Russian Roman Stoyka Wins EPT Monte Carlo Main Event with Binder Close

Austrian Bernhard Binder came close to winning yet another major poker tournament last night, only to fall at the last fence. The European Poker Tour rolled out of Monte Carlo minus one presenter as Joe Stapleton hung up his microphone, while Russian pro Roman Stoyka finally sealed an EPT victory after near-misses in the $6,200-entry Main Event, winning the top prize of close to a million dollars.

A Thousand Smiles

There were 1,011 total entries in the 2026 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event this year, meaning a top prize of close to $1,000,000 in the €5,300 ($6,200) buy-in tournament. Russia’s Roman Stoyka was the eventual winner, bumping his lifetime earnings in poker from $1.7m to over $2.6m as he outlasted a final table featuring Spanish poker crusher Raul Mestre and the eventual runner-up Bernhard Binder.

With just 151 players reaching the money, there were profitable trips to the expensive resort of Monte Carlo for poker author and player Maria Konnikova (146^th for $10,800), the former world champion Hossein Ensan (134^th for $10,800), Germany’s Tom Fuchs (86^th for $14,250), Irish PokerStars Team Pro David Lappin (74^th for $14,250), former EPT winner Derk van Luijk (46^th for ($18,900), Russian tournament specialist Nikita Kuznetsov (31^st for $25,000) and Benny Glaser (27^th for $28,700).

When the eight-handed final table was reached, the Austrian player Bernhard Binder was the chip leader. Binder’s record in the past few months is the envy of virtually every poker player in the world, with the Austrian’s success in the WSOP Super Main Event for $10,000,000 followed up on by his victory in the Triton Jeju Main Event for $2.1m. He led the field but with 58 big blinds, he was only 40 bigs ahead of the short stack Jose Malpelli from France and that ‘concertina’ effect meant everyone had a great chance of victory.

Fast Start Proves Fatal for Fan

The first player to leave the final table was Israel’s Oshri Lahmani, who cashed for $116,650 in eighth place. He was unlucky to do so, too, pushing pre-flop for 21 big blinds with pocket jacks and getting called by David Djian with pocket eights. The board of 5-3-3-K-8 was a cruel one, dashing the Israeli’s hopes on the river.

Next to go was Raul Mestre of Spain. He won $151,375 when he shoved with king-nine pre-flop only to run into Binder’s ace-king, which easily held to reduce the field to six players. Soon, that was five, as Chinese player Longmao Fan bowed out for $196,900. Fan only had 775,000 left when he shoved with king-seven of diamonds, running into the pocket sixes of Binder to lose a coinflip and his tournament life in the process.

Frenchman Jose Malpelli was the next player to depart, winning $256,000 in fifth place when he lost out to the eventual winner. All-in with pocket nines, Malpelli faced an agonising wait as Roman Stoyka weighed up the option for a big call, but he eventually made it with ace-queen. A board of 8-4-4-5-A saved the fate card to last, as Malpelli saw his pair overtaken on the river to leave outside the top four.

Stoyka Achieves His Dream

Down to four players, the German player Samuel Ju was the next to leave. All-in with pocket tens pre-flop, he was in a coinflip for his tournament life against Bernhard Binder, and the Austrian looked to be doubling up his opponent after a flop of J-T-2 gave Ju trips and a safe turn card of a five meant only Broadway would take Ju out. Of course, a king landed on the river to give Binder the best straight out there and the best hand in the process, as a crestfallen Ju departed with $332,600 outside the podium places.

The French player David Djian busted in third place for $432,550 just a few minutes later. A board of 8-6-3-A-T with three diamonds had fallen before Stoyka moved all-in, leaving Djian to make an agonizing decision. In the end, he called with ten-six for two-pair, only to be shown nine-ten for Stoya in diamonds, the eventual winner having made the flush on the turn.

Heads-up, that pot was vital to Stoyka, as the Russian entered heads-up play with 75% of the chips in play. Soon, he had them all. On a board of 7-7-4-9-Q, Stoyka’s shove was considered for a long time by Binder, only for the Austrian to eventually call off his stack with king-queen for two pair. Stoyka turned over seven-five for flopped trips and it was over. In just four hours,  Roman Stoyka had defeated the seemingly invincible Bernhard Binder for a top prize of $965,000, with the Austrian forced to settle for second place and

$604,100.

You can watch the dramatic conclusion to the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event here, including a touching tribute to the outgoing EPT commentator and presenter Joe Stapleton (below). The award-winning poker host may be moving on to pastures new, but the EPT will return after their traditional summer break in Barcelona.