Heads-up on a flop of A♥4♥3♠, Nick Palma bet 2,500 from the small blind and Nazar Buhaiov called on the button.
The turn was the 10♣ and Palma led out for another 7,000. Buhaiov again called, and the 7♣ fell on the river. Palma then bet enough to put Buhaiov all in.
Buhaiov only took a few seconds before calling for his last 15,000, and Palma showed K♠Q♠ for king-high. Buhaiov turned over A♦Q♣ for top pair to earn the double up.
"I told you not to bluff," Buhaiov said to Palma after the hand.
Lorenzo Negri had open-raised in early position, and Lander Lijo had three-bet in the next seat over.
Jean-Luc Labryga then four-bet jammed his stack of 8,400 from the cutoff, and Jeremie Descouts also moved all in from the big blind for 25,000. Negri quickly got out of the way, but Lijo quickly called, playing the same stack as Descouts.
Descouts flopped a full house on A♥2♣2♦ for a gigantic lead, and officially locked up the pot on the 9♠ turn. The 3♣ river was of no consequence as Labryga and Lijo left the tournament area with haste.
Shakhabiddin Muradov was all-in for 10,000 from the cutoff. Tokuya Shuto reshoved for 56,400 in the hijack, while Andrew Dickinson had both players covered and at risk from the small blind.
Shakhabiddin Muradov: A♣K♦
Tokuya Shuto: K♣K♠
Andrew Dickinson: A♥K♥
More than 120,000 was at stake as Shuto was ahead with his two kings. He needed to avoid one of the last two aces in the deck to take in the massive pot, and he dodged the 5♣10♥3♦6♦9♥ board to earn a double up off Dickinson and send Muradov to the rail.
"Wasn't expecting to see a pair of kings," Dickinson said as he watched most of his stack head across the table.
Georgios Skarparis bet 1,800 from under the gun on a flop of 6♣8♦4♦ and was called by Pascal Vos in middle position, Robert Heidorn in the hijack, Endrit Geci on the button, and Terence Jordon Jr in the big blind.
The turn was the 5♣ and the table checked around to Geci, who bet 9,000. Jordon Jr, Skarparis, and Vos all called, while Heidorn got out of the way.
The A♥ fell on the river and Geci bet another 10,500. Jordon Jr and Skarparis quickly folded, while Vos took a minute before also sending his cards into the muck.
"What a crazy hand that was. Everyone had sets and flush draws. We all had each other's outs," Geci said as he raked in the big pot.
Heads-up on a flop of 3♥J♥10♥, Mehdy El Fki bet 3,000 from under the gun and Andrei Konopelko called on the button.
The turn was the 6♣ and El Fki bet 7,000. Konopelko again called, and the 8♠ fell on the river. El Fki quickly announced all in, and Konopelko, with around 10,000 remaining, instantly folded.
Davoud Pira made it 500 to go under the gun. Ivan Uzunov called in middle position, prompting Kevin Naegelen to squeeze in a three-bet to 2,000 on the button.
Pira and Uzunov both called, and the dealer fanned the 3♠5♥2♥ flop. It checked to Naegelen, who continued with a bet of 2,200. Pira quickly folded, but Uzunov called to see the 9♥ turn.
Both players checked it through to the K♠ river, where Uzunov led out with a bet of 2,600. Naegelen pushed in a raise to 8,500, which Uzunov called almost instantly.
Naegelen showed A♦4♦ for the flopped straight, and a surprised Uzunov mucked his cards in defeat.
Five players went to a flop of 5♠9♣3♣ when Antonio Pereira bet 1,200 from middle position. Elvir Nuhiu then raised to 3,100 on the button and the table folded back to Pereira, who reraised to 8,700. Nuhiu called.
The turn was the 7♥ and Pereira bet another 4,500. Nuhiu then moved all in for 18,100, and Pereira tanked for several minutes before folding.
More than 15,000 was already in the middle as Adam Martinsson and Henri Hassid went to the turn on a board of 5♣Q♣2♠7♠. Martinsson then bet 9,500 from the hijack, and Hassid called in the big blind.
The river was the 9♥ and Martinsson moved all in. Hassid instantly pushed forward the rest of his 10,000, and Martinsson turned over 2♦2♣ for a set.
"Aces?" another tablemate asked Hassid as he tossed his cards into the muck and got up from his seat. The dealer eventually revealed K♥Q♥, and Hassid became the first casualty of the day.
Sil Damstra and Florian Duta were in the blinds and had gathered a pot of 7,500 when they went to a 9♦A♦7♣ flop. Damstra checked to Duta, who placed a bet of 2,300.
Damstra called to the 8♦ turn, which both players checked. Damstra took another peek at his cards when the K♠ river arrived before deciding to blast 11,500 chips into the pot.
Duta mulled things over for several minutes, eventually letting his cards go as he admitted defeat.
The sun has risen above the French capital of Paris, meaning a new day of the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris is on the horizon. All eyes today will be on Day 1b of the prestigious €5,300 EPT Main Event, which kicks off at noon local time.
During the record-setting 2024 edition of EPT Paris, Day 1b of the Main Event crossed the magical number of 1,000 entries. A bumper crowd is thus expected today at Le Palais des Congrès, adding to the 573 entries of Day 1a.
All who enter today will be chasing hometown player Thomas Cazayous, who captured the chip lead on Day 1a with 385,000, just shy of 13 starting stacks. Other notables who bagged big among the 180 survivors on Day 1a include Natan Chauskin, Adrian State and Nikita Kuznetsov.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Day 2 Big Blinds
1
Thomas Cazayous
France
385,000
257
2
Eduard Litskan
Ukraine
315,000
210
3
Yaman Nakdali
Spain
295,000
197
4
Natan Chauskin
Belarus
281,000
187
5
Adrian State
Romania
262,500
175
6
Nikita Kuznetsov
Russian Federation
253,000
169
7
Carlos Rocha
Brazil
244,000
163
8
Vincent Lavollee
France
238,000
159
9
Adnan Dahic
Bosnia and Herzegovina
210,000
140
10
Lucas Scafini
Brazil
208,000
139
Thomas Cazayous
Day 1b of the EPT Paris Main Event will follow the same structure as Day 1a, starting each player off with 30,000 chips and playing ten levels of 60 minutes. The blinds will kick off at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante, ensuring deep-stacked play throughout the day. A small break is scheduled after every two levels, with an extended 65-minute dinner break taking place after Level 6, around 6:40 p.m. local time.
Late registration will remain open throughout Day 1b, closing at the start of Day 2. However, all players are allowed just two entries in total across the entire EPT Main Event, including Day 1a and Day 2.
Day 1b 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
PokerNews will be back on the floor for Day 1b from the very start, providing live coverage of exciting hands and chip count updates. Keep your eyes on this page as the EPT Paris Main Event will continue shortly.
