€25,000 EPT High Roller
Day 3 Completed
2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo
€25,000 EPT High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo
Buy-in
€25,000
Prize Pool
€5,066,110
Entries
211
Level
33
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
21
Players Left
1
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
After just over 11 hours of play on the final day of the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino??, Belarus’ Mikita Badziakouski defeated Ben Heath in heads-up play to take the title in the prestigious €25,000 High Roller and the €938,042 first-place prize after a deal was made.
Badziakouski came into Day 3 in third position and kept his foot on the pedal the whole way to become victorious after a lengthy heads-up battle.
With over $40 Million in live tournament earnings, Badziakouski is no stranger to these high-roller fields. Having just finished runner-up for €1,009,853 a week ago in the €100,000 No Limit Hold'em Super High Roller here in Monte-Carlo, Badziakouski finishes the series with a staggering €1,947,895 in total cashes.
A total of 211 entries joined the field over the first two days of play to create a massive prize pool of €5,066,110, beating last year's numbers by 32 players.
Some of the biggest and best names in poker joined the action which included high-stakes regulars Timothy Adams, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Artur Martirosian, Justin Bonomo, and unfortunate bubble boy Isaac Haxton, who got his stack in with top pair against a gut shot for Badziakouski who hit the river to send Haxton out in 32nd place.
The final 31 players were all guaranteed a minimum cash of €43,550, but with much more to play for. Some notables who were fortunate enough to make a return on their investment included PokerStars Ambassador Sam Grafton (31st - €43,550), Orpen Kisacikoglu (28th - €43,550), Nick Petrangelo (27th - €50,150), Patrik Antonius (23rd - €57,600) and PokerStars’ Alejandro Lococo (17th - €76,200), who managed to spin up a stack of only two big blinds to ladder his way up to a 17th place finish.
EPT Monte Carlo €25,000 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | €938,042* |
| 2 | Ben Heath | England | €801,068* |
| 3 | Enrico Camosci | Malta | €477,750 |
| 4 | Steve O'Dwyer | United States | €367,500 |
| 5 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | €282,700 |
| 6 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | €220,800 |
| 7 | Roman Samoylov | Israel | €184,000 |
| 8 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | €153,350 |
*- denotes final two chop deal
Day 3 Highlights
A total of 21 hopefuls returned to the blue felts on the final day with dreams of a deep run to victory. Lithuania’s Dominykas Mikolaitis came into the day in the chip lead position and maneuvered his stack to the final nine players. Unfortunately for him, he picked up six-five suited in a heads-up pot against Steve O’Dwyer who held king-deuce suited, and when both players rivered a flush, Mikolaitis was sent to the rail in ninth place.
The eight-handed final table got off to a hot start with many big pots going back and forth. The first casualty came when Igor Yaroshevskyy moved in with king-jack but was up against the pocket queens for Enrico Camosci who held up to send Yaroshevskyy out in eighth place.
A short while later, Roman Samoylov was on a short-stack and moved in with queen-ten. Daniel Dvoress made the call with king-jack and when the board flopped two pair for Samoylov but Broadway for Dvoress, it was the end of the road for the Israeli who fell in seventh place.
Dvoress couldn’t continue his run good when he got in a big pot against Badziakouski and committed his whole stack except for a single-5,000 chip. Dvoress got caught bluffing and would make the fold when Badziakouski shoved over the top. Two hands later, Dvoress would hit the rail in sixth place when he couldn’t spin up his one chip.
Five-handed play went on for a while before Felipe Ketzer moved in with ace-ten but was called by the ace-queen for Badziakouski. When the board ran out ace-high it was the better kicker for Badziakouski that took the pot to send Ketzer to the exit in fifth place.
Soon after, O'Dwyer would run into a cooler when he four-bet jammed his 1,800,000 in the middle and was snapped off by Badziakouski with pocket aces. The board didn’t improve either player and O’Dwyer was forced to settle for a fourth-place finish.
Camosci nursed a short stack for much of the final table and was able to stay alive up until three-handed play when he got his last chips in with pocket nines against the jacks for Badziakouski. The flop saw a jack and the rest of the runout was no help to Camosci who finished in third place.
