Kyriakos Kesidis is not a professional poker player. He is a Greek physiotherapist based in Cyprus who plays tournaments two or three times a year. This month he won the €600 Monsterstack at the King's Million European Poker Championship in Rozvadov, taking home €146,800 on his fifth entry after busting four times in the opening flights.
It is one of the best amateur stories of the autumn, and it contains plenty of lessons about re-entry tournaments, ICM deals and persistence. This article looks at the numbers, the final table and what recreational players can take from the win.
The tournament in numbers
The EPC Monsterstack at King's Resort drew 2,903 entries at a €600 buy-in, producing a prize pool of €1,480,530. The top five places paid:
- 1st: Kyriakos Kesidis (Greece), €146,800*
- 2nd: BUNJO (Croatia), €128,200*
- 3rd: Dan Sfarlea (Romania), €104,600*
- 4th: Lowkey (Germany), €108,900*
- 5th: Jan Bendik (Slovakia), €51,200
The asterisks mark the four players who agreed an ICM deal. The unusual ordering of third and fourth, with fourth place earning slightly more than third, is a common outcome of deals, where payouts are adjusted to the agreed split rather than finishing position. Kesidis' €146,800 figure is therefore his deal-adjusted payout rather than the nominal first-place prize.
King's Resort in Rozvadov, owned by Leon Tsoukernik, has become one of Europe's major tournament hubs. The King's Million is one of its flagship festivals, and the Monsterstack, with its deep starting stack and accessible buy-in, regularly draws one of the biggest fields of the series. A field of nearly 2,900 for a €600 event shows how much appetite there is for large-field live tournaments.
Five entries, one win
The most interesting part of Kesidis' story is the number of bullets he fired. He busted four times during the opening flights, then entered a fifth time. According to the report, he was hesitant to re-enter, but a friend encouraged him to try again. He told the reporter he had said, "I will win this tournament", and then did.
That is a remarkable outcome, and it highlights a feature of modern tournament poker. In re-entry events, the total cost to win can be several times the nominal buy-in. Kesidis paid five buy-ins, roughly €3,000 at face value before fees and rake considerations, to collect €146,800. That still produced a healthy return, but a different sequence of results would have left him with a significant loss.
For recreational players, the lesson is nuanced. Re-entering can make sense if you are playing well, the structure is deep and you are comfortable with the total cost. It can be a mistake if tilt is driving the decision or if you are risking money you cannot afford to lose. Our what is tilt guide explains how to recognize emotional decisions, and our bankroll management page sets out how to budget for re-entry events.
The deal and the final hands
When four players remained, they negotiated an ICM chop. ICM, short for the Independent Chip Model, is a mathematical method for converting chip stacks into prize-pool equity. It accounts for the fact that the first chips you win are worth more than the last ones, which is why a chip leader receives less than a simple chip-proportional split would suggest.
After the deal was struck, Kesidis said he felt "calm", but his friend urged him to "push on it", reminding him that there was still substantial money remaining for the top finishers. He then doubled up against BUNJO and won the final hand on the river. His reaction summed up the shock of an amateur winning a six-figure first prize: "I was like, no way, no chance... I didn't know how to react."
If you want a clearer view of how these deals are calculated, our what is ICM page covers the basics. The key point is that ICM deals reduce variance, which many recreational players find appealing, but they also leave a little money and a trophy to play for, preserving the incentive to keep competing.
Why amateurs win big fields
A common question after results like this is how a once-or-twice-a-year player can beat thousands of entrants, including regulars who play dozens of events annually. There are several reasons.
Variance is huge. In a field of 2,903, even the best player in the room has a small chance of winning. Poker tournaments have such high variance that a strong amateur can win with the same probability as a talented pro in any single event.
Deep stacks reward patience. The Monsterstack format gives players lots of chips relative to blinds. That means decisions are less about gambling and more about postflop play. A thoughtful player with a sound fundamentals can compete.
Fields contain many mistakes. Large open fields include recreational players who call too much, fold too much or play too passively. Disciplined players can exploit those tendencies.
Re-entry increases opportunities. Kesidis got five tries. Each entry is an independent chance, and one of them eventually produced a deep run.
To work on fundamentals, our texas hold'em guide and poker strategy hub cover the building blocks. If you are comparing formats, our cash games vs tournaments guide explains how variance differs between them.
A festival of surprises
The Monsterstack was one of several notable results at the King's Million. In the same series, an anonymous Israeli player known as "Mystery Kid" won the €3,000 EPC High Roller. Together, the results highlight the diversity of the King's Million: a hobbyist winning a mass-field event, and a young high-stakes grinder winning the high-roller tier, all at the same resort within days of each other.
For anyone who wants to play events like these, the key is preparation. Our tournaments hub explains how to approach large-field festivals, and the poker glossary can help you decode unfamiliar terms.
What this means for players
Kesidis' win provides several practical takeaways.
- Set a re-entry limit. Decide in advance how many bullets you are willing to fire. Kesidis might have stopped at two or three, and the story would be very different.
- Listen to trusted friends, but make your own decision. His friend's encouragement helped, but the decision to re-enter was ultimately his.
- Know deal mathematics. Understanding ICM helps you decide whether a deal is fair and whether to push for more.
- Stay calm at the final table. His description of feeling calm after the deal, then reacting to the late chips, shows how emotional the moment can be.
- Remember it is a hobby for most. Kesidis treats poker as a recreation, and that mindset probably helped him play without pressure.
If you prefer to build your skills online before travelling to live festivals, our real money poker guide and beginner poker sites page are good starting points.
Bottom line
A Greek physiotherapist who plays a couple of events a year just beat 2,902 other entries for €146,800. It took five tries, an ICM deal and a friend who would not let him give up. The result is a reminder that poker rewards persistence, preparation and a little luck, and that anyone who buys in has a chance of writing a story like this one.