€5,300 Main Event Day 1a | 2026 PokerStars EPT Paris

2 days 13 hours ago

Abehassera Rockets Up Ranks

Frank Visser

Level 5 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

Stephane Abehassera opened with a raise to 1,100 under the gun. Luca Bernardi bumped it up to 3,500 in middle position, after which Claudio Di Giacomo four-bet to 11,000 from the big blind.

Abehassera decided to commit his stack of 34,400, folding out Bernardi. Di Giacomo asked for a count and called when he heard the correct amount.

Stephane Abehassera: A♠A♦ All in
Claudio Di Giacomo: A♣K♥

Di Giacomo flopped some hope on 5♣6♥K♦, but no more kings arrived on the 4♣ turn or Q♠ river. Abehassera booked a big double-up, leaving Di Giacomo with about eight big blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alex Keating	86,000 56,000	56,000
Stephane Abehassera	73,000 73,000	73,000
Aurelie Reard	58,000 58,000	58,000
Luca Bernardi	50,000 50,000	50,000
Toni Kaukua	50,000 20,000	20,000
Alexandre Reard	26,300 8,700	8,700
Kevin Rabichow	24,000 6,000	6,000

Claudio Di Giacomo	4,000 4,000	4,000

Tags: Claudio Di Giacomo Luca Bernardi Stephane Abehassera

2 days 14 hours ago

Tarmi Taken Out by Set

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 5 : Blinds 200/500, 500 ante

From the big blind, Roope Tarmi pushed in his stack of 18,000 on a 7♠5♥A♠3♦ turn for a pot-sized bet. Hugo De La Fouchardiere was in early position and quickly called with the covering stack.

Roope Tarmi: A♦Q♦ All in
Hugo De La Fouchardiere: 7♥7♣

Tarmi's top pair was drawing dead against the set of De La Fouchardiere. The meaningless 8♥ river completed the board, after which Tarmi took his exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Hugo De La Fouchardiere	65,000 65,000	65,000
Roope Tarmi	Busted

Tags: Hugo De La Fouchardiere Roope Tarmi

2 days 15 hours ago

Allen Calls Down Nakdali

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 4 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

Preflop, Michael Allen raised to 800 and called when Yaman Nakdali three-bet to 2,300. Allen then checked to Nakdali on the 8♠K♦9♥ flop, seeing Nakdali continue for 1,500.

Allen called, and also check-called when Nakdali sized up to 6,500 on the K♠ turn.

The J♥ river saw Nakdali complete his triple barrel with a massive bet of 22,000. Allen did not need long before he called.

Nakdali could only show a bluff with A♣6♠, leaving Allen to take the pot with his baby pair of 3♥3♣.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Allen	70,100 70,100	70,100
Yaman Nakdali	33,000 33,000	33,000

Tags: Michael Allen Yaman Nakdali

2 days 16 hours ago

Huge Flop Action Doubles Up Panyak

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 3 : Blinds 100/300, 300 ante

Alexandru Danes raised to 600 in the cutoff. It folded to Maxim Panyak in the big blind, who defended. Danes put in an overbet of 1,700 on the 5♠7♠3♦ flop, which Panyak check-raised to 4,000.

Danes then moved all in, and Panyak quickly called off for his stack of 21,100.

Maxim Panyak: 10♠9♠ All in
Alexandru Danes: A♥7♦

Panyak's flush was completed on the 3♠ turn, and the 10♦ river did not upgrade Danes to a full house. Panyak was awarded a double-up, while Danes was left with roughly a starting stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maxim Panyak	43,500 22,500	22,500
Alexandru Danes	30,000

Tags: Alexandru Danes Maxim Panyak

2 days 17 hours ago

Afriat Ascending Early

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 2 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante

Francisco Perez raised to 600 in middle position. Eric Afriat was next to act in the hijack and bumped it up to 2,100. Francisco Barrios cold-called in the cutoff, and Perez tossed in calling chips as well.

The 3♣8♠4♠ flop saw Perez check to Afriat, who continued for 3,000. Barrios moved out of the way with a fold, but Perez stuck around and called.

After Perez checked the 7♥ turn as well, Afriat sized up to 10,000. Perez spent some time in thought before he let go of his cards and surrendered the pot to his neighbor.

Player	Chips	Progress
Eric Afriat	40,000 10,000	10,000
Francisco Barrios	38,000 38,000	38,000
Francisco Perez	24,000 24,000	24,000

Tags: Eric Afriat Francisco Barrios Francisco Perez

2 days 18 hours ago

Vrakas on Double Starting Stack

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

Georgios Vrakas in middle position and Oleksii Trofymenko on the button had built a pot just shy of 10,000 when the 5♣4♣K♣10♦A♣ river was dealt. Vrakas grabbed a pile of chips and casually tossed the bet of 17,900 into the middle.

Trofymenko rechecked his cards before he quickly flicked in a calling chip. Vrakas tabled Q♥Q♣ for the nut flush, taking down the big pot and nearly eliminating his opponent.

Player	Chips	Progress
Georgios Vrakas	59,000
Oleksii Trofymenko	1,600

Tags: Georgios Vrakas Oleksii Trofymenko

2 days 20 hours ago

European Poker Tour Makes Grand Return to Paris for 2026 Seasonal Kickoff

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

After a one-year hiatus, the PokerStars European Poker Tour has returned to Paris. The EPT has been welcomed back to Le Palais des Congrès with open arms, once again drawing massive crowds to the French capital. Today, at noon local time, the first €5,300 EPT Main Event of the 2026 season kicks off with Day 1a, the first of two starting days.

When the EPT last attended Paris in 2024, Barny Boatman cemented his legendary status with his first-ever victory in an EPT Main Event. He outlasted a field of 1,747 entries and bested a star-studded final table to take home the trophy and the gargantuan sum of €1,287,800.

2024 EPT Paris Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize (EUR)
1	Barny Boatman	United Kingdom	€1,287,800
2	David Kaufmann	Germany	€804,750
3	Aleksejs Ponakovs	Latvia	€574,850
4	Owen Dodd	United Kingdom	€442,150
5	Peter Jorgne	Sweden	€340,100
6	Eric Afriat	Canada	€261,650
7	Ami Barer	Canada	€201,250
8	Lorenzo Arduini	Italy	€154,800

Day 1a Plans

The classic formula of the EPT Main Event returns for EPT Paris, meaning a starting stack of 30,000 and blinds starting at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Day 1a will play ten levels, each 60 minutes long. A small break is scheduled after every two levels, and a 75-minute dinner break is scheduled after Level 6, around 6:40 p.m. local time.

The day will conclude after Level 10: 600/1,200 (1,200), after which the survivors bag up for Day 2. Each player is allowed two entries in total across Day 1a, Day 1b, and Day 2, with the start of Day 2 marking the end of late registration.

Day 1a Schedule

Level	Duration	Small Blind	Big Blind	Big Blind Ante
1	60 min	100	100	100
2	60 min	100	200	200
	20 min break
3	60 min	100	300	300
4	60 min	200	400	400
	20 min break
5	60 min	200	500	500
6	60 min	300	600	600
	75 min dinner break
7	60 min	400	800	800
8	60 min	500	1,000	1,000
	20 min break
9	60 min	600	1,200	1,200
10	60 min	600	1,200	1,200

The PokerNews live reporting team has made their way back to Paris as well to provide live coverage of the EPT Paris Main Event from start to finish. Stay tuned for all the latest updates, straight from the tournament floor.

Tags: Aleksejs Ponakovs Ami Barer Barny Boatman David Kaufmann Eric Afriat Lorenzo Arduini Owen Dodd Peter Jorgne