He went into the final table with the lead and Patrik Antonius went wire-to-wire to claim the 2024 EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller title. Winning $2.1 million up top, the Finnish poker legend beat German superstar Christoph Vogelsang heads-up for the title after a top-quality final table played out on the French Riviera.

Kulev Would Not Be King

Heading into the final table, it was the Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius who held the chip lead with 3.94 million chips (65 big blinds). His closest challengers were Juan Pardo (56BB), Ben Heath (41BB), Christoph Vogelsang (39BB) and Byron Kaverman (34BB), with no-one having close to half the Finn’s stack.

The short stack coming into play was the Bulgarian player Alex Kulev, who began with just seven big blinds. Pretty soon, they were in the middle as Kulev three-bet shoved with . Juan Pardo was his caller with and while the flop was safe for the Dublin-based Bulgarian professional, the turn left him needing one of just two outs. No nine on the river meant that only eight remained in pursuit of the top prize and Kulev left with $233,600.

Stephen Chidwick’s tournament was over in eighth place for $291,900. All-in with , he was in terrible shape against Juan Pardo’s and Byron Kaverman’s . The board of rewarded Kaverman and he almost trebled up, going from 1.6m chips to over 4 million.

Heath Falls Off a Cliff

Only seven were left and David Yan was the unfortunate player to depart next, his shove with running into Patrik Antonius’ and causing him to leave with $365,100. The board of was no good for Yan and he turned on his toes and left the remaining half-dozen players battling for the seven-figure scores.

Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel crashed out five places short of glory. All-in with , he lost to Pardo’s when a nine-high board sent him home with $456,400. It wasn’t long before only four remained, as Ben Heath was ousted after a big coinflip against Antonius. All-in with , Heath couldn’t hold against the Finn’s when a board of played out, the British player heading home with $574,000.

Byron Kaverman had been a big threat over the whole tournament so it would have been a relief for the eventual winner when Antonius eliminated him too. All-in with , Kaverman was dominated by Antonius’ and got no help on the flop. The turn of a ended Kaverman’s chances before the river landed and the American crashed out in fourth place for $746,500.

A Fantastic Finnish

“I’m trying to keep my game as high level as possible, always evolving.” ~ Patrik Antonius, EPT Super High roller Monte Carlo Champion

With three remaining, Juan Pardo called off his stack on a board showing with . It was the wrong move, however, with Vogelsang holding the goods with for trips sixes on the flop. Pardo departed for $970,250 and Vogelsang went into the heads-up with 7.52 million, while Antonius held 10,385,000 chips.

After winning the first hand of the final duel with pocket sevens, the German pro Vogelsang moved into the lead. However, a big win with pocket queens against Vogelsang’s when the board came . That hand gave the Finn a 4:1 chip lead, and soon, it was all over, Antonius shoving with and Vogelsang calling with . No five and a nine on the river saw Patrik Antonius crowned champion on the EPT once again.

You can watch the final hand play out right here.

After the final table, Antonius spoke to our friends at PokerNews and was in celebratory mood.

“It always feels good to win a tournament in general, but especially to win a Super High Roller here in Monaco, also my home turf. So this feels extra special. I’m trying to keep my game as high level as possible, always evolving with the game. I really enjoy playing against the toughest competition and all kind of big games, whether cash games or tournaments. And the goal is really to keep playing and, I would like to be here giving interviews in the next ten, 20 years or so. Let’s see if I can keep up.”

With the EPT Main Event in Monte Carlo still to play down to a winner, who knows how far Patrik Antonius can press his edge this week at the base of the French alps.

Headline photograph by award-nominated photographer Danny Maxwell for PokerStars in Monte Carlo.