Jan-Eric Schwippert limped in from the small blind and Felipe Ketzer checked the big blind. The flop came 10?9?6? and Schwippert led out with a bet of 7,000. Ketzer raised to 21,000 and Schwippert called.
The turn was the 5? and Schwippert checked this time. Ketzer splashed in a stack of chips and Schwippert quickly called off his remaining chips of just over 50,000. Ketzer turned over 8?7? for a straight and Schwippert needed some help with 10?6? for two pair.
The river was the 3? and Schwippert headed to the exit while Ketzer stacked up the biggest stack in the room.
Santhosh Suvarna raised to 9,000 in early position and Julien Sitbon reraised to 27,000 on his left. The action folded back to Suvarna who called to see a flop of 8?7?4?.
Suvarna checked to Sitbon who continued with a bet of 35,000. Sukarna check-raised all in for 117,500 and Sitbon paused for a moment before calling it off. Suvarna turned over K?Q? for a flush draw and was up against the K?K? of Sitbon.
The J? on the turn was a brick and so was the 2? on the river as Sukarna headed to the rail and Sitbon collected another stack.
The action folded around to Sam Grafton in the small blind who just limped in. Sosia Jiang checked her option and the dealer fanned the flop of A?K?6?. Grafton led out with a min-bet of 3,000 and Jiang called.
The turn was the Q? and Grafton made another bet of 5,000. Jiang still called and the 4? completed the board. Grafton announced a third barrel of 8,000 and Jiang finally released her cards.
It is the second day of the prestigious PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino??, and the first winner of a Mystery Bounty event will be crowned before it ends. Day 1 of the €10,300 Mystery Bounty saw 53 players enter the fray at Sporting Monte Carlo, of which 29 bagged for Day 2, which will kick off at 12:30 p.m. However, late registration is still open for the first two levels today, as well as the option for a single reentry for the players who have not already done so, which means that number is bound to increase.
The players have already generated an enticing guaranteed €249,100 cash prize pool to fight over, as well as €265,000 in bounties, which will be divided in a mysterious and yet undisclosed manner, and will be in play once the clock hits Level 13. All figures will be finalized after late registration is closed at the end of Level 10.
Norway’s Kayhan Mokri had gathered the most chips when the final hand of Day 1 was dealt and enters Day 2 with 488,500. Joao Vieira also amassed over four starting stacks and bagged 450,500, while Nacho Barbero falls just shy of that mark in third with 396,000 chips.
Mokri has found plenty of success already in the Mystery Bounty format, getting second in back-to-back €10,200 Mystery Bounty events during the 2023 PCA and EPT Paris 2023. A Mystery Bounty title still eludes both the accomplished Vieira and Barbero as well. Time will tell if one of them is able to capture the victory this time around.
The event has attracted a stacked field with many household names in the high roller scene so far. Among those who have made it through to Day 2 are Sam Greenwood (260,500), Isaac Haxton (250,500), Erik Seidel (145,000), and Adrian Mateos (123,500). Notable players who have bagged less than the starting stack include Timothy Adams (84,500), Daniel Dvoress (84,000), and Nick Petrangelo (75,000)
Top 10 Chip Counts for Day 2
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Kayhan Mokri
Norway
488,500
163
2
Joao Vieira
Portugal
450,000
150
3
Nacho Barbero
Argentina
396,000
132
4
Sosia Jiang
New Zealand
263,000
88
5
Sam Greenwood
Canada
260,500
87
6
Isaac Haxton
USA
250,500
84
7
Felipe Ketzer
Brazil
249,500
83
8
Boris Kolev
Bulgaria
246,500
82
9
Biao Ding
China
231,500
77
10
Maksim Vaskresenski
Poland
227,500
76
Approximately 15% of the field will be in the money and thus receive a portion of the cash prize. The €5,000 that every player has put into the bounty pool will be distributed to the players who knock someone out after Level 13. They will receive a token that they can redeem for a sealed envelope containing a bounty worth a varying, unknown amount. Players have until the end of the festival to redeem their tokens, so there is a chance not all bounties will be pulled before the end of play.
Mystery Bounty Envelopes
The field returns in Level 9, which will be 1,500/3,000 with a big blind ante of 3,000. The starting stack of 100,000 chips means that the players who opt to jump in at the last moment will receive 25 big blinds. All levels will be 30 minutes long until the final three players have been reached or a deal has been made, at which point the clock will be halved.
Stay tuned here on PokerNews as this event plays down to a winner, and be sure to check out the other exciting tournaments happening here in Monaco as well over at our EPT Monte Carlo hub.
