The biggest tournament of the year in 2026 was the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo by Pokerstars.
The High Roller For One Drop €100,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament attracted 76 entries, and the prize pool was over $8.5 million.
After three days of intense competition, Albert Daher emerged victorious, claiming the title and a cash prize of $2,404,350.
Daher Claims Career-Defining Victory
One of the most memorable moments of Albert Daher’s entire poker career is the feat that he managed to achieve while playing in the Poker World Tour.
At 39 years old, he has built a tremendous resume as a player in Beirut and has received the second-highest payout of his career.
His biggest win so far is a third-place finish at the World Series of Poker Triton Invitational tournament, where he cashed out close to $3.5 million.
After the win, Daher was jokingly candid, saying it seemed like everything he did during the tournament was just pure luck.
"Every hand I started with was strong; every flop was perfect; and it felt so good to have such a strong series of cards that never let me down."
"This was a fantastic run for any poker player, but few get to experience a run like this."
Record Field and Early Eliminations
The tournament was a memorable occasion.
It now holds the record for the biggest single buy-in poker tournament ever at the European Poker Tour, and some of the world's best poker players were competing with cut-throat intensity from the start.
With only eleven players getting paid, many players left empty-handed.
Mikita Badziakouski bubbled in 12th position.
After the bubble broke, several prominent players were eliminated in quick succession.
Byron Kaverman and Orpen Kisacikoglu both cashed in at $213,408, respectively.
The next player out was Tom Fuchs, who placed ninth and collected $266,760.
As the final day began, just 8 players remained. Wiktor Malinowski was the chip leader entering the final day, but Daher was very close behind him and looking to take over as the chip leader.
Final Table Action Heats Up
The final table got underway fairly quickly.
Teun Mulder was the first casualty of the day, losing to Daher aces.
That propelled Daher and gave him the chance to build more chips before anyone else had an opportunity to catch up.
Soon thereafter, Daher eliminated Marius Malinowski, who was known online by the name Limitless.
Malinowski moved all in with 
against Bryn Kenney's 
, and the board fell 
, giving Kenney the winning hand and sending Malinowski home in sixth place.
Daher was able to continue his run of good luck and eliminated Artsiom Lasouski from the tournament, finishing in 5th place.
Lasouski's 
was unable to beat Daher, who made a pair with his 
.
Despite this, Lasouski received the biggest payday of his career, taking home $655,551.
Big Names Clash Late
The tournament reached four-handed play, and the action was starting to heat up.
Bryn Kenney, the biggest tournament poker winner in history, went against Stephen Chidwick, another top player who has had tremendous success in live tournament poker.
The top two on the all-time money list go at it in the @allinforonedrop €100,000 High Roller. 👇
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) May 3, 2026
Watch them play for €2,055,000 at https://t.co/SB357usSaR or https://t.co/ZarB0RN21O pic.twitter.com/4RSkFpRdnq
Kenney lost a massive chip stack when Daher defeated his pocket queens with pocket tens.
Shortly after, Kenney moved all in with 
against Chidwick’s 
.
The board ran 
with Chidwick hitting a pair of queens to eliminate Kenney with a fourth-place finish.
Kenney earned $852,345 for his deep run.
Leonardo Drago was the next player tp bust.
He shoved with pocket twos and ran into Chidwick’s pocket eights.
Chidwick scooped the pot, resulting in Drago finishing in 3rd place, earning $1,107,990, a personal record.
Heads-Up Battle Sealed Early
Daher entered the heads-up duel with a massive chip advantage over Chidwick.
That lead just kept growing as the game progressed.
Eventually Chidwick got down to about 10 big blinds, setting up the final hand of the tournament.
Daher moved all-in from the button with 
, Chidwick called with 
.
The flop read 
, Daher flopped a set to take a commanding position.
The turn card, 
, killed any hopes of a comeback for Chidwick.
By the time 
landed on the river, the result was already settled.
Daher won in commanding fashion, and Chidwick finished second, taking home $1,551,069.
Poker and Charity Go Hand in Hand
The tournament raised a huge amount of money ($262,000) for the One Drop Foundation, which aims to provide clean drinking water to people across the globe.
The donations came from a small percentage of each buy-in.
It demonstrates that high-stakes poker has the potential to contribute significantly to world causes.
Daher said when making a donation, players are always willing to play in events that benefit others.
Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Winnings |
| 1 | Albert Daher | $2,404,350 |
| 2 | Stephen Chidwick | $1,551,069 |
| 3 | Leonardo Drago | $1,107,990 |
| 4 | Bryn Kenney | $852,345 |
| 5 | Artsiom Lasouski | $655,551 |
| 6 | Wiktor Malinowski | $521,118 |
| 8 | Teun Mulder | $333,333 |
| 9 | Tom Fuchs | $266,760 |
