Russia’s Roman Stoica has solidified his place in poker history by taking down the 2026 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event. Stoica topped a field of 1,011 entries to win a career-high €825,000 ($964,574) and the famous European Poker Tour title. Stoica defeated one of poker’s newest crushers, 2025 WSOP Super Main Event champion Bernhard Binder, in heads-up play to claim one of the most prestigious titles in the game.
EPT Monte Carlo Main Event final day action
At the end of the fifth day of play, the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event was supposed to play down to six players. However, play lasted a lot longer than expected, and at the request of the players, the final eight bagged up for the sixth and final day of play.
Bernhard Binder, as he did throughout the tournament, bagged the chip lead for Day 6, while the eventual champion, Roman Stoica, bagged just 25 big blinds and came into the final day in fifth place.
Longmao Fan, who finished 13th in the EPT Malta Main Event in October, also made the final table and started in seventh place.
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernhard Binder | Austria | 7,200,000 | 57 |
| 2 | Raul Mestre | Spain | 4,525,000 | 36 |
| 3 | Samuel Ju | Germany | 4,000,000 | 32 |
| 4 | David Djian | France | 3,675,000 | 29 |
| 5 | Roman Stoica | Russia | 3,200,000 | 25 |
| 6 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | 2,950,000 | 23 |
| 7 | Longmao Fan | China | 2,475,000 | 19 |
| 8 | Jose Malpelli | France | 2,300,000 | 18 |
With the stacks playing a lot shorter than usual, the final day also took a lot less time than normal, with the stream lasting less than four hours in total.
It only took three hands for the field to get cut down to seven, and the elimination came in the most brutal of fashion. With the blinds at 50,000/125,000, David Djian opened to 250,000 from the cutoff with . Oshri Lahmani three-bet jammed for 2,650,000 from the button with . After tanking for some time, Djian called and was in terrible shape.
The board started out a very safe but the river was an incredibly brutal to give Djian the unlikeliest of full houses, eliminating Lahmani in eighth place for €99,450. On the other end, Djian let out a primal roar as he soared to 6,580,000, which vaulted him all the way into second place. He’d beat Binder in the very next hand to take the chip lead.
PokerStars Team Pro Raul Mestre was the next to go on the 11th hand of play, also in stunning fashion. Mestre opened from the button to 250,000, and Binder woke up with from the big blind. Binder three-bet to 1,000,000 and Mestre, to the shock of everyone, four-bet jammed for 5,325,000, nearly 43 big blinds. Binder, of course, snap-called, and Mestre was absolutely devastated after making his incredible ICM error.
Mestre wouldn’t improve and was stunningly out in seventh place for €129,050, while Binder vaulted up to nearly 100 big blinds.
Longmao Fan went out in sixth for a career-high €167,850 after losing a massive flip against Stoica with against Stoica’s to go down to four bigs. After stealing the blinds, Fan would lose a second flip for his remaining stack after shoving into Binder’s . After flopping a flush draw, Fan couldn’t hit any of his 14 outs.
In fifth place was recreational player Jose Malpelli, who qualified via a €250 PokerStars satellite after coming into the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event with less than $10,000 in career live tournament earnings.
After the blinds went up to 75,000/150,000, Stoica opened with from the cutoff for 300,000. Malpelli, with in the big blind, ripped his 2,675,000 into the middle. After confirming the count, Stoica called it off, and they were flipping for 5,575,000 and the Frenchman’s tournament life.
Though the board started to leave Stoica with just three outs after accounting for discarded cards, the river was, unbelievably, the . Malpelli couldn’t be too upset after earning a healthy €218,300 for a week’s work.
High-stakes recreational Samuel Ju was the next one to go after cockroaching with a short stack for some time. Binder opened with from the button and Ju shoved his final nine big blinds from the big blind with . Binder called and it was great news for Ju when the flop came . After a turn, Ju just needed to fade a king. However, the series of sick rivers continued as the river delivered the to take the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event to three-handed play.
A few hands later, Stoica eliminated Djian in third place to take a massive lead into heads-up play with Binder. Stoica limped from the small blind and Djian checked back with .
The flop was and Stoica checked over to Djian, who bet 250,000 with his second pair. Stoica raised to 900,000 with two overs, a gutshot straight draw, and a flush draw. Djian called.
The turn was the . giving Stoica a lock on the hand with a made flush. Stoica bet 800,000 into 2,400,000, and Djian called once again. The river was the , giving Djian a no-good two pair. Stoica jammed, and Djian snap-called his final 3,525,000. Djian pocketed €368,750 while Stoica held a three-to-one chip lead over Binder.
After the first hand, Stoica extended his lead to roughly five-to-one. After the fifth hand, it was all over.
With the blinds up to 100,000/200,000, Stoica limped from the button, and Binder raised to 800,000. Stoica called and flopped the world when it came . Binder checked to Stoica, who bet 350,000. Binder called.
The turn was the , and Stoica bet 1,100,000. Binder, a non-believer, made the call with about 75% pot behind.
The river brought the , giving Binder a no-good top pair. Stoica jammed, and Binder looked bemused before calling. He took the loss in stride as he smiled and shook Stoica’s hand as the Russian was crowned the 2026 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event champion.
EPT Monte Carlo Main Event final table results
“I’m a bit tired, but I’m very happy to become a winner of EPT,” Stoica told PokerNews after his win. “This is the dream of every poker player.
“The secret is to play and practice as much as you can. That’s what brings you to the final table and winning the tournament.”
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roman Stoica | Russia | €825,000 |
| 2 | Bernhard Binder | Austria | €515,000 |
| 3 | David Djian | France | €368,750 |
| 4 | Samuel Ju | Germany | €283,550 |
| 5 | Jose Malpelli | France | €218,300 |
| 6 | Longmao Fan | China | €167,850 |
| 7 | Raul Mestre | Spain | €129,050 |
| 8 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | €99,450 |
Other notables who ran deep in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event include Leonard Maue (9th, €76,500), Jason Wheeler (12th, €51,400), Rodrigo Selouan (14th, €42,800), Mehdi Chaoui (17th, €37,200), Boris Kolev (21st, €28,150), Thomas Eychenne (22nd, €28,150), Benny Glaser (27th, €24,450), and Dietrich Fast (36th, €18,500).
End of an era
With the end of the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, the poker community also had to say goodbye to legendary poker commentator Joe Stapleton. He, along with James Hartigan, has been the primary PokerStars commentator for over 15 years, covering the European Poker Tour and PokerStars’ productions like The Big Game.
Stapleton, who is also a stand-up comedian, is walking away from the commentator booth to focus on his upcoming marriage to model and actress Shelley Hennig. Hennig was a regular on the incredibly popular soap opera Days of Our Lives and starred in Teen Wolf: The Movie.
