Elie Saad raised to 160,000 in middle position before Robbie Bull moved all in for 1,980,000 in the cutoff. Miroslav Alilovic in the big blind asked for a count and tanked for several minutes until he called for around 1,500,000, while Saad got out of the way.
Miroslav Alilovic: 10♥10♦
Robbie Bull: A♥K♣
"Good luck," Bull told Alilovic as they saw the flop come A♦6♠4♣. Bull hit top pair to take the lead, while the board ran out 8♥8♣ to send Alilovic to the rail.
Robbie Bull moved all in for 850,000 from the hijack and Pedro Lourenco put him at risk from middle position.
Robbie Bull: K♣Q♣
Pedro Lourenco: 6♥6♦
The 10♠A♠10♥ flop kept Lourenco in the lead, but Bull hit the Q♦ on the turn to make two pair. The river was the K♦ and Bull doubled up, knocking Lourenco down to an extreme short stack.
Atanas Malinov limped in from the button and Guillaume Nolet came along from the small blind. Harry Lodge then raised to 500,000 in the big blind and Malinov folded.
Nolet, though, moved all in and Lodge peered back at the clock before calling for 100,000 more.
Harry Lodge: A♠J♣
Guillaume Nolet: 3♦3♥
The 2♠8♥Q♣ flop was no help to Lodge, and neither was the 9♦ turn. The river was the 3♣ and Nolet improved to a set to send Lodge to the rail.
Federico Macori opened to 125,000 from under the gun and was called by Marco Gambini from the hijack. Gabi Livshitz and Vladimir Heinich called from the blinds.
The Q♠J♣4♦ flop checked through to the 8♠ turn and Livshitz led out for 325,000. His bet folded out the table and he flashed QxJx for top two pair.
The following hand, Livshitz opened to 125,000. Heinich moved all in for around 400,000 before Macori rejammed as the bigger stack. Livshitz made an "ICM fold," and the cards went on their backs.
Vladimir Heinich: A♠K♣
Federico Macori: A♣J♦
The J♠ was in the window, with the 10♣3♣ coming in behind it. Macori jumped into the lead but Heinich could still find a king or queen to survive. The A♦ turn kept things the same and the 7♦ river marked Heinich's elimination.
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.
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!
