Monte Carlo is a dear spot to the international poker community, especially for those who still cannot overcome the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia for the European Poker Tour era. The French Riviera ward was home to 11 of EPT’s 12 Grand Final poker festivals, ending seasons of what was Europe’s largest poker tour in style and luxury.
Aside from the EPT Grand Final Main Event, the €100,000 Super High Roller was the other major event within the EPT’s Grand Final festivals to attract the most attention. What is more, it used to attract the attention of some of poker’s biggest; players with hefty enough bankrolls to spend big on the opportunity to win a Super High Roller title, players courageous enough, and players skillful enough.
PokerStars replaced the EPT and its other live tours with PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival events, but decided to retain Monte Carlo as a stop, building on the success of EPT Grand Finals.
The first-ever PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo kicked off at the French Riviera-based Monte-Carlo Casino on April 25. And the €100,000 Super High Roller event commenced mere hours ago, gathering some prominent names already. At the time this article is produced, there are 28 players to have entered the tournament. Registration will remain open until the end of Day 1, so the field may grow further.
To celebrate one of the biggest buy-in events to take place over the course of the year, Casino News Daily has prepared an enjoyable recollection of past editions of the tournament, back in the times when it took place within the EPT Grand Final festival.
The €100,000 buy-in event first appeared on the EPT Grand Final schedule during its eighth season. Justin Bonomo won the tournament’s inaugural edition after emerging the victor out of a field of 45 entries. The player received €1,640,000 for his accomplishment.
Max Altergott took down the tournament in Season 9, good for a first-place prize of €1,746,400. He was the last man standing from a field of 42 entries.
Dan Colman’s star shined during the EPT Season 10 Grand Final, when the player, aged 23 at the time, scooped a first-place payout of €1,539,300, after clashing against 61 other players, some of whom much more experienced than he was back then. Little did he know that he would become $15.3 million richer several months later, when he won 2014 WSOP’s The Big One for ONE DROP.
Erik Seidel was the Super High Roller king next year. The player took down the EPT event to collect €2,015,000. His road to victory involved the challenging task to survive through a tough field of 71 entries.
German poker pro Ole Schemion became the last EPT Grand Final Super High Roller champion in 2016. The player collected a hefty payout of €1,597,800 after defeating an overall field of 61 entries.
The PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller will run through April 29. The event’s prize pool is yet to be determined, but organizers have announced that the winner will receive a guaranteed first-place prize of €1 million.
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