The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris stop has been a roaring success so far inside Le Palais des Congres, and you only have to look at the record-breaking €1,100 FPS Main Event to see that.
The mammoth-sized field of 4,149 entries has been whittled down to its final six players, who are competing for a share of the €1,357,360 that remains from the initial €3,983,040 prize pool.
In pole position for the trophy and €470,830 first-place prize is Enis Rouissi, who ended today’s session with a stack of 44,200,000, more than double his closest rival.
Rouissi has modest results on the live felt, with his earnings standing at $23,562. A recreational player for the best part of 20 years, Rouissi has only started to take poker more seriously over the last year, travelling to various events. Rouissi also said he is playing without pressure, unlike the pros, as his career as a consultant means the money up top won't be life-changing.
Other big stacks in contention are Kacper Pyzara, Mateusz Moolhuizen and Yassine Baqal.
Blaz Zerjav, and Scott Margereson prop up the finalists and will need to conjure up a bit of magic to have any hopes of being crowned as the champion.
Each player has locked up a payout of at least €95,680, with the six-figure prizes being awarded from fifth place onwards.
They will return at 12:30 p.m. CET on Monday, 19 February and will be on the feature table, where cards-up coverage will be streamed from 1 p.m. across the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels. Play will resume on Level 37 with 20:36 on the clock.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Margereson | United Kingdom | 8,800,000 | 15 |
| 2 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenian | 9,800,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Mateusz Moolhuizen | Netherlands | 20,800,000 | 35 |
| 4 | Enis Rouissi | France | 44,200,000 | 74 |
| 5 | Yassine Baqal | France | 19,900,000 | 33 |
| 6 | Kacper Pyzara | Poland | 21,000,000 | 35 |
Pietro Corsi, Julien Duveau and Pierre Merlin had made the final table but were ousted late in the day.
Corsi, who was chip-leading with a stack of 25 million at one point, was the first final table casualty. He doubled up Baqal, who then took the last of Corsi’s chips with pocket aces.
Rouissi downed compatriot Duveau in eighth place, with Rouissi out-flopping Duveau’s pocket threes, which pushed him over the 40 million mark and further cemented his chip lead.
The final elimination of the day was scored by Pyzara, who made a wheel to see off Merlin.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €470,830 | ||
| 2 | €294,530 | ||
| 3 | €210,220 | ||
| 4 | €161,710 | ||
| 5 | €124,390 | ||
| 6 | €95,680 | ||
| 7 | Pierre Merlin | France | €73,580 |
| 8 | Julien Duveau | France | €56,590 |
| 9 | Pietro Corsi | Italy | €43,540 |
Action from Day 3
Day 3 started with 55 players, but the three-table redraw soon came around after a rapid start to the session. WCOOP $5,200 NL Hold'em Main Event winner David Kaufmann (44th - €8,710) and French grinders such as Dorian Melchers (42nd - €8,710) and Cecile Ticherfatine (39th - €10,040) were some of the notable names to bow out at this stage.
Last year’s EPT Paris High Roller winner Diogo Coelho (23rd - €15,310) came into the day as one of the top ten stacks and he continued to head in an upward trajectory as he looked to claim his second major title. However, lady luck turned her back on him as he ran ace-king into aces and then had his own rockets cracked by Big Slick within minutes.
Another shock elimination took place soon after as bracelet winner and Day 2 chip leader Ilija Savevski (18th - €17,600) saw his once monster stack evaporate before the final two tables were formed. Savevski, who had peaked at around 15 million in the early goings, took a bad beat from Duveau, which was the catalyst for the Frenchman’s run to the final table.
When the dinner break came around, just 15 players had chips in front of them. Alin Grasu departed on the first hand back from dinner after a rollercoaster runout and was followed to the payout desk by Bruno Benveniste, Maxim Panyak, Ramon Miquel and Adrian Andritz.
With ten left, the most accomplished player still standing was Italy’s Gianluca Speranza. With nearly $5 million in live earnings and millions more online, he was a favorite to add another title to his exceptional resume. However, he found himself on the wrong side of the rail after losing the flip to Moolhuizen, who then finished off the Italian the following hand.
His elimination set up the final table, which then saw the aforementioned Corsi, Duveau, and Merlin fall short of achieving poker glory.
This concludes PokerNews’ Day 3 coverage of the FPS Main Event, but be sure to return for the finale, which gets going at 12:30 p.m. CET. PokerNews will also report on a 30-minute delay to keep the live stream spoiler free.