This content was AI generated based on the original article published on https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/10/kyriakos-kesidis-claims-epc-monsterstack-trophy-52524.htm. All credits for the original reporting belong to them.
Greek recreational player Kyriakos Kesidis has captured the €600 Monsterstack title at the 2026 King’s Million European Poker Championship, earning €146,800 after a dramatic final day at King’s Resort.
Kesidis busted the tournament four times during the opening flights and was advised by a friend to stop registering. Ignoring that advice, he fired a fifth bullet and made it through to Day 2, where he built a commanding chip lead heading into the final day.
The event drew 2,903 entries, generating a prize pool of €1,480,530. Starting the final day atop a field of 24 players, Kesidis saw the field thin quickly, with nearly a third of the remaining players eliminated in the opening level.
After slipping to the middle of the pack, Kesidis scored two knockouts and won key double-ups to reclaim the chip lead as the tournament reached its final four players. He later revealed it was his suggestion to negotiate an ICM deal at that stage, which locked in six-figure payouts while leaving extra money for the top two finishers.
Despite briefly feeling satisfied with his guaranteed €112,000-plus, Kesidis said his friend urged him to keep pushing for more. He outlasted Dan Sfarlea, who took third place after recovering from a brutal four-big-blind stack early in the day, before beating heads-up opponent BUNJO with a river double-up followed by a river-card finish on the very next hand.
A physiotherapist based in Cyprus, Kesidis plays tournament poker only a few times a year as a hobby, calling the win his first major series title.
