€1,100 FPS Main Event
 

The EPT Main Event series has regularly been the "precursor" to the local sub-series (FPS, Eureka, Estrellas), which enjoy a large player turnout due to their lower buy-ins. This year's FPS Main Event was no exception, and while it fell just short of last year's record, it still saw a solid 2,096 entries. These were whittled down after 3 days of play to the final six, who played for the title in front of the TV cameras yesterday.

A dynamic final four hours of the last six revealed the name of the champion, which was Bulgaria's Atanas Malinov. Although there were plenty of awkward spots on the TV table (such as when he ran into AA with A-K), he made the best of his significant chiplead and walked away with the full reward of €303,190 without a deuce.

€100k SHR final promises a great show
 

As we announced earlier, the 5 days of live streams from the Main Event during EPT Monte Carlo will be complemented by two extra days, and today one of those days will be the final table of the €100,000 Super High Roller. In it, daredevils took care of a total of 72 entries meaning a prizepool worth €6,985,440. This was redistributed amongst the top 11 players, with two-time EPT champion Mike Watson the closest to missing out.

Justin Bonomo (€174,600) and Nick Petrangelo (€174,600) had yet to make it to the cashier by the end of the second day of play, forming the final nine. The latter will return to the TV table today with a sure €218,300 payday, with the legendary Patrik Antonius taking the chipleader's seat.

He will certainly not have it easy in his quest for the €1,967,440 prize, as names like Stephen Chidwick, Byron Kaverman, Christoph Vogelsang and last year's winner Alex Kulev are still in the game. The final table kicks off at 12:30pm with blinds of 30k/60k/60k, and after a half-hour safety delay, you can also look forward to the live stream.

Payout Structure:

1. 1,967,440€
2. 1,269,300€
3. 906,700€
4. 697,500€
5. 536,500€
6. 426,500€
7. 341,200€
8. 272,800€
9. 218,300€

Start of the Main Event
 

In addition to these tournaments, the opening flight of the event's main event, the prestigious €5,300 EPT Main Event, was played yesterday. The entries count stood at 393 throughout the day, beating last year's numbers by 30 entries. As usual, the second of the two flights is always the stronger of the two, and all eyes will be on Day 1B today. In order to beat last year's record of 1,098 total entries, he needs to register at least 705 entries today, which is definitely not an easy task, but not an impossible one either.

A total of 119 players successfully fought their way through the pitfalls of Day 1A, led by popular Spanish streamer Elias "Zeros" Gutierrez. However, names such as Peter Jorgne, Antoine Labat, Adrian Mateos, Kenny Hallaert, Dominik Nitsche, Davidi Kitai, Dan Smith and Benjamin Pollak also successfully made their way to Day 2.

2,200€ FPS High Roller
 

In addition to the winner of the FPS Main Event, the name of the more expensive FPS High Roller was also revealed yesterday. In a field of 1,217 entries, the champion was Greece's Ioannis Poullos, who scored the biggest hit of his career. After a 3-way deal with France's Mathieu Di Meglio and Spain's Javier Gomez, he took home €288,635.

Source - PSlive, PokerNews, Flickr, YouTube