Russia's Aleksandr Shevliakov won an online qualifier via PokerStars and parlayed his €530 satellite seat into €1,000,000 when he won the 2025 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event. The €5,300 buy-in Main Event was the second-largest field in history with 1,195 total entries. The prize pool was a smidge under €5.8 million with a cool million set aside for the champion. Shevliakov defeated Khossein Kokhestani heads-up for the title. The final table also included Boris Angelov, Enrico Coppola, Mariusz Golinski, and Jamil Wakil.

The story often writes itself when an online poker player wins a seat into a major tournament and ends up taking down the entire thing. In this instance, a modest €530 buy-in satellite resulted in a free trip to Monaco for a shot to play in the 2025 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event. For many poker players, winning just the satellite would be a life-defining event. However, that was just the beginning for Aleksandr Shevliako. The Russian originally from Saratov and now situated in Slovenia would fulfill a life-long dream after he parlayed that €530 satellite into a EPT title and a mountain of cash worth €1,000,000 or $1.13 million USD.
For the last two decades, Monte Carlo has always been a destination stop on the European Poker Tour. When EPT founder John Duthie envisioned the European-based series, it would not have felt the same if they did not have a stop in the opulent and ultra-chic Monte Carlo.
Twenty years later, the players continue to arrive in droves. The 2025 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event attracted 1,195 entries including 367 re-entries. It marked the second largest field in history behind lat year's EPT Monte Carlo that attracted a record-breaking 1,208 runners. The prize pool for this year's Main Event was just under €5.8 million with a cool €1,000,000 set aside to the champion. Only the top 175 players earned a cut.
The final table of six included players from six different countries including Canada, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Russia, and Bulgaria. Boris Angelov from Bulgaria entered the final table as the chip leader with 8.4M. Aleksandr Shevliakov, the last Russian standing, was second overall with 7.25M. Mariusz Golinski from Poland was third with a little under 6.5M. Canada's Jamil Wakil was fourth with 4.98M, and Italy's Enrico Coppola was just behind hm with 4.7M. Amir Kokhestani from Ukraine was the short stack with 3.86M. Kokhestani avoided an early bust out and held a slight lead when heads-up began.
Jamil Wakil was the first player to bust at the final table in a shady move he thought was an angle shoot by Shevliakov. Wakil went down with against
. The Canadian banked €199,750 for a sixth-place finish.
Shevliakov took out another player with . Poland's Mariusz Golinski picked a spot with
but Shevliakov prevailed. Golinski earned €259,900 for a fifth-place finish.
Enrico Coppola busted in fourth place when Shevliakov picked off another player. Coppola open-shoved with but could not overcome Shevliakov's pocket sixes. Fourth place paid out €337,900 to the last Italian standing.
Boris Angelov met his fate in third place when he threw down with Amir Kokhestani in a battle of the blinds. Anglov's Ace-eight lost to Kokhestani ten-six. Rough, bro! Angelov won €439,200 for third place.
Heads up was set between Ukraine and Russia. Kokhestani led 18.25M to 17.45M after his remarkable journey as the shorty to the big stack with two to go.
Kokhestani was coolered in a tough spot with a boat-over-boat. He busted on the next hand. Kokhestani made a valiant final stan with against Shevliakov's
. Alas, the deuce of clubs appeared on the flop and Shevliakov seized the lead. The turn or river did not help Kokhestani and he finished in second place, which paid out €615,000 to the runner-up. Not too shabby.
Aleksandr Shevliakov stepped into the winner's circle as the newest PT Monte Carlo Main Event champion after he parlayed a €530 sat seat into €1,000,000.
2025 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event - Final Table Results
Buy-in: 5,300
Entrants: 1,195
Prize Pool: €5,795,750
Payouts: 175
1. Aleksandr Shevliakov (Russia) €1,000,000
2. Khossein Kokhestani (Ukraine) €615,000
3. Boris Angelov (Bulgaria) €439,200
4. Enrico Coppola (Italy) €337,900
5. Mariusz Golinski (Poland) €259,900
6. Jamil Wakil (Canada) €199,750