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The 2026 King's Million European Poker Championship has already been successful for Georgian player Davit Mikhanashvili. With two final tables and a cash in the Super Main Event under his belt, he would be forgiven for skipping the final few days and heading home.
However, Mikhanashvili is a true grinder, and so he registered Day 1 of the €500 EPC Closer yesterday, giving himself a final shot at capturing a King's Royal Scepter, and he has set himself up for a run at a third final table by capturing the chiplead with 1,157,000, worth just under 116 big blinds when play resumes for Day 2 at King's Resort at 3 p.m. local time, having his eyes on the €46,200 top prize.
Mikhanashvili was among the 565 entries on Day 1, creating a prize pool of €240,125, more than doubling the guarantee. 84 players booked a ticket to Day 2, and they are all in the money, as Day 1 played until the bubble burst. There is only one other chip millionaire; French player WIZARD also turned his 50,000 starting chips into a seven-figure stack.
EPC Closer Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davit Mikhanashvili | Georgia | 1,157,000 | 116 |
| 2 | WIZARD | France | 1,017,000 | 102 |
| 3 | Domenico Casalnuovo | Italy | 980,000 | 98 |
| 4 | Firat Baltaci | Netherlands | 847,000 | 85 |
| 5 | Navide Felíciano | Lithuania | 825,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Mr Perons | Italy | 756,000 | 76 |
| 7 | Corentin Fons | France | 718,000 | 72 |
| 8 | CHAboom21 | Germany | 706,000 | 71 |
| 9 | Anonymized (ITA) | Italy | 662,000 | 66 |
| 10 | ErikNitro | Italy | 658,000 | 66 |
Meanwhile, EPC regulars such as Giorgi Barabadze (570,000), Rostyslav Sabishchenko (477,000), Jakub Koleckar (452,000), and Yannick Jobin (428,000), are all still in contention to conquer the last of the ten Royal Scepters awarded.
Play will resume with the blinds at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 big blind ante, and the field will play 40-minute levels throughout the day. A break is scheduled after every three full levels, and as it is the last day of the King's Million EPC, the €500 Closer will not halt before the last winner of the series has been crowned.
Meanwhile, all 84 returning players have already secured the €1,020 minimum cash for making it to Day 2. Small pay jumps will take place until the final table, where the nine finalists are guaranteed at least €3,205. Five-figure payouts await the top five players, while the champion is set to walk away with €46,200.
EPC Closer Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €46,200 | 10-11 | €2,550 | |
| 2 | €30,700 | 12-15 | €2,050 | |
| 3 | €20,900 | 16-23 | €1,715 | |
| 4 | €14,500 | 24-31 | €1,465 | |
| 5 | €10,200 | 32-39 | €1,284 | |
| 6 | €7,400 | 40-47 | €1,156 | |
| 7 | €5,500 | 48-55 | €1,070 | |
| 8 | €4,100 | 56-84 | €1,020 | |
| 9 | €3,205 | 85-86 | €510 |
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PokerNews will follow Day 2 of the final Royal Scepter event from start to finish, so stay tuned to find out who will take home the last trophy of the series.