Viktor Katzenberger limped in with and Manig Loeser checked the . On the flop, Katzenberger checked and called a bet of 60,000 by Loeser.
After the turn, Katzenberger checked and folded to a bet of 225,000.
Nicola Grieco raised to 225,000 with the in the cutoff and Luis Medina folded a king in the big blind.
Katzenberger opened to 140,000 on the cutoff with and Loeser three-bet to 475,000 on the button blind with the . Ryan Riess in the big blind had the and
Manig Loeser opened to 120,000 with the and Nicola Grieco called out of the big blind with the . The flop brought and both players checked to see the on the turn. Again the action went check, check, and the river saw Grieco bet 225,000.
Loeser folded and Grieco showed his set of eights.
"No bluff today, not today," the Italian joked.
Wei Huang raised to 140,000 with on the button and Grieco made the call in the small blind with , as did Viktor Katzenberger in the big blind with . The flop brought and action checked to Huang, who bet 100,000. Only Grieco called and hit the turn for a straight, and both players checked.
After the river, Grieco bet 245,000 and Huang paid it off to make it two for two for Grieco.
At noon local time, the Main Event of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour will kick off its final day. Over the course of four days, a field that started off with 922 players has been whittled down to the final six. All remaining contestants can look forward to a payday of at least €152,800, but the lion's share of the prize pool of €4,471,700 is still up for grabs. The winner at the end of the night will receive €827,700 in prize money, plus adding the accolade of being called an EPT champion to their name.
EPT Monte Carlo always lures the best of the best to the rich principality in the south of France, and it comes to no surprise that two high stakes phenoms have made their way to the final six. Germany's Manig Loeser (4,005,000 / 67 bb) is a common sight in tournaments sporting five- and six-figure buy-ins and ranked #18 on the Global Poker Index (GPI). Loeser has the advantage of being used to the spotlights as well as the money at stake, and will certainly be one of the favorites up front.
2019 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ryan Riess
United States
3,585,000
60
2
Wei Huang
China
5,690,000
95
3
Nicola Grieco
Italy
7,160,000
119
4
Viktor Katzenberger
Hungary
6,070,000
101
5
Manig Loeser
Germany
4,005,000
67
6
Luis Medina
Portugal
1,105,000
18
Loeser faces strong opposition from none other than 2013 WSOP Main Event champion Ryan Riess (3,585,000 / 60 bb). Over the years, Riess certainly has put his name up for consideration in regards for most accomplished world champ ever and his current #15 GPI ranking reflects that, putting himself even ahead of Loeser. A win for Riess would cement his legacy as one of poker's top talents, and while three people have won both the WSOP Europe Main Event and an EPT title, Riess could become the first person to combine poker's biggest price with EPT success.
Loeser and Riess will have to battle it out with Nicola Grieco, who starts as the chip leader with 7,160,000 in chips (119 bb). Grieco is an animated character at the table, and the passionate Italian has the chips and confidence to put on a show today and make him a dangerous wild card. Second in chips is Hungarian cash games Viktor Katzenberger (6,070,000 / 101 bb), who relocated to Malta to pursue a professional poker playing career. Katzenberger, a cash gamer by trade, has already locked up his biggest tourney score ever.
For recreational player Wei Huang, his first trip to Monaco has become a roaring success. The 34-year old from Shanghai looks up to Erik Seidel as his poker idol, but can pull off a feat the poker giant has never done before: winning an EPT Main Event. Rounding out the final six is 56-year old Luis Medina from Portugal (1,105,000 / 18 bb), who's the only short stack at the start of the final table.
Action of the final day will resume at noon local time with 36:58 left in the current level at blinds of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. Live coverage with hole cards will be on a security delay of 30 minutes and PokerNews coverage will follow along with the live stream. Make sure to check back regularly as the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo draws to a close and one of these six will add their name to the tour's rich history of winners.
Will Ryan Riess become the first WSOP Main Event champion to also win an EPT Main Event?
