Hand Analysis: How Roman Stoica Won the 2026 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event

Roman Stoica has just captured the biggest title of his poker career, taking down the prestigious 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event for a massive €825,000.

Outlasting a tough field of 1,011 entries, Stoica navigated the final table masterfully. Starting from the middle of the pack, he picked his spots perfectly, applied relentless pressure when he gained the chip lead, and added an EPT Main Event trophy to the EPT Mystery Bounty title he won last year in Barcelona.

While reading about the massive payouts and shiny trophies is always exciting, as poker players, we aren't just here for the headlines. We want to understand the thought process behind the plays. By looking closely at the key decisions made under pressure, we can pick up valuable lessons for our own game.

However, the heads-up battle against Austria's Bernhard Binder lasted only 5 hands. Let’s break down the final hand of the tournament to see how Stoica used bet sizing and board texture to extract maximum value and lay the perfect trap to win the title.

The Heads-Up Dynamic

Going into heads-up play, the chip discrepancy was massive. Blinds were at 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 big blind ante.

• Roman Stoica:~22.8M (114 BB)
• Berhard Binder:~7M (35 BB)

With a 3-to-1 chip advantage, Stoica could afford to apply maximum pressure, while Binder was fighting for his tournament life.

The Final Hand: Setting the Trap

Preflop: The Setup

Roman Stoica (Button/SB) looks down at 7♥ 5♥ and decides to limp. Binder, sitting in the Big Blind with K♦ Q♠, wisely isolates to 800,000. Stoica makes the call.

Note: Stoica's limp-call with a suited connector is a standard heads-up play, especially when deep-stacked and holding a massive chip lead. Binder's isolation raise with broadway cards is also the correct play to punish the limp.

Flop: The Tiny Bet (Pot: 1.8M)

The dealer fans out: 4♠ 7♣ 7♦.

Stoica hits the jackpot, flopping trip sevens. While Binder doesn't connect directly with the board, he does pick up a backdoor flush draw with his diamonds. Binder decided to slow down and check, but Stoica bets a tiny 350,000 (under 20% of the pot). Binder calls.

Note: Stoica's tiny sizing is brilliant. If he bets big, Binder easily folds his K-high. By betting 350K, Stoica keeps all of Binder's bluffs, overcards, and random floats in the hand. It looks exactly like a weak stab to steal the pot, practically inviting Binder to call.

Turn: The Misjudgement (Pot: 2.5M)

The turn brings the 9♠.

Binder checks again. Stoica increases the pressure, betting 1.1M. Binder makes the call.

Note: The turn completely kills Binder's backdoor flush draw, leaving him with just King-high. Against Stoica's actual hand, he is drawing virtually dead. Binder is a highly skilled player, but in this high-pressure spot, he likely leveled himself. He might have perceived Stoica's tiny flop bet as weakness and assumed the turn bet was just a follow-through bluff. Unfortunately, this misjudgment trapped him against the absolute top of Stoica's range.

The River: The perfect card for Roman Stoica (Pot: 4.7M)

The river is the Q♠.

Binder checks. He has finally hit top pair, but it's the worst possible card for him. Knowing his opponent is now tied to the board, Stoica moves all-in. Binder makes the call for his remaining tournament life.

Stoica reveals his trip sevens, officially ending the tournament and crowning him the EPT Monte Carlo 2026 Main Event champion.

EPT Monte Carlo 2026 Main Event Final Results

Below are the final table results for the standout event of the season:

Congratulations to all the finalists of the EPT Monte Carlo 2026!

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FAQ: EPT Monte Carlo 2026 Main Event

Article by

Bence Mitykó

My relationship with cards started thanks to my father. I was still in elementary school when he first taught me how to play Rummy, and I still remember the long evenings spent playing cards with my family. During the poker boom I was still underage, but the televised tournaments immediately captured my attention. I became fascinated with the game and started learning different poker formats whenever I had the chance. Later in life, as an adult, I was fortunate enough to spend four years playing poker professionally. During that time I mainly focused on Heads-Up Sit & Go games, where I found the format that suited me best. Even though my professional career was relatively short, poker remains something I’m grateful to have experienced as a major part of my life. Today I play mostly as a hobby, while writing has become my main focus. That said, my enthusiasm for writing about poker is just as strong as my passion for playing the game once was.