This was the Russian player’s first European Poker Tour title
The 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Main Event concluded with Roman Stoica securing a career-defining victory against a massive field of 1,011 participants. This tournament drew the sixth-largest attendance in the history of the series, which created a total prize pool of $5,736,920.
Stoica navigated through several days of intense competition at the Sporting Monte-Carlo to earn the top prize of $965,250. His performance also awarded him 1,920 Player of the Year points, which moved him closer to the top rankings for the current season.
This victory represents the highest payout for the 31-year-old professional from St. Petersburg who previously won $431,367 at a festival in Barcelona. Stoica now holds nearly $1.6 million in total lifetime earnings following this significant achievement.
During the final stages of the tournament, several prominent players, including Jason Wheeler and Benny Glaser, fell short of the final table while the top 151 finishers shared the multi-million-dollar prize pool. Stoica expressed immense satisfaction with the win, noting that becoming a champion in this series is a primary goal for many professional players.
The final day of play featured several high-stakes confrontations, including a critical heads-up battle against Bernhard Binder. Binder entered the final table with the chip lead and a resume that included over $13.9 million in lifetime winnings. Despite his experience, Binder finished in second place after calling an all-in bet on a board where Stoica had flopped three of a kind.
Binder received $602,550 for his runner-up finish, which further cemented his position in the global rankings. Other notable final table performances included David Djian, who earned $431,438 for third place and Samuel Ju, who took home $331,754 for finishing fourth. This event once again proved the prestige of the tour by attracting elite talent and delivering substantial financial rewards to the top competitors.
