The European Poker Tour's Grand Final in Monte Carlo, Monaco, ended last night with its last major event, the €25,000 High Roller.

The tournament had attracted a stellar field of 133 of the world's best tournament players, which after two days of play was narrowed down to an eight-player final table.

The final table included players like Noah Schwartz, Phillippe Gruissem, Max Lykov and Justin Bonomo, but after a string of eliminations it was Team PokerStars icon Daniel Negreanu and Russian pro Igor Kurganov who were the last two men standing.

The two initiated a lively heads-up battle, in which both players took over the chip lead several times.

Negreanu at one point seemed to have the title all but locked up, but the Russian managed to claw his way back into the match, helped underway by a bit of luck and an aggressive style.

Following a few large hands in his favor, Kurganov finally managed to limit the Canadian's playing options to all-in or fold, and the title now seemed to be closely within his grasp.

A final showdown was forced through as Negreanu shoved with and got the call from Kurganov, who was holding the unimpressive .

Negreanu was ahead and could secure himself a new breath of hope, but a board sealed the deal and gave his opponent the title instead.

Igor Kurganov, whose biggest cash before last night was a £318,300 second place finish in the 2011 UKIPT London £20,000 High Roller, cashed in a healthy €1,080,000 for his Monaco win, bringing his career total to a little more than $2.33 million.

Negreanu's runner-up finish was worth €598,000, meaning that he has now won a staggering $16,129,218 over the course of his live tournament career.

The result will propel Negreanu into second place on the All Time Money List ahead of Phil Ivey, and leave him just some $800,000 shy of the all-time biggest earner, Erik Seidel, who continues to top the ranking with $16,918,173.