Heads-up play started with Badziakouski having an almost 4-1 chip lead on Heath, and what looked to be a short heads-up match was definitely not the case. Badziakouski started strong, chipping away at Heath and extended the lead to just under 9-1. The turning point for Heath, however, was when he found ace-four against the queen-nine for Badziakouski and scored the double up when all the chips hit the middle preflop.
After another hour of back-and-forth battle, Heath found another double up when he called off his tournament life on an ace-high board with ace-queen and was up against the flush and straight draw for Badziakouski. The river bricked off and Heath took the lead for the first time in the match.
Badziakouski didn't give up and managed to climb his way back to close to even before taking down a massive pot with queen-jack after making the nut-straight on the river. Badziakouski fired a big bet of 2,000,000 and got paid when Heath made the call with a worse holding.
After close to three hours of heads-up play, both players discussed an ICM deal and would flip for the trophy. The dealer dealt out five-four to Heath and three-deuce to Badziakouski. The flop saw a three and when the turn and river didn't match Heath's hand the tournament was over and Badziakouski was the winner.
That wraps up the coverage from the 2023 EPT Monte-Carlo. Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team throughout the month of May and beyond for live reports from your favorite events all over the world.
Level 33
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
After the players came back from break, they decided to take an ICM chop.
The numbers turned out to be as follows:
| Player | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Mikita Badziakouski | €938,042 | $1,050,748 |
| Ben Heath | €801,068 | $897,316 |
After both players agreed, they went all-in blind for the trophy.
Ben Heath: 5?4?
Mikita Badziakouski: 3?2?
Badziakouski won the flip when he hit a pair on the 3?K?K?8?6? board, and the €25,000 EPT High Roller was officially in the books.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
10,550,000
3,050,000
|
3,050,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 33
Blinds: 125,000/250,000
Ante: 250,000
Level 32
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
The players are taking one more 15-minute break as the T-5,000 chips are getting chip raced.
Level 32
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
In a limped pot preflop on a flop of 10?8?8?, both Mikita Badziakouski in the big blind and Ben Heath on the button checked their options to the 3? turn.
Badziakouski led out for 400,000 and Heath made the call. On the 9? river Badziakouski took some time before announcing a big bet of 2,000,000.
Heath pondered for a short while before tossing in a chip for the call. Badziakouski tabled Q?J? for the nut-straight and Heath mucked his cards.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,500,000
2,600,000
|
2,600,000 |
|
|
3,050,000
-2,600,000
|
-2,600,000 |
Level 32
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Mikita Badziakouski limped his button and Ben Heath checked the big blind. The 9?10?3? flop saw Heath check to Badziakouski, who bet 200,000. Heath made the call and the 2? turn was dealt.
Badziakouski now made a bet of 750,000 and once more Heath called. The pair then both checked the 6? river. Heath flipped over 9?5? for a pair of nines, but Badziakouski had the bigger pair with K?10?.
Only a couple of big blinds are now between the two fierce competitors as the heads up of the €25,000 EPT High Roller continues late into the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,650,000
-1,900,000
|
-1,900,000 |
|
|
4,900,000
1,900,000
|
1,900,000 |
Level 32
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Just before the blinds went up Mikita Badziakouski opened to 325,000 on the button and was called by Ben Heath in the big blind.
The flop fanned out 10?5?4? and Heath check-called a bet of 250,000 from Badziakouski. The 8? hit the turn and Heath checked again to Badziakouski who fired for 700,000. Heath made the call and the pair saw the 3? river.
Both players checked their options to a showdown and Heath quickly rolled over 8?7? for a pair of eights and the winning hand when Badziakouski mucked his cards.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,550,000
1,320,000
|
1,320,000 |
|
|
3,000,000
-1,320,000
|
-1,320,000 |
Level: 32
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 200,000
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Ben Heath limped his button and Mikita Badziakouski checked his option in the big blind. The players then checked the 10?J?3? flop, before Badziakouski led 150,000 on the K? turn. Heath called the bet and a river was dealt.
The 5? showed itself and Badziakouski upped his sizing to 250,000 this time. Heath again made the call and Badziakouski showed down 8?4? for a rivered flush. Heath had no higher spade in his hand and Badziakouski scooped the pot.
Heath has been winning a majority of the small pots being played, but Badziakouski came out as the victor in this latest one.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,230,000
430,000
|
430,000 |
|
|
4,320,000
-430,000
|
-430,000 |