The Dutch player was almost eliminated before rebounding to take the $1M top prize
The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo €5,300 No-Limit Hold ’em main event has set another attendance record after 1,208 players created a prize pool of almost $6.3 million. When the dust settled, Dutchman Derk Van Luijk secured his biggest career cash of $1,080,000 and the title after a week of intense poker action.
Boris Angelov started as the chip leader on the final day, with Van Luijk sixth out of the final seven players remaining. Angelov knocked out both Jonathan Guedes (7th for $167,292) and Niclas Thumm (6th for $217,080) to increase his chip lead before getting his third straight elimination against bracelet winner Jonathan Pastore (5th for $282,636) after hitting a pair of queens on the river.
Van Luijk got his first knockout of the day after winning a flip with pocket jacks against Jovan Kenjic’s (4th for $367,740) A-K but was still the short stack among the final three. He then jumped into the chip lead after doubling up in a huge pot against Rania Nasreddine. He hit a higher two pair on the river, leaving his opponent with just three big blinds. A few minutes later, Nasreddine left in third place with $478,332 for his efforts.
Angelov trailed by more than 2:1 in chips when heads-up play started but battled with Van Luijk for several hours before the final hand. Van Luijk limped from the button with A-Q offsuit before Angelov pushed in his last 13 big blinds with K-7 offsuit. Van Luijk called, picking up another Queen on the flop that would send home Angelov in second place with $670,140.
“I still can’t realize it. I’m serious, it’s amazing,” said Van Luijk after the win.
