The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo is running full steam at the stunning Sporting Monte-Carlo. Kicking off on April 24, the ongoing festival has crowned its first bounty champion in French poker powerhouse Antoine Labat, who outlasted a competitive field of 93 entrants in the €10,200 Mystery Bounty to earn his first EPT trophy.
Labat took home the largest share from the €902,100 prize pool, which was shared by the top 13 players. He banked €116,800, plus €40,000 in bounties. The Frenchman is no stranger to the final table at EPT events and has notched up over eight final table finishes, including a runner-up finish in the €2,200 Estrellas Poker Tour High Roller at EPT Barcelona last summer for a massive prize of € 500,000.
The Mystery Bounty paid out the top 13 players and Roberto Romanello (13th for €8,700) was the first player to finish in the money. He was followed by Byron Kaverman (12th for €8,700), Thomas Santerne (11th for €10,800), and Ilya Nikiforov (10th for €10,800) whose exit led to the final table.
2024 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo Mystery Bounty Final Table Recap
The first casualty from the final table was Vicente Delgado whose pocket queens ran into poker aces of Damian Salas. The next player to fall was Ole Schemion whose Qd 2d lost to the dominating Ad Jd of Labat. Up next, Aliaksei Boika ace-queen lost to pocket sixes of Salas and he exited in seventh place.
During six-handed play, Felipe Boianovsky went on tear, eliminating the next four players. His first victim was Bert Stevens who went out in sixth place. Boianovsky then eliminated Alex Kulev whose ace-queen lost to Boianovsky’s ace-king. Kulev hit the rail in fifth place. Boianovsky continued his momentum and busted Jon Vallinas in fourth place. During the three-handed play, he busted Damian Salas who ran his 9d 2h into Jd 9c of Boianovsky, moving into heads-up with a massive chip lead.
Boianovsky held 6,385,000 over Antoine Labat’s 2,915,000 stack. Following a back-and-forth battle, Boianovsky finally shoved with Ac 4d and Labat called with Qh 10c. The board ran out 7c Jc 9s 7s 8d, giving Labat the straight and the EPT trophy! Boianovsky had to settle for €75,200 as the runner-up.
2024 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo Mystery Bounty Final Table Payouts EURO)
Antoine Labat – €116,800
Felipe Boianovsky – €75,200
Damian Salas – €53,700
Jon Vallinas – €41,300
Alex Kulev – €33,100
Bert Stevens – €26,400
Aliaksei Boika – €21,200
Ole Schemion – €16,900
Vicente Delgado – €13,500
Ankit Ahuja Among Top Contenders After Day 2 of €1,100 FPS Main Event; Virgile Turchi Leads The Pack
The 2024 PokerStars EPTMonte Carlo has several Indians in attendance, including WSOP bracelet winner Nikita Luther, Apoorva Goel and two-time GPI POY winner Ankit Ahuja. Currently in the spotlight is none other than Ahuja. Fresh off his GUKPT Edinburgh High Roller victory for £25,200, Ahuja is making waves in the €1,100 FPS Main Event, which is now down to only 31 players out of 2,096 challengers. Leading the way is France’s Virgile Turchi with 4,270,000 chips. Ahuja is eleventh in chip position with 2,625,000 chips into the weekend with a shot at FPS title and the €303,190 top prize.
With a solid stack in hand, Ahuja must be aiming for the top €303,190 top prize. Ranked fourth on India’s all-time money list with over $2.67 Million in live earnings, coupled with his recent successes, his landmark win at the EPT Cyprus Eureka Main Event, and established legacy on the international circuit, he possesses the skill and determination to take down another title. Wishing him the best of luck for the main event, and hoping to see another EPT trophy in his hands!
ALSO CHECK: ANKIT AHUJA WINS GUKPT EDINBURGH HIGH ROLLER TO CLAIM HIS FIRST LIVE TITLE OF 2024
Top Chip Counts After 2024 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo FPS Main Event Day 2
Virgile Turchi 4,270,000
Remy Murcia 4,015,000
Federico Macori 3,730,000
Atanas Malinov 3,640,000
Guillaume Nolet 3,210,000
Eusebiu-Nicolae Jalba 3,155,000
Kuljinder Sidhu 3,150,000
Uri Gilboa 3,065,000
Gil Aboodi 2,905,000
Antonino Venneri 2,770,000
Ankit Ahuja 2,625,000
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Source: PokerNews & PokerStars
Image Credit: PokerNews & PokerStars
