EPT Monte Carlo: Six in the hunt for an EPT double
Six players returned to the Salle des Etoile in Monte Carlo today with a chance still of becoming a two-time champion on the European poker tour. As has been well documented, only three people have previously achieved that feat, but in Monaco this week all of Thomas Eychenne, Derk van Luijk, Ognyan Dimov, Dimitar Danchev, Hossein Ensan and Christoph Benzimra had the chance to become the fourth.
They were looking to emulate Victoria Coren Mitchell, Mikalai Pobal and Mike Watson as double winners.
It will be a while yet before we discover if they can put on a serious two-time charge, but they all successfully navigated yesterday’s bubble so have taken plenty of steps in the right direction.
But what about their first titles? When and how did these six manage to land their trophies? Thankfully, PokerStars Blog was in attendance as every single one of these players got their hands on an EPT title — starting all the way back in Warsaw in 2009, when Benzimra landed his top prize, and bringing us through to Barcelona last August, when Eychenne scooped the lot.
Our walk down memory lane unfortunately requires us to delve into the world of missing pictures and dead links, but — as bibliophiles the world over will attest to defend their passion — the words remain.
Here’s how these two-time challengers did it, according to contemporary accounts.
Christophe Benzimra – Warsaw 2009
Christophe Benzimra is still going when many previous opponents have departed the scene
Back in 2009, the EPT was absolutely enormous. We visited 12 countries for tournaments, spanning two “seasons”, starting with the PCA in January and ending in Prague in December. Between those two points, there were trips to Deauville, Copenhagen, Dortmund, Sanremo, Monte Carlo, Kyiv, Barcelona, London, Warsaw and Vilamoura.
It was at the EPT’s second and final trip to the Polish capital that Christophe Benzimra came to land his prize. It was a small field of 203 entries; there was €1.1 million in the prize pool; and Benzimra won €358,332. At 47, he was the second-oldest player ever to win an EPT title, but he did so by defeating young Italian pro Alfio Battisti heads-up.
“They were better than me,” Benzimra said. “I am not a professional player, I play just for my pleasure and let’s say today that the luck was with me.”
The standout name at the final was the perennial EPT nearly man Luca Pagano, who still holds the record for final table appearances on the EPT. But Pagano fell in fourth, with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Vaserfirer finishing third.
Despite his humility, Benzimra went on to win the EPT Season 8 Champion of Champions crown as well and, more importantly, is still appearing and succeeding on the EPT. None of Battisti, Vaserfirer or Pagano play the circuit anymore.
Read: Benzimra schools the kids to take Polish poker crown
Dimitar Danchev – PCA 2013
Dimitar Danchev used his PCA win as a springboard to a fine and lasting career
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) always attracted some of the biggest fields in poker and paid some of the biggest prizes, with the superstars of North America tending to proliferate. But in 2013, the Atlantis Resort instead saw the emergence of a Bulgarian force named Dimitar Danchev, who brought the title back to Europe.
A little more than a year previously, Danchev had finished runner-up to Andrey Pateychuk, in the EPT Sanremo Main Event, so he had signalled his skills already. It was still a vast jump up to take this one down, however, particularly while surrounded by those leading North American pros.
While Danchev is now an established crusher both live and online, where he plays as “KuuL” on PokerStars, the $1.9 million first prize remains his biggest career score. He now has more than $10 million in live earnings, however, and is frequently deep in EPT Main Events.
Read: PCA 2013 – Dimitar Danchev wins main event for $1,859,000
Ognyan Dimov – Deauville 2015
Ognjan Dimov is still one of the toughest MTT players in the world
Danchev’s victory of 2013 was the first time at Bulgarian claimed top spot in an EPT Main Event, but the nation only had to wait a couple of years until it found a second champion. The man was another player schooled on the tables of PokerStars, as Ognjan Dimov, otherwise known as “cocojamb0”, beat a 592-entry field to secure a breakout win.
Against the beautiful backdrop of the Normandy resort of Deauville, it was a France-heavy field, with four Frenchman on the final table. But all eyes were on Dany Parlafes, who came into the six-handed final day with close to half the chips in play.
Parlafes continued to play superbly as they got short-handed, famously making what is widely considered to be one of the best folds in EPT history. But Dimov was relentless making the most of the situation, eventually picking up €543,700 for the win.
“I hoped and hoped it would happen,” Dimov said. “I can’t explain. I’m super happy. I can’t believe it’s really happened. I’m really excited.”
He and Danchev now sit fourth and third on the all-time Bulgarian money list, with this success providing the springboard to a blockbuster career.
Read: Impossible is nothing for Ognyan Dimov, hauls in Parlafes to win in France
Hossein Ensan – Prague 2015
Hossein Ensan: Three EPT finals, and counting
There’s something quite quaint about reading our report of Hossein Ensan winning EPT Prague in 2015, the amazement we express about a 51-year-old relative unknown not only reaching his third EPT final table, but now taking it down.
“At 51 years old, Hossein Ensan is not the poster boy for modern poker championships,” we said. “Nearly no one on the poker circuit had heard of him until 2014.”
Of course, even after this sensational victory in EPT Prague, which earned the German player €754,510, Ensan was just getting started. Two years later, he was the WSOP Main Event champion, picking up a $10 million prize.
But the EPT was definitely the schoolyard for Ensan, who followed up final table appearances in Barcelona and Malta with the title in Prague. He played a famous heads-up battle with Gleb Tremzin (and doing a deal with the Russian) before eventually coming out on top.
Read: Third time’s a charm for Hossein Ensan
Derk van Luijk – Monte Carlo 2024
Although the painstaking race to become the first EPT two-time winner is now long over, Derk van Luijk can perhaps chase down another first. No player has won two EPT Main Events in the same venue.
Van Luijk, who describes himself as a semi-pro player, won in Monte Carlo in 2024, beating a cosmopolitan final tables of pros from across the planet, including the form player Boris Angelov heads up. Van Luijk has continued his fine showing in the Principality with another in-the-money finish this time.
His final table performance included one controversial moment when he misread a hand, not realising that he had won it, and gathering his belongings to leave. It meant his eventual success was truly a Lazarus-like comeback, with the Dutchman admitting in his post-game interview, “I got down, but I got back up again.”
His prize of an even €1 million will take some beating, but Van Luijk clearly continues to enjoy his poker and is gunning for that record still.
Read: Semi-pro Dutchman Derk Van Luijk lands €1m first prize
Thomas Eychenne – Barcelona 2025
Thomas Eychenne is a decent bet to join the two-time champions club
Only nine months ago France’s Thomas Eychenne became champion of EPT Barcelona, but the 36-year-old pro has continued to blaze a trail through tournaments across the world. He recently made the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event, and has also made a few appearances on the Super High Roller Series in Asia.
Eychenne had been knocking on the door before the Barcelona success, recording a string of high-profile results. But his victory over a typically enormous Barcelona field of 2,045 entries felt like a watershed.
Read: Thomas Eychenne makes good on enormous promise to land EPT Barcelona Main Event
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