Jozef Cibicek Eyes PokerStars Open Glory as Namur Final Table Set
Only 29 players returned today to Circus Casino Resort for Day 4 of the PokerStars Open Main Event Namur with dreams of victory, and after just under seven hours of play, only nine players still maintain hopes of a €238,000 payday.
Slovakian Jozef Cibicek terrorized his opponents all day on the way to taking the lead with a 12,350,000 stack, applying relentless pressure and seemingly being involved in almost every significant pot at his table.
Cibicek is a man in form, having achieved six final tables in 2025 alone, and a victory here would take him above the $500,000 career earnings mark and cement his status among Europe's best up and coming players.
In an interesting chip distribution scenario for the final table, two other players have also amassed eight-figure stacks, Jason Barton of the United Kingdom (11,300,000) and start of Day 3 chip leader, Ramdhane Ben Maamar (10,430,000).
Those players leave the rest of the pack trailing in their wake, with Evert Rosseel of Belgium (3,710,000) next in line. It will be interesting to see how the three big stacks adapt to that dynamic tomorrow.
Jort Hagedoorn and Alexandru Danes bring up the rear but are not yet in the danger zone, while Jean-Vincent Lehut, Ferdinando D'Alessio and Julien Breuil are in the middle of the field.
Barton and Maamar have both already secured the biggest individual scores of their respective tournament careers, and will be gunning for a first six-figure score. All players have locked up €22,800, and will be hoping to stay the course as the money jumps get larger.
End of Day 4 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jozef Cibicek | Slovakia | 12,350,000 | 154 |
| 2 | Jason Barton | United Kingdom | 11,330,000 | 142 |
| 3 | Ramdhane Ben Maamar | France | 10,430,000 | 130 |
| 4 | Evert Rosseel | Belgium | 3,710,000 | 46 |
| 5 | Jean-Vincent Lehut | France | 3,050,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Ferdinando D'Alessio | Belgium | 2,780,000 | 35 |
| 7 | Julien Breuil | France | 1,735,000 | 22 |
| 8 | Alexandru Danes | France | 1,325,000 | 17 |
| 9 | Jort Hagedoorn | Netherlands | 1,160,000 | 15 |
Day 3 Action
In an action-packed start to the day, short-stacks Philippe Ktorza, Rudolf Van Mol and Marco Walgreen were all disposed of in short order.
Cibicek started to get moving when he busted Saman Ziarati and Djamal Boutaleb in quick succession. He only went from strength to strength thereafer, showing a bluff against Rosseel at the end of the night and spiking a set against Mathieu Gallois. Cibicek battled continuously with Rosseel in particular, and that could prove to be a significant factor during the final day.
Maamar was also aggressive throughout the day, and he got his reward as he claimed the scalps of Erwin Vu Duc and Giovanni Ventura. Barton steadily accumulated chips in his session, and he too gathered some late momentum when he hit a flush to bust Tim Hanssen to set the final table and took a big pot off Maamar in the classic race.
Below are the payouts that remain from the record-breaking €1,490,256 prize pool:-
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €238,000 |
| 2 | €153,500 |
| 3 | €109,620 |
| 4 | €84,320 |
| 5 | €64,830 |
| 6 | €49,950 |
| 7 | €38,410 |
| 8 | €29,580 |
| 9 | €22,800 |
The players will return to Circus Casino Resort at noon June 8 to 90-minute levels, and will play to a winner, with 60-minutes left at Level 29, 50,000/100,000, with a 100,000 big blind ante.
PokerStars France will be streaming all the action on their social media channels on a 25-minute delay, so our coverage will start tomorrow at 12.25 p.m. in order to match the stream.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we see who can walk away with the spade trophy and a huge €238,000 payday.