2026 King's Million European Poker Championship
Mirco Di Santo raised to 525,000 from under the gun. Stefano Iolli, in middle position, and Ran Shahar, in the hijack, called.
The 2♣J♠9♦ flop saw Di Santo continue for 700,000. Iolli called, and Shahar raised to 1,700,000. Di Santo folded, while Iolli called.
Iolli played out of flow on the 7♠ turn, moving all-in for Shahar's effective stack of 2,700,000. Shahar was forced to fold.
David Hu moved all in for 3,335,000 from under the gun. Martino Cito, in the small blind, made the call.
David Hu: 7♥7♠
Martino Cito: A♣Q♠
Hu was ahead in this flip, and it stayed that way on the 6♥4♣K♣ flop. Cito picked up the dream turn card in the J♣, giving him straight and flush outs. However, the 3♥ river kept Hu alive.
Wiktor Weiner opened to 525,000 from under the gun, finding a call from Dalibor Dula in the big blind. Dula checked the 7♥Q♦J♠ flop, making another call when Weiner continued for 375,000.
Both players then checked on the K♣ turn, and Dula tapped the table again on the 2♥ river. Weiner slid out a bet of 525,000, producing a fold from Dula to claim the pot.
Frank Gauss raised from under the gun, receiving calls from Alexander Luciani on the button and Erdinc Guentay in the small blind.
The 2♦3♥5♠ flop saw the action check to Gauss, who continued for 650,000. Luciani called, and Guentay check-raised, making 1,500,000 to go. Gauss folded, and Luciani called.
The 2♣ turn saw Guentay empty the clip, moving all-in for 1,950,000. Luciani made a frustrated fold.
Salvatore Gargiulo was all in from the button, at risk against Nik in early position as the cards were revealed.
Salvatore Gargiulo: 9♠9♣
Nik: A♣A♥
Gargiulo was unable to improve on the K♠J♥8♠3♦10♦ board, as Nik's pocket aces held to secure the elimination.
In the 1,009th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by 888poker, Chad Holloway sits down with Albert Cheng, the Chief Growth Officer of Chess.com.
Poker may experience a boom among chess players as a popular chess website with millions of daily users launched a poker site and training program. Gambit, launched by Chess.com, is a free-to-use poker software where players can play against bots, friends, and other online users. They can also be walked through the basics of the game, take poker strategy lessons, and track their poker stats.
Gambit is specifically aimed at helping new players become introduced to the game without having to lose money or be pushed in-app purchases.
"Here's what it is: a poker site built for learning," Chess.com Chief Growth Officer Albert Cheng said in a May blog post. "No real-money gambling. No rake. Just the parts of the chess playbook that have made it work for millions of people, applied to poker."
Gambit, which is available on desktop as well as iOS and Android, will be immediately familiar to Chess.com users as the two share the same interface and graphics.
Be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
Level: 30
Blinds: 100,000/250,000
Ante: 250,000
The pot stood at around 2,500,000 with the board reading 7♣J♠J♣9♦. Frank Gauss, in the big blind, bet out 800,000. Libero 5, in the cutoff, called.
The 5♠ river slowed down Gauss with a check. Libero 5 took the lead for 1,600,000, and Gauss called. Libero 5 instantly mucked his cards. Gauss took this pot without needing to reveal his own holding.