The Monster 2026 – Day 2 Wrap
Friday at The Monster brought a full slate of action from early afternoon right through into the night, with strong turnouts across the board and plenty of chips finding their way into some serious stacks as players looked to put themselves in position for the days ahead.
Kicking things off was The Monster Main Event Day 1B, which saw 87 entries take their seats in search of a bag. As the field played down, it was Nico Segersven who emerged with the chip lead, finishing up on 469,000 to set the early benchmark for the day’s flights.
Running alongside was the opening flight of the Holigames €10k 1A, drawing 83 entries and continuing the steady build towards the guarantee. By the end of play it was Vitalijs Polukejevs who topped the counts, bagging 422,000 and putting himself in a strong position heading into the final.
The first trophy of the day came in the form of the Omaha Progressive Bounty, which attracted 43 entries and built a tidy €10,000 prize pool. As expected with the bounty element in play, the action was lively throughout. When the dust settled it was J.J. Hazan who claimed the win, taking home €3,770 along with €2,000 in bounties. Patrick Eagers finished in 2nd for €2,400 plus €900 in bounties, while Jason Tompkins rounded out the podium in 3rd, collecting €1,000 and €100 in bounties.
Attention then turned back to the Main Event with Day 1C, which proved to be the standout flight of the day. A huge 182 entries piled in, creating a packed floor and plenty of chips in play. By the time bags came out, just 19 players remained. Leading the way was Audrius Daugvilavicius, who put together an impressive run to finish on 869,000, the biggest stack of the day so far.
Later in the evening, players had another shot at qualification through the Holigames €10k 1B Hyper, a quicker format that drew 26 entries and generated a €3,120 prize pool. With the pace ramped up, it didn’t take long to reach the business end, with 9 players making it through. The biggest stack belonged to Robert Murphy, who bagged 174,000 to lead the hyper qualifiers into the final.
The day wrapped up with the Holigames €10k Final, which brought together a field of 109 entries and a €13,080 prize pool to play for. After a fast-paced finish it was Veaceslav Jumir who came out on top, taking home €3,800. Paudie Cusack secured 2nd place for €2,530, while Paul Hanna added another deep run to his festival with a 3rd place finish worth €1,700.
The action continued into the night with The Monster Main Event Day 1D, giving players another opportunity to secure their place in the later stages. A total of 95 entries took part in the flight, which saw a further 15 entries make it through to the final.
Day 2 in the bag…
With a jam-packed schedule over the weekend. Make sure to stay tuned to livepokerupdates for all the action throughout the day.