On Wednesday, nine of the world's sharpest poker minds ponied up €100,000 to play in a winner-take-all Sit & Go at the European Poker Tour (EPT) stop in Monte Carlo. Originally, organizers had plans to run a cash game stream, but the players involved intervened to request a change in format, and PokerStars agreed to the switch.
It was a murderer's row of high roller talent: Jason Koon, Stephen Chidwick, Mikita Badziakouski, Ben Tollerene, Kayhan Mokri, Daniel Dvoress, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Patrik Antonius, and Artur Martirosian.
Between the nine of them, they boast total career earnings of $429,609,824 (shoutout to Garry Gates for crunching the numbers).
With €1,000,000 for the eventual winner – PokerStars juiced the prize pool with €100,000 out of its own pockets – and nothing for anyone else, there were no ICM parameters to consider, granting the players a measure of freedom rarely seen in a multi-table tournament event. And they made the most of the moment, holding no punches and going for the jugular at every possible opportunity.
You can check out the full replay below or read on for a recap of the action.
Badz, Dvoress, and Tollerene bow out
It took the better part of two hours for the dam to break and Badziakouski was the first to fall.
Having already picked up several premium starting hands, the Belarusian looked down at 
in the big blind while facing a raise, call, and three-bet in front of him. Badziakouski dialed up the four-bet, squeezing out the original raiser, Tollerene, and his 
. Antonius fled the scene as well, pitching his 
, but Ponakovs, having already invested a significant portion of his chips, made the call with 
.
The Latvian's gamble was rewarded as he looked up at a 
flop. The chips went in on the 
turn – Badziakouski knew he was in trouble when Ponakovs moved all-in over his second barrel, but there was no folding in this spot. The river 
offered no improvement to Badziakouski and his run came to an end.
Dvoress bowed out next when he shipped the last of his stack in with 
and ran into Ponakovs' 
. The runout improved neither player and Ponakovs' superior pocket pair held up to bring play to seven-handed. Tollerene followed not long after, taking a high variance spot by moving all-in with 
against an open from Chidwick. The Brit snapped it off with and held up across the 
runout.
Koon vs. Chidwick, a heavyweight bout
Despite notching the first two eliminations, Ponakovs went out in sixth place after his stack dwindled to fumes and it was Chidwick doing the heavy lifting again.
In the face of an under-the-gun raise from Chidwick, Ponakovs elected to defend from the small blind with 
and only a few big blinds behind. On the 
flop, he led into the aggressor – for all of it. Chidwick had another easy decision with and Ponakovs was left drawing to two immediate outs. The 
turn brought a sweat as the Latvian held the only live spade, but the river 
improved only Chidwick.
With five players remaining, Koon and Chidwick clashed in the pot of the day. In a small blind vs. button three-bet pot, Chidwick called down twice in position on the 
flop and turn with 
. Koon had 
and checked on the 
river having made queens and sixes with an ace kicker. Chidwick's pair was counterfeit by the river, leaving him with queens and sixes with a king kicker.
With no route to victory but through aggression, Chidwick shipped it and put Koon to the ultimate test for his stack – check out the video below to see the result.
Koon closes
With shallow stacks and blinds on the rise, Antonius committed his remaining chips from the button with 
and Martirosian put him at risk with a call from the small blind with 
. The 
runout kept the Russian's holding in the lead and the Finn's run came to an end in fifth place.
Just a few hands later, Martirosian raised from the button with 
and picked up calls from Mokri and Koon in the blinds. On the 
flop, he fired a small continuation bet to shed Mokri, but Koon made the call to bring in the turn. Martirosian, now armed with top pair, fired again and Koon moved all-in over the top. After a brief tank, the Russian called it off – only to see the bad news as Koon rolled over 
for bottom two pair. The 
river offered no saving grace to Martirosian and he bowed out in fourth place.
With three remaining – Koon, Chidwick, and Mokri – the American held the lion's share of the chips on the table, but it was the Norwegian who took out Chidwick to usher in heads-up play. In a blind versus blind clash, Mokri shipped it in with from the small blind and Chidwick had an easy call with 
. The runout favored Mokri, though, and the Brit's day came to an end in third place.
The heads-up battle between Mokri and Koon lasted all of one hand.
Mokri moved all-in from the button with and Koon called it off with . The 
delivered Koon the win in style as he went runner-runner to make the nut flush.
Jason Koon celebrates a win against eight of the world's best. Images courtesy of Danny Maxwell/Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd 2026/PokerStars
