€5,300 Main Event
Dia 5 Iniciado
€5,300 Main Event
Dia 5 Iniciado
Marcelo Simoes called poker his "second job." The 55-year-old entrepreneur from Rio de Janeiro enjoys playing poker so much that he barely considers naming other hobbies. Football? A little bit. But it's really all about poker when it comes to Simoes, a seasoned live player. His previous results came almost exclusively from venues on the other side of the Atlantic, except for two side event notches at EPT Barcelona 2019.
This is only Simoes' second trip to Europe, but he's already talking about coming back to Barcelona for the next EPT. Simoes enjoys deep stacks and slow structure, which allows him to utilize "all of my arsenals." He also added that he doesn't feel nervous playing in big fields, and his track record confirms that. Simoes is currently second in the PokerStars-sponsored BSOP Player of the Year rankings.
While this deep run won't count towards the leaderboard, Simeos will surely not be disappointed. He's already locked up the biggest score of his career, besting the $109,350 top prize from the BSOP Punta del Este 2017 Main Event.
Entering | Chip Count | Position |
---|---|---|
Day 2 | 61,000 | 217 / 332 |
Day 3 | 664,000 | 11 / 85 |
Day 4 | 1,845,000 | 8 / 16 |
Day 5 | 6,890,000 | 2 / 6 |
Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
---|---|---|
Marcelo Simoes
|
6,890,000 |
From Silkeborg, Morten Hvam rarely appears on the live poker circuit. PokerStars TV viewers might remember him from EPT Prague 2019, where he fell short of the final table, finishing in 13th place for €55,690. Other than that, the 32-year-old had only one other reported live cash before coming to Monaco.
Hvam has a part-time job in the banking industry, and when he plays cards, it's almost exclusively online. If that changes soon is yet to be seen, although Hvam and his wife like to travel. They have an eight-month-old boy, and Hvam would like to bring his family to Monaco sometime soon as he's enjoyed his poker vacation.
He had a fantastic to the Main Event, claiming the overall chip lead after Day 1. Since then, he's done well to position himself among the biggest favorites to win the title and end the Danish hiatus. It's been 10 years since the EPT crowned the last champion from Denmark — Jannick Wrang at EPT8 Campione.
Entering | Chip Count | Position |
---|---|---|
Day 2 | 327,500 | 1 / 332 |
Day 3 | 465,000 | 27 / 85 |
Day 4 | 3,895,000 | 1 / 16 |
Day 5 | 7,350,000 | 1 / 6 |
Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
---|---|---|
Morten Hvam
|
7,350,000 |
From Vancouver, Washington, American player Jaime Cervantes is on his first-ever trip to Europe. He stopped at EPT Monte Carlo before he will embark on a holiday trip to Greece. By that point, he will be six figures richer.
The 27-year-old turned pro in the fall of 2020, with typical poker beginnings leading up to the career move. Cervantes had started playing with friends while at high school, then competed in smaller buy-in events. A year-and-a-half ago, high-stakes pro Ali Imsirovic started mentoring Cervantes and offered him a chance to play higher.
Cervantes‘ breakout result came last summer at The Wynn Classic in Las Vegas; he final-tabled a $10,000 major to pick up the $289,361 seventh-place prize. Cervantes has a shot at topping that payday here in Monaco; a top-four finish would set his new career-high score. "I'm taking it one step at a time," Cervantes said, describing an approach he also needs to have on fairways; golfing is a passion he's explored in the last couple of years.
Entering | Chip Count | Position |
---|---|---|
Day 2 | 91,000 | 158 / 332 |
Day 3 | 204,000 | 61 / 85 |
Day 4 | 1,500,000 | 11 / 16 |
Day 5 | 4,735,000 | 5 / 6 |
Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
---|---|---|
Jaime Cervantes | 4,735,000 |
An online qualification propelled Erkan Soenmez to travel to Monaco. He won the EPT Main Event package for €530; otherwise, he wouldn't be here. Still, though, the 37-year-old salesman from Hannover is quite experienced at the felt. Soenmez plays poker a decent amount of time. Online, he enjoys firing up the Sunday slate — once in a while — and playing live event satellites.
Soenmez said he usually makes three or four poker trips each year, with Barcelona and Prague being his regular spots. Most of his buy-ins fall into the mid-stakes category, in which he's notched several five-figure scores.Yet, coming into this tournament, Soenmez had a fairly modest objective: "My aim was to cash," he said.
Reaching a final table on the big stage is an entirely new dimension for the father of four. "My kids are too young to know that I play poker, so they think I'm on a business trip," he revealed. Now Soenmez is guaranteed to return home with the biggest prize of his poker career.
Entering | Chip Count | Position |
---|---|---|
Day 2 | 71,000 | 200 / 332 |
Day 3 | 446,000 | 30 / 85 |
Day 4 | 2,075,000 | 7 / 16 |
Day 5 | 4,850,000 | 4 / 6 |
Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
---|---|---|
Erkan Soenmez | 4,850,000 |
In 2014, then-22-year-old Hugo Pingray won one of the largest tournaments ever held: the 7,862- entry Monster Stack at World Series of Poker. That victory was worth $1,327,083. Eight years later, Pingray's Hendon Mob profile is a mere $180,000 richer.