Former World Champion Ryan Riess needs little introduction. Having won the 2013 WSOP Main Event, Riess already has a place in poker history. That $8,361,570 prize will be hard to top for the 28-year-old, but Riess has continued to deliver excellent results in the years after his great run in Las Vegas. He's racked up a total of $14.2 million, and his pedigree includes several six-figure cashes in the EPT high buy-in tournaments where Riess regularly rubs shoulders against the top players in the world.
While based in Vegas, Riess has frequently been visiting Europe to travel around the poker circuit. He will play on his first EPT Main Event final table tomorrow, but he'd already come close to making the last table in a PokerStars-sponsored Main Event; he finished 15th at PokerStars Championship Bahamas back in 2017.
Recreational player Wei Huang is enjoying his first trip to Europe, and he's on his way to make the most out of it. The 34-year-old from Shanghai entered Day 4 of the Main Event last in chips with 30 players left, but he showed high resistance and even took over the pole position on the last three tables. A crucial hand that propelled Huang to a massive leap through the standings saw him cooler Melika Razavi in a flush-over-flush encounter.
Huang, who wears the gear of his favourite football team Shanghai Greenland, works in PepsiCo financial department back in China. He plays poker only occasionally, but now eyes to become the first Chinese champion of the flagship European tournament, not even a year since Haoxiang Wang's narrow miss at EPT Barcelona. Huang revealed that he looks up to Erik Seidel.
It has been five years since an Italian player won an EPT Main Event. The last one to do so was Antonio Buonnano who hoisted the trophy here in Monaco. Nicola Grieco is now trying to end the drought, already guaranteed to pick up the biggest prize of his career. Grieco is an experienced player who had previously notched two EPT Main Event cashes; 23rd at EPT Sanremo 2011 and 173rd at EPT Prague 2018.
Grieco's résumé features cashes for over $217,000 combined. Grieco eliminated Aladin Reskallah and Conor Beresford on the final two tables to solidify his stack. Now with €152,800 already secured, Grieco is set to vault more than 100 places higher on the Italian all-time money list where he's currently in 292nd position.
Viktor Katzenberger hails from Hungary but resides in Malta where he plays mostly online cash games. Katzenberger is at home in both Pot-Limit Omaha and No-Limit Hold'em, and he showed prowess in the latter here at EPT Monte Carlo.
Making the top six in the Main Event has already guaranteed Katzenberger to double his all-time live tournament earnings; a perfect present for his 27th birthday he celebrated earlier this week
Having competed in live tournaments for a decade, Manig Loeser is one of the familiar faces on the European Poker Tour. And while his career-best payday of $2,162,644 came on the continent, the German professional poker player has been particularly prolific outside Europe. 30-year-old Loeser is now closing on $10 million in career earnings. He's #10-ranked player on the stacked German money list and keeps trending up.
Loeser racked up over $3 million in each of the last two calendar years, and he seems to be on his way to eclipse that mark again in 2019. While Loeser has been particularly active in the high roller scene, this is his debut appearance on an EPT Main Event final table. His previous deepest run came at PCA 2013 where he finished in 13th place.
It may have seemed that Luis Medina's prime poker career had already passed, but the 56-year-old from Lisbon has proved wrong many by navigating his way to the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event final table. Medina, who's amassed just over $185,000 in live cashes, is now guaranteed to pick up the largest prize of his career.
While the last seven years saw Medina celebrate only a moderate success in small buy-in tournaments, he was able to outlast an incredibly talented field on the final few tables of this Main Event. Medina's previous best result dates back to 2012 when he topped a tournament in Estoril for €35,257.
and Manig Loeser checked the 
. On the 
flop, Katzenberger checked and called a bet of 60,000 by Loeser.
turn, Katzenberger checked and folded to a bet of 225,000.
in the cutoff and Luis Medina folded a king in the big blind.
and
and Nicola Grieco called out of the big blind with the 
and both players checked to see the 
on the turn. Again the action went check, check, and the 
river, Grieco bet 245,000 and Huang paid it off to make it two for two for Grieco.
