button in SafariSebastien Guinand Leads 30 Players into 2026 PokerStars Open Namur Main Event Penultimate Day
The Circus Casino Resort in the Walloon capital of Namur has been absolutely rammed all week, as poker players from far and wide arrived to seek 2026 PokerStars Open Namur Main Event glory.
As we head into the penultimate Day 4, only 30 players are still standing from a massive 1,572-entry field and eyeing the life-changing €220,800 first-place prize, representing the lion's share of the huge €1,491,828 prize pool.
They are led by Frenchman Sebastien Guinand (5,630,000), who went on a late charge in Day 3, securing two crucial knockouts as play drew to a close.
Guinand has a healthy lead over his two closest challengers, German Manuel Schnur (3,355,000) and Brit Andrew Hulme (2,760,000), and there are plenty of quality players in the field capable of mounting a title challenge.
Guinand has a recent runner-up finish in a €1,100 PLO event at EPT Paris among total recorded scores of just under $300,000, and will be hoping to go one better here.
Schnur appears to have already secured a new career-best tournament score, while Hulme, the EPT Barcelona 2004 runner-up, is no stranger to deep tournament runs, having accumulated over $4.5 million in cashes in the course of his career.
Start of Day 4 Top Ten Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien Guinand | France | 5,630,000 | 187 |
| 2 | Manuel Schnur | Germany | 3,355,000 | 111 |
| 3 | Andrew Hulme | United Kingdom | 2,760,000 | 92 |
| 4 | Luca Delfino | Italy | 2,555,000 | 85 |
| 5 | Nicolas Burtin | France | 2,275,000 | 75 |
| 6 | Ahmet Demirturan | France | 2,155,000 | 71 |
| 7 | Nicolai Striewe | Germany | 2,125,000 | 70 |
| 8 | Patrick Prijot | Belgium | 2,005,000 | 66 |
| 9 | Dario Quattrucci | Italy | 2,005,000 | 66 |
| 10 | Tobias Peters | Netherlands | 1,895,000 | 63 |
Plenty of dangerous players remain in contention, including two-time bracelet winner Tobias Peters (1,895,000), former Irish Open champion David Docherty (1,120,000), Conor O'Driscoll (1,245,000), who is fresh off two wins at EPT Monte Carlo last month, and 2022 EPT/UKIPT Mystery Bounty champion and GRND On Tour ambassador Henrik Veldhoen (945,000).
Akiko Ota (1,715,000) of Japan is the last woman, and non-European player, left in the field.
The players have already locked up a €5,400 payday, with the remaining payouts below.
2026 PokerStars Open Namur Main Event Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €220,800 | 10-11 | €16,520 | |
| 2 | €138,500 | 12-13 | €13,900 | |
| 3 | €100,300 | 14-15 | €11,700 | |
| 4 | €78,000 | 16-17 | €9,930 | |
| 5 | €60,000 | 18-20 | €8,430 | |
| 6 | €46,000 | 21-23 | €7,200 | |
| 7 | €36,000 | 24-27 | €6,200 | |
| 8 | €28,000 | 28-30 | €5,400 | |
| 9 | €21,558 | |||
The players will return at noon local time on June 6 to blinds of 15,000/30,000, with a 30,000 big blind ante, and with the clock increased to 90-minute levels. Play will continue until the final table is set, which will take place on June 7 at noon, and which will be live-streamed on delay on PokerStars France's social media channels.
PokerNews will be on the floor from the start of play at noon, so stay tuned for your coverage of all the action from the PokerStars Open Namur Main Event.
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