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€3,000 EPC High Roller
Day 1 Completed
2026 King's Million European Poker Championship
€3,000 EPC High Roller
Day: 1
Players Left 47 / 140
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Chip Counts
Chip Counts
8
543,000
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
It was only the third level of the day when the Spanish player who goes by JULIO bluffed off his stack in the €3,000 EPC High Roller at the 2026 King's Million European Poker Championship. Undeterred, he quickly reentered, and that proved to be a wise decision. Six levels later, when the night ended, JULIO had turned the starting stack of 200,000 into 1,494,000, nearly one and a half times as much as his nearest contender.
JULIO was two of 92 entries on Day 1 of the EPC High Roller at King's Resort. With 48 players making it through to Day 2, just over half the field survived the first day. However, with three more levels of late registration on Day 2, as well as unlimited reentries available, more people will be joining the fray to battle for the €500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Meanwhile, Davit Mikhanashvili was the only other player to cross the seven-figure mark, doing so with a stack of 1,065,000. Romanian powerhouse Florian Duta completes the podium with 836,000, while French regular Axel Bayout, who pulled the big €150,000 bounty in the Mystery Bounty earlier this week, also secured a spot in the top ten with 596,000.
End of Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JULIO | Spain | 1,494,000 | 187 |
| 2 | Davit Mikhanashvili | Georgia | 1,065,000 | 133 |
| 3 | Florian Duta | Romania | 836,000 | 105 |
| 4 | William Olivotti | Germany | 817,000 | 102 |
| 5 | Genpro93 | Italy | 667,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Axel Bayout | France | 596,000 | 75 |
| 7 | Andre Winkler | Germany | 563,000 | 70 |
| 8 | MajikMike | Italy | 543,000 | 68 |
| 9 | Attila Koncz | Hungary | 516,000 | 65 |
| 10 | Alessandro Predaroli | Italy | 513,000 | 64 |
Some of Europe's top talent traveled to Rozvadov for the €3,000 EPC High Roller, and plenty of them bagged up at the end of the night. Antoine Vranken was one of the final entries of the day but doubled his stack to 412,000, while his fellow Dutch bracelet winner Tobias Peters ended with 273,000.
Mystery Bounty champion Vasilis Nikolas began the hunt for his second title of the series by bagging 250,000, and Zdenek Zizka grinded his way to a stack of 428,000 while multi-tabling Day 1a of the Main Event at the same time.
Darius Neagoe, Ermanno Di Nicola, Mateusz Moolhuizen, Guy Taylor, and Max Kruse were among those who couldn't build a stack on Day 1, but they will have another shot on October 1, when Day 2 starts at 3 p.m. local time.
The blinds will start at Level 10: 4,000/8,000 with an 8,000 big blind ante, with levels remaining 45 minutes long throughout the day. Late registration remains open until the start of Level 13: 10,000/15,000 (15,000). A marathon session that will run well into the morning is in the cards for those who run deep, as Day 2 will play down to a champion.
PokerNews will be back on the tournament floor tomorrow to report the entirety of Day 2 live from Rozvadov, so make sure to tune back in to follow all the latest action from the King's Million EPC.
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The 48 remaining players have all bagged their chips, spelling the end of Day 1. Stay tuned for the chip counts and a recap of the day.
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
In a three-bet pot worth 100,000, Mateusz Hajman checked the 2♥7♠3♥ flop from middle position. Antoine Vranken then bet 50,000, and Hajman raised all in. Vranken instantly called for 113,500.
Antoine Vranken: 10♠10♦ 
Mateusz Hajman: 9♣7♣
Hajman did not improve on the Q♠ turn or J♣ river, sending the pot Vranken's way.
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
The floor has instructed the dealers to deal the final three hands of Day 1.
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Navide Feliciano was all in for 177,000 on the button, at risk against lakyluk17 in the big blind.
Navide Feliciano: A♦5♠
lakyluk17: A♥J♦
lakyluk17's kicker remained in the lead on the 4♠5♦8♣A♣ flop and turn, but Navide Feliciano found two pair on the 5♣ river to double up.
Level 9
: Blinds 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Eugenio Cupellini was down to 66,500, which he pushed in from middle position. It folded to big blind Efim Dorfman, who called.
Eugenio Cupellini: A♣K♣
Efim Dorfman: A♥10♠
Dorfman had just two outs in the deck after the 8♣3♣7♠ flop, and he hit one on the 10♦ turn. The 2♠ river did not bring a club, confirming Cupellini's fate.
