Amid the Mystery Bounty frenzy, Stropoli is carving his way to the top
A mountain of chips to build on
The tournament is moving at a blistering pace, with eliminations coming one after another. Each bust-out comes with the promise of a mystery chest to open, for prizes ranging from €1,000 to €250,000. And there was no time to waste: by the first break, the biggest bounty had already been claimed, along with a €100,000 prize—the second highest. Enough to completely shake things up at the tables.
But let’s get to the essentials. After nearly five hours of play, the players have just reached the second break, and only 40 remain. A brutal thinning of the field that has seen several big names fall, including Czech player Martin Kabrhel, his executioner of the day Thomas Santerne, Michael Mizrachi, and France’s Maxime Chilaud, who described his day as “a real rollercoaster.”
An expression that also fits Julien Stropoli’s journey. Second in chips at the start of Day 2 and the leading French player at the restart, he too has experienced plenty of ups and downs. When I arrive at his table, he has just raised on the river on a 3♥ 3♦ 7♦ A♦ K♣ board to 960,000 chips (24 BB), with blinds at 20,000/40,000. His opponent tanks, burns two time banks, and eventually makes the call. The decision proves correct: Julien’s K♦ Q♠ is no match for A-6. The Frenchman drops to 500,000 chips (12.5 BB) and is moved to another table shortly after.
“The start of the day has been really rough… and on top of that, I haven’t won a single bounty,” he admits. At that moment, morale is clearly low.
But sometimes, a simple table change is enough to turn things around—and this one works instantly. Julien quickly doubles up with pocket fives holding against A♥ Q♥.
Then comes the turning point—a classic Mystery Bounty hand. It all starts with a limp in the hijack for 50,000. On the button, a player raises to 250,000 (5 BB), exactly the stack of the small blind, who commits. In the big blind, Julien completes. With the raise effectively capped, four players see the flop after both the initial limper and the button call.
The flop comes Q♦ 5♦ 6♠. Julien immediately shoves his 750,000 chips (15 BB). The button calls, and the cards are revealed: A♥ T♥ for the small blind, T♦ 7♦ for Julien, and 4♣ 3♣ for the button, who covers everyone. An A♠ on the turn seems to crush French hopes—until a miraculous 5♦ on the river gives Julien a flush, allowing him to scoop the entire pot.
“I’m just happy to finally get to open a chest,” he says with a smile. Now up to over 2,500,000 chips, the momentum has completely shifted.
And he’s not done yet. A few hands later, after a check-check on the turn, Julien shoves again on the river with a slight overbet into a pot already exceeding one million. On a 6♣ K♣ 8♥ 8♦ 7♦ board, his opponent faces a real dilemma. After two time banks, he eventually calls—bad timing. Julien had flopped two pair before turning a full house with 8♠ 6♠.
He heads into the break as the chip leader with 5,000,000 chips. The last French player still in contention, he now carries all the nation’s hopes—and looks determined to write a remarkable story.
Paul Koessler