Roman Stoica has won the 2026 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, taking down a field of 1,011 entries to claim €825,000 and one of the most prestigious titles in European poker.
The Russian player came into the final day in fifth place with just 25 big blinds but worked through the field to reach heads-up against Bernhard Binder, the reigning 2025 WSOP Super Main Event champion. Defeating Binder heads-up gave the victory an extra layer of significance. Binder had dominated the tournament from the start, bagging the chip lead at the end of every previous day, and entered the final day as the clear favourite with 57 big blinds. Stoica held a commanding lead from the opening hand of heads-up play and closed it out in five hands. His comeback adds to a run of notable online and live tournament results. Another recent example was Nick Palma’s remarkable online double, where he won two six-figure tournaments within 24 hours.
Also, one of the more remarkable storylines from the final table was Jose Malpelli, a recreational player who qualified via a €250 PokerStars satellite after entering the tournament with less than $10,000 in career live earnings. Malpelli finished fifth for €218,300, a life-changing result from a minimal investment. His deep run followed another notable online achievement, when Nick Palma completed an incredible tournament double and collected roughly $248,000 in under 24 hours. More tournament achievements and memorable player runs are available on CasinoStreamers.
The final day lasted less than four hours in total, with short stacks and fast eliminations keeping the pace brisk. Several brutal river cards shaped the day, including Oshri Lahmani losing to a one-outer full house on the river and Raul Mestre making a costly four-bet jam with king-nine suited into Binder's ace-king.
"I'm a bit tired, but I'm very happy to become a winner of EPT," Stoica said after his victory. This is the dream of every player in poker streaming, and stories like Stoica’s continue to inspire the global poker streamers community.
Final table results:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Roman Stoica | Russia | €825,000 |
| 2 | Bernhard Binder | Austria | €515,000 |
| 3 | David Djian | France | €368,750 |
| 4 | Samuel Ju | Germany | €283,550 |
| 5 | Jose Malpelli | France | €218,300 |
| 6 | Longmao Fan | China | €167,850 |
| 7 | Raul Mestre | Spain | €129,050 |
| 8 | Oshri Lahmani | Isreal | €99,450 |
The event also marked the retirement of Joe Stapleton from the PokerStars commentary booth after more than 15 years covering the European Poker Tour alongside James Hartigan. Stapleton announced he is stepping away from the game to focus on his upcoming marriage to actress Shelley Hennig, best known for her role in the soap opera Days of Our Lives and Teen Wolf: The Movie.
