Sergiy Dudka was in the cutoff and got his last 15,000 in the middle against Samir Rahal in the small blind.
Sergiy Dudka: Q♠Q♦
Samir Rahal: A♣A♠
Rahal had picked up aces to leave Dudka at risk of being the first player to be eliminated. The 5♥3♥4♥K♣8♦ board provided no help to Dudka and he was sent to the rail.
Around 15,000 was already in the middle as Jon Kyte and Fabrice Maltez went to the river on a board of 7♣10♦J♥10♠J♦.
According to the table, Kyte had opened under the gun and Maltez called in the cutoff before button David Santana three-bet. Both players called and checked through the flop.
Maltez bet 3,000 on the turn, Kyte raised to 9,000, and Maltez called. On the river, Kyte then bet 13,500 and Maltez moved all in.
Kyte only had around 5,500 behind and quickly folded as Maltez took the massive pot without a showdown.
Gangzhou Hu had a bet of 8,600 in front of him from the button on a flop of 6♥J♦4♣ and Gerard Rubiralta raised to 16,500 in the big blind.
Hu called and the turn came the 6♠. Rubiralta then bet 6,500 and Hu called.
The river was the Q♠ and Rubiralta bet 6,000, leaving himself just one 500 chip behind. Hu quickly called and Rubiralta showed 6♦4♥ for a full house. Hu mucked.
It took one huge hero call for the EPT record books to be changed forever.
A year ago, Mike Watson picked off a big bluff from Leonard Maue to win the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo title and €749,425 top prize. It was the Canadian high roller’s second EPT title after he won the PCA in 2016, joining Victoria Coren Mitchell and Mikalai Pobal on the short list of multiple-time champions. He beat out a field of 1,098 entries and a final table that also included Leo Worthington-Leese, Arnaud Enselme, and Jason Wheeler.
2023 EPT Monte Carlo Final Table results
Place
Player
Country
Prize (EUR)
1
Mike Watson
Canada
€749,425
2
Leonard Maue
Germany
€697,125
3
Leo Worthington-Leese
United Kingdom
€397,450
4
Joachim Haraldstad
Norway
€305,750
5
Samy Boujmala
France
€235,150
6
Arnaud Enselme
France
€180,900
7
Jason Wheeler
United States
€139,150
8
Arunas Sapitavicius
Lithuania
€107,050
Mike Watson
It was just the latest in a series of magical moments that have taken place here at Sporting Monte-Carlo, a tradition that continues today when Day 1a of the €5,300 Main Event begins at noon local time.
Ever since Dutch poker legend Rob Hollink won the first edition of this event in 2005, Monte Carlo has seen champions such as Triple Crown winners Gavin Griffin and Mohsin Charania, as well as Adrian Mateos, Manig Loeser, and Watson. It was here that Steve O’Dwyer finished atop what was arguably the most talent-packed final table in EPT history in 2013. A year later, Antonio Buonanno and Jack Salter played into the early hours of the morning in a legendary heads-up duel that will go down in EPT lore until Buonanno emerged victorious.
One player will add their name to this legacy this week, and that journey begins today. Players begin the tournament with a 30,000 starting stack. The two Day 1 flights consist of 10 60-minute levels, with a 20-minute break every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6, which should come around 6:40 p.m. Two entries maximum are allowed across both starting flights, with late registration open until the start of Day 2 on April 30.
PokerNews will be following the action throughout the tournament, so stay tuned for all the live updates.
