button in SafariSecond Starting Flight of the African Poker Championship Tanzania Main Event Starts 2PM
In just over one hour from now at 2 p.m. local time, the inaugural edition African Poker Championship in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, will see the second of three starting flights for the 2026 APC Tanzania $1,000 Main Event kick off in the conference rooms of Le Grande Casino. The flagship tournament of the series comes with a $200,000 guarantee and yesterday's opening flight produced a total of 51 entries including 7 re-entries across eight levels of play.
The very same is planned for today with eight 60-minute levels and there is a extended 60-minute dinner break right in the middle upon completion of level four. All players start with 100,000 in chips and that represents 333 big blinds in the first level of 200-300/300. On Day 1a, only 23 contenders bagged up and Australia's Todd Hellyar set the bar very high for all those wishing to become the new chip leader, as he advanced with 513,000 in chips - more than five starting times.
Expected to join the action after running deep in the $3,000 APC High Roller yesterday or busting out from the opening flight are Jaco Mouton, Rudolf Fourie, Harold Brooks, Alvin Pillay, Gavin Sardini, Banks Solomons, and Patrice Ah-Nien of Mauritius from Mauritius.
The conclusion of the $3,000 APC High Roller lasted until approximately 2 a.m. local time and Italian vlogger Mattia Festa came out on top of an 65-entry strong field to claim the largest slice of the $163,800 prize pool for a top prize of $56,000. With Festa's appearance on the final table, more than 1,000 viewers followed the live action from Tanzania on the Monster Jam Poker Tour (MJPT) YouTube channel and they got to witness Festa taking over control after start-of-the-day chip leader Muaaz Gani lost a sizeable pot to him.
Tusar Somaiya was the last player to bow out empty-handed after he was eliminated on the cash and final table bubble by eventual runner-up Obi Zhang with ace-nine versus ace-king while Day 1a of the Main Event was still unfolding. Zhang went on to claim $32,000 for his efforts, while Gani bowed out in 7th place for $7,700. That latest prize money will boost Gani to more than $1 million in recorded live poker cashes on The Hendon Mob.
Final Table Result $3,000 APC Tanzania High Roller
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mattia Festa | Italy | $56,000 |
| 2 | Obi Zhang | China | $32,000 |
| 3 | Dan Zvonaru | Tanzania | $20,000 |
| 4 | Sami Matar | Lebanon | $14,500 |
| 5 | Dimitri Hadjipaschali | South Africa | $11,500 |
| 6 | Cliton Taliwanth | South Africa | $9,000 |
| 7 | Muaaz Gani | South Africa | $7,700 |
| 8 | Tome Dinh | Viet Nam | $6,800 |
| 9 | Costa Giannakopoulos | Tanzania | $6,300 |
Most if not all of these players are expected to join the remaining two flights of the $1,000 Main Event as well, and the late registration remains open for another five levels on Day 2 this upcoming Saturday, October 3, 2026.
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The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to cover all of the action until a winner has been crowned at Le Grande Casino in Dar Es Salaam this weekend.