Javier Caballo raised to 100,000 second to act and saw action fold to Boris Angelov, who was in the small blind. He three-bet to 265,000 to put the action back on Caballo.
Caballo, who had around 900,000 total, moved all in after using a time bank. Angelov quickly called and the cards were turned over.
Javier Caballo: A♠Q♦
Boris Angelov: J♣J♥
"Do you feel it?" asked Angelov. Caballo nodded in agreement.
Caballo was flipping for his tournament life, but was at a greater risk of flat-lining after the 10♠8♠8♣ flop.
The 5♥ turn offered no saving grace and the 8♦ river confirmed Caballo's exit.
Rania Nasreddine opened to 100,000 on the button. Philipp Wenzelburger picked up J♥J♦ in the small blind and three-bet to 350,000, and Nasreddine called.
Both players checked the K♣8♠3♦ flop. The turn was the A♥ and Wenzelburger led out for 200,000.
Nasreddine called and the 3♥ fell on the river. Wenzelburger then bet 450,000 and Nasreddine called again with K♠Q♦ to win the pot with two pair.
By dropping that pot, Wenzelburger fell from atop the chip leaderboard for the first time today.
Jovan Kenjic raised to 100,000 under the gun before Jamil Wakil moved all in for 750,000 in the hijack. "I have aces," Kenjic said as he snap-called.
Jamil Wakil: K♣10♣
Jovan Kenjic: A♠A♦
"Good call," Boris Angelov said to Kenjic as the flop came J♦8♠6♥. The K♥ turn gave Wakil some outs, but he missed the 2♦ river and was sent to the rail in 13th place.
Natan Chauskin initiated the action by raising to 100,000 from the cutoff, with Boris Angelov calling from the small blind. After using two time bank cards, Jozef Cibicek made a three-bet to 275,000 from the big blind. Chauskin promptly folded, and after some consideration, Angelov went all-in. Cibicek wasted no time in calling.
Jozef Cibicek: A♠J♠
Boris Angelov: A♦Q♦
Chauskin remarked, "I folded an ace," while Jonathan Pastore added, "And I folded a jack." Another player chimed in, "There are four jacks in the deck," unknowingly anticipating the outcome.
As the dealer revealed the flop, one of the remaining two jacks appeared: 9♣3♣J♦.
The turn and river failed to improve Angelov's hand, showing 7♥10♣, securing Cibicek's victory as he doubled his remaining stack of 1,575,000.
Adrian Mateos opened from early position to 80,000 before Francisco Benitez three-bet to 250,000 and called for his tournament life when Mateos moved all in as the bigger stack.
Francisco Benitez: Q♥Q♦
Adrian Mateos: A♣K♠
Mateos made two pair on the A♠K♣3♦ flop to take the lead. Benitez found no help on the 2♦ turn or 3♥ river and was eliminated from the Feature Table.
Nathan Tetart raised to 80,000 under the gun, Javier Caballo three-bet to 180,000 in early position, and Tetart called.
The flop came Q♥6♦3♠ and Caballo bet 125,000. Tetart then moved all in for 540,000 and Caballo snap-called.
Nathan Tetart: K♣Q♣
Javier Caballo: K♠K♥
Tetart had flopped top pair, but he was left drawing only to two outs after running into Caballo's kings. The board ran out 2♣J♣ and Tetart was sent to the rail.
David Docherty found himself in the under the gun position, faced with the decision to either go all in immediately or automatically be forced all in in the next hand. Exhausting all four of his remaining time bank cards, he ultimately chose to push all his chips into the pot. Natan Chauskin, positioned on the button, decided to call, while Boris Angelov, in the big blind, opted to check.
Neither Angelov nor Chauskin took further action on the 10♥5♦2♠J♠9♠ board, leading to a showdown.
David Docherty: K♦8♥
Boris Angelov: K♥4♥
Natan Chauskin: 9♣7♣
Chauskin's pair of nines dominated both opponents, ultimately leading to Docherty's elimination from the tournament.
Day 5 of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour €5,300 Main Event is underway, with 16 players returning to Sporting Monte-Carlo in pursuit of the title, trophy, and the €1,000,000 prize awaiting the champion.
Action begins at 12 p.m. local time, expected to conclude when the tournament reaches its final six players.
Day 4 started explosively, with 14 players eliminated in the first level of play, many within the first half-hour. At the forefront heading into the finale is Philipp Wenzelburger (6,545,000), who staged an impressive comeback from just 13 big blinds.
Following at a considerable distance is Jonathan Guedes, holding the second spot with 3,570,000 in chips. In close pursuit are Jovan Kenjic (3,255,000), Natan Chauskin (3,180,000), and Canadian player Jamil Wakil, ending the day with 2,470,000.
EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Philipp Wenzelburger
Germany
6,545,000
164
2
Jonathan Guedes
Brazil
3,570,000
89
3
Jovan Kenjic
Serbia
3,255,000
81
4
Natan Chauskin
Belarus
3,180,000
80
5
Jamil Wakil
Canada
2,470,000
62
6
Adrian Mateos
Spain
2,405,000
60
7
Boris Angelov
Bulgaria
2,395,000
60
8
Rania Nasreddine
United States
2,135,000
53
9
Jonathan Pastore
France
2,060,000
52
10
Francisco Benitez
Uruguay
1,845,000
46
11
Derk van Luijk
Netherlands
1,660,000
42
12
Niclas Thumm
Germany
1,430,000
36
13
Jozef Cibicek
Slovakia
1,400,000
35
14
Javier Caballo
Spain
1,105,000
28
15
Nathan Tetart
France
750,000
19
16
David Docherty
United Kingdom
40,000
1
Rania Nasreddine, the last woman standing, held the second-highest chip count on Day 2. However, she started Day 4 with one of the lowest chip stacks, but managed to climb back into the middle of the field. Nasreddine typically plays live poker in the USA and is only on her second tour stop.
David Docherty
David Docherty still clings to the chip-and-a-chair dream after losing almost his entire stack on the final hand of the previous day, attempting a bluff against Adrian Mateos. Docherty was left with just one big blind as the day concluded.
It was Docherty who dealt the final blow to Alexander Seibt, known as "Wolfgang Poker," eliminating him in 18th place, with only one more player remaining before the tournament's temporary conclusion.
Kenjic sealed the end of yesterday's proceedings by sending Vladimir Troyanovskiy to the rail in 17th place.
EPT Monte Carlo Trophy
All players have secured a minimum payout of €40,600, which increases to €48,800 after the first elimination of the day. Today's goal is to play down to the final six players, who will compete tomorrow to determine the champion. Currently, there are 47 minutes and 20 seconds left in level 25, with blinds set at 20,000-40,000 and a big blind ante of 40,000. After this level, the blinds will increase to 25,000/50,000.
You can catch all the live stream action, featuring cards-up coverage and commentary, on the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels. PokerNews updates will be posted with a 30-minute security delay to align with the broadcast.
Keep following PokerNews for live updates as the tournament progresses towards the final table.
