Today marks the continuation of the €1,100 PokerStars France Poker Series Main Event at Sporting Monte-Carlo. Commencing at 12 p.m. local time, the remaining 31 players will strive to secure a seat at the final table.
Virgile Turchi leads the start of day 3 with 4,270,000 in chips. Having notched four cashes at the 2024 EPT Paris in February, the Frenchman also secured a 13th-place finish in last year's €5,300 EPT Main Event in Monte Carlo. Turchi enters Day 3 with 71 big blinds, one of just two players boasting over 4,000,000 in chips. He clinched a significant pot by hitting a flush against a flopped set.
Close behind is Remy Murcia, who securely carried 4,015,000 chips into Day 3. Federico Macori (3,730,000) and Atanas Malinov (3,640,000) are also edging towards the four million mark.
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virgile Turchi | France | 4,270,000 | 71 |
| 2 | Remy Murcia | France | 4,015,000 | 67 |
| 3 | Federico Macori | Italy | 3,730,000 | 62 |
| 4 | Atanas Malinov | Bulgaria | 3,640,000 | 61 |
| 5 | Guillaume Nolet | Canada | 3,210,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Eusebiu-Nicolae Jalba | Romania | 3,155,000 | 53 |
| 7 | Kuljinder Sidhu | United Kingdom | 3,150,000 | 53 |
| 8 | Uri Gilboa | Israel | 3,065,000 | 51 |
| 9 | Gil Aboodi | United States | 2,905,000 | 48 |
| 10 | Antonino Venneri | Italy | 2,770,000 | 46 |
The event drew 2,096 entries from 70 countries across four starting flights, generating a prize pool of €2,012,160. On Day 2 the 314 players were guaranteed a minimum payout of €1,630. However, the focus was on building a stack to contend for the €303,190 first-place prize and the prestigious PokerStars trophy. Only 10% of those players managed to secure a spot for Day 3.
Among the notable players is Ankit Ahuja, positioned just outside the top 10 with a chip stack of 2,625,000. Also worth monitoring are Gabi Livshitz, holding 1,810,000 chips, and Harry Lodge with 835,000. With all 31 players remaining, each is guaranteed at least €6,590.
None of the three PokerStars Ambassadors who began Day 2 made it through. Despite a strong start, neither Simon Wiciak nor Lasse Jagd Lauritsen could survive. Felix Schneiders was the final ambassador to bust, exiting after a good run to finish in 153rd place for €2,480.
Even notable names such as EPT Champion Davidi Kitai and defending FPS champion Mateusz Moolhuizen failed to advance to Day 3.
Play will resume at Level 27, with blinds set at 30,000/60,000 and a big blind ante of 60,000. The objective is to play down to the final six players, who will be featured on the award-winning PokerStars Livestream on Day 4.
The PokerNews team will be here providing detailed coverage of the event, so stay tuned to follow all the action and see who will be left standing by the time Day 3 concludes!
