Joris Ruijs has made a career out of success at European Poker Tour stops across the continent, but he reached a new milestone in the PokerStars Open Monte Carlo €1,650 no-limit hold’em main event. The Dutch player outlasted over 1,600 entries to secure his biggest EPT-branded victory and one of the most lucrative live results of his career.
Ruijs won $371,356 and the trophy in the €1,650 no-limit hold’em event, defeating high-stakes standout Leon Sturm heads-up following a deal. Sturm earned $321,799 following the chop, securing his second significant payout of the festival following a victory in a €10,200 no-limit hold’em mystery bounty event just a few days earlier.
After making a comeback three-handed, Ruijs told local French poker media site ClubPoker that he had nearly given up hope of victory.
“When I had a very small stack at the last break, I was a bit resigned,” Ruijs said. “I thought I’d finish third. But then I started running really hot and everything went well.”
Ruijs’ second career PokerStars spade trophy on the EPT also earned him 1,080 Card Player Player of the Year points. Along with a final table appearance at WSOP Europe and a ninth-place finish in the EPT Paris main event, Ruijs now sits in 59th place on the yearlong leaderboard presented by CoinPoker.
By The Numbers
There were a total of 1,634 entries in this tournament, with 857 unique players from 62 different countries, and 777 re-entries over the course of four starting flights. That generated a total prize pool of $2,760,960. Sturm emerged as the day 1 chip leader despite entering day 1C late following his mystery bounty win.
Poker triple crown winner Davidi Kitai (170th), 2022 World Series of Poker main event champion Espen Jorstad (148th), two-time bracelet winner Blaz Zerjav (86th), and back-to-back WSOP ladies championship winner Shiina Okamoto (59th) were among the 242 players who finished in the money.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | Points |
| 1 | Joris Ruijs | $371,356 | 1,080 |
| 2 | Leon Sturm | $321,799 | 900 |
| 3 | Julien Bolimowski | $189,961 | 720 |
| 4 | Filippos Fragkopoulos | $146,039 | 540 |
| 5 | Romain Matteoli | $112,063 | 450 |
| 6 | Mehdi Rebai | $85,972 | 360 |
| 7 | Vahe Martirosyan | $67,018 | 270 |
| 8 | Gabriel Valls | $51,527 | 180 |
| 9 | Suren Pahlevanyan | $39,640 | 90 |
Photo credit: Eloy Cabacas/Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.
