At the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo main event, eventual champion Aleksandr Shevliakov was accused of angle-shooting by sixth-place finisher Jamil Wakil.
Wakil claims Shevliakov “fake misclicked” with a strong hand to induce a shove from Wakil. The potential angle ultimately led to Wakil’s elimination.
The blinds were 60,000-120,000 with a 120,000 big blind ante. Wakil raised to 270,000 under the gun with Q
J. The action folded around to Shevliakov from the small blind, who looked down at A
K and tried to raise to 360,000.
According to Shevliakov, he didn’t see Waki’s raise in front of him. The floor was called, and it was ruled that Shevliakov would be forced to make the minimum raise to 420,000.
Wakil then moved all in for nearly 4,000,000 and Shevliakov snapped him off. Big slick held, and Wakil was sent to the rail.
After the hand, Boris Angelov accused Shevliakov of an angle, saying that he also “fake misclicked” with about 20 players remaining. Wakil refused to reciprocate Shevliakov’s fist bump as he said his goodbyes to the rest of the table.
Suddenly, the tournament became more about Shevliakov’s intent, rather than his big win.
PokerStars commentator James Hartigan was quick to fan the flames, immediately pointing out on the broadcast that this was the only time that Shevliakov had verbally announced his raise despite multiple days playing on the livestream.
Wakil took to Twitter/X to share his thoughts, saying he was “extremely confident” that Shevliakov angled, citing his own verbal raise declaration and confirmation by the dealer.
Many in the poker community were quick to back the Canadian, offering their words of support. Others, meanwhile, had little sympathy that Wakil still chose to bluff shove for nearly 33 big blinds. He made his bed, and he had to lie in it, so to speak.
A small group even went so far as to defend the angle, saying that if it’s not addressed in the rules, it’s fair game. “That’s poker baby!”
While Shevliakov is undoubtedly happy with his €1,000,000 payout, he is definitely not a fan of the spotlight this incident has put on him. Prior to his big win, he had even requested to keep his results hidden from the public by Card Player and other results databases.
But the angling accusations were too much to ignore.
“I’ve already been labeled as an angle shooter, even though no one outside of the Russian-speaking poker community knows my full version of the events,” Shevliakov wrote. “The dealer told me the sizing was wrong and pointed to the raise. It was only at that moment that I realized Jamil had already raised. I hadn’t seen it or processed it — I was focused on my action, my tea, the timer, and avoiding mistakes.”
“I didn’t understand what the ruling would be — raise or call — but I immediately realized how bad this would look if ruled a raise. I had no idea what to do,” he continued. “So I sat there, drank tea, and waited for the situation to resolve. Jamil made a correct shove but ran into the top of my range. Before revealing my hand, I said, ‘this wasn’t angle shooting,’ and apologized.”
In the lengthy post, Shevliakov claimed several factors had clouded his mental state at the final table and blamed his poor English, an issue with electronic devices on the rail, and being distracted by a waitress with his tea for the mistake.
He also claims to have an extremely strong reputation in the Russian poker scene, with “no debts, no broken deals, no history of angle shooting.”
Several players showed support for the explanation, saying he came across as reasonable, relatable, and truthful.
A Fix Is Needed
But whether Shevliakov performed an angle or not, it’s clear that the door is wide open to benefiting from the “fake misclick” angle whenever the situation presents itself. Let’s first break down how the angle/mistake works:
1. Preflop aggressor (Player A) performs the original raise.
2. Player B picks up an extremely strong hand.
3. Player B verbally announces a raise and puts in an illegal amount.
4. The floor comes over and declares that Player B verbally announced a raise and must put in a min-raise.
5. Player A is now subjected to having to decipher whether Player B’s action is accidental or if Player B is being unethical.
6. Player A attempts to take advantage of Player B’s “accidental action” by four-betting.
7. Player B (usually) collects a giant pot.
So, how do we solve this particular angle? Here are three potential solutions, with their drawbacks.
1. Original Raiser Chooses Whether It’s A Call Or A Min-Raise
In this hypothetical, Player A would determine whether Player B’s illegal raise is a call or a min-raise.
While this would partially solve the angle, it could still become a psychological headache for Player A on later streets.
This would also be an unprecedented act in the game of poker and could also create new angles.
2. An Illegal Raise Results In A Dead Hand
This would be a very controversial move, but one that would completely solve the problem. While legitimate, accidental illegal raises happen occasionally, many would agree that closing the loophole would be worth it, albeit at the occasional expense of a guiltless party.
On the flip side, accidental illegal raises happen far more often in low-stakes tournaments. Applying this rule to those tournaments could turn many recreational players off from playing live poker.
Perhaps a compromise is to only enact this rule in high-stakes events or past a certain point in major tournaments (day 2 or in-the-money). After all, players should be paying attention.
3. Harsher Penalties For Anglers
In recent times, tournament directors have been accused of being far too lenient when penalizing players who abuse rules or other players.
Occasionally, a tournament director will punish players for unethical actions by penalizing them. Unfortunately, the penalty is usually a forced sit-out, typically lasting an orbit. It’s hardly a deterrent when large sums of cash are on the line. It’s like giving a billionaire a parking ticket.
If tournament directors were to put their foot down in instances like this and say, “This isn’t right,” players may think twice about attempting future angles.
Potential penalties, including financial repercussions (like a fine on winnings to be redistributed to the field), multiple-level penalties, or disqualification, could convince a player to play within the unwritten ethical guidelines.
Anybody have a better idea? Tell it to Matt Savage. The Tournament Director’s Association will meet again to discuss the official rules in the summer of 2026.
Blaise Bourgeois a WSOP Circuit ring winner, poker journalist, and contributing columnist for Card Player. Find him on Twitter/X @BlaiseBourgeois.
I’ve been receiving a lot of messages about the situation with Aleksandr Shevliakov, leading to my 6th place finish in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event yesterday, so I’ve made some comments below to address it. The reason for this post is strictly because I believe that it is… pic.twitter.com/CiJXQDLptg
— Jamil Wakil (@JamWakil) May 11, 2025