But make no mistake, Pingray used the life-changing cash very well. Now an entrepreneur and fund manager, Pingray doesn't have to focus on poker as much. He moved to Dubai, where he handles his investments.
The Frenchman still likes the game, but it's not his priority anymore. Pingray became a father nine months ago, so his options to play are now even more limited. Still, he found time to arrive at EPT Monte Carlo and proved that he's still capable of making deep runs.
Entering | Chip Count | Position |
---|---|---|
Day 2 | 215,000 | 15 / 332 |
Day 3 | 540,000 | 18 / 85 |
Day 4 | 3,360,000 | 3 / 16 |
Day 5 | 5,525,000 | 3 / 6 |
Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
---|---|---|
Hugo Pingray | 5,525,000 |
Last year, Dragos Trofimov won a Spring Championship of Online Poker event, banking $47,660. The 28-year-old from Moldova plays as "Fenryr03" online at PokerStars, but he's also a very recognizable face at live events. With $535,680 in career earnings, Trofimov is third on his nation's all-time leaderboard, trailing only Pavel Plesuv and Vyacheslav Stoyanov.
Trofimov already has a coveted trophy at home; he topped the £2,200 High Roller at PokerStars Festival London in 2018 for £73,990. It had been his career-best result until he reached the final table here in Monaco.
Guaranteed to pick up a six-figure payout, it will also be his third EPT Main Event cash. Trofimov can become Moldova's first-ever EPT champion, but he has the work cut out for him as he's bringing the shortest stack to the final day.
Entering | Chip Count | Position |
---|---|---|
Day 2 | 144,000 | 70 / 332 |
Day 3 | 658,000 | 12 / 85 |
Day 4 | 1,495,000 | 12 / 16 |
Day 5 | 3,085,000 | 6 / 6 |
Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
---|---|---|
Dragos Trofimov | 3,085,000 |
The final six players out of an 1,073 entry strong field in the 2022 EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event will return to their seats on the feature stage of the Salle des Etoiles at Le Sporting Monte-Carlo at 12.30 pm local time to determine a champion in the second-biggest PokerStars European Poker Tour stop presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®️.
It is already certain that the popular live poker series will crown a maiden winner and Brazil's Marcelo Simoes as well as Moldova's Dragos Trofimov could not only earn their own but also the first-ever EPT Main Event title for their respective home countries.
Simoes is second on the leaderboard with 6,890,000 in chips and only trails Morten Hvam (7,350,000), while Trofimov is the shortest stack but his 3,085,000 represent a mighty 39 big blinds for the restart.
The trio in the middle of the pack is separated by only ten big blinds. 2014 WSOP bracelet winner Hugo Pingray returns with 5,525,000 followed by PokerStars qualifier Erkan Soenmez (4,850,000) and Jaime Cervantes (4,735,000) on his first trip to Europe rounds up the final table line-up.
Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Marcelo Simoes | Brazil | 6,890,000 | 86 |
2 | Morten Hvam | Denmark | 7,350,000 | 92 |
3 | Jaime Cervantes | United States | 4,735,000 | 59 |
4 | Erkan Soenmez | Germany | 4,850,000 | 61 |
5 | Hugo Pingray | France | 5,525,000 | 69 |
6 | Dragos Trofimov | Moldova | 3,085,000 | 39 |
The action is scheduled to recommence with 76:13 minutes remaining in level 28 at blinds of 40,000/80,000 and a big blind ante of 80,000. All levels last 90 minutes each and once there are three contenders remaining, the level duration will be cut in half. The same would also apply if a deal is made in which case all those still with chips at their disposal would have to still compete for 10% of the remaining prize pool by then.
The biggest slice of the €5,204,050 prize pool is still up for grabs and the six finalists have locked up a payday of €167,050. However, the prestigious EPT Main Event title and top prize of €939,840 are reserved for the winner.
Place | Winner | Country | Prize2 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | €939,840 | ||
2 | €564,640 | ||
3 | €397,590 | ||
4 | €298,710 | ||
5 | €228,460 | ||
6 | €167,050 |
The final showdown will be broadcasted on a security delay of 30 minutes on the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels. All PokerNews live updates will be published according to the delayed cards-up coverage.
Nível: 28
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 80,000
Jaime Cervantes raised to 220,000 from under the gun with the and Morten Hvam called in the big blind with the . The flop was checked by Hvam, who then faced a bet of 155,000 by Cervantes and opted to call.
Neither player gained any equity on the turn and Hvam checked again. Cervantes now made it 600,000 to go into a pot of 870,000 but Hvam stuck around to the river.
Hvam checked the third street in a row and Cervantes gave up the pot by checking behind for Hvam to extend the lead.
Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
---|---|---|
Morten Hvam
|
8,370,000 | 1,020,000 |
Jaime Cervantes | 3,760,000 | -975,000 |