A total of 76 entries were made in the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo €100,000 High Roller For One Drop no-limit hold’em event, building a prize pool of more than $8.5 million.
After three days of nosebleed-stakes action, it was Albert Daher who emerged victorious with the title and the top prize of $2,404,350. This was the second-largest career score for the 39-year-old from Beirut, Lebanon. This windfall trails only the nearly $3.5 million haul that came with his third-place showing in the 2025 World Series of Poker Triton Invitational.
“It always feels great to just run super hot and hit every flop. I’ve never been this lucky in my life, so it was a really good time,” Daher told longtime PokerStars commentator Joe Stapleton after coming out on top. Stapleton is moving on from his current role after the conclusion of this stop.
The event also raised over $262,000 for the One Drop Foundation, an organization founded nearly two decades ago with the mission of improving global access to safe water. These charity funds were raised via a 3% withholding from each buy-in.
“It’s always good to support charity, and One Drop has been a charity that supports poker,” said Daher. “We all love these One Drop tournaments, and I’m happy to support it.”
In addition to the hardware and the money, Daher also scored 840 Card Player Player of the Year points with this triumph. This was his first POY-qualified score of 2026.
Narrowing The Record Field
This tournament drew the largest-ever field for a six-figure buy-in EPT event. The top 11 finishers all earned a share of the $8,536,320 prize pool. High-stakes crusher Mikita Badziakouski was the last to be eliminated outside of the money. Artsiom Lasouski’s J-5 outran his A-K, with the 5♣ making a flush after four clubs hit the board.
Bracelet winners Byron Kaverman (11th – $213,408), Orpen Kisacikoglu (10th – $213,408), and Tom Fuchs (9th – $266,760) all hit the rail late on day 2 after the bubble burst. Wiktor Malinowski led the final eight heading into the third and final day of play, with Daher virtually tied for the second-largest stack with Lasouski.
Teun Mulder (8th – $333,333) was the first to fall, with his A♥J♦ running into Daher’s A♠A♦. Daher scored the next knockout as well, cracking pocket kings with A-J to send a player who has requested anonymity packing in seventh place.
Start-of-day leader Malinowski, known to many by his online handle ‘Limitless’, was the next to hit the rail. He got the last of his chips in with A♦4♣ leading the K♣Q♠ of all-time money leader Bryn Kenney, but a Q♣J♥2♣K♦J♠ runout ended the Polish high-stakes star’s run in sixth place ( $521,118).
Daher scored his third elimination of the day when he picked up the last of Lasouski’s stack. The Belarusian’s K♦J♦ was unable to come from behind against the A♦6♦ of Daher, which made a pair of sixes to win the pot. Lasouski secured $655,551 as the fifth-place finisher, the second-highest payday of his career.
Four To One
Kenney, the highest-earning poker player in tournament history with $82,868,986 in career cashes, soon squared off against his nearest competition on the money list: Stephen Chidwick ($79,517,944). Kenney slid to the bottom of the counts during four-handed action when his pocket queens were outflopped by Daher’s pocket tens. The Lebanese player flopped top set to win a massive pot, leaving Kenney in the danger zone.
Not long after that, Chidwick raised to 250,000 from the button with Q♠J♣ and Kenney three-bet shoved for 975,000 total out of the small blind with A♣K♥. Chidwick made the call to set up an all-in clash between the two tournament heavyweights.
The top two on the all-time money list go at it in the @allinforonedrop €100,000 High Roller. 👇
Watch them play for €2,055,000 at https://t.co/SB357usSaR or https://t.co/ZarB0RN21O pic.twitter.com/4RSkFpRdnq
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) May 3, 2026
The board ran out Q♦8♥4♣7♦6♦ and Kenney was eliminated in fourth place ($852,345). While Chidwick chipped up to 34 big blinds, he was still quite a ways behind Daheh and his 142 big-blind stack. Leonardo Drago was even further back with 12 big blinds. He soon committed his remaining stack with pocket deuces, only to run into the pocket eights of Chidwick. The superior pair held up, and Drago headed to the payout desk to collect a personal-best score of $1,107,990.
Heads-Up For The Title
Daher held roughly a 3:1 chip lead over Chidwick to start. The gap expanded as the match wore on, with Chidwick worn down to roughly 10 big blinds when the final hand of the event arrived.
The last clash began with Daher open shoving from the button with 4♠4♣. Chidwick called off with K♦8♠ and the flop came down Q♦9♠4♦ to give Daher a set of fours and a big lead.
The 3♥ turn took all of the drama out of the hand, as Chidwick no longer had any way to win. The 2♠ on the river was a mere formality, officially ending Chidwick’s run in second place ($1,551,069). The British star also secured 700 POY points. This was his fourth final-table finish of the year. The two-time POY award winner now sits in 79th place in the 2026 standings.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Albert Daher | $2,404,350 | 840 |
| 2 | Stephen Chidwick | $1,551,069 | 700 |
| 3 | Leonardo Drago | $1,107,990 | 560 |
| 4 | Bryn Kenney | $852,345 | 420 |
| 5 | Artsiom Lasouski | $655,551 | 350 |
| 6 | Wiktor Malinowski | $521,118 | 280 |
| 8 | Teun Mulder | $333,333 | 140 |
| 9 | Tom Fuchs | $266,760 | 70 |
Photo credit: Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd. / Danny Maxwell.
