Who will claim the WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event title, the prestigious gold ring, and the €160,000 first-place prize? That question will finally be answered today at Pasino Grand.
Out of a massive field of 1,433 entries, only eight players remain after four days of poker action. They return today for an extra day dedicated solely to the final table. Leading the way is Julien Bolimowski, who has held the chip lead since Day 2 and enters the finale with 18,900,000 chips. Hot on his heels are Axel Hallay (17,075,000), David Gradic (14,675,000), and Thierry Amirault (12,275,000), while the remaining four contenders will need to fight back from short stacks to stay in the race for the ring.
Final Table Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip count
Big blinds
1
Julien Sitbon
France
2,750,000
11
2
Thierry Amirault
France
12,275,000
49
3
Axel Hallay
France
17,075,000
68
4
Farid Diaf
France
1,575,000
6
5
Cecile Ticherfatine
France
1,525,000
6
6
Aliosha Staes
Belgium
1,925,000
8
7
Julien Bolimowski
France
18,900,000
76
8
David Gradic
Slovenia
14,675,000
59
Among the short stacks are Winamax Team Pro Julien Sitbon (2,750,000), Belgium’s Aliosha Staes (1,925,000), Farid Diaf (1,575,000), and the last woman standing, Cécile Ticherfatine (1,525,000). All four have already secured a minimum payout of €20,400, but with stacks so close, the race up the pay jumps promises to be fierce.
The final table is set to resume at 1 p.m. local time, with 30 minutes remaining in Level 32 (blinds at 125,000/250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante). The action will be broadcast on stream with a 30-minute delay.
WSOP Circuit Aix-en-Provence Main Event Payouts
Place
Prize
1
€160,000
2
€110,500
3
€79,250
4
€58,400
5
€43,812
6
€33,500
7
€26,000
8
€20,400
Stay tuned to PokerNews to see who will become the 2025 Main Event Champion today!
Farid Diaf went all-in for 1,400,000 from under the gun and was called by Thierry Amirault in the small blind.
Farid Diaf: Q♠Q♥
Thierry Amirault: A♣J♥
Diaf was on his way to double up for the third time on 4♥J♣5♣, but the 2♣ turn opened a straight draw and a flush draw for Amirault. The 3♥ river completed the straight and Diaf became the first player eliminated on this final table.
David Gradic in the small blind jammed to apply pressure on Julien Sitbon's short stack. Sitbon counted his stack and called, finding himself at risk for 975,000.
Julien Sitbon: Q♦4♦
David Gradic: 9♥9♣
Sitbon didn't find the queen or the diamonds he needed on A♥6♦2♣7♣6♠ and he was eliminated in 7th place for €26,000.
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.
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.
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."
David Gradic
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.
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.
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.
David Gradic
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.
