€1,000 Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2025 WSOP-C Aix-en-Provence
€1,000 Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2025 WSOP-C Aix-en-Provence
Buy-in
€1,000
Prize Pool
€1,238,112
Entries
1,433
Level
36
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
600,000
Entries
9
Players Left
1
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Coming for the first time to Aix-en-Provence, David Gradic had originally planned to enjoy a relaxing holiday on the French Riviera and recharge before the upcoming online poker series. But a stop at Pasino Grand for the €1,000 World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event, organized by Texapoker, turned into a successful detour as the Slovenian player emerged victorious from a field of 1,433 entries.
The WSOP Circuit gold ring and the top prize of €160,000 brought a huge smile to Gradic’s face, but his joy only grew when he learned he also secured a seat for the $10,000 WSOP Main Event this summer in Las Vegas, along with an entry to the WSOP Tournament of Champions next month in Los Angeles.
Gradic put on a dominant performance at the final table, eliminating six of his seven opponents. Among them were WSOP bracelet winner Julien Sitbon (6th - €26,000), Cécile Ticherfatine (5th - €33,500), Aliosha Staes (4th - €58,400), Axel Hallay (3rd - €79,250), and finally Thierry Amirault, whose unorthodox style helped him clinch runner-up for €110,500.
WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Gradic | Slovenia | €160,000 + $10,000 WSOP Main Event ticket |
| 2 | Thierry Amirault | France | €110,500 |
| 3 | Axel Hallay | France | €79,250 |
| 4 | Aliosha Staes | Belgium | €58,400 |
| 5 | Julien Bolimowski | France | €43,812 |
| 6 | Cécile Ticherfatine | France | €33,500 |
| 7 | Julien Sitbon | France | €26,000 |
| 8 | Farid Diaf | France | €20,400 |
Winner's Reaction
“I dreamed about this ring, it’s amazing,” Gradic said, stars in his eyes, just moments before the winner’s ceremony. Primarily an online player who began his poker journey in 2017, Gradic is still relatively new to the live scene. Since playing his first live tournament, he had only recorded four cashes since 2023. But among them was already a first-place finish last July.
With a WSOP Circuit stop taking place on the French Riviera, Gradic decided to take a detour from his holiday to chase a shot at glory in the Main Event. However things didn’t go smoothly at first: “On my first bullet, I got in with aces against ace-eight and flop went blank, turn eight, river eight,” he recalled. Fortunately, his second entry went much differently. After building a big stack on Day 1b, Gradic stayed near the top of the chip counts all the way through. "I had a smooth sailing and also a good table selection. But from the last three tables, it was tough," he said.
Despite the increasingly tough field, Gradic quietly made his way through the tournament, only truly revealing himself when it was time to send an opponent to the rail. "I didn't need to play big pots. I was just more lucky than others at the right spots and when I got it in, my hand holded. One or two people cracked me but that's it," he said modestly. That good run continued on the final table, where he came in with the second-biggest stack: "I had some maneuver space to not get myself into a danger zone and it just went perfect."
As for what’s next, with EPT Monte-Carlo starting just a few kilometers away from Aix-en-Provence next week, will Gradic extend his holiday and take a shot at the prestigious event? “Maybe, but I need three or four days off just to realize everything. I came here for vacation, so I just wanted to play this one tournament and relax a bit before the online poker series starts on May 11,” he explained.
If Monaco is a tentative “maybe,” Gradic was more cautious when it came to plans for the summer World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. “It’s my dream to go to Vegas, but we’ll see. I want to have a bankroll big enough to play the events I want,” he said right before PokerNews informed him that his victory also came with a $10,000 ticket to the WSOP Main Event. “No way, that’s amazing!” he repeated, his eyes lighting up as he realized his dream could come true in just a few months.
Final Table Action
The final table of the Main Event started with a stark chip divide: four players holding massive stacks, and the other four sitting with 10 big blinds or less. In the short stack group was Staes, who quickly found a double-up through Farid Diaf to get back in contention. That hand left Diaf crippled, and although he doubled twice in a row, the Frenchman ultimately became the first player eliminated at the final table (8th - €20,400).
Winamax Team Pro Sitbon was the next to hit the rail not long after (7th - €26,000), almost immediately followed by Ticherfatine (6th - €33,500), who had previously secured a double-up through Hallay.
