sporting Monte-Carlo. Commencing at 12 p.m. local time, the remaining 31 players will strive to secure a seat at the final table.
Virgile Turchi leads the start of day 3 with 4,270,000 in chips. Having notched four cashes at the 2024 EPT Paris in February, the Frenchman also secured a 13th-place finish in last year's €5,300 EPT Main Event in Monte Carlo. Turchi enters Day 3 with 71 big blinds, one of just two players boasting over 4,000,000 in chips. He clinched a significant pot by hitting a flush against a flopped set.
Close behind is Remy Murcia, who securely carried 4,015,000 chips into Day 3. Federico Macori (3,730,000) and Atanas Malinov (3,640,000) are also edging towards the four million mark.
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Virgile Turchi
France
4,270,000
71
2
Remy Murcia
France
4,015,000
67
3
Federico Macori
Italy
3,730,000
62
4
Atanas Malinov
Bulgaria
3,640,000
61
5
Guillaume Nolet
Canada
3,210,000
54
6
Eusebiu-Nicolae Jalba
Romania
3,155,000
53
7
Kuljinder Sidhu
United Kingdom
3,150,000
53
8
Uri Gilboa
Israel
3,065,000
51
9
Gil Aboodi
United States
2,905,000
48
10
Antonino Venneri
Italy
2,770,000
46
Ankit Ahuja
The event drew 2,096 entries from 70 countries across four starting flights, generating a prize pool of €2,012,160. On Day 2 the 314 players were guaranteed a minimum payout of €1,630. However, the focus was on building a stack to contend for the €303,190 first-place prize and the prestigious PokerStars trophy. Only 10% of those players managed to secure a spot for Day 3.
Among the notable players is Ankit Ahuja, positioned just outside the top 10 with a chip stack of 2,625,000. Also worth monitoring are Gabi Livshitz, holding 1,810,000 chips, and Harry Lodge with 835,000. With all 31 players remaining, each is guaranteed at least €6,590.
Felix Schneiders
None of the three PokerStars Ambassadors who began Day 2 made it through. Despite a strong start, neither Simon Wiciak nor Lasse Jagd Lauritsen could survive. Felix Schneiders was the final ambassador to bust, exiting after a good run to finish in 153rd place for €2,480.
Even notable names such as EPT Champion Davidi Kitai and defending FPS champion Mateusz Moolhuizen failed to advance to Day 3.
Play will resume at Level 27, with blinds set at 30,000/60,000 and a big blind ante of 60,000. The objective is to play down to the final six players, who will be featured on the award-winning PokerStars Livestream on Day 4.
The PokerNews team will be here providing detailed coverage of the event, so stay tuned to follow all the action and see who will be left standing by the time Day 3 concludes!