Monaco has shown, again, why it remains one of the most prestigious venues for playing poker around the globe.
The European Poker Tour's 2026 stop in Monte Carlo had the biggest buy-in in EPT history and produced plenty of excitement over the course of this competition.
The event attracted 38 entries into the Super High Roller No-Limit Hold ’em; a €250,000 buy-in created a prize pool exceeding $10.7 million for this year's EPT event.
After two days of back-and-forth action, the famous Sporting Monte-Carlo's Bulgaria's Alex Kulev collected his first EPT title.
This amount of $3,204,292 was a record-setting sum for his victory.
Alex Kulev is the #EPTMonteCarlo Super High Roller champion. 🏆👏
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) May 5, 2026
After striking a heads-up deal, he collects €2,786,332, whilst Bryn Kenney walks away with €2,520,268. pic.twitter.com/1QsVd7OuIP
A Career-Defining Win for Kulev
Thanks to his win of $3.2 million, Alex Kulev is now one of the biggest winners in high-stakes poker.
The most money Kulev had ever won in a single poker game was $2.6 million from a $100,000 event at Triton Montenegro in 2024.
It was the third time in his poker career that he won more than $1 million.
Bubble Drama Shakes the Field
On the final day of the event, 14 players were fighting to get into the money. Only the top six players received cash prizes.
Some of the players who failed to reach the money include Jean-Noel Thorel, Bernhard Binder, Leon Sturm, Mikita Badziakouski, Isaac Haxton, and Stephen Chidwick.
The bubble burst in a dramatic way. Kulev had A-8 and Ding Biao had A-K.
The flop showed an eight, which gave Kulev the upper hand.
He held on, leaving Ding with almost no chips.
The very next hand, Ding had to go all-in with 
against two other players.
Chris Nguyen won the hand and scooped a massive pot with queens and fours on a board that read 
.
Ding bubbled in seventh place and left empty-handed, but the remaining six players had locked in at least $749,455.
Artur Martirosian had the most chips at that point, and Nguyen was right behind him.
Big Names Fall Short of the Title
Martirosian entered the final table as the chip leader but lost his lead quickly.
After losing some key pots, he shoved with 
for just under 12.5 big blinds.
Nguyen called with 
, and the flop gave him the lead with a 5.
The board read 
, knocking Martirosian out of the tournament in sixth place.
Orpen Kisacikoglu was the next player to be eliminated.
He moved all in with 
for 8.5 big blinds in a blind-vs-blind battle.
Kulev called with 
and improved to a full house on the 
board.
Kisacikoglu finished in fifth place and took home $963,585 and the biggest score of his career to date.
Aleksejs Ponakovs finished in fourth place.
He had a nice straight draw with 
on a 
flop and put his chips in.
However, Kulev held for the top pair.
Ponakov's turn and river didn’t help, and he collected $1,231,305 for his deep run.
Chris Nguyen’s Rollercoaster Run
Chris Nguyen's final table experience was one of many ups and downs.
He had a substantial stack when getting down to the later rounds and had eliminated key players.
At one point during three-handed play, Nguyen was in a pivotal hand against Bryn Kenney.
Kenney opened the action with 
.
Nguyen responded with a 3bet holding 
.
The flop fell 
Kenney hit top pair.
Nguyen picked up additional outs on the turn, but was unable to complete his draw when the 
landed on the river.
Nguyen lost a significant amount of chips and would not go out in silence.
He doubled up twice, one time being on the flop with three kings.
However, his comeback attempt was short-lived when he went all-in with a pocket pair of two and lost to Kenney's pocket pair of ten.
Nguyen had no assistance from the cards and was eliminated in third place, receiving $1,659,565.
This brings his total tournament earnings to over $9 million.
Final Showdown Between Kulev and Kenney
The heads-up battle featured two of poker’s biggest names competing against each other.
Kulev had a slight chip advantage over Bryn Kenney, their stacks almost identical.
The pair shook hands and agreed on a deal before play continued.
Kenney had $2,898,308 and Kulev had $3,075,781 tied up.
They left $128,501 and the trophy at play.
The last hand went quickly. Kenny opened with 
and Kulev defended his big blind with .
The flop was 
, both guys had a piece of the board. Kulev checked with middle pair.
Kenney bet with flush draw and a pair.
The turn was the improving Kulev to two pair.
Kulev called all-in and Kenney bet again. Kenney called, looking to hit his draw.
The river card 
did nothing. Kulev’s two pair held up to secure the win, earning him the title and the biggest win of his career.
This victory has confirmed the place of Alex Kulev among the best players in the world.
You can watch all the action on YouTube:
Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Winnings |
| 1 | Alex Kulev | $3,204,282 |
| 2 | Bryn Kenney | $2,898,308 |
| 3 | Christopher Nguyen | $1,659,565 |
| 4 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | $1,231,305 |
| 5 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | $963,585 |
| 6 | Artur Martirosian | $749,455 |
