Who Will be Crowned EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Champion?
Can Mike Watson win a second EPT Main Event title? Will Leonard Maue or Joachim Haraldstad finally break through? Can Leo Worthington-Leese go coast to coast to finally capture a major title? Or will a Frenchman come from behind and reign supreme in their backyard? Those are the questions that will be answered on Day 6 of the €5,300 EPT Main Event.
The 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® is winding down as players return to Sporting Monte Carlo for the final day of the festival. There are just six players remaining with a shot at EPT glory and the first-place prize of €890,000 that goes along with it. Each player has locked up €180,900 but there is still some life-changing money up for grabs.
Final Table Payouts and Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | €890,000 | $978,039 | ||
| 2nd | €556,600 | $611,659 | ||
| 3rd | €397,450 | $436,766 | ||
| 4th | €305,750 | $335,995 | ||
| 5th | €235,150 | $258,411 | ||
| 6th | €180,900 | $198,795 | ||
| 7th | Jason Wheeler | United States | €139,150 | $152,915 |
| 8th | Arunas Sapitavicius | Lithuania | €107,050 | $117,639 |
| 9th | Maduka Meragal | Canada | €82,350 | $90,496 |
Watson, the Canadian poker pro, is all too familiar with the spotlight on the brightest stage having won the PCA Main Event back in 2016. He will be returning today with a stack of 8,135,000 chips and the hopes of adding another title to his poker resume. The only person Watson will be looking up to is Worthington-Leese who edged him out late on Day 5 with 8,270,000 chips.
Worthington-Leese was the man who brought the field down to six players and wrapped things up on Day 5 by eliminating EPT circuit regular Jason Wheeler. The British poker pro is looking for his first major title and will hope to go wire-to-wire on the final day in order to do so. Haraldstad (5,130,000) and Maue (4,305,000) find themselves situated in the middle of the pack and are looking for that breakthrough moment. Each player has been on the circuit for quite some time and have some results to back them up, but an EPT title today would be their biggest accomplishment thus far.
Rounding out the bottom of the pack, but certainly not out of contention, are the two Frenchman Samy Boujmala (3,675,000) and Arnaud Enselme (3,415,000). Boujmala won a qualifier for the event and is playing one of the largest buy-in events of his short career while Enselme has already locked up his largest career score already. Each player will be returning with over 30 big blinds but will have their work cut out for them.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samy Boujmala | France | 3,675,000 | 37 |
| 2 | Mike Watson | Canada | 8,135,000 | 81 |
| 3 | Leo Worthington-Leese | United Kingdom | 8,270,000 | 83 |
| 4 | Leonard Maue | Austria | 4,305,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Arnaud Enselme | France | 3,415,000 | 34 |
| 6 | Joachim Haraldstad | Norway | 5,130,000 | 51 |
The cards are scheduled to go in the air at 12:30 p.m. local time with roughly 35 minutes remaining in Level 29 and the blinds at 50,000/100,000 and a 100,000 big blind ante. The levels will continue to be 90 minutes long until just three players remain, where they will be cut in half to 45 minutes.
The PokerNews updates will be on a 30-minute delay to remain in sync with the PokerStars live stream that can be found on the Twitch and YouTube platforms. Be sure to tune in to find out who will be crowned the 2023 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event champion in just a few hours' time.