With the field now down to five players, the first break of the day arrived and so did a noticeable slowdown in the action after the restart. Staes managed to double up again, and even scored a third double-up by flopping the nut flush against eventual winner Gradic.
Meanwhile, the start-of-day chip leader Julien Bolimowski saw his stack dwindle after clashing with Gradic, and later losing a flip to Hallay. With just two big blinds left, he cracked aces to stay alive for a moment, but his tournament run came to an end shortly after when his ace-queen was outdrawn by a three on the river. He exited in fifth place for €43,812.
Staes’ elimination in fourth place for €58,400 left Gradic holding a stack twice as large as his last two opponents. His lead continued to grow, and the cards kept falling his way like when he picked up pocket aces to eliminate Hallay with ace-queen (3rd - €79,250).
Heads-up play against Amirault (2nd - €110,500) then lasted only a few minutes before Gradic sealed the win, claiming the title of 2025 WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event champion.
That concludes the coverage here in Aix-en-Provence for the WSOP Circuit, but be sure to follow PokerNews for live updates and coverage on tournaments from all around the globe.
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Thierry Amirault limped from the button, David Gradic in the big blind raised to 1,800,000 and Amirault called.
The dealer fanned a flop of 4♣J♦2♦ where Gradic bet 1,000,000. Amirault immediately raised all-in for 8,200,000 and Gradic snap-called.
Thierry Amirault: 9♣4♥ 
David Gradic: Q♠J♣
Both players flopped a pair but Gradic had the best one. The 5♥ turn didn't change anything, and the 6♠ river crowned Gradic as the new WSOP Circuit Main Event champion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
71,700,000
9,400,000
|
9,400,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
David Gradic on the button raised to 1,200,000 and Thierry Amirault in the big blind called.
Gradic bet 700,000 on the J♥2♠K♣ flop and was called, then both players checked the Q♣ turn and the 4♦ river.
Gradic flipped over 7♣7♠ for a pair and won this pot against Amirault's 10♦2♥.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
62,300,000
2,500,000
|
2,500,000 |
|
|
9,400,000
2,500,000
|
2,500,000 |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Thierry Amirault on the left and David Gradic on the right are back at their seats, so shuffle up and deal!
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
The final two players will now play for the WSOP Circuit gold ring and the first-place prize of €160,000, which comes with a $10,000 WSOP Main Event ticket. David Gradic has a large chip lead for now with 100 big blinds, but Thierry Amirault, with 20 big blinds, still has his word to say.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
59,800,000 | |
|
|
11,900,000
2,300,000
|
2,300,000 |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Axel Hallay called from the small blind then went into the tank after David Gradic raised to 1,800,000. Hallay eventually moved all-in for 14,200,000 and Gradic snap-called.
Axel Hallay: A♣Q♦
David Gradic: A♠A♦
Hallay was still hoping for a king on 10♣J♦A♥, but the J♥3♦ runout dashed his hopes and he was eliminated in third place for €79,250.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
59,800,000
15,700,000
|
15,700,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
David Gradic in the small blind opened to 2,000,000 from the small blind and Thierry Amirault defended from the big blind.
They both checked all the way through a board of J♠8♥5♠2♥, but on the 4♦ river, Gradic bet 2,000,000. Amirault quickly called with 6♣5♥ for a pair but lost to Gradic's better pair with 10♣8♠.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
44,100,000
4,600,000
|
4,600,000 |
|
|
14,200,000
5,000,000
|
5,000,000 |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
Once again, Axel Hallay in the small blind and David Gradic in the big blind faced each other on a flop of 9♥5♥Q♥.
They both checked, but Hallay bet 600,000 on the Q♣ turn. He fired a second barrel of 2,100,000 on the J♠ river with K♥J♣, but Gradic called twice with Q♦2♥ for trips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
39,500,000
3,300,000
|
3,300,000 |
|
|
15,400,000
3,300,000
|
3,300,000 |
Level 36
: Blinds 300,000/600,000, 600,000 ante
David Gradic on the button raised to 1,200,000 and faced Axel Hallay who defended from the big blind.
The dealer fanned a flop of 5♥7♦K♦ where Gradic continued for 700,000. Hallay check-called, then led out for 1,000,000 on the 7♥ turn.
Gradic called and it was the last aciton of the hand as both players checked the 9♦ river. Hallay had A♦5♣, but lost to Gradic's two pair with K♠J♥.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
36,200,000
2,600,000
|
2,600,000 |
|
|
18,700,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
