Roman Stoica Claims EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Victory, Earns €825,000

(AsiaGameHub) –   Roman Stoica claimed victory in the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo €5,300 no-limit hold’em main event, defeating Bernhard Binder heads-up at Sporting Monte-Carlo. The tournament attracted 1,011 entries, marking the sixth-largest field in EPT history, and Stoica secured €825,000, equivalent to approximately $965,250.

Key Facts

• Roman Stoica triumphed over a field of 1,011 players in the EPT Monte Carlo main event.
• The total prize pool amounted to around $5.74 million.
• Bernhard Binder finished second, earning $602,550 despite starting the final day as chip leader.

Stoica Achieves His Largest Live Tournament Payout

The 31-year-old St. Petersburg native now boasts nearly $1.6 million in live tournament earnings. His win at Monte Carlo surpassed his previous best result—a $431,367 payout from a €3,250 mystery bounty event during the 2025 EPT Barcelona festival.

This triumph also grants Stoica one of the premier titles on the European poker circuit. After the decisive hand, he told PokerStars representatives:

“I’m very happy that I’ve become an EPT champion. This is every poker player’s dream,”

He continued:

“I’m feeling great… I just won €825,000, so how else can I feel!”

The 18th edition of EPT Monte Carlo distributed prizes to 151 participants from a total pot of $5,736,920. Notable players who cashed included Juha Helppi, Derk van Luijk, Joao Vieira, Benjamin Pollak, Benny Glaser, Dimitar Danchev, Thomas Eychenne, Boris Kolev, Mehdi Chaoui, Ognyan Dimov, Jason Wheeler, and Leonard Maue.

Binder entered the final day leading the chip counts. The Austrian had already captured major victories at the 2025 World Series of Poker Paradise super main event in December and the 2026 Triton Jeju $125,000 high roller in March, making another significant result part of an impressive streak at the highest level.

At the final table, Oshri Lahmani was eliminated first, followed by Raul Mestre and Longmao Fan. Stoica then secured crucial all-in wins against Jose Malpelli before seizing control against David Djian, who placed third after calling on the river with a flush attempt, only to lose to Stoica’s made flush. Samuel Ju finished fourth after Binder hit Broadway on the river.

Heads-up play began with Stoica holding roughly a 3-to-1 chip advantage. Binder connected with a pair on the final board, but Stoica held trips on the flop with 75 against 774. Binder called Stoica’s river shove with queens and sevens, allowing Stoica to claim the EPT Monte Carlo main event championship.