May 4-5
Countries represented at the unofficial final table – a truly international affair.
- 1STAlex Kulev€2,786,332
- 2NDBryn Kenney€2,520,268
- 3RD
Chris Nguyen€1,443,100 - 4TH
Aleksejs Ponakovs€1,070,000 - 5TH
Orpen Kisacikoglu€837,900 - 6TH
Artur Martirosian€651,700
It's hard to imagine that anyone in the Monégasque administrative area of Monte Carlo had a better day than Alex Kulev – although, in that corner of the world even a €2.7M score for two days' work can shrivel in comparison. Still, winning the biggest Super High Roller tournament in PokerStars history while your parents watch on from the rail makes for a good day.
After navigating through the final table and money bubbles, Kulev reached heads-up play against Bryn Kenney with a slim chip lead. The two players agreed to a deal to split the remaining prize pool, setting aside €111,740 to play for along with the title.
It didn't take long for the deciding hand to arrive. Kulev's turned two pair was more than good enough to get all of the chips in the middle against Kenney's pair and flush draw. The Bulgarian's hand held through the river, delivering him the victory.
"I'm very grateful that this tournament was organized and that I was able to have the fortune to win it," Kulev told PokerStars' Joe Stapleton in the aftermath of the win.
Kulev's path to victory
With only 38 entrants, it was always going to be a battle of the best to crown a winner in this event.
When Day 2 play restarted today, 14 players remained in the hunt and Kulev held one of the top three stacks – but he was far from guaranteed a cash. As players fell by the wayside and the blind levels continued to increase, stacks grew increasingly shallow. Jean-Noel Thorel, Bernhard Binder, Leon Sturm, Mikita Badziakouski, and Isaac Haxton hit the rail to consolidate the remaining players onto an unofficial final table of 9.
Stephen Chidwick fell in ninth place, ending his attempted takeover of the top spot on the Hendon Mob All-Time Money List. Enrico Camosci followed shortly after, leaving Biao Ding to play the bubble boy role.
Artur Martirosian, now in the money, committed the last of his chips with 
and looked to be in great shape for a double against Christopher Nguyen's 
. The runout paired Nguyen's sidecard, however, and left Martirosian to settle for a sixth-place finish.
Alex Kulev and Bryn Kenney agreed to a deal when play reached the heads-up stage. Kulev did his fair share of the work as well.
When Turkey's Orpen Kisacikoglu fired his ten-ish big blinds into the middle with 
, Kulev called it off with 
. The 
improved both players, but Kulev's full house claimed the pot and Kisacikoglu hit the rail in fifth place.
Kulev's next victim, Aleksejs Ponakovs, committed the rest of his chips with 
on a 
flop. Kulev made the call with 
and held up across the 
turn and river.
After a long three-handed battle, Nguyen made an ill-timed play as he moved all-in from the big blind against a button open from Kenney. Unfortunately for the Austrian, his 
was in rough shape against Kenney's 
. The 
runout offered a minor sweat, but Kenney held on to leave Nguyen with less than a big blind and a few hands later he finished the job to bring play to the heads-up stage.
Images courtesy of Danny Maxwell/Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd 2026/PokerStars
