For a few editions of the European Poker Tour, the Russian Roman Stoica has been attracting attention. Between final tables and parallel titles, he is working to establish himself on the scene. And last Sunday (10), at the EPT Monte Carlo, he reached the peak by becoming the champion of the €5,300 Main Event.
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The main event of the traditional stage of the European PokerStars circuit gathered 1,011 entries, and the victory in this field earned Roman Stoica his biggest live career prize. The Russian pocketed €825,000, beating Austrian Bernhard Binder in heads-up. David Djian completed the podium in a final table that also featured, among others, Germans Samuel Ju and Leonard Maue.
Check out the final standings of the Main Event:
| Position | Name | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Roman Stoica | Russia | € 825,000 |
| 2 | Bernhard Binder | Austria | € 515,000 |
| 3 | David Djian | France | € 368,750 |
| 4 | Samuel Ju | Germany | € 283,550 |
| 5 | Jose Malpelli | France | € 218,300 |
| 6 | Longmao Fan | China | € 167,850 |
| 7 | Raul Mestre | Spain | € 129,050 |
| 8 | Oshri Lahmani | Israel | € 99,450 |
| 9 | Leonard Maue | Germany | € 76,500 |
Before this achievement – which raises his live earnings to more than US$2.6 million, according to Hendon Mob – Roman Stoica had already featured in other valuable runs on the circuit. At the 2025 EPT Barcelona, he won the €3,250 Mystery Bounty to pocket €323,690, a prize that was his biggest until this new result.
In the next two editions, he made the final table in the Main Event, as if it were a sign of what was to happen in Monaco. At EPT Malta, he finished 16th for €33,850, while at EPT Prague, he reached 27th place, receiving €25,550. Now, in Monte Carlo, he persisted and managed to beat the entire field, after all.
The decisive round of the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event started with nine players, and Stoica began with a mid-stack. However, by winning good pots and eliminating Jose Malpelli in fifth, he took the lead and never looked back. The Russian also knocked out Djian, reaching heads-up with three times more chips than his opponent.
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The one-on-one did not last long, as with 75s, Roman Stoica called a pre-flop raise and saw the flop 774 rainbow. By betting not only on the flop but also on the turn 9 and the river Q, he put Binder all in. The Austrian called and showed KQs, revealing two pairs. The hand did not beat the Russian’s set.
Brazil in the semi-final FT and more ITM highlights
Brazil almost had a representative at this Sunday’s final table. A day earlier, Rodrigo Selouan fell when only two tables remained in play. The star finished in 14th place, receiving a payout of €42,800. In the money, only he and Leonardo Pires, 107th place for €10,600, represented the country.
However, the final stretch was full of stars from the international scene. Besides the final tablists, it is worth highlighting the campaigns of Bulgarian Ognyan Dimov (13th, €51,400), Moroccan Mehdi Chaoui (17th, €37,200), French Thomas Eychenne (22nd, €28,150), and British Benny Glaser (27th, €24,450).
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