The Monte-Carlo stop of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) is one of the most prestigious of the tour. The Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort is a luxurious, decadent setting that is fitting for the high-octane 2023 PokerStars EPT Monte-Carlo festival.
EPT Monte-Carlo runs from April 26 through May 6, and PokerNews is delighted to reveal its live reporting team will be on the ground from start to finish, bringing you the very best of live poker tournament updates from seven of the biggest, most sought after events on the bustling 53-event calendar.
PokerNews EPT Monte-Carlo Live Reporting Schedule
Our coverage kicks off with the €10,200 Mystery Bounty from April 26-27. Last time out, this event was a €5,200 buy-in affair that saw Jean-Noel Thorel outlast 83 opponents on his way to collecting €107,290.
Next up, also starting on April 26 but running through to April 30, is the €1,100 FPS Main Event. Always a popular tournament, the FPS Main Event last year drew in 999 unique players that purchased 919 re-entries between them, thus creating a €1,841,280 prize pool. The tournament ended in a heads-up chop between champion Brazilian Lucas Scafini (€250,000) and Italian Fabio Peluso (€217,340). Expect similar numbers in 2023.
Another hugely popular FPS event, the €2,200 High Roller, hits your screens from April 29-30. Some 861 players, including re-entries, bought in last year, and Frenchman Pascal Mouysset came out on top, and banked €308,790 of the €1,653,120 prize pool. Mouysset later finished seventh in the €2,200 ESPT High Roller at EPT Barcelona, so expect him to be in the mix looking to retain his title.
Our coverage of the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller is guaranteed to capture the imagination of our readers, not least because it attracts the biggest names in the live poker world. Adrian Mateos is the reigning champion, the Spaniard reeling in a €1,385,430 score after coming out on top of a 42-strong field that saw €4,074,840 awarded. Our €100,000 EPT Super High Roller coverage runs from April 29 through May 1.
Of course, the tournament everyone wants to win is the €5,300 EPT Main Event. Brazil’s Marcelo Simoes Mesqueu helped himself to a gargantuan €939,840 and the title of champion, joining a long list of elite-level players that have left the world-famous Monte-Carlo as an EPT Main Event champion. Mesqueu is yet to cash in a live event during 2023, but he used his newfound bankroll to full effect throughout 2022, cashing in almost 50 events in his native Brazil. The EPT Main Event runs April 30 to May 7.
Rounding off PokerNews‘ coverage of EPT Monte-Carlo is the €3,000 Mystery Bounty from May 2-4, and the €25,000 EPT High Roller from May 4-6. The former is a new event for Monte-Carlo, while Italian superstar Gianluca Speranza is the reigning champion in the latter after he defeated popular pro Bruno Lopes of France to cash in the €853,000 top prize.
Past EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event Champions
| Season | Year | Buy-in | Entrants | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2005 | €10,000 | 211 | Rob Hollink | €635,000 |
| 2 | 2006 | €10,000 | 298 | Jeff Williams | €900,000 |
| 3 | 2007 | €10,000 | 706 | Gavin Griffin | €1,825,010 |
| 4 | 2008 | €10,600 | 842 | Glen Chorny | €2,020,000 |
| 5 | 2009 | €10,600 | 935 | Pieter de Korver | €2,300,000 |
| 6 | 2010 | €10,600 | 848 | Nicolas Chouity | €1,700,000 |
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | 2012 | €10,600 | 665 | Mohsin Charania | €1,350,000 |
| 9 | 2013 | €10,600 | 531 | Steve O’Dwyer | €1,224,000 |
| 10 | 2014 | €10,600 | 650 | Antonio Buonanno | €1,240,000 |
| 11 | 2015 | €10,600 | 564 | Adrian Mateos | €1,082,000 |
| 12 | 2016 | €5,300 | 1,098 | Jan Bendik | €961,800 |
| 2018 | €5,300 | 775 | Nicolas Dumont | €712,000 | |
| 2019 | €5,300 | 922 | Manig Loeser | €603,777 | |
| 2022 | €5,300 | 1,073 | Marcelo Simoes Mesqueu | €939,840 |
Win Your Way to Monte-Carlo Online at PokerStars
Fancy seeing your name appear on the PokerNews Live Reporting pages? Then you may want to consider hitting the EPT Monte-Carlo satellites, available only at PokerStars. The lobby shows there is a €530 buy-on EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event Qualifier at 8:10 p.m. BST on April 13 and another on April 16, each awarding at least one €9,000 package.
The package consists of a €5,300 EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event seat, eight nights’ accommodation for you and a guest at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel from April 29 to May 7, and €508 credited to your PokerStars account to cover travel expenses.
At the time of writing, 55 PokerStars players have won €9,000 packages, including Sylvain “calculer_” Loosli, Jason “jdtjpoker” Wheeler, and Pablo “pabritz” Silva, so joining them would put you among good poker company.
Head to PokerStars today if you already have an account, and get involved in the EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event satellites, which start at only €1.10. Those without a PokerStars account can download PokerStars via PokerNews, create an account, then make a deposit using the bonus code “STARS600” to receive a 100% match up to $600 first deposit bonus.
In fact, your first three deposits in the first 60 days after making your first deposit are matched up to a combined total of $600.
The bonus releases into your playable balance in $10 increments each time you generate 180 redemption points, which in turn are earned at a rate of five per $1 contributed to the cash game rake or spent on tournament fees (6.5 points per £1, 5.5 points per €1, and four points per CAD